Abstract:
A recent study aimed to examine the effect of a ten-week agility-oriented training program on selected technical skill variables among Bahir Dar University U-13 male football project players. Taking a quantitative research approach and employing an experimental research design, the study randomly assigned all 30 male football players from the project into two groups: the experimental group (EG) comprising of 15 players and the control group (CG) comprising of the remaining 15 players, chosen through census sampling techniques. The EG underwent agility-oriented training for ten weeks, while the CG did not involve in any agility-oriented training. The training regimen consisted of three 60-minute sessions per week. The technical skills: dribbling (slalom dribbling), shooting (power shooting), and passing (Mor-Christian soccer passing) were measured at the beginning (pre-test) and the conclusion of the training program (post-test). The collected data underwent analysis using SPSS version 26 software, employing paired sample t-tests and independent sample t-tests, with a significance level of 0.05. The results revealed that after the agility-oriented training program, all technical skills significantly improved among the EG (p< 0.05). Furthermore, through independent t-tests, the post-test performance of selected technical skills of the EG notably improved compared to the post-test performance of the CG. These findings suggest that ten weeks of agility-oriented training had a significant effect on the enhancement of technical skills in football players. The implications of this study could guide coaches in designing appropriate agility-oriented training programs that promote the development of technical skills.