Sprint and jump performances in highly trained young soccer players of different chronological age: Effects of linear VS. CHANGE-OF-DIRECTION sprint training

Thomas Pavillon; Claire Tourny; Abderraouf Ben Aabderrahman; Iyed Salhi; Sghaeir Zouita; Mehdi Rouissi; Anthony C Hackney; Urs Granacher; Hassane Zouhal

doi:10.1016/j.jesf.2020.10.003

Sprint and jump performances in highly trained young soccer players of different chronological age: Effects of linear VS. CHANGE-OF-DIRECTION sprint training

J Exerc Sci Fit. 2021 Apr;19(2):81-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jesf.2020.10.003. Epub 2020 Nov 13.

Authors

Thomas Pavillon^{1

2}, Claire Tourny², Abderraouf Ben Aabderrahman³, Iyed Salhi³, Sghaeir Zouita³, Mehdi Rouissi⁴, Anthony C Hackney⁵, Urs Granacher⁶, Hassane Zouhal⁷

Affiliations

¹ Football Academy of Mohamed VI, Rabat, Morocco.
² Department of Performance, French Football Federation (FFF), Paris, France.
³ High Institute of Sport Sciences, Tunis, Tunisia.
⁴ University of Rouen Normandie, CETAPS - EA 3832, F- 76821, Mont Saint Aignan, France.
⁵ Department of Exercise & Sport Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁶ Division of Training and Movement Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
⁷ Univ Rennes, M2S (Laboratoire Mouvement, Sport, Santé) - EA 1274, F-35000, Rennes, France.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two different sprint-training regimes on sprint and jump performances according to age in elite young male soccer players over the course of one soccer season.

Methods: Players were randomly assigned to two training groups. Group 1 performed systematic change-of-direction sprints (CODST, U19 [n = 9], U17 [n = 9], U15 [n = 10]) while group 2 conducted systematic linear sprints (LST, U19 [n = 9], U17 [n = 9], U15 [n = 9]). Training volumes were similar between groups (40 sprints per week x 30 weeks = 1200 sprints per season). Pre and post training, all players performed tests for the assessment of linear and slalom sprint speed (5-m and 10-m), countermovement jump, and maximal aerobic speed performance.

Results: For all physical fitness measures, the baseline-adjusted means data (ANCOVA) across the age groups showed no significant differences between LST and CODST at post (0.061 < p < 0.995; 0.0017 < d < 1.01). The analyses of baseline-adjusted means for all physical fitness measures for U15, U17, and U19 (LST vs. CODST) revealed no significant differences between LST and CODST for U15 (0.213 < p < 0.917; 0.001 < d < 0.087), U17 (0.132 < p < 0.976; 0.001 < d < 0.310), and U19 (0.300 < p < 0.999; 0.001 < d < 0.049) at post.

Conclusions: The results from this study showed that both, LST and CODST induced significant changes in the sprint, lower limbs power, and aerobic performances in young elite soccer players. Since no significant differences were observed between LST and CODST, the observed changes are most likely due to training and/or maturation. Therefore, more research is needed to elucidate whether CODST, LST or a combination of both is beneficial for youth soccer athletes' performance development.

Keywords: Football; Performance; Repeated sprint; Speed.