The Effectiveness of Isolated and Combined  Plyometric and Sprint Exercises During an  8–Week Regimen in Young Soccer Players

Jastrzebski Zbigniew; Stepien Piotr; Radziminski Lukasz; Szwarc Andrzej

Volume : III, Issue : II, February - 2014

The Effectiveness of Isolated and Combined Plyometric and Sprint Exercises During an 8–Week Regimen in Young Soccer Players

Jastrzebski Zbigniew, Stepien Piotr, Radziminski Lukasz, Szwarc Andrzej

Abstract :

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of plyometric and strength drills, both in isolation and combined, on improvements in explosive power and running speed in young soccer players. Twenty six soccer players were divided into two homogenous groups: IG (the Isolated Group, 18.17 � 0.48 yrs) and CG (the Combined Group, 17.95 � 0.32 yrs). The experimental program of exercises was applied twice per week, for 8 weeks. The players split into two groups (IG and CG) and performed the experimental programs (including plyometric drills - jump over hurdles and sprints 5-10-15m), which differed for each group. The results show significant interactions with time for the following jumping height indices: Hfmax (p = 0.004, η2 = 0.29), Pmax (p = 0.039, η2 = 0.16), Hfmean (p = 0.000, η2 = 0.47), and Pmean (p = 0.000, η2 = 0.43). However, post-hoc analysis revealed a considerable improvement in these indices only for the CG. For the running speed results, significant interactions with time for these indices were found for both the IG and CG for all of the distances. The results of the current study demonstrate that 8-week programs including plyometric and speed regimes in both isolated and combined forms can considerably improve the power and running speed of soccer players. However, the effectiveness of the combined intervention proved to be greater than that of the isolated regimen.