Effects of a combined technique and agility program on youth soccer players' skills

High-intensity actions with high technical demand heavily influence soccer game outcomes. While performance factors have been traditionally trained separately, a program combining agility and technique training was proposed, structured on artificial constraints (tapes) creating spatiotemporal restrictions. This repeated-measures study involved an experimental and a control group: 20 Under-12 sub-elite male soccer players were tested before and after a 22-weeks differentiated training intervention or the traditional training schedule. The proposed program produced higher performance improvements, compared to traditional training, in the Shuttle Sprint Test (two-way analysis of variance, factors: Group and Time, significant Group × Time interaction, P<0.05) and in the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test execution time (-4.8%, P<0.05). Both groups improved Slalom Dribbling Test performance (P<0.001). We concluded that the proposed program could enhance performance in 180° change-of-direction and in the time to complete a controlling and passing dynamic task. The methodological implications of this study could be beneficial in improving youth soccer training effectiveness.