Assessing Change of Direction Ability in a Spanish Elite Soccer Academy

AbstractThe aims of the study were: a) to analyze the reproducibility of the Modified Agility Test (MAT) according to two types of displacement (i.e. constrained [MATtop] vs. free [MATfree]), b) to examine the explanatory capacity of anthropometric characteristics and neuromuscular performance on the ability to change the direction (CODA), c) to look into the practical consequences of the types of displacement from the perspective of an elite soccer academy. 118 male soccer players (age: 16 (13-25) years old) from the same elite Spanish soccer academy (U13 to senior) were tested twice on two versions of the MAT (MATtop and MATfree), with 48 hours between testing sessions. Moreover, they were tested on linear-sprint performance, over 5 m (S5m) and 15 m (S15m), and the vertical jump (VJ) (countermovement jump with [ACMJ] and without an arm swing [CMJ]). The main findings were: a) the type of displacement did not affect the reliability of the CODA test; b) weight, S15m, ACMJ and CMJ variables explained close to 60% of CODA performance; c) MATtop (i.e. constrained displacement) and MATfree (i.e. free-displacement) CODA tests could show different profiles of development along the age groups; and d) the impact of the task’s constraints was relatively higher in U16 and U17 groups. CODA seems to have a variable meaning depending on the characteristics of the test and the age of the participants.

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Associations between Inter-Limb Asymmetries in Jump and Change of Direction Speed Tests and Physical Performance in Adolescent Female Soccer Players

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073474 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3474

Author(s):

Elena Pardos-Mainer ◽

Chris Bishop ◽

Oliver Gonzalo-Skok ◽

Hadi Nobari ◽

Jorge Pérez-Gómez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Performance ◽

Age Groups ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Adolescent Female ◽

Specific Training ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Percentage Difference ◽

Hop Test ◽

Physical Tests

The association between asymmetries in jump and change of direction (COD) with physical performance in several sports show inconclusive results. The purposes of this study were to: (1) measure inter-limb asymmetries in three distinct groups in adolescent female soccer players and, (2) to determine the association between inter-limb asymmetries and physical performance in different age groups. Fifty-four players were distributed in three age groups: U-18, U-16 and U-14. All of them performed a series of jumps, sprints and change of direction speed tests. Asymmetries were assessed as the percentage difference between limbs, with the equation: 100/Max value (right and left) * in value (right and left) * −1 + 100. Mean inter-limb asymmetries were 2.91%, 4.82% and 11.6% for 180° COD, single leg hop and single leg countermovement jump tests respectively, but higher percentages of asymmetries were observed in many players individually. U-18 and U-16 showed significant differences on 180° left COD compared to U-14. Effect size (ES): 0.80 and 0.74, respectively; U-18 presented differences on single left leg hop test compared to U-14, ES: −0.72; U-16 also showed differences on 40 m speed compared to U-14, ES 0.87 (All p < 0.05). Jumping and COD physical tests show asymmetries in adolescent female soccer players, but these asymmetries do not interfere with physical performance. The largest asymmetry was observed in the single leg countermovement jump, and no asymmetries between groups were found. Due to the high variability in the direction of asymmetries, it is recommended to consider players’ individual asymmetries for designing specific training programs.

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Physical fitness performance, playing position and competitive level attained by elite junior soccer players

Kinesiology ◽

10.26582/k.53.1.6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (1) ◽

pp. 56-64

Author(s):

Asier Los Arcos ◽

Asier Gonzalez-Artetxe

Keyword(s):

Physical Fitness ◽

Aerobic Fitness ◽

Mean Difference ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Professional Career ◽

Neuromuscular Performance ◽

Maximal Aerobic Speed ◽

Physical Tests ◽

The Impact

The aim of this study was to look into the alleged impact of the physical fitness performance of elite junior soccer players on the professional career according to playing position. The physical tests (sprint test, countermovement jump [CMJ], and maximal aerobic speed [MAS]) performed by 165 players enrolled in the junior team of a Spanish 1st Division club (1998-2010) were evaluated. Players were classified as those who were promoted to the reserve team (Reserve Team) and those who were not (non-Reserve Team), and as those who were promoted to the Spanish 1st/2nd Divisions (PFL) and those who were not (NPFL) until the 2020-2021 season. Overall, no significant differences (p>.05) were found between the Reserve Team and non-Reserve Team or between the PFL and NPFL players in neuromuscular performance. Aerobic fitness was greater (p<.05; ES = .79 ± .60 , moderate; mean difference = 3.0%) for the Reserve Team lateral midﬁelders in comparison to that for the non-Reserve Team. The results suggest that the impact of physical fitness on the promotion of elite junior soccer players is limited.

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REGRESSION ALGORITHMS IN ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOTOR CHARACTERISTICS ON 60-M SPRINT

Facta Universitatis Series Physical Education and Sport ◽

10.22190/fupes190731022f ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 221

Author(s):

Milica Filipović ◽

Veroljub Stanković ◽

Milan Čoh ◽

Biljana Vitošević ◽

Dragana Radosavljević

Keyword(s):

Motor Skills ◽

High Reliability ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Vertical Jump ◽

Age Groups ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Sprint Performance ◽

Explosive Power ◽

Upper And Lower Extremities ◽

The Impact

The aim of the present study was to identify the relationship between morphological parameters and motor skills that are important for sprint performance in children aged 8 to 16 years divided into four age groups (U10, U12, U14, U16) in both genders. The sample consisted of two hundred eighty one participant who trained sprinting in various athletic clubs. A prediction set of twenty-five variables for assessing morphological characteristics and motor skills was applied, and the criterion variable was a sprint at 60m. Using multiple correlation, it has been established that a large number of morphological characteristics are statistically significant positive correlation with the sprint, especially the longitudinal variables, while the variables of skinfolds showed a low negative statistical significance in relation to the given criterion. In the field of motor skills, the highest number of positive statistically significant correlations were found in the tests of explosive power of the upper and lower extremities, agility test and horizontal and vertical jump tests. In order to determine which morphological features and motor skills should be applied in sprint running training, we tested related attributes using different algorithms for data mining (LR, M5, KNN, SVM, MLP, RBF). The results suggests that the predictors that we use can continue to be applied with high reliability in assessing sprint performance, but also in the monitoring of the training process in order to profile the better sprint achievements.

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Short-Term Compound Training on Physical Performance in Young Soccer Players

Sports ◽

10.3390/sports8080108 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 108 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Athos Trecroci ◽

Marco Duca ◽

Damiano Formenti ◽

Giampietro Alberti ◽

F. Marcello Iaia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vertical Jump ◽

The Other ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Plyometric Training ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Short Term ◽

Squat Jump ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Compound Training ◽

Strength Exercises

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a five-week compound training (with strength and plyometric exercises performed on separate days) on sprint, change of direction, and vertical jump in young soccer players. Eighteen novices in strength and plyometric training were assigned to either a compound training (CMPT) or a control condition (CNT). Both groups trained three times per week. One session was dedicated to soccer-specific drills. The other two weekly sessions were dedicated to circuit-based training routines employing on one-day strength exercises and on the other day plyometric exercises in the CMPT group. At the same time, the CNT group performed two weekly soccer-specific training sessions. All players were tested by 15-m sprint, change-of-direction and acceleration test (CODAT), squat jump, and countermovement jump with arms swing tests. CMPT group improved CODAT, squat jump and countermovement jump to a higher extent compared to CNT group (large vs small or trivial effects, p < 0.05), while both groups had similar 15-m sprint performance (p > 0.05). These results support the use of compound training to improve change of direction and vertical jump performances in young novice soccer players, which are unfamiliar with structured and advanced strength and plyometric training.

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Physical Fitness Profiling of National Category Table Tennis Players: Implication for Health and Performance

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18179362 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 9362

Author(s):

Jon Mikel Picabea ◽

Jesús Cámara ◽

Javier Yanci

Keyword(s):

Vertical Jump ◽

Age Groups ◽

Isometric Strength ◽

Table Tennis ◽

Arm Swing ◽

Tennis Players ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Counter Movement Jump ◽

And Performance ◽

Better Than

The aims of this study were to: (1) analyze table tennis players’ physical profiles considering and comparing players age categories (i.e., under U12, U14, U16, U20, Senior and Older); and (2) to quantify the correlations among the variables measured by each test. Seventy-one table tennis players (61 men and 10 women, 19.7 ± 11.23 years, 1.65 ± 0.13 m, 59.71 ± 17.72 kg and 21.60 ± 4.22 kg/m2) divided into six age groups, performed a sprint test, forearm isometric strength test, countermovement vertical test, countermovement horizontal test, change of direction ability (CODA) test and flexibility test. U14 players performed better than U12 in all tests (ES = −0.70 to 1.98, moderate to large) except in Sit and Reach (SAR) test (ES = 0.19, trivial). The U16 group also obtained better results than U14 in all tests (ES = 0.77 to −2.31, moderate to large) except for the SAR test (ES = 0.19, trivial). The U20 group performed better than U16 in all the tests (ES = 0.73 to −1.53, moderate to large) except for the 5 m sprint test (ES = −0.02, trivial), 10 m sprint test (ES = −0.51, moderate) and SAR (ES = 0.11, trivial). Differences between Senior and U20 were only found in the arm swing counter movement jump (CMJAS) (ES = −0.82, large) and modified agility test (MAT) (ES = 1.19, large), with the U20 group being better in both variables. The senior group performed better in the MAT test than the older group (ES = 0.94, large). The relation found between forearm isometric strength, vertical jump, horizontal jump, sprint and CODA ability (r = −0.53; ±0.14, 0/0/100, most likely to r = 0.83; ±0.06, 100/0/0, most likely) indicates that these capacities are related in table tennis players. Nevertheless, the lack of association between the sit and reach test with the other capacities may indicate that flexibility is an independent capacity.

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Anthropometric and Functional Profile of Selected vs. Non-Selected 13-to-17-Year-Old Soccer Players

Sports ◽

10.3390/sports8080111 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 111

Author(s):

Erik Nughes ◽

Vincenzo Rago ◽

Rodrigo Aquino ◽

Georgios Ermidis ◽

Morten B. Randers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Level ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Functional Abilities ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Percentage Of Body Fat ◽

Repeated Sprint ◽

Anthropometric Characteristics ◽

Height Change ◽

Functional Profiles

The purpose of this study was to compare anthropometric and functional profiles of 13-to-17-year-old soccer players according to their competitive level. Height, body mass, percentage of body fat, countermovement jump height, change of direction ability, 5- and 15-m sprint times, repeated sprint ability (RSA), intermittent recovery performance, and dribbling skills were collected in 115 young Italian soccer players. Players were divided into selected (i.e., competing at national level, n = 17 U15 and 47 U17) and non-selected (i.e., competing at regional level, n = 43 U15 and 8 U17) groups. U17 selected players were taller, quicker over 5 and 15 m, more agile, and had better RSA, prolonged intermittent recovery ability, and dribbling skills than their non-selected counterparts (d = 0.28–0.55, p < 0.05). In particular, selected players showed lower times on the first three and the last shuttle of the RSA test (d = 0.28–0.34, p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in U15 players (p > 0.05). Discriminant analysis revealed that dribbling skills, 15-m sprint time, and height best discriminate U17 players by competitive level (p < 0.001). Anthropometric characteristics and functional abilities can discriminate across competitive standards between male U17 but not U15 soccer players. In particular, these findings suggest the importance of dribbling skills, 15-m sprint, and height in U17 players.

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Specificity of jumping, acceleration and quick change of direction motor abilities in soccer players

Kinesiology ◽

10.26582/k.49.1.12 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 22-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Asier Los Arcos ◽

Javier Yanci

Keyword(s):

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Principal Component ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Underlying Structure ◽

Principal Component Factor Analysis ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Arm Swing ◽

Squat Jump ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Motor Abilities

The purpose of this study was to determine the underlying structure of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) jumping, acceleration and change-of-direction (COD) abilities in soccer players using principal component factor analysis (PCA). Based on the results of recent studies on male college athletes, we hypothesized that slow SSC jumping, acceleration and COD represent independent motor abilities in soccer players. Forty two soccer players (23.2±2.36 yr) performed three tests for each group of rapid lower-body movements: a) three vertical slow SSC jumping tests ‒ squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ) and arm swing countermovement jump (CMJAS), b) three acceleration tests ‒ 5, 10 and 15 meter sprint times (ACC5, ACC10 and ACC15), and c) three COD tests ‒ modified agility test free (MATF), the 505 agility test (505) and 20 yard agility test (Y20). PCA was applied to establish the relationships among the factors (i.e. motor abilities) underlying the included manifest variables (i.e. performance tests). This procedure reduced all variables to a smaller number of independent latent dimensions. The results indicated three separate factors that may correspond to slow SSC jumping, acceleration and COD abilities. The magnitude of the correlation coefficients among the three motor abilities extracted was r<.56. Therefore, it is suggested that slow SSC jumping, acceleration and COD abilities represent independent motor abilities and consequently these should be trained and evaluated separately to assess soccer players’ physical profiles.

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Physical Performance Comparison Between Under 15 Elite and Sub-Elite Soccer Players

Journal of Human Kinetics ◽

10.1515/hukin-2017-0126 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 209-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Athos Trecroci ◽

Zoran Milanović ◽

Matteo Frontini ◽

F. Marcello Iaia ◽

Giampietro Alberti

Keyword(s):

Physical Performance ◽

Vertical Jump ◽

Performance Comparison ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Speed Test ◽

Testing Approach ◽

The Difference ◽

High Level

AbstractThe aim of this study was to compare the physical performance profile among young soccer players of different competitive levels. Two teams of elite (n = 22) and sub-elite (n = 22) soccer players at national (highly skilled) and regional (moderately skilled) level were recruited in the study. All participants were tested using a modified Illinois change of direction speed test, a T-drill with and without a ball, a countermovement jump, and a 10-m sprint. The analysis revealed significant differences in favor of elite players in sprint (d = 1.54, large) and vertical jump (d = 2.03, very large) outcomes, while no differences were observed in both modified Illinois change of direction speed (d = 0.16, trivial) and T-drill (d = 0.20, small) tests between the groups. The ability to change direction and speed with and without a ball was found not to be suitable enough to highlight the difference among youth players with moderate-to-high level of play. In conclusion, multi-testing approach based on task-related power should include vertical jump and sprint performance to delineate players of a higher level.

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Analyzing the Magnitude of Interlimb Asymmetries in Young Female Soccer Players: A Preliminary Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020475 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 475

Author(s):

Javier Raya-González ◽

Filipe Manuel Clemente ◽

Daniel Castillo

Keyword(s):

Range Of Motion ◽

Muscle Mass ◽

Injury Risk ◽

Young Female ◽

Asymmetry Index ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Change Of Direction ◽

Jump Ability

Although asymmetries in lower limbs have been linked with players’ performance in male soccer players, literature that has been published addressing female soccer is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was twofold: (i) describe the asymmetries of women soccer players during jumping, change-of-direction and range-of-motion tests; and (ii) test possible relationships between asymmetries and injury risk in female soccer players. Sixteen female players (15.5 ± 1.5 years) performed a battery of fitness tests (i.e., jump ability, change-of-direction ability and passive range-of-motion) and muscle mass analysis via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, through which the specific asymmetry index and the related injury risk were calculated. Significant (p < 0.05) lower asymmetries in the change-of-direction test were observed in comparison to those observed in jumping and range-of-motion tests; significant (p < 0.05) lower asymmetries in muscle mass were also reported compared to those found in the change-of-direction and countermovement jump tests. Additionally, increased injury risk for countermovement jump and hip flexion with extended knee range-of-motion (relating to asymmetry values) and for ankle flexion with flexed knee range-of-motion in both legs (relating to reference range-of-motion values), as well as increased individual injury risk values, were observed across all tests. These findings suggest the necessity to implement individual approaches for asymmetry and injury risk analyses.

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Effects of Short-Term Plyometric Training on Agility, Jump and Repeated Sprint Performance in Female Soccer Players

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18052274 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 2274

Author(s):

Marcin Maciejczyk ◽

Renata Błyszczuk ◽

Aleksander Drwal ◽

Beata Nowak ◽

Marek Strzała

Keyword(s):

Physical Performance ◽

Sprint Performance ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Plyometric Training ◽

Countermovement Jump ◽

Short Term ◽

Jump Performance ◽

Squat Jump ◽

Repeated Sprint ◽

Before And After

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of short-term (4 weeks, twice a week: 8 sessions) plyometric training on agility, jump, and repeated sprint performance in female soccer players. The study comprised 17 females performing this sports discipline. The players were randomly divided into two groups: with plyometric training (PLY) and the control (CON). All players followed the same training program, but the PLY group also performed plyometric exercises. Tests used to evaluate physical performance were carried out immediately before and after PLY. After implementing the short PLY training, significant improvement in jump performance (squat jump: p = 0.04, ES = 0.48, countermovement jump: p = 0.009, ES = 0.42) and agility (p = 0.003, ES = 0.7) was noted in the PLY group. In the CON group, no significant (p > 0.05) changes in physical performance were observed. In contrast, PLY did not improve repeated sprint performance (p > 0.05) among female soccer players. In our research, it was shown that PLY can also be effective when performed for only 4 weeks instead of the 6–12 weeks typically applied.

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