Repeated Sprint Ability in Italian youth soccer players

Aim: Considering that the Italian Soccer Federation differ the youth soccer competition in relation to the chronological age (i.e., 8–12 years) by reducing the number of players (range: 5–9), the pitch (range: 45x25–65x70 m), and the match duration (range: 45–60 min, organized in 3 periods) (F.I.G.C. 2016), the aim of the present study was to investigate the difference in Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA) of youth Soccer Players. Methods: 45 young male Italian Soccer Players (Age: 11 ± 1 years; High: 145 ± 11 cm, body mass: 38.8 ± 10.2 kg; BMI 18.12 ± 2.5 kg/m2) grouped on age categories (‘‘Pulcini A’’ -9 years- , ‘‘Pulcini B’’ -10 years-, ‘‘Esordienti A’’ -11 years-, ‘‘Esordienti B’’ - 12 years-) were analysed in this study. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) among categories was applied to assess statistical differences (p.05) in global RSA performance (total time -TT) and the fatigue index percentage (%IF). Bonferroni’s post hoc analysis was used to identify differences between means. Results: Significant differences were found in TT (F(3,41) = 18.6; p.001) and in %IF (F(3,41) = 4.4; p = 0.009) among categories. In TT no differences emerged within ‘‘Pulcini’’ and ‘‘Esordienti’’ categories (‘‘A’’ Vs ‘‘B’’), while %IF showed significant differences only between ‘‘Pulcini B’’ and ‘‘Esordienti B’’. Conclusions: Considering that RSA is one of the most important indicators in discriminating elite players from subelite players (Da Silva et al. 2010), different number of trials within the set or different exercise to rest ratios should be adopted in training sessions to increase the RSA in youth soccer players.