Abstract
Soccer is a game in which fatigue can negatively influence players’ performance. Few studies have examined the practical effects of fatigue on soccer performance skills. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fatigue, acutely induced by means of a soccer specific circuit on ball velocity. Ten amateur soccer players (age 27.3 ± 5.25 yr; experience 16,8 ± 6.05 yr; level secondary division; body height 1,80 m ± 0,06; body mass 75,7 kg ± 5,78), participated in this study and performed maximal instep kicks before and after the implementation of an intensive, intermittent and repeated exercise protocol. Analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated a significant decrease (p<0.05) in ball velocity after just one round of the fatigue circuit. However, after the third circuit ball velocity increased and after the fifth circuit maximal ball velocity increased yet again (compared to the second circuit) and was not significantly different from before commencement of the fatigue protocol. The results partly confirmed the hypothesis of the negative influence of fatigue upon ball velocity in soccer kicking, demonstrating also some variability in the presented values of ball velocity perhaps theoretically accounted for by the general governor model.
Highlights
The game of soccer requires intermittent efforts with activity changes every 3-5 seconds, characterised by alternating moments of high intensity and of almost complete rest (Bangsbo, 1994)
The Oneway analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the maximal ball velocity was affected significantly after completion of the circuit (F = 7.6, p
Post hoc comparisons showed that the ball velocity decreased significantly after just one circuit of the fatigue protocol compared with the ball velocity before the start of the circuit
Summary
The game of soccer requires intermittent efforts with activity changes every 3-5 seconds, characterised by alternating moments of high intensity and of almost complete rest (Bangsbo, 1994). Kicking performance is perhaps the most important action in soccer since it supports a key objective of the game: scoring goals by kicking the ball Due to this inherent importance, the study of kicking in soccer has raised scientific interest, which has resulted mainly in studies from the point of view of biomechanics, technical analysis, muscular involvement in the kicking action and even studies in footwear (Forestier and Nougier, 1998; Madigan and Pidcoe, 2003; Sterzing, 2010). These studies show that there are many factors that can determine the action of soccer kicking, such as body posture, technical approach, footwear, muscle strength and power output and fatigue. The precise influence of fatigue on soccer kicking has not yet been clarified
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