THE EFFECT OF CORE STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM ON BALANCE AND FLEXIBILITY PERFORMANCE IN YOUNG FOOTBALL PLAYERS

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a core strength training program on balance and flexibility performance in young football players. A total of 20 licensed male football players between the ages of 18 and 21 who were doing regular football training participated voluntarily in the study. Participants were randomly divided into two groups as experimental (n:10, age: 18.80±0.91) and control (n:10, age: 19.60±1.34) groups. The experimental group received a core strength training program in addition to football training 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Both groups continued their normal football training. Balance and flexibility values were measured before and after the core strength training program. Balance performances of the subjects were measured with Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and Flamingo Balance Test (FBT). Flexibility performance was measured with Sit and Reach test. SPSS 22.0 package program was used to obtain statistical results. Shapiro-Wilk test was used for normality test. Paired Samples T test was used for intra-group comparisons and Independent Samples T Test was used for inter-group comparisons. Significance level was determined as p