The Acute Effects of Different Warm-Up Protocols on Some Performance Parameters in U11-16 Soccer Players

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine the acute effects of different warm-up protocols on some physical performance parameters in the Under 11-16 (U11-16) category soccer players.

Material and Methods: The participant group of the study consisted of seventy-two male soccer players who regularly train in the U11-16 category. Soccer players randomly and counterbalanced participated in the one of the warm-up protocols of FIFA 11+, HarmoKnee, Dynamic warm-up, or Mixed warm-up on non-consecutive days. After participants performed one of the protocols, their flexibility, vertical jump, 30m sprint, and agility performances were measured. Repeated measures in the ANOVA test were used to determine intra-group differences (U11-U12-U13-U14-U15-U16) and Bonferroni test was used to decide which protocol caused a significant difference.

Results: In all underage categories, FIFA 11+, HarmoKnee, and dynamic warm-up caused a significant difference in flexibility, vertical jump, 30 m sprint, and agility compared to Mixed warm-up (p < 0. 05).

Conclusions: As a result of the study, it was shown that FIFA 11+, HarmoKnee, and dynamic warm-up protocols acutely caused a positive influence in flexibility, vertical jump, 30 m sprint, and agility in all underage categories. These three warm-up protocols may be used to prevent athletes from warm-up uniformity and monotony and support multidirectional development.