Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Fitness Tests

20m Sprint

20 Meter / 22 yard Sprint

Physical Development Area: Acceleration and Speed.

Purpose: The aim of this test is to determine acceleration, and also a reliable indicator of speed, agility and quickness.

Equipment required: Marked area, stopwatch or timing gates, cone markers, flat and clear surface of at least 30 meters.

Procedure: The test involves running a single maximum sprint over 20 meters, with the time recorded. A thorough warm up should be given, including some practice starts and accelerations. Start from a stationary position, with one foot in front of the other. The front foot must be on or behind the starting line. This starting position should be held for 2 seconds prior to starting, and no rocking movements are allowed. The tester should provide hints to maximizing speed (such as keeping low, driving hard with the arms and legs) and encouraged to continue running hard past the finish line.

Results: Two trials are allowed, and the best time is recorded to the nearest 2 decimal places. The timing starts from the first movement (if using a stopwatch) or when the timing system is triggered, and finishes when the chest crosses the finish line and/or the finishing timing gate is triggered.

Reliability: Reliability is greatly improved if timing gates are used. Also weather conditions and running surface can affect the results, and these conditions should be recorded with the results. If possible, set up the track with a crosswind to minimize the effect of wind.

YoYo Test

YoYo Test

Physical Development Area: Endurance

Purpose: The test evaluates an individual's ability to repeatedly perform intervals over a prolonged period of time.

Equipment required: Flat, non-slip surface, marking cones, pre-recorded audio cd or mp3 Bluetooth player, recording sheets.

yo-yo intermittent test

Procedure: Use cones to mark out three lines as per the diagram above; 20 meters and 2.5 (endurance test) or 5 meters (recovery test) apart. The subject starts on or behind the middle line, and begins running 20 m when instructed by the cd. This subject turns and returns to the starting point when signaled by the recorded beep. There is a active recovery period (5 and 10 seconds respectively for the endurance and recovery versions of the test) interjected between every 20 meter (out and back) shuttle, during which the subject must walk or jog around the other cone and return to the starting point. A warning is given when the subject does not complete a successful out and back shuttle in the allocated time, the subject is removed the next time they do not complete a successful shuttle.