The Relationship Between Performance and Asymmetries in Different Multidirectional Sprint Tests in Soccer Players

Alberto Fílter; Vicente Beltrán-Garrido; Thomas Dos'Santos; Daniel Romero-Rodríguez; Bernardo Requena; Irineu Loturco; Marc Madruga-Parera

doi:10.2478/hukin-2021-0069

The Relationship Between Performance and Asymmetries in Different Multidirectional Sprint Tests in Soccer Players

J Hum Kinet. 2021 Jul 28:79:155-164. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2021-0069. eCollection 2021 Jul.

Authors

Alberto Fílter^{1

2}, Vicente Beltrán-Garrido³, Thomas Dos'Santos^{1

4}, Daniel Romero-Rodríguez^{5

6}, Bernardo Requena¹, Irineu Loturco^{1

7

8

9}, Marc Madruga-Parera^{10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ FSI Sport Research Lab, Granada, Spain.
² Research Group Physical Activity, Health and Sport CTS-948, University of Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain.
³ EUSES Health and Sport Science School, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain.
⁴ Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom.
⁵ FC Barcelona First Team, Sport Performance Area, Barcelona, Spain.
⁶ International University of Catalonia, Physical Therapy Department, Barcelona, Spain.
⁷ NAR-Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
⁸ Department of Human Movement Sciences, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
⁹ University of South Wales, Pontypridd, Wales, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ ReQ, Return to Play and Sports Training Center, Barcelona, Spain.
¹¹ FC Barcelona Second Team, Sport Performance Area, Barcelona, Spain.
¹² University School of Health and Sport (EUSES), University of Girona, Girona, Spain.

Abstract

Practitioners usually include change of direction (COD) and linear speed measurements in the testing batteries of soccer players; however, despite being a commonly occurring action, curve sprint (CS) ability is rarely assessed in soccer. The aims of this study were to analyze the association between linear sprint, CS, and COD speed performances, and compare the association and direction of asymmetries between these skills. Thirty-three male soccer players performed linear sprint (17 m), CS (17 m), and COD-90^⍛ speed tests (COD [8.5 + 8.5 m]). Our main findings were (a) a large relationship between linear and multidirectional tasks (COD-90^⍛ and CS tests) (r = from 0.6 to 0.64, p < 0.05), (b) a moderate relationship between CS and COD-90^⍛ tests (r = from 0.33 to 0.41, p < 0.05), with a certain opposite tendency (higher relationships between opposing directions [Curve_LEFT - COD_RIGHT; r = 0.41] than between equal directions [Curve_LEFT - COD_LEFT; r = 0.33]), and (c) no relationship (p > 0.05) between COD and CS asymmetries, with opposing directional dominance in ~70% of players (e.g., curve left and COD right dominance). These results indicate that performance in linear sprints is strongly related to performance in multidirectional trajectories, whereas CS and COD-90^⍛ seem to be more independent actions. Additionally, the direction of asymmetry or dominance is generally opposite between the non-linear tasks measured.

Keywords: change of direction; curvilinear speed; speed assessment.