ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine the differences in speed and high-intensity running ability following a six-week, two-days-per-week repeated sprint protocol of ground-based versus treadmill-based repeated sprint training. Subjects were randomly assigned to the Treadmill Training (TT) group or the On-Field ground-based training (GBT) group using simple computer-generated randomization. In female soccer the ability to perform many short-duration, high-intensity runs and sprints is a predictor of performance, differentiating between higher and lower levels of play in the sport. Repeated measures of student's t-test statistical analyses of pre- and post-training sprint performance and high-intensity running ability were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 22.0. Similarly, there were significant improvements in the high-intensity running ability of the players following both TT and GBT. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that TT produced a significantly greater increase in running speed, with a small but also greater increase in high-intensity running ability than on-field GBT.
