Enhancing Lower Limb Strength in Amateur Soccer Players: Assessing the Impact of Repeated Sprint Training in Tactical Soccer Drills

Background. Soccer is one of the most popular sports worldwide, including among amateur players. However, many training programs still rely on traditional methods that separate physical conditioning, technical skills, and tactical drills, limiting their effectiveness. The limited research on holistic training approaches, especially regarding lower limb strength evaluation, underscores the need for training interventions based on physiological principles. Objectives. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Repeated Sprint Training (RST) in enhancing lower limb strength in amateur soccer players. Materials and methods. Thirty-six amateur soccer players with an average age of 20 years were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (RST) or the control group (CTRL). The training program lasted four weeks, with three sessions per week. Lower limb strength was assessed using the body weight squat test and the Nordic hamstring curl test. Data analysis included the Shapiro-Wilk test, Paired t-test, and Independent t-test, conducted using SPSS 29.0. Results. The RST group showed a significant improvement in performance on the body weight squat test (pre-test: 66 ± 8.60; post-test: 76 ± 6.84, p < 0.001) and the Nordic hamstring curl test (pre-test: 4 ± 1.18; post-test: 7 ± 1.41, p < 0.001). Meanwhile, in the control group, no substantial improvements were observed. Conclusions. This study concludes that Repeated Sprint Training effectively enhances lower limb strength, particularly in the hamstring muscles. The findings of this study not only contribute to a deeper understanding of soccer player training, but also have implications for the broader field of sports science. This training method can be a practical approach to improving performance and preventing injuries in amateur soccer players, and its effectiveness could potentially be applied to other sports and athletic training programs.