Muscle strength, kicking and sprinting performance parameters in elite female soccer players

• Published in: Journal of sports science & medicine Vol. 6
• Main Authors: Vucetic, V, Sporis, G, Jukic, I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2007
• ISSN: 1303-2968; 1303-2968

OBJECTIVE Kicking is the one of the most important skills in soccer, with the full-instep kick and the inside-of-foot-passing shot being the most frequently used ones. Full-instep kick is normally used for generating fast ball speed and this type of kick was used in this study. The relation between muscle strength, sprinting ability and athlete performance on the field (like kicking performance) is a subject of controversy not only in biomechanics, but also in other research fields dealing with muscle power. Objective of this study is to determinant the correlation between kicking and sprint-ing performance and how strength influence sprinting and kicking performances. METHODS Twenty-four Croatian female football team members (U-19) (mean (SD) age 17.2 (0.8) years, height 165.6 (5.9) cm, weight 57.9 (8.4) kg) were tested for maximal sprinting ability, leg muscle strength and kicking performance. Kicking performance was evaluated with ball velocity after the full-instep kick performance which was measured by a Stalker Radar Gun, Texas. RESULTS The mean performance of the sprinting test over 5m (sp5) was 1.54 (0.1) sec, 10m (sp10) 2.35 (0.11) sec, 20m (sp20) 3.79 (0.14) sec and over 30m (sp30) was 5.17 (0.22) sec. Mean ball velocity measured by radar kicking by the preferred and non preferred leg was 82.6 (7.3) and 69.8 (9.3) km/h respectively. Unexpectedly, we didn't find sig-nificant correlation between kicking and sprinting performance. Sprinting and kicking performance was correlated with strength (1RM). DISCUSSION In soccer, sprinting performance affects kicking performance and can be influenced by the number of meters in the run up and foot velocity in the moment of contact with the ball. Because of insufficient technique authors' didn't found significant correlation between kicking and sprinting performance. When kicking performance is been tested level of technique must be sufficient.