Don’t just sprint in a straight line: why curved running is important
A research review from the Performance Digest
- Background & Objective
- What They Did
- What They Found
- Practical Takeaways
- Reviewer’s Comments
- About the Reviewer
- Comments
Background & Objective
When training and testing sprint ability, the focus is typically on linear (straight-line) speed. However, due to the open nature of team-sports, sprinting is often completed in a curvilinear (nonstraight line) manner. As such, the aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of sprinting such as sprint angle and evaluate any positional differences in sprint angle and number of sprints in elite youth soccer players.
What They Did
Data was collected by Catapult GPS of thirteen elite youth male soccer players who compete in the U18 Premier League during six official
matches. Raw data was plotted and given coordinates when running velocity exceeded 24 km/h. This process involved:
point of the sprint (chord line).
three data points to calculate the initial
trajectory.
shape), the angle between them was then
calculated to give the angle of the
curvilinear sprint.
number of sprints between 0-5°, 5-10°, 10-
15°, and 15°+ were calculated for different positions.
What They Found
A number of key findings were reported within this
study:
various positions for sprint angle with
fullbacks performing smaller angled sprints
compared to all other positions.
performed larger angled sprints compared
to all other positions. Centre -forwards
performed a greater number of sprints
between 10-15° and 15°+ compared to all
other positions.
to centre-backs and centre-midfielders.
distances for all positions.
Practical Takeaways
Irrespective of the playing position, it appears that the average sprint angle (curve of the sprint from initial trajectory to end point) for soccer players during a match is around 5°. One of the main differences with curvilinear running/sprinting compared to linear sprinting is that the body leans inwards (as opposed to remaining more upright). Thus, players are influenced by centrifugal force and consequently need to produce a mediolateral ground-reaction force in order to counteract the centrifugal force and stay balanced whilst running. As running velocity increases, having the strength and technique to overcome these forces may be an important determinant in
curvilinear sprint performance.
The vast majority of sprint training and testing in soccer is linear, therefore, testing curvilinear sprinting alongside traditional linear sprints may help inform practitioners about players who need to further develop this skill. While the average sprint angle is around 5°, curvilinear sprints may be required to be performed up to a 30° angle. This has important implications for training, rehabilitation, or designing “worst-case scenario” drills. For example, an athlete returning from a hamstring injury may start
to introduce small angle (5-10°) accelerations alongside linear speed progressions. As the athlete progresses to maximal velocity, introducing a “worst-case scenario” sprint may involve a more aggressive 30° curved sprint to prepare them for matchplay.
Reviewer’s Comments
While linear speed is of upmost importance, not just for performance but also for hamstring health, curvilinear sprinting cannot be
forgotten. Perhaps testing could be performed similar to a “change of direction (COD) deficit” (see Performance Digest Issue #28 for more
on this topic), where time or velocity can be measured for a 20 m linear sprint and 20 m curved sprint during 1-3 different angles. Ranking the athletes based on the deficit between the linear sprint and curved sprints, then splitting them by the median score may help identify which athletes need a greater emphasis on curvilinear sprinting.
Furthermore, the skill of curvilinear running/sprinting should be trained alongside linear sprint or agility training. This may involve curved running around cones, as well as large agility games. These larger spaces may allow for higher speed agility manoeuvres, which is likely to encourage a “swerve” or curved run to evade defenders.
Want to learn more?
Then check these out…
Watch these videos
Read this article
Listen to this podcast
The full study can be read here.
Want more research reviews like this?
Every coach understands the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest sports performance research like this, but none have the time, energy, or even enjoys spending hours upon hours searching through PubMed and other academic journals. Instead, your precious time is better-spent coaching, programming, and managing all the other more important aspects of your job.
The solution…
The Performance Digest
The Performance Digest is a monthly summary of the latest sports performance research reviewed by our team of hand-selected experts. We sift through the 1,000+ studies published in the realms of sports performance every, single month and review only those which are important to you. Each monthly issues contains 19 research reviews in all of the following disciplines:
This comprehensive topic base ensures you’re constantly expanding your knowledge and accelerating your career as quickly as humanly possible. The reviews are also hyper-focused, 1-page summaries, meaning there’s no jargon or wasted time. We cut right to the chase and tell you what you need to know so you can get back to coaching.
Join the thousands of other coaches who read it every, single month. Click here to grab your FREE copy…