Effects of Eight Week Plyometric Training on Shooting and Long Passing Accuracy of under- 17 Tesfa Male Soccer Project at Bahir Dar

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the Effects of Eight Weeks of Plyometric Training on Shooting and Long Passing Accuracy of the under -17 Male Tesfa Soccer Project at Bahir Dar. The study engaged a quantitative research approach and a true experimental research design. The target population of this study was 24 (n = 24) male soccer project trainees in Bahir Dar. Due to the small numbers of study population, all trainees were taken using comprehensive sampling techniques. 24 male soccer trainees were divided in to two equal groups, such as EG (N = 12) and CG (N =12) by means of randomization. Both groups undergo programs. The experiment group (EG) performed additional plyometric training for eight weeks, 3-days per week for a total of 60 minutes. The experimental and control group of the study participated in the selected technical skill before and after the training. Shooting accuracy was measured by using the front set ball shot test, and long pass accuracy using accurately kicking the ball to the team meat test. This data was analyzed through SPSS version 23 software by paired sample t-test and independent sample t- test of with a significant level of 0.05. The analyzed data showed that plyometric training significantly improved shooting accuracy long and passing accuracy in the pre-test and post-test performance of EG (p<0.05).But, no significant improvements were found in all selected technical skill variables to the pre-post-test performance of CG (P>0.05). In addition, as it was assessed by the independent t-test, the post-test performance of shooting accuracy and long passing accuracy of EG more significantly improved than post-test CG group tests( p<0.05). Based on this finding, it can be concluded that 8 weeks plyometric training had positive effect on shooting accuracy and long passing accuracy of soccer players. Therefore, it is recommended that soccer players and coaches should include some plyometric exercise in their training sessions for development of the technical skills of players.