Specificity of curvilinear sprint performance in youth female soccer players : comparison with linear sprint and relationship with vertical jumps

Sašek, Matic (author), Smajla, Darjan (author), Bratina, Kaja (author), Spudić, Darjan (author)

Differences between left and right curvilinear (CSL and CSR) and linear sprinting (LS) and their relationship to vertical jump performance in youth female soccer players were investigated. Twenty-four players completed 30 m LS, CSL and CSR together with vertical jumps (single-leg and bilateral countermovement jump, squat jump and drop jump). Sprint times (10, 20, 30 m), peak speed (S$_{peak}$), peak acceleration (A$_{peak}$) and acceleration-speed profiles including maximal theoretical speed (S$_0$), maximal theoretical acceleration (A$_0$) and acceleration speed slope (AS$_{slope}$) were calculated. The influence of sprint type on the variables was analysed using ANOVA, while the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between jump height and sprint performance. Sprint type had a significant effect on most variables (p ≤ 0.003, η$^2$ ≥ 0.14), except A$_{peak}$. LS showed higher S$_{peak}$, maximal theoretical speed (S$_0$), 20 m and 30 m split times compared to CSL and CSR. Single-leg countermovement jumps correlated strongly with S$_{peak}$ and S$_0$ (r ≥ 0.46). Furthermore, LS and CS performance variables were trivially to strongly correlated (r = 0.04–0.78). The results highlight the specific demands of CS compared to LS and emphasise the role of unilateral lower-limb power for CS performance in female soccer players.

• Language: English
• Keywords: soccer, training, women, youth sports, speed, curvilinear sprint
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 414–432
• Numbering: Vol. 26, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-181950
• UDC: 796.3
• ISSN on article: 1474-8185
• DOI: 10.1080/24748668.2025.2507414
• COBISS.SI-ID: 237080323
• Publication date in RUL: 20.04.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of performance analysis in sport
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff School of Sport, Centre for Performance Analysis, International Society of Performance Analysis in Sport, ISPAS-Asia, Spanish Association of Sports Performance Analysis
• ISSN: 1474-8185
• COBISS.SI-ID: 4089265

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: nogomet, vadba, ženske, šport mladih, hitrost, zaviti sprinti

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0443
• Name: Kineziologija za učinkovitost in preventivo mišično-skeletnih poškodb v športu

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0147
• Name: Kineziologija monostrukturnih, polistrukturnih in konvencionalnih športov