A relação entre a performance de sprint com a força explosiva e flexibilidade em jogadores de futebol

Abstract

Relevance: in the quest to improve sporting performance in soccer, players are dependent not only on technical-tactical factors, but also on physical abilities which, nowadays, have an increasing influence on sporting performance. Of the different skills involved in a footballer's performance, speed and explosive strength are the most important and require the most attention from coaches. Aim: To assess the relationship between explosive strength and flexibility on sprint performance in football players. Methods: Sixteen (n= 16) adult male athletes (age= 21.8 ± 4.14 years; height 180.3 ± 6.11cm; weight 74.4 ± 6.21kg) underwent eleven tests to assess speed, vertical and horizontal impulsion and flexibility. Results: Across the entire sample, the correlation between the 10m sprint (CV10m) and 30m sprint (CV30m) was of very strong magnitude (r ≥ 0.90) (r = 0.943); the SJ test (r = -0.868; r = -0.848) and CMJ test (r = -0.719; r = -0.714) showed a strong correlation with the CV10m and CV30m, respectively; The SJ_D (r = -0.685; r = -0.732), SJ_ND (r = -0.564; r = -0.566), QU_D (r = -0.637; r = -0.644), QU_ND (r = -0.740; r = -0.677), and SRT (r = -0.650; r = -0.537) tests established correlations of strong and moderate magnitude. When comparing "higher competitive level" and "lower competitive level" groups, very strong correlations (r ≥ 0.90) were found between the CV10m and CV30m for both levels (r = 0.964; r = 0.922), as well as between the SJ test and CV10m and CV30m in the "higher competitive level" group (r = -0.930; r = -0.935). Conclusions: (1) athletes who have shown to be faster are also those who show greater vertical and horizontal impulsion capacity; (2) good levels of flexibility in the posterior chain seem to be related to improved sprinting; (3) athletes at the "higher" competitive level show stronger relationships between the levels of speed and explosive strength, suggesting greater training effects compared to those at the "lower" level.