Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of maturation status on the components of the sprint force-velocity (F-V) profile in young soccer players. Sixty-two young male soccer players from the same professional soccer academy took part in the present study. A cross-sectional design was implemented to compare the main components of the sprint F-V profile (i.e., maximal theoretical force (F0), velocity (V0), power (Pmax), and ratio of horizontal-to-resultant force (RFpeak), and decrease in the ratio of horizontal-to-resultant force (DRF)) and sprint performance (5, 20, and 30 m sprint time) among participants’ maturation stages (i.e., pre-, mid- and post-peak height velocity (PHV) groups). The results show that the ES of differences in 5 min sprint performance, F0, and RFpeak (i.e., strength- and acceleration-related components of the sprint F-V profile) were greater between pre- and mid-PHV groups than those between mid- and post-PHV groups (i.e., large and very large effects (1.24 ≤ ES ≤ 2.42) vs. moderate, small, and zero effects (0 ≤ ES ≤ 0.69), respectively). However, the ES of differences in V0 and DRF (i.e., peak speed-related components of the sprint F-V profile) were greater between mid- and post-PHV groups than those between pre- and mid-PHV groups (i.e., large effects (1.54 ≤ ES ≤ 1.92) vs. moderate effects (−0.59 ≤ ES ≤ 1), respectively). Once the strength development is achieved to a great extent from the pre- to mid-PHV groups, specific strength training methods may be used for young soccer players to improve their sprint performance.
Highlights
Soccer is an acyclic sport, in which low to moderate intensity actions are interchanged with repeated explosive actions during the game [1]
Considering that the most decisive actions in soccer occur in areas smaller than 10 m2, the ability to accelerate and decelerate can be a fundamental factor in performance achievement [3]
Significant differences were found in all the sprint performance variables and F-V profile components
Summary
Soccer is an acyclic sport, in which low to moderate intensity actions are interchanged with repeated explosive actions during the game [1]. Considering that the most decisive actions in soccer occur in areas smaller than 10 m2 , the ability to accelerate and decelerate can be a fundamental factor in performance achievement [3]. The optimization of sprint performance in young players can be attributed to growthand maturity-related changes in neuromuscular mechanisms [4] and to the use of different training methods. In this way, sprint training (3 min) [5], strength training [6], and resisted sprint training (RST) [7] are considered the most popular and effective ones. Morin et al [9] recommended the assessment of the entire force-velocity (F-V) spectrum during sprint acceleration (i.e., the horizontal F-V profile) to obtain more complete and meaningful information on the determinants of linear
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