Repeated sprint ability with ball performance among university soccer players: The influence of direction

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of directions on the repeated sprint ability (RSA) with ball performance among university soccer players. Twenty soccer players representing a public university team compete in Malaysian Intervarsity tournament was recruited as study participants. Participants were assigned to two RSA tests with two different directions; i) Right-left-right (RLR) and ii) Left-right-left (LRL). Sprints time, fatigue index and strength of decrement score (Sdec) were compared between the two drills. Repeated measure analysis of variances (ANOVA) was conducted to determine the differences. Results showed no significant differences of were found for each sprints time and total time. However, FI and Sdec were found to be significantly lower during LRL. Future research is suggested to stress on the influences of ball controlling during the slides and turns at the markers on RSA performance.