Soccer is a sport that involves many athletic skills such as power , speed, and agility .
To improve these skills we can make use of plyometrics . Plyometric exercises are those that require us to perform the maximum amount of force in a very short interval of time, such as long jumps or high jumps.
To execute them, we must contract the muscle in a very short time, so we improve the explosiveness of the gestures necessary to practice any sport and improve the aforementioned capacities.
A study carried out by Söhnlein, Müller and Stöggl (2014) tried to assess whether it can indeed be useful to intersperse specific soccer training sessions with plyometric sessions to improve the performance of soccer players.
Let’s see how this study was developed and to what extent plyometric exercises can be positive for footballers.
Study design
- It was performed among young elite soccer players (12-13 years old).
- It lasted 16 weeks .
- The players were divided into 2 groups: the first one underwent normal soccer training while the other group had 2 weekly sessions of plyometrics.
Several factors related to explosiveness in soccer were evaluated, such as:
- Sprints of 15 and 20 meters.
- Agility.
- Long jumps.
- Multiple jumps on one leg (multiple 5 bounds test).
What results were obtained?
At the end of the study, it was verified how the group that introduced the plyometrics sessions showed a significant improvement in the aforementioned factors
It should be noted that not all capabilities improved linearly:
- Agility improved immediately until week 12 was reached, where progression stalled.
- Sprints to continuously improved throughout the entire program, to equal the long jump.
- Single leg jumps improved after 8 weeks of training.
Therefore, the duration of a specific plyometrics program would depend on the skills that you want to work on.
Does plyometrics make better soccer players?
In this study, 2 weekly soccer sessions were replaced by 2 plyometric training sessions to find out if in this way the athletic qualities of the soccer player and, consequently, their performance could be enhanced.
There are already some studies that mention the benefits of plyometric training to improve explosiveness in some skills. However, coaches are more interested in knowing if plyometrics can be applied in a practical way to football and being able to create better footballers thanks to it.
On the one hand, it may be thought that it is more convenient to carry out specific trainings for the sport that is being trained to increase performance in it, but on the other hand, it is also important to enhance basic athletic abilities in order to enhance the technical qualities of the footballer, especially in cases where there is less time to train as in the case of young footballers.
Conclution
It is difficult to know if performing better in different athletic events can turn a player into a better or worse footballer, but it can be sensed that having a high physical preparation will facilitate that performance is much better than if it were not already optimal. that:
- They will be able to put their talents to use for longer in the game.
- Confidence in your game will be increased.
- They will be able to make better decisions faster.
Therefore, plyometrics exercises are probably going to be positive for soccer players, but it is convenient to continue studying the relationship between their incorporation in training programs and the performance of the players.
References
- Dupont, D. Plyometric Exercises Improve Athleticism in Youth Soccer Players. For Breakingmuscle.com [Reviewed September 2015].
- Söhlein, Q., Müller, E., and Stöggl, TL (2014). The Effect of 16-Week Plyometric Training on Explosive Actions in Early to Mid-Puberty Elite Soccer Players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28 (8), 2105-2114.
