Occurrence of lower limb asymetries during deceleration in soccer players in the U19 category
Keywords:
deceleration, U19, asymetries, 1080 sprintAbstract
Objective: The main aim of the study was to identify asymmetries between the dominant and non-dominant lower limb during horizontal deceleration in youth soccer players playing at different playing positions. The research sample consisted of players of the Slovak Football Federation academies in the U19 age category (n=228). We tested the horizontal deceleration of the players by 15-0-5 change-of-direction test, which was performed on a 1080 Sprint adjustable motorized resistance device (1080 Motion, Lidingö, Sweden). For statistical analysis, we used descriptive statistics methods, Shapiro-wilk test for normality of data distribution, one-factor ANOVA test, paired t-test, and Cohen's d to determine the effect size. We did not observe statistically significant asymmetries between players at each player position (forwards, wide midfielders, central midfielders, full backs, central defenders) during deceleration for dominant and non-dominant lower limbs. However, we observed the highest level of deceleration in the full backs, also for dominant (mean = 8.30 m/s² ± 0.82 m/s²) and non-dominant (mean = 8.28 m/s² ± 0.78 m/s²) lower limb. We observed the highest level of deceleration in the full backs, who are characterized by the highest number of decelerations in the game, precisely due to the frequent transition between phases of the game. These findings are directly applicable to the design of individual training programs with an emphasis on reducing injury incidence and increasing movement efficiency during deceleration.