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CORRELATION BETWEEN PASS SPEED, LEG STRENGTH AND EXPLOSIVE LEG PERFORMANCE IN MALE SOCCER PLAYERS

Abstract

Jacob Qualls1, Keigo Kobayashi1, Michael Shepherd1, Matthew Pulscher1, Veronika Pribyslavska1, Eric M. Scudamore1, Gregory Cantrell1, Brian Church1, & Amanda Wheeler1

1Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas

There are two common kicking variations in soccer. The instep kick is used to produce power, and the inside pass is used for accuracy. Pass speed is essential for the inside pass to provide time and space for the receiving player and maintain possession for the attacking team. Previous research indicated that countermovement jump (CMJ) was correlated with pass speed, but not many other variables were tested for correlation, especially for the inside pass.

PURPOSE: Analyze various factors that correlate with the speed of the inside pass among soccer players from the A-State men’s soccer team. The purpose was that there exists a relationship between inside pass speed, explosive characteristics, and overall lower body strength. METHODS: Eighteen soccer players from the university men’s soccer team completed three performance tasks and one strength task. These tasks consisted of pass speed, a single countermovement jump (CMJ), four repeated countermovement jumps (4CMJ), 40-m sprint (SP), and a back squat (BS) was used to assess one repetition max. For the analysis, individual characteristics including age, weight, height, body mass index, body fat percentage, and years of experience were collected. Pearson correlation analyses were used to examine relationships between pass speed and each performance and descriptive variable. RESULTS: Average pass speed was 81.24 12.71 km/h. 4CMJ height (53.42 7.43 cm; r = .563, p = 0.08) and SP (5.03 .29 s; r = -.412, p = .045) were significantly correlated to pass speed. No relationship was found between CMJ height (63.92 7.30 cm; r = .196, p = .218), CMJ airtime (0.71 .04 s; r = .187, p = .229), 4CMJ ELPF (1.92 .51; r = .321, p = .097), BS (112.91 22.02 kg; r = .208, p = .228), and any descriptive data (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Correlation between performance and strength task and pass speed were assessed. It was observed in the results that 4CMJ was positively correlated while SP was negatively correlated, though no other factor displayed a correlation. This differs from previous research which displayed that CMJ height was correlated. Results from this study may provide insight for training programs. Training may focus on the elements that were found to correlate with pass speed. It may also be considered to focus on players with these characteristics in scouting and development programs.

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