Determining the relationship between maximal force and velocity to sprint running in elite women’s soccer

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of acceleration (ACC) and maximal sprint speed (MSS) in elite women soccer players, utilizing Force-velocity (F-V) profiling, strength measure and bodyweight jumps. 39 elite women’s soccer players (24.3 ± 4.7 years) performed 40-metre (m) sprint testing with time intervals taken at the 10-m (acceleration - ACC), 30-m and 40-m marks (ie. 30-40-m segment as maximal sprint speed – MSS), five progressive loaded squat jumps (SJ) at increasing loads to determine individual F-V relationship and a countermovement jump (CMJ) test. From the F-V profile, theoretical maximal velocity (V0), theoretical maximal force (F0), maximal power (PMax) the one repetition maximal (1RM) back squat and 1RM relative to body mass was determined. ACC and MSS were highly correlated (r = 0.71, CL 0.55 to 0.82, P