MAS and MANS Predicts Repeated Sprint Ability in Youth Soccer Players.

Unlabelled: The study investigated the impact of maximal aerobic speed (MAS) and maximal anaerobic sprint (MANS) on repeated sprint ability (RSA) in soccer.

Methods: 17 amateur-to semi-professional soccer players, age 19 (± 4) years, were tested for maximal oxygen consumption (VO), oxygen cost of running (C), RSA consisting of 15·20m sprint each divided by a 100 seconds dribble track, and 40-meter sprint performance. MAS was calculated as VO · C, and MANS was defined as the highest velocity in the 40-meter sprint.

Results: There was a strong correlation between MAS and average 20-meter RSA velocity ( = 0.760; < 0.01), and between MAS and performance decrement ( = -0.648; < 0.01). The product of 0.5MAS + 0.5MANS exhibited the strongest correlation with RSA ( = 0.813; < 0.01).

Conclusion: The combination of MAS and MANS strongly predicted RSA. High-intensity aerobic interval training (HIIT) and maximal strength training (MST) are recommended to improve MAS and MANS, and could thus lead to better RSA on the soccer field.