Effective conditioning of female soccer players

We compared the efficacy of three physical conditioning programmes provided over a 12 week period (24 h in total) on selected anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in female soccer players. Two of the groups received physical conditioning training in accordance with speed, agility and quickness (SAQ); one group used specialized resistance and speed development SAQ equipment (equipment group; n = 12), while the other group used traditional soccer coaching equipment (non-equipment group; n = 12). A third group received their regular fitness sessions (active control group; n = 12). All three interventions decreased (P <0.001) the participants' body mass index (−3.7%) and fat percentage (−1.7%), and increased their flexibility (+14.7%) and maximal aerobic capacity ([Vdot]O2max) (+18.4%). The participants in the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups showed significantly (P <0.005) greater benefits from their training programme than those in the active control group by performing significantly better on the sprint to fatigue (−11.6% for both the equipment and non-equipment groups versus −6.2% for the active control group), 25 m sprint (−4.4% vs −0.7%), left (−4.5% vs −1.0%) and right (−4.0% vs −1.4%) side agility, and vertical (+18.5% vs +4.8%) and horizontal (+7.7% vs +1.6%) power tests. Some of these differences in improvements in physical fitness between the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups on the one hand and the active control group on the other hand were probably due to the specificity of the training programmes. It was concluded that SAQ training principles appear to be effective in the physical conditioning of female soccer players. Moreover, these principles can be implemented during whole team training sessions without the need for specialized SAQ equipment. Finally, more research is required to establish the relationship between physical fitness and soccer performance as well as the principles underlying the improvements seen through the implementation of SAQ training programmes.

[1]  Malcolm Cook,et al.  Soccer Coaching and Team Management , 1982 .

[2]  L. Brown,et al.  Development of Speed, Agility, and Quickness for the Female Soccer Athlete , 2000 .

[3]  Juan Carlos Santana,et al.  Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness , 2015 .

[4]  Robert L. Mason,et al.  Statistical Principles in Experimental Design , 2003 .

[5]  Timothy G. Lohman,et al.  Advances in Body Composition Assessment , 1992 .

[6]  C Delecluse,et al.  Influence of Strength Training on Sprint Running Performance , 1997, Sports medicine.

[7]  T. Reilly Energetics of high-intensity exercise (soccer) with particular reference to fatigue. , 1997, Journal of sports sciences.

[8]  W B Young,et al.  Is muscle power related to running speed with changes of direction? , 2002, The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness.

[9]  T. Little,et al.  SPECIFICITY OF ACCELERATION,MAXIMUM SPEED, AND AGILITY IN PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS , 2005, Journal of strength and conditioning research.

[10]  U. Wisløff,et al.  Aerobic endurance training improves soccer performance. , 2001, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[11]  J. Clarys,et al.  Science and Football II , 1993 .

[12]  前田 明伸,et al.  Multistage Fitness Test , 1997 .

[13]  J. Durnin,et al.  Body fat assessed from total body density and its estimation from skinfold thickness: measurements on 481 men and women aged from 16 to 72 Years , 1974, British Journal of Nutrition.

[14]  J. Davis,et al.  Pre-season physiological characteristics of English first and second division soccer players. , 1992, Journal of sports sciences.

[15]  T. Reilly Science and Soccer , 1995 .

[16]  U. Wisløff,et al.  Strength and endurance of elite soccer players. , 1998, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[17]  L. Léger,et al.  The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness. , 1988, Journal of sports sciences.

[18]  J. Bloomfield,et al.  Flexibility in sport , 1998 .

[19]  W. Young,et al.  Relationship between strength qualities and sprinting performance. , 1995, The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness.