The Trend of Speed and Agility Development in Football Players

Amel Jazvin

The aim of this research was to determine the trend of development of speed and agility in football players. The study was conducted on a sample of 68 football players aged 12 to 16 years. The research was transversal in nature, meaning that the results were obtained through measurements taken at a single point in time for players aged 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 years.

Two variables from the domain of morphological characteristics were measured, along with three variables for speed assessment and one variable for agility assessment.

Based on the analysis of central and dispersion parameters and the comparison of arithmetic means for speed and agility variables across different age groups, the results of the 5-meter sprint showed that the lowest average value was recorded among 13-year-old football players (1.27 m/s), while a positive developmental trend was observed from ages 12, 14, 15, and 16 years (1.22 > 1.24 > 1.13 > 1.10 m/s).

For the 10-meter sprint, the same average values were recorded at ages 12 and 14 (2.04 m/s), while the developmental trend continued through ages 15 and 16 (1.90 > 1.86 m/s). The lowest sprint value at 5 meters was recorded among 13-year-old players.

Analysis of the 20-meter sprint variable showed a negative trend in sprint development. Fourteen-year-old football players achieved the best average result, followed by players aged 12 and 13, while players aged 15 and 16 achieved the lowest average values.

For agility assessment (zig-zag run without the ball), the lowest average value was observed among 13-year-old players (6.39 m/s), whereas a positive developmental trend was recorded from ages 12, 14, 15, and 16 years (6.21 > 6.14 > 6.10 > 5.98 m/s).