Change of direction frequency off the ball: new perspectives in elite youth soccer

Oliver J. Morgan; Barry Drust; Jack D. Ade; Mark A. Robinson

doi:10.1080/24733938.2021.1986635

Change of direction frequency off the ball: new perspectives in elite youth soccer

Oliver J. Morgan^*, Barry Drust, Jack D. Ade, Mark A. Robinson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Life and Environmental Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of change of directions (COD) and examine the influences of position, leg dominance and anthropometrics on COD in elite youth soccer match play.

Methods: Twenty-four elite male English Premier League (EPL) academy players (19.0 ± 1.9 years) were individually recorded during ten competitive U18s and U23s matches. Video footage of individual players was analysed using a manual notation system to record COD frequency, direction, estimated angle and recovery time. The influences of position, anthropometrics and leg dominance were accounted for.

Results: Elite youth soccer players performed on average 305 ± 50 CODs with on average 19.2 ± 3.9 seconds of recovery. The frequency of CODs was independent of position, leg dominance, anthropometry and occurred equally between left and right direction and forwards and backwards direction. CODs were mostly ≤90° (77%) and there were significantly less CODs in the 2^nd half (−29, ES = 1.23, P< 0.001). The average and peak within match demands within 15 and 5-minute periods were 49 and 62 CODs, and 16 and 25 CODs, respectively.

Conclusion: This study is the first to illustrate COD frequencies of elite youth soccer match play, providing practitioners guidance to prepare soccer players for competitive match demands.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	473-482
Number of pages	10
Journal	Science and Medicine in Football
Volume	6
Issue number	4
Early online date	4 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1986635
Publication status	Published - 2 Oct 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article. We would like to thank Liverpool Football Club for facilitating this research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

agility
Change of direction
English Premier League
match demands
soccer

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Access to Document

10.1080/24733938.2021.1986635

https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15601/

Cite this

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title = "Change of direction frequency off the ball: new perspectives in elite youth soccer",

abstract = "Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of change of directions (COD) and examine the influences of position, leg dominance and anthropometrics on COD in elite youth soccer match play. Methods: Twenty-four elite male English Premier League (EPL) academy players (19.0 ± 1.9 years) were individually recorded during ten competitive U18s and U23s matches. Video footage of individual players was analysed using a manual notation system to record COD frequency, direction, estimated angle and recovery time. The influences of position, anthropometrics and leg dominance were accounted for. Results: Elite youth soccer players performed on average 305 ± 50 CODs with on average 19.2 ± 3.9 seconds of recovery. The frequency of CODs was independent of position, leg dominance, anthropometry and occurred equally between left and right direction and forwards and backwards direction. CODs were mostly ≤90° (77%) and there were significantly less CODs in the 2nd half (−29, ES = 1.23, P< 0.001). The average and peak within match demands within 15 and 5-minute periods were 49 and 62 CODs, and 16 and 25 CODs, respectively. Conclusion: This study is the first to illustrate COD frequencies of elite youth soccer match play, providing practitioners guidance to prepare soccer players for competitive match demands.",

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N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article. We would like to thank Liverpool Football Club for facilitating this research. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

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Change of direction frequency off the ball: new perspectives in elite youth soccer

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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