Contribution of eccentric strength to cutting performance in female soccer players

Jones, PA; Dos'Santos, T; McMahon, JJ; Graham-Smith, P

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of eccentric strength to performance of a 70-90° cutting task (CUT) (time to complete: 5 m approach, 70-90° cut, 3 m exit). Nineteen female soccer players (mean ± SD age, height and mass; 21.6 ± 4.4 years, 1.67 ± 0.07 m and 60.5 ± 6.1 kg) from the top two tiers of English women’s soccer participated in the study. Each player performed 6 trials of the CUT task whereby three-dimensional motion data from 10 Qualisys pro-reflex cameras (240 Hz) and ground reaction forces from two AMTI force platforms (1200 Hz) were collected. Relative eccentric knee extensor (ECC-KE) and flexor peak moments (ECC-KF) were collected from both limbs at 60°·s-1 using a Kin Com isokinetic dynamometer. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that minimum center of mass (CM) and approach velocities (CM velocity at touchdown of penultimate foot contact) could explain 82% (79% adjusted) of the variation in CUT completion time (F(1,16) = 36.086, P < 0.0001). ECC-KE was significantly (P < 0.05) moderately associated (R ≥ 0.610) with velocities at key instances during the CUT. High (upper 50th 14 percentile) ECC-KE individuals (n = 9) had significantly (P ≤ 0.01; d ≥ 1.34) greater velocities at key instances during the CUT. The findings suggest that individuals with higher ECC-KE produce faster CUT performance, by approaching with greater velocity and maintaining a higher velocity during penultimate and final contact, as they are better able to tolerate the larger loads associated with a faster approach.

Citation

Jones, P., Dos'Santos, T., McMahon, J., & Graham-Smith, P. (2019). Contribution of eccentric strength to cutting performance in female soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003433

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 23, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 28, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 28, 2019
• Deposit Date: Sep 30, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
• Print ISSN: 1064-8011
• Electronic ISSN: 1533-4287
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003433
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003433
• Related Public URLs: https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/default.aspx