The effect of HRVB training on young soccer players' skill performance

ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) training on selected soccer skills performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of HRVB on soccer players’ reactive motor skill test (RMST), sprint time, reactive agility, passing time, and passing accuracy. Participants of this study were Malaysian high school soccer players (n = 32), with mean age of 15.21 ± 1.85, who were assigned randomly into two groups: Experimental groups and control group. Each group had 16 players who were assigned randomly through the fishbowl method. A pre-test and post-test design was used in this study to evaluate the effect of training on the players’ skill performance. The experimental group received HRVB training for 8 weeks in addition to their regular soccer training, while the control group only attended their regular soccer training. The experiments developed in this study consisted of a 10-min breathing exercise using the Elite HRVB app to feedback players’ breathing to 5.5–6 BPM resonant breathing. After the 8 weeks of training were completed, the RMST was administered to all participants to measure the changes in their RMST, sprint time, reactive agility, passing time, and passing accuracy. The data were analyzed with a factorial MANOVA test to evaluate the differences within and between groups. Research questions of the study were supported, and statistically significant effects of experimental training on players’ performance were demonstrated. The multivariate results were statistically significant differences between and within groups, F(5, 26) = 60.665, P ≤ 0.001, Wilks’ Λ = 0.079. Furthermore, the univariate interaction effects result showed that all the dependent variables have statistically significant differences individually between experimental and control group as well as within experimental group. There was a statistically significant interaction effect between tests and type of intervention for RMST, F(1, 30) = 119.692, P = 0.001, sprint time, F(1, 30) = 47.686, P = 0.001, reactive agility, F(1, 30) = 218.332, P = 0.001, passing time, F(1.30) = 42.354, P = 0.001, and passing accuracy, F(1, 30) = 21.544, P = 0.001. The pre-test-post-test results showed that RMST, sprint time, reactive agility, passing time, and passing accuracy were statistically difference within experimental group. The findings of this study provide evidence that 8 weeks of HRVB training significantly improved soccer players’ RMST, sprint time, reactive agility, passing time, and passing accuracy test results.

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