As part of his dissertation on ankle and hip mobility, Jules Vanhonnacker (physical trainer at the Clermont Foot training centre in France) wanted to analyse the influence of sprint performance in young soccer players. The protocol extended over twelve weeks, divided into two six-week phases, one devoted to the ankle, the other to the hip: “Exercises to strengthen and improve the mobility of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the foot, exercises they were not necessarily familiar with, were introduced. A whole range of exercises performed as an activation routine several times a week before training. The players cooperated very well. The results are positive." In terms of performance, even if the data is not significant, the physical trainer noted a 5% decrease in times over distances of 5 and 10 metres. From a health perspective, the results are particularly interesting: "Comparing the data from the period when the protocol was applied with those from the previous year, under equivalent conditions, we note a decrease in muscle pain, growth pathologies, tendon problems and muscle injuries. So there is an interest not only in terms of performance, but also in injury prevention."
Brief
Physical trainer Jules Vanhonnacker wanted to analyse its influence on the sprint performance of Clermont Foot's young footballers (from U16 to reserve) / ©DR