Association of Short-Passing Ability with Athletic Performances in Youth Soccer Players

Purpose: this study was designed to examine the relationship between multiple short-passing ability [measured using the loughborough soccer passing test (lspt)] and athletic performances in youth soccer players. methods: forty-two young soccer players (age 14.8±0.4years) performed the lspt, the squat-jump (sqj), the counter movement jump (cmj), the 30m sprints (with 5m and 20m split times also recorded), the 15m agility run (agility-15m), the 15m ball dribbling (ball-15m), the illinois agility test (iagt) and the yo-yo irt level 1 tests. results: lspt total performance (lspt tp) showed significant positive correlation with 5m, 20m, and 30m sprint times, agility-15m, ball-15m and illinois agility test (r=0.60, r=0.58, r=0.49, r=0.75, r=0.71 and r=0.72; p<0.01, respectively). significant negative correlation were found between lspt tp and sqj and cmj (r=−0.62 and r=−0.64; p<0.01, respectively). it was determined that agility-15m, illinois agility test and ball-15m were the most effective factors associated with lspt tp among other factors in multiple regression analysis. conclusion: this study showed that lspt tp of young elite soccer players is determined by their agility abilities, thus enabling this test to be used for talent identification purposes.