The Effects of a Six-Week Preparatory Period on the Transformation of Speed and Agility Ability in Senior Female Soccer Players

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the effects of a six-week preparatory period on the development of speed and agility in female soccer players of “Emina” Women’s Soccer Team of Mostar (n=18), who competed in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the season 2021/22. In the research, variables were applied to determine the basic characteristics of female soccer players: Age (years), Height (cm), Mass (kg), BMI (kg/m2), to assess speed ability: Sprint 5m (s), 10m (s), 20m (s) and agility: 10x5 m test (s), Zig-Zag test (s) and 505 test (s). The average age of female soccer players was 21.27 ± 4.57 years, average height 167.2 cm ± 5.82 cm and average weight 60.4 kg ± 7.36 kg. The dependent samples T-test was run to determine the statistical significance of the differences in arithmetic means between the initial and final measurements. The reported results of the T-test showed that after the six-week preparatory period, the test subjects had a lower mass (t=3.027; df=17; sig.= 0.008; p≤ 0.05) and BMI (t=2.253; df=17; sig.= 0.038; p≤ 0.05). Statistically significant differences at the level of p≤ 0.05, after the program had been completed, were reported for the agility tests 10x5m (t=3.125; df=17; sig.=0.006) and 505 test (t=3.028; df=17; sig.= 0.008). In other variables, positive changes were reported, but they were not statistically significant at the p≤ 0.05 level. We concluded that the six-week preparatory period program produced statistically significant changes in the area of ​​agility and that the training should focus more on improving speed and speed endurance in the given sample of female football players.