The purpose of this study is to determine the age-related effects of power and running speed on agility ability of young soccer players. A total of eighty-one soccer players, who do not have professional contracts with any professional club but play for various local and school teams on a regular basis, have participated (mean age: 17.7±1.16, range 16–19) in this study. Tests consist of anthropometric variables, power and speed measurements, and the agility test (T-Agility). At the completion of the warm-up protocol, players completed assessments of countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), speed (10-, and 30-m sprints, respectively), and the agility test (Agility T-Test). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis was used to compare the parameters between each group and Pearson correlation analyses were applied to determine the relationships between agility test, speed, and power. When evaluated by age, only U16 players displayed moderate correlation between Agility T-Test and S10m and S30m (P<0.05). The only significantly weak correlation was found between the Agility T-Test and S30m for U19 players (P<0.05). Similarly, the only significantly weak correlation was found between the Agility T-Test and CMJ and SJ for U19 players (P<0.05). In conclusion, the results showed that speed and lower extremity power should not be considered as important predictors of agility performance in young athletes.
Background and Study Aim: Balance control has been regarded as a crucial factor in sports and indicated as an important element to be examined for the risks of injury. But it is unknown whether the dynamic balance changes according to the player positions in professional soccer players. To determine whether there were differences in the dynamic balance performance of the different positions of Turkish professional soccer players from within one squad. Material and Methods: Twenty-four professional soccer players were divided into 4 groups by the coach, including goalkeepers (n = 3), midfielders (n = 6), defenders (n = 7) and forwards (n = 8). Prior the competition season, anthropometric characteristics of players were measured. Then, players were tested Y Balance Test (YBT) for the anterior (ANT), posteromedial (PM), and posterolateral (PL) reach distances and limb lengths bilaterally. Results: The goalkeepers were heavier compared with the midfielders. Furthermore, the BMI of the goalkeepers were higher than midfielders and defenders (p< 0.05). There were no significant differences in the ANT, PM, PL, and COMP score between the groups (p> 0.05). The values for reach asymmetry were lower than four centimeters among groups in the all reach direction with regards to reach asymmetries, except normalized posterolateral direction. Conclusions: The results of this study have shown that the YBT performance scores do not differ between the groups. Future studies are required to create specific norms related to dynamic balance performance and establish risk cut-off score for professional soccer players.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of soccer activities on body composition and physical fitness among prepubertal boys. A total of 38 prepubescent male soccer players (mean age, 12.1±0.13 years) were compared with 41 participants in control group (mean age, 12.4±0.06 years). The body composition was measured using the bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) method (Tanita Corp., Tokyo, Japan). 30m sprint (T30), agility T-Test, and Sit-And-Reach (S&R) Tests were performed from different motor fitness test batteries. Student's unpaired t-test revealed that soccer and control groups were similar in age, height, body mass, BMI and lean body mass (LBM), but the control group had higher percentage of body fat (%BF) than the soccer group (p < 0.05). Also, pearson correlation analysis showed a significant moderate positive correlation between %BF and T30 (r = 0.62; p = 0.00), and a significant lower positive correlation between agility T-Test and S&R test (r = 0.35; p = 0.00, r = 0.42; p = 0.00), respectively. No significant correlation was observed between LBM, and T30, agility T-Test, and S&R test (r = -0.08; p = 0.49, r = -0.16; p = 0.15, r = -0.16; p = 0.15), respectively. In conclusion, soccer activities are associated with better physical fitness and lower BF among prepubescent boys.
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