Comparison of Repeated Sprint Ability of Amateur Football Players According to Age and Playing Positions

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the repeated sprint ability of amateur footbal players according to age and
playing positions. For this purpose, 174 young amateur soccer players (age: 17.2±1.8 years, height: 175.8±7.5 cm,
weight: 67.0±9.8 kg) struggling in different playing positions participated voluntarily to the study. The players divided
into six categories as goalkeepers (n: 16; age: 17.4±1.4 years, height: 181.9±6.1 cm, weight: 77.4±9.8 kg), central
defenders (n: 30; age: 16.9±1.9 years, height: 179.3±8.2 weight: 69.5±11.2 kg), full-backs (n: 34; age: 17.3±1.9 years,
height: 174.9±5.9 cm, weight: 66.6±7.8 kg), central midfielders (n: 36; age: 17.9±1,6 years; height: 174.3±7.1 cm;
weight: 67.1±9.3 kg), wide midfielders (n: 30; age: 16.8±1.6 years, height: 171.5± 5.1 cm, weight: 60.8±7.4 kg) and
forwards (n: 28; age: 16.6±1.9 years, height: 175.9±8.3 cm, weight: 65.6±8.0 kg). In the study, a repeated sprint test
was used to determine the repeated sprint ability of the football players, with an in field 34.2 meter long sprint run and
a 25 second rest period after each run. In evaluating the data; descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and
kruskal-wallis tests were used. According to the analysis results; the best test time (BTT), mean test time (MTT), and
total test time (TTT) values in the repeated sprint test showed a statistically significant difference according to playing
positions and age factor (p<.05); On the other hand, fatigue index (FI) value showed a statistically significant
difference according to playing positions (p<.05), but it didn’t show any significant difference according to age (p>.05).
As a result, it can be argued that repeated sprint ability differs according to age and playing positions.