Essay On Soccer Power

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Power
Power is the time rate at which work is done or energy is transferred (Jones, no date). Hence, power is a mixture of both force and velocity (power= force x velocity).
Power is an essential component of soccer. Players need to be able to move swiftly while applying a great force on the muscles they are using. This combination of both speed and strength can give footballers a massive advantage on the pitch. However, there are some players that may need to possess a greater amount of power than others. Attacking players such as strikers and wingers may possess great amounts of power take opponents on and score goals. Central defenders and goalkeepers may also need the ability to generate high amounts of power to jump higher than their opponents.
Power enables football players to:
• Have a strong shot
• Have an explosive sprint
• Run by opponents
• Jump higher than opponents
There are a number of professional football players known for their exceptional power on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo being one of them. Ronaldo’s vertical jump exceeds that of the average NBA basketball player. He has the ability to jump 44cm with a standing start and 78 cm with a run-up. Amazingly; Ronaldo can generate 5G of G-force on take-off which is equivalent to 5 times the power of a cheetah in full-flight (Shergold, 2013).
The main muscles used in soccer are the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus muscles, gastrocnemius and soleus. To improve your power in soccer, these muscles need to be targeted as part of your training (Dawn, 2013).
Plyometric exercises are exercises that cause a muscle to eccentrically contract and then concentrically contract and are useful for developing power in soccer. It is important that the movements performed in the exerc...

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These results will indicate how aerobically fit/unfit each player is. Individual training programmes can be developed accordingly with some players needing more aerobic training than others. It is important to note that not all players need to be at the same level of aerobic fitness. However midfield players may need to be in the “excellent” category of normative data.
A high degree of aerobic training such as small-sided games, continuous running and interval running may be needed to reach the desired level of aerobic fitness. This test should be implemented again in the middle of pre-season training (to see if training alterations are needed) and at the end of pre-season training (to see if goals are reached). As well as this, trainers can compare results to V02 max score equivalents which is the gold-standard indicator of aerobic fitness. (Mackenzie, no date)

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