MECHANICAL LOAD AND SOCCER SPECIFIC SPRINTS

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify a crucial parameter for fast short sprints with changes of movement direction. A second topic was the evaluation of whether or not, the ability of linear sprints and sprints with changes of movement direction demand the same expertise. A first league German soccer team (n=15) performed a 40m linear sprint test (LST) and a non linear sprint test (NLST), which combined short 3m-linear sprints and turns of 90° and 180°: Ground reaction forces and three dimensional kinematic data during the 180°-turn were sampled. No significant relationship was found in the comparison of the results in the LST and NLST. Between the mechanical work done during a 180°-turn in a short sprint of 6m and the running time, significant correlation were found. The mechanical work appears to be the crucial factor involved in performing a short sprint with a 180°-turn, whereas the ability of linear sprinting and non linear sprinting appear to be unrelated in soccer specific distances.