Strength, jumping, and change of direction speed asymmetries are not associated with athletic performance in elite academy soccer players

The aims of the present study were twofold: 1) to measure inter-limb asymmetries from a battery of fitness tests in youth soccer players and, 2) determine the association between asymmetry and measures of athletic performance. Sixteen elite youth soccer players (14.7 ± 0.2 years) performed a single leg Abalakov test (ABK), change of direction (COD) test over 10 m (5 + 5) and 20 m (10 + 10), and an iso-inertial power test. Subjects also performed 10 m, 20 m and 30 m sprints and a bilateral countermovement jump (CMJ), which were correlated with all ABK, COD and iso-inertial asymmetry scores. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA showed significant differences between inter-limb asymmetry scores across multiple tests (p 0.05) between the different inter-limb asymmetry scores, and between asymmetry scores and athletic performance. These findings show the test-specific nature of asymmetries in youth soccer players, with the iso-inertial power test being the most sensitive in detecting asymmetry. Moreover, the results obtained suggest that inherent asymmetry in young soccer players did not negatively impact their performance