Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, so this phase of sprinting is critical for changing directions as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Optimal technique for linear sprinting in the acceleration phase involves four factors that maximize stride length and frequency.

This column from TSAC Report 76, examines the performance benefits of supplementing creatine monohydrate for tactical athletes. Visit NSCA online to learn about nutrition, and performance fitness.

This NSCA Coach article outlines the best practices for Achilles recovery in soccer. Visit NSCA online to read more on athletic performance and sports recovery.

Learn about processes of data collection and presentation, and how to use the data to individualize athletes’ training. In this session from the NSCA’s 2016 National Conference, Kevin Paxton demonstrates an age-specific long-term athletic development (LTAD) syllabus for soccer players.

This article discusses the background, statistics, mechanisms, timing, dosing, influences, and practical applications for the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid.

The excerpt from Strength Training for Soccer describes the movements necessary for multidirectional speed.

This book excerpt discusses how to maximize sprint quality during training sessions.

This article in NSCA Coach examines practical strategies to mitigate LEA and enhance performance in female soccer players. Visit NSCA online to learn more on sports science and exercise research.

Sprinting is a key component for many individual and team sports. Therefore, to enhance sprint performance, various training methods are widely used by coaches and practitioners, including maximum sprint speed and resisted sprint training. Resisted sprinting with sled towing is a method that has recently received considerable attention from the sport science community. However, to date, no consensus exists regarding its acute and chronic effects in team sport athletes. This narrative review aimed to (a) review and analyze the mechanics of sprinting under unresisted and resisted conditions with a specific focus on team sport disciplines; (b) provide a thorough and applied discussion on the importance of considering acute and chronic effects of sled loading on technique, electromyographic activity, and force production, as well as on the role of muscle architecture and neural factors in sled training; (c) analyze the effects of increasing sled loads during acceleration and maximum velocity phases on contact and flight phases, while concomitantly examining kinetic, kinematic, and neuromuscular aspects, because all these factors affect each other and cannot be properly understood in isolation.

The purpose of this article is to examine the critical role of core stability in soccer performance.