The purpose of the master's thesis was to determine the effects of eight weeks of unilateral strength training on single-leg standing long jumps, single-leg lateral standing long jumps and single-leg triple standing long jumps and 20-meter sprint in young football players. The study included 34 young football players (age 13.4 ± 0.5 years; body weight 54.3 ± 10.1 kg; body height 165.8 ± 8.6 cm). During the study, the trainees were separated into two age groups for time and organizational reasons, but they received the same training content and measurement procedures in the study. The study was divided into an introductory period, an intervention period, and final measurements. During the introductory period, we conducted initial measurements and performed introductory strength training. This was followed by an eight-week intervention period, where the trainees performed unilateral strength training twice a week. The study was concluded with final measurements, where we determined progress in selected variables compared to the initial measurements.
Using the results of the study, we found that unilateral strength training had a statistically significant effect on six of the seven tests that we performed in the measurements. A positive effect of unilateral strength training was recorded in all single-leg jumps in both age groups. In the 20-meter sprint test, we did find progress, but it did not prove to be statistically significant. Unilateral strength training has thus proven to be a suitable training method for developing propulsive strength in young football players.
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