RESEARCH SUMMARY: Can field based strength tests assess running ability in youth football athletes? (Jones et al., 2021)
Original research title: ‘Field based lower limb strength tests provide insight into sprint and change of direction ability in academy footballers’ (Jones et al., 2021)
Authors: Jones, S; Mullen, R; Clair, Z; Wrigley, R; Andersen, T.E; Williams, M
Year: 2021
Background
The ability of football athletes to cover short distances and change direction quickly is a vital component of on–field performance, often used for talent identification and development. However, there is a limited understanding of how hip and groin strength assessments relate to essential game-based tasks such as sprinting and change of direction for talented youth football athletes.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate field-based strength assessments and their relationships with both sprinting and change of direction (COD) performance in male academy football athletes.
Takeaway
The research by Jones et al., (2021) suggests that a suite of strength tests are effective in guiding decisions to improve change of direction and sprint performance in youth football athletes. These include:
- Countermovement Jump (CMJ)
- Nordic Hamstring Strength (NHS)
- Isometric Hip Adduction (Hip-ADD)
Key findings
- Age, CMJ-impulse, NHS and Hip-ADD were significant contributors in predicting ‘running ability’ in male academy football athletes.
- CMJ-impulse was suggested to be the biggest contributor of ‘running ability’. However, when combined with the Hip-ADD strength and NHS, these increased the ability of CMJ-impulse to account for COD performance.
- Age and CMJ-impulse predicted a 5m sprint time, with the addition of Hip-ADD predicting 10m and 20m sprint times.
- Age, CMJ-impulse, Hip-ADD and NHS predicted COD performance (n=505 times).
*Please note: All data was scaled for this research project. Please refer to the full journal article on how it was scaled.
Practical applications
- A suite of field-based tests may be useful to offer more information on thresholds to discern between faster and slower athletes.
- Moving beyond traditional field-based testing and offering a suite of field-based tests is recommended, with some key tests including CMJ, NHS, and hip-ADD and ABD to provide more information on COD ability.
- The age-specific thresholds suggested can be used, albeit with some caution, to frame the development of suitable strength programs for talented young football athletes, taking into consideration differences in training programs.
Want to conduct accurate Countermovement Jump tests with objective data?
Find out more about ForceDecks protocols
Visit our Support site to learn more.
Contact us at info@valdperformance.com or simply click the button below.
Read more from VALD Performance
- Can balance deficits following a concussion accurately be measured with self-reported symptoms?
- Hamstring injury prevention for elite football athletes (Chebbi et al., 2020)
- Hamstring strain rehabilitation and re-injury risk (Hickey et al., 2021)
- Considerations when interpreting neuromuscular state in elite Australian Rules Football athletes
- Test re-test reliability of single and multijoint strength properties in female Australian football athletes (Kadlec et al., 2021)