Muscle Hustle: Will There Be an Increase in a Soccer Player's Calf Size and Kicking Distance after 8 Weeks of Training?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of the project was to examine whether a recreational sport such as soccer could improve a player#s physical fitness by increasing muscle strength and size and kicking distance. Methods/Materials Our voluntary subjects were our soccer team, an AYSO Girls U12 team. Eleven of the fourteen players participated in a three-phase eight-week evaluation. Three of our friends who do not play soccer were used as control subjects. Calf measurement was determined by wrapping a tape measure around the largest part of the calf. The measurement was taken three times and the mean was reported for the initial phase, mid-season (after four weeks) and at the final phase (after eight weeks). Each player drop-kicked a ball three times and the mean distance was recorded for each phase of the experiment. Results The results proved the hypothesis that there would be an increase in a soccer player#s calf circumference and kicking distance. The greatest increase in calf size was 1.25 inches; the average increase was 0.71 inch. Significant changes occurred in kicking distance at the end of phase 3 for ten of the fourteen players. Two players showed the greatest improvement, a 19-foot gain in kicking distance from phase 1 to phase 3. The average kicking distance was an increase of 9.5 feet. As expected, the three control subjects (non-soccer-playing eleven-year-old girls) did not have a significant change in calf size or kicking distance. Conclusions/Discussion Soccer is a running sport that uses many muscle groups, especially the large muscles of the leg (the gastrocnemius or commonly called the calf muscle). Over an eight-week soccer season, this experiment shows that positive changes in muscle size and strength can occur. Increasing muscle strength and size are important factors in maintaining physical fitness and endurance.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Mammalian Biology · Entry J1007

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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