Lower-body strength and power profiles and their relationships with shot velocity and accuracy in elite arena soccer players

TL;DR

This study explores how lower-body strength and power relate to shot velocity and accuracy in elite arena soccer players.

Contribution

It identifies distinct neuromuscular profiles for powerful and accurate shooting in professional arena soccer.

Findings

Faster shots are linked to eccentric braking capacity during countermovement jumps.

Shooting accuracy is best explained by maximal strength and reactive strength index.

Combined shooting proficiency relates to relative peak force and reactive strength.

Abstract

Soccer goals depend on the ability to strike the ball both fast and accurately, yet it is unclear which lower-body neuromuscular qualities best underpin these outcomes in professional arena soccer. This study examined how force plate–derived strength and power characteristics relate to shot velocity, accuracy, and a combined shooting proficiency score in elite arena players.

Thirty-two male Major Arena Soccer League players completed a battery of lower-body tests on dual force plates [isometric mid-thigh pull [IMTP], countermovement jump [CMJ], drop jump, and 10/5 repeated ankle hops], followed 24–48 h later by a standardized Rosch Soccer Shooting Test. Shooting outcomes were dominant-foot shot velocity (VEL; radar-derived), shooting accuracy (ACC; summed target-grid score of the best three shots), and a composite proficiency index (PROF = VEL × ACC). Pearson correlations were used to screen for redundancy among neuromuscular variables, and separate forward-entry multiple regression models (standardized predictors) were run for VEL, ACC, and PROF.

Shot velocity was significantly associated only with CMJ braking impulse (R = 0.39, R2 = 0.15, p = 0.03), indicating that players with greater eccentric braking capacity tended to strike the ball faster. Shooting accuracy was best explained by IMTP peak force and 10/5 peak reactive strength index (R = 0.60, R2 = 0.36, p < 0.001), while PROF was associated with IMTP relative peak force and 10/5 peak reactive strength index (R = 0.55, R2 = 0.31, p = 0.01).

In professional arena soccer players, faster shots were linked to superior eccentric braking ability, whereas more accurate and more proficient shooting were associated with greater maximal strength (especially relative to body mass) and ankle-dominant reactive strength. These findings highlight distinct, trainable neuromuscular profiles for powerful vs. precise shooting that can inform targeted strength and plyometric programming in high-performance soccer.

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