Assessment of the general and specific explosive force in high level young footballers

Abstract

Explosive strength is a fundamental physical capacity in soccer. Therefore, the evaluation of explosive strength is important for periodization and control of the training program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate general and specific explosive strength at high level junior soccer players. 21 soccer players (16,1 ± 0,2 years-old; 1,77 ± 0,06 m.; 67,7 ± 6,3 kg) belonging to high level team performed two type of tests. The first one was a general explosive strength test (countermovement jumpCMJ) and the second one was a specific sport test (soccer kick with the maximal power). Data was obtained from a Dinascan IBV force platform and from a 3D Vicon system of automatic capture of the movement. It was later registered in an Excel spreadsheet. It showed that these tests provided, within a short period of time, fundamental information for periodization and control of the training program in order to improve the performance of soccer players.