Effects of A 12-Week Sand-Based Training Program on Physical Fitness and Football-Specific Skills in Young Male Players: A Randomized Controlled Study

This study examined the effectiveness of a twelve-week sand training package on selected physical and football skill performance variables among college-level football players aged 17–20 years. Seventy-five male players were randomly assigned to Hill Training, Sand Training, and active Control groups (n = 25 each). All groups trained three non-consecutive days per week; the Sand Training Group completed progressively overloaded sprint, agility, plyometric, and football-specific drills on dry uncompacted sand, whereas the Control Group completed volume-matched conditioning on flat natural grass. Eleven outcomes were assessed before and after training. Analysis of covariance, with the corresponding pre-test score as covariate, showed significant adjusted group effects for all outcomes (p < .001). Compared with the Control Group, the Sand Training Group demonstrated better adjusted performance in acceleration, maximum sprint speed, speed endurance, leg explosive power, muscular endurance, agility, dribbling, passing, shooting, and right- and left-leg kicking ability. The results indicate that a structured sand training package can be an effective supplementary method for developing physical fitness and football-specific performance, although findings should be interpreted within the study design and model diagnostics.