The effects of resisted sprint training programs on vertical jump, linear sprint and change of direction speed in male soccer players: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to observe the effects of resisted sprint training (RST) on jump ability, linear sprint, and change of direction speed (CODS) performance in male soccer players. PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and SportDiscus electronic databases were used as information resources from interception until 30 October 2023. A PICOS (participants, intervention, comparators, outcomes, and study design) approach was used to rate studies’ eligibility. The results of the overall effects on RST showed a significant and moderate improvement between pre- and post-test on full sprint time [effect size (ES) -0.85 (95% confidence interval (CI) – 1.62, -0.09), Z=2.20 (P= .03)]. Resisted sprint training was associated with significant moderate improvement in CODS [ES -0.92 (95% CI – 1.63, -0.20), Z=2.51 (P= .01)]. Pooled effects of RST on vertical jump height performance showed small and not significant improvements between pre- and post-test [ES 0.28 (95% CI – 0.17, 0.73), Z=1.23 (P= .22)]. Also, regarding the moderator variables, the subgroup analysis suggested high levels of between-group heterogeneity only with session volume in sprint time and CODS performance. Resisted sprint training effectively enhances linear sprint time and CODS performance in male soccer players, whereas this improvement was not significant for vertical jump height.