Agility profile in sub-elite under-11 soccer players: is SAQ training adequate to improve sprint, change of direction speed and reactive agility performance?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of speed, agility and quickness (SAQ) training on acceleration (5 and 20 m), change of direction speed (CODS) and reactive agility in preadolescent soccer players. Thirty-five participants (age = 10.57 ± 0.26, body mass = 36.78 ± 5.34 kg, body height = 1.42 ± 0.05 m), randomly assigned to experimental (EG, n = 20) and control groups (CG, n = 15), completed a 12-week training intervention, 2 day/week. A significant interaction was found in 5-m sprint (P < 0.05, part η = 0.117) and reactive agility (P < 0.01, part η = 0.248) between EG and CG. In both groups, 20-m sprint time improved significantly (P < 0.05, effect size = 0.3-0.4) while performance on CODS remained unchanged after 12 weeks. These findings indicated that SAQ training could positively affect cognitive skills and initial sprint acceleration through the middle childhood, offering useful guidance to soccer coaches.

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

“…The ability to rapidly decelerate, change body direction and accelerate is an important prerequisite throughout the match, increasing the chance of players to win one-on-one duels or perform effective defending maneuvers ( Reilly, 2007 ; Trecroci et al, 2016 ; Young et al, 2015 ). Thus, both youth and adult players of a high competitive level should present a better CODS profile than their lower level counterparts.…”

“…Agility is considered one of the most important determinants of soccer performance. Adult and youth players with a high agility profile are more prone to perform better during high-speed repetitive actions and to make decisions quickly during crucial moments throughout the game ( Reilly, 2007 ; Trecroci et al, 2016 ; Young et al, 2015 ). The model of agility consists of two main components representing perceptual and decision-making factors, and change of direction speed.…”

Mental fatigue impairs physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games

“…The players familiarized with all testing procedures before being involved in the experimental protocol. Specifically, within a four-weeks familiarization period (two sessions of~1.5 h per week) [14], each player gained confidence with Borg's CR10 Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale and 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) to assess perceptual responses (mental fatigue, mental effort, and motivation) [8,11], and with Stroop task test [15]. Specifically, mental fatigue, mental effort and motivation represented subjective self-reported measures by VAS scale [16], which was labelled with "not at all fatigued" and "extremely fatigued", "no effort at all" and "extreme effort", "not at all motivated" and "extremely motivated", respectively.…”

Exercise training in overweight and obese children: Recreational football and high‐intensity interval training provide similar benefits to physical fitness

“…In addition, the superior improvements in change-of-direction speed observed with recreational football compared to HIIT in our study may be due to the higher number of change-of-direction maneuvers during small-sided football games, which may promote improved balance, strength, and body control without loss of speed. 39 The HIIT consisted of short linear running intervals with multiple 180˚ turns, likely promoting enhanced rotational speed and body control for improved change-ofdirection speed. Nevertheless, the magnitude of change was twofold higher for the recreational football group than the HIIT group (−10.6% vs −5.4%), likely due to the modified agility t test implemented in this study containing multidirectional accelerations and changes in direction that are more specific to recreational football movement patterns than HIIT.…”