To Measure Peak Velocity in Soccer, Let the Players Sprint

Kyprianou E, Di Salvo V, Lolli L, Al Haddad H, Mendez Villanueva A, Gregson W, Weston M

The study by Kyprianou et al. (2019) aimed to explore whether peak velocity measured during soccer matches and various training activities differed from that recorded during a 40-meter sprint test in elite youth soccer players.

A group of 12 full-time male youth soccer players (average age 16.3 ± 0.8 years) participated in the study. Peak velocities were recorded during different activities, including matches, sprints, and skill-based conditioning drills such as small-sided games (SSG), medium-sided games (MSG), and large-sided games (LSG). All activities were monitored using 10-Hz global positioning systems.

The results showed that peak velocity was significantly faster during the 40-meter sprint test (8.76 ± 0.39 m/s) compared to matches (7.94 ± 0.49 m/s), LSG (6.94 ± 0.65 m/s), MSG (6.40 ± 0.75 m/s), and SSG (5.25 ± 0.92 m/s). However, peak velocity during sprints (8.50 ± 0.36 m/s) did not differ significantly from that in the sprint test.

These findings highlight the importance of conducting 40-meter sprint testing to accurately determine peak velocity, especially when individualizing training prescription and evaluating match performance in elite youth soccer players.

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