The Effect of High Intensity Interval Training During Eight Weeks on Speed, Agility, and Acceleration in U19 Soccer Players

Aim: The aim in this study was to examine the impact of eight-week high-Intensity interval training on speed, agility, and acceleration under 19 (U19) soccer players. Materials and methods: Healthy 22 soccer players from Anadolu Selgukspor U19 football team, one of the 2nd League teams of Turkish Football Federation (TFF), participated voluntarily in this study. The soccer players taking part in the study were separated randomly into two as the experimental and control groups. It was determined that the age average of the players constituting the experimental group was 18.36 +/- 0.51 years, their height average was 1.77 +/- 0.06 m, and their body weight average was 71.76 +/- 6.52 kg while the control group's age average was 17.55 +/- 0.69 years, height average was 1.76 +/- 0.04 m, and body weight average was 70.85 +/- 5.40 kg. In the study, the soccer players forming the experimental group attended a high-intensity interval training program three days a week for eight weeks, in addition to their regular training. The players of the control group continued their normal training schedule. The soccer players taking part in the study are the players who practice five days a week and play one official match. Results: In this study, through the comparison of the values of the pre-test and post-test regarding the speed and acceleration property of the soccer players of the experimental group, it was found that their post-test values were better (p<0.05). In terms of their agility property, an improvement of pro-rata 0.008 was seen in the experimental group, while the improvement of the control group took place at the proportion of 0.004 (p<0.05). Conclusion: It has been observed that 8-week high-intensity interval training is statistically significant in the speed and acceleration of soccer players. We contemplate that the inclusion of the high-intensity interval training within the annual training schedule in the field of soccer will affect the performance of the soccer players during the season more positively.