Relationship between muscular strength of the lower limbs and acceleration performance of soccer players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze bilateral differences in lower limb strength and running velocity with right and left turns in soccer players. Nineteen junior athletes with a mean age of 18.58 ± 0.77 years participated in this study. Running velocity was analyzed by 15 m sprint test with and without 90o turns using photocells. In order to identify lateral differences of muscular strength characteristics, squat jumps with one leg were performed on a force plate. The significance level was p < 0.05. Except for the time dependent variables of the squat jump, retest-reliability coefficients were higher than 0.85. In order to identify correlations between lateral differences of strength parameters and lateral differences in the sprint test, contingency coefficients were calculated. The only significant correlation (p = 0.05) was found between bilateral differences of maximal force and the dominant leg. The results suggest that there is no relationship between muscular strength of the lower limbs and acceleration performance of soccer players.