Research summary · Training and performance
Two offseason strength approaches produce similar soccer shooting-test improvements
Thirty-three Norwegian male U19 players were allocated equally to functional strength training, traditional strength training or a control group. The two training groups completed supervised 70-minute strength sessions twice weekly for eight weeks, using different exercise approaches.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Three-arm randomized controlled trial
- Journal
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
- Population / context
- Football · Male under-19 players
What the publication reports
Both training groups improved Loughborough Soccer Shooting Test time compared with controls: reported differences were −0.43 seconds for functional training and −0.50 seconds for traditional training. Improvements were comparable between approaches. Traditional training also increased body mass relative to controls. These results support more than one route to offseason physical preparation, without establishing one method as superior.
Limits and interpretation
Each arm contained only 11 players. Controls stopped organized training during the final four weeks, complicating comparisons with continuing training. A shooting test is not match performance, and findings cannot be assumed to apply to female or adult elite players.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Comparison of Functional and Traditional Strength and Power Training on U19 Soccer Players During Offseason in Norway: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42899830DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005676Reader discussion
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