The primary purpose of the this study was to explore the effects of a solely repeat sprint training (RST) regime compared to combined training (COM) consisting of RST, aerobic interval- , continuous aerobic- & explosive leg power-training on various physical parameters of football conditioning. Forty-six male college level football players (22 ± 2 years; 66 ± 8 kg; 52 ± 6 ml/min/kg) participated in the study. Players were allocated to either a RST, COM or control (CON) group. Players trained for six-weeks during the pre-season phase. Outcome variables assessed included aerobic capacity, yo-yo intermittent recovery test 2 (YYIRT2), 30-meter sprint, agility and explosive power. Both the RST and COM training groups significantly improved distance ran on the YYIRT2 and the maximum velocity on the VO2 max test compared to CON after six weeks of training (p<0.01). Only the RST group improved VO2 max compared to CON (p<0.05). No other significant between-group differences were found. Conditioning coaches of sub-elite football players have the opportunity to use either RST or COM training during the preparation of their players in the pre-season but RST provides an additional benefit of improved VO2 max and which has also been shown to correlate with physical performance in elite football matches.

Keywords : Sprint Performance, Physical Preparation