The aim of the present study was to analyze the association of the sprint force-velocity profile [Hzt FV profile] variables with change of direction [COD] performance in female futsal players. Twelve female futsal players (age: 19.83 ± 4.2 years; body height: 160.75 ± 8.37 cm; body mass: 57.64 ± 8.3 kg) volunteered to be evaluated in the following assessments: Hzt FV profile, 505 test, modified 505 test [M505test] and V-cut test. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient [rs] (p < 0.05) was used to determine the relationship of the mechanical variables of the sprint (maximum power output [Pmax], maximum horizontal force production [F0] and maximum velocity [V0]) with COD performance. V0 showed a very large significant association with the 505 test (rs = -0.767; 90% CI: (-0.92 to -0.43); p < 0.01) and a large association with the V-cut test (rs = -0.641; 90% CI: (-0.86 to -0.21); p < 0.05), whereas Pmax was strongly associated with results of the 505 test (rs = -0.821; 90% CI: (-0.94 to -0.55); p < 0.01) and largely associated with the V-cut test results (rs = -0.596; 90% CI: (-0.84 to -0.14); p < 0.05). In conclusion, maximal power and velocity output during sprinting are determinant factors to successful COD in 180º and 45º cuts, thus, the Hzt FV profile should be assessed in female futsal players to better understand the influence of sprint mechanical properties on COD performance and prescribe individualized training programs
Key words
- team sports
- strength
- acceleration
- power
- velocity
Futsal is the indoor version of soccer characterized by intermittent and high intensity actions (13.7% of the total distance is covered at speed ≥ 15 km·h-1 and 8.9% ≥ 25 km·h-1) that require physical, tactical and technical efforts (Naser et al., 2017). Futsal players are required to continually accelerate, decelerate and perform quick changes in speed and direction in very short periods of time, in particular during decisive moments, such as goal-scoring opportunities (Sweeting et al., 2017; Taylor et al., 2017). Ramos-Campo et al. (2016) suggested that one factor where semi-professional female futsal players differed from professionals was in terms of agility performance, showing lower velocities during COD tests. Therefore, identifying physical capacities that determine COD may be relevant when optimizing training program interventions in futsal.
Throughout the duration of a game female futsal players are required to perform around 31 accelerations (acc) and 40 decelerations (dcc) and cover approximately 50 m of high-speed running (Beato et al., 2017), which are demands similar to those of male futsal (Barbero-Álvarez et al., 2004). Therefore, it is important to consider "stop & go" actions, requiring a high capacity for acceleration and deceleration. In this regard, it is known that the time available for performing COD decreases as the level of performance increases (Condello et al., 2013; Hader et al., 2015;
Nimphius et al., 2010) so that the COD speed (i.e. the athletes’ ability to decelerate during a running motion and immediately accelerate in another direction) is considered a performance-selective factor in futsal (Spiteri et al., 2013). Previous studies observed that faster female basketball players in COD tests showed greater eccentric, isometric and propulsive force values (Spiteri et al., 2015) which might enable them to absorb and apply force during cutting or pivoting maneuvers. Similarly, Nimphius et al. (2010) observed significant association of peak power assessed with loaded squat jumps with directional changes of 180º in female softball players. However, an inconsistent relationship has been also reported between other strength measures and COD performance which can be attributed to gender, sports level and strength assessment methods (Nimphius et al., 2010). Although the female category has been getting more popular over the last years, previous studies have specially attempted to analyze the physical qualities that influence COD performance in male players, showing that athletes with higher sprint velocities or greater maximum acceleration rates from zero to 5 m performed better in COD tests (Loturco et al., 2019). However, the use of this split time values does not bring sufficient information about the underlying muscular variables and mechanical effectiveness of horizontal ground force application (Morin and Samozino, 2016) which might determine COD performance in female futsal players.
The FV relationship during sprinting (Hzt FV profile) has recently been proposed to describe the capacity of the entire neuromuscular system to generate force at maximum speed in particular movement directions (Samozino et al., 2016) and it is summarized through the theoretical maximal force (
However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the association of the mechanical variables derived from the Hzt FV profile with COD performance in female futsal players, which can optimize specific training programs. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to analyze the association of the mechanical variables of the Hzt FV profile with COD performance through different COD tests in female futsal players.
Twelve female futsal players (age: 19.83 ± 4.2 years; body height: 160.75 ± 8.37 cm; body mass: 57.64 ± 8.3 kg) playing for the same team in the Spanish second division voluntarily participated in this study. Participants were informed of the risks and benefits of the study and gave their written consent before the initiation of the study. This study was approved by an Ethics Committee in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
The present study used a cross-sectional design to determine the association of the different variables of the Hzt FV profile (i.e.
All participants performed a standardized warm-up protocol including 5 min jogging and 5 min of lower limb dynamic stretching. Moreover, a specific warm-up was performed before each specific test (i.e. 3 progressive sprints of 30 m at 50%, 70%, 90% of the athletes’ self-perceived maximal velocity before Hzt FV profile assessment and one trial at 70% of maximum effort before both COD tests). Players recovered for 3 minutes from the end of the specific warm-up to the beginning of every test and 5-7 minutes between tests.
Data are presented as mean and standard deviation [SD]. Spearman’s correlation coefficients (rs) were used to assess the relationship between the Hzt FV profile mechanical variables and COD tests (i.e. 505 test, M505 test and V-cut test). Qualitative interpretations of rs coefficients were provided as defined by Hopkins et al. (2009): trivial (0.00 - 0.09), small (0.10 - 0.29), moderate (0.30 - 0.49), large (0.50 - 0.69), very large (0.70 - 0.89), nearly perfect (0.90 - 0.99), and perfect (1.00). The level of significance was set at
Table 1 contains the descriptive data of the mechanical variables of the Hzt FV profile and COD performance tests expressed as mean [SD].
Descriptive data of the horizontal FV profile mechanical variables as well as COD and sprint times
Female futsal players ( |
||
---|---|---|
Mean | SD | |
6.39 | 0.65 | |
7.34 | 0.59 | |
11.64 | 1.72 | |
M505test (s) | 2.82 | 0.19 |
505test (s) | 4.45 | 0.31 |
V-Cut test (s) | 7.25 | 0.58 |
20m (s) | 3.89 | 0.21 |
Table 2 shows the correlations between the mechanical variables of the Hzt FV profile and different COD performance tests (505 test, M505 test and V-Cut test). A significant association was found between
Spearman correlation between the Hzt FV profile variables and performance in the different COD tests
Test | F0 (N·kg-1) | V0 (m·s-1) | Pmax (W·kg-1) |
---|---|---|---|
-0.063 | -0.434 | -0.266 | |
M505 test | (-0.55 to 0.45) | (-0.77 to 0.08) | (-0.68 to 0.27) |
-0.518 | -0.767** | -0.821** | |
505 test | |||
(-0.81 to -0.03) | (-0.92 to -0.43) | (-0.94 to -0.55) | |
-0.315 | -0.641* | -0.596* | |
V-Cut test | |||
(-0.7 to 0.22) | (-0.86 to -0.21) | (-0.84 to -0.14) |
Figure 1 presents the largest correlations reported between mechanical variables of the Hzt FV profile and COD performance tests.
Figure 1
Strongest association between Hzt FV profile variables and COD performance. rs, Spearman’s correlation coefficient. *Correlation is significant (p < 0.05). **Correlation is significant (p < 0.01).

This study was designed to analyze the association of mechanical variables obtained from the Hzt FV profile with performance in different COD tests in female futsal players. The primary findings indicate that
Although women’s futsal competitions have been getting increasingly popular over the years, little research has been conducted to date regarding the physical qualities that determine COD performance in futsal which is of great practical interest, especially in such a physical demanding sport in which acceleration and maximal velocity capacities are of paramount importance for success (Jiménez-Reyes et al., 2019; Mohammed et al., 2014). Jiménez-Reyes et al. (2019) recently obtained reference values of the sprint mechanical properties of both male and female elite futsal players showing that males displayed higher values of
To note, the Hzt FV profile individually describes changes in external horizontal force application with increasing running velocity as well as determines mechanical effectiveness on ground force application (i.e., the maximal ratio of the effective horizontal resultant component) during the acceleration phase (Morin et al., 2012; Samozino et al., 2016). This information is relevant for the training process since the same mechanical demands are required to successful COD in maneuvers with sharper cuts such as directional changes of 180º where players need to apply a substantial amount of horizontal forces onto the ground to accelerate their body forward and shift their momentum during the braking phase (Dos’Santos et al., 2017; Spiteri et al., 2015). In this regard, our results did not show significant associations of
Sprint running acceleration mainly depends on athlete’s mechanical power output which is determined by both maximal force and velocity output (Samozino et al., 2016). Interestingly, moderate to very large associations observed between
Additionally,
This study has some limitations. First, the sample size was rather small and studies with larger samples are needed. Thus, these results are not necessarily generalizable to elite players who display greater performance in agility so that mechanical determinants might differ. Second, the relationships obtained in the present study must be contrasted in future longitudinal research. Moreover, assessing whether optimizing sprint mechanical properties directly improves performance in these COD tests is needed. Finally, there are other factors involved in COD performance such as technical skills, tactical attributes and cognitive factors that should also be considered when aiming to maximize performance in these multidimensional maneuvers.
The results of the present study indicate that the Hzt FV profile should be considered as an evaluation method to provide an integrative view of the sprint mechanical properties and a better understanding of the underpinning muscular variables that influence COD performance in female futsal players in order to individually implement training programs based on player’s FV profile deficits. For instance, in these velocity-oriented female futsal players it could be recommendable to implement exercises (e.g., heavy resisted sprints) to improve
In conclusion,
Figure 1

Spearman correlation between the Hzt FV profile variables and performance in the different COD tests
Test | F0 (N·kg-1) | V0 (m·s-1) | Pmax (W·kg-1) |
---|---|---|---|
-0.063 | -0.434 | -0.266 | |
M505 test | (-0.55 to 0.45) | (-0.77 to 0.08) | (-0.68 to 0.27) |
-0.518 | -0.767** | -0.821** | |
505 test | |||
(-0.81 to -0.03) | (-0.92 to -0.43) | (-0.94 to -0.55) | |
-0.315 | -0.641* | -0.596* | |
V-Cut test | |||
(-0.7 to 0.22) | (-0.86 to -0.21) | (-0.84 to -0.14) |
Descriptive data of the horizontal FV profile mechanical variables as well as COD and sprint times
Female futsal players ( |
||
---|---|---|
Mean | SD | |
6.39 | 0.65 | |
7.34 | 0.59 | |
11.64 | 1.72 | |
M505test (s) | 2.82 | 0.19 |
505test (s) | 4.45 | 0.31 |
V-Cut test (s) | 7.25 | 0.58 |
20m (s) | 3.89 | 0.21 |
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