VANCOUVER, BC – Which Vancouver Whitecaps FC player recorded the fastest sprint in 2013? Who covers the most distance in games? Can anyone catch Kekuta Manneh?
The answers may surprise you.
In this day and age, there are all sorts of statistics that can be easily tracked using tools such as Prozone, soccer’s industry standard analysis software, and adidas miCoach, an application that provides real-time data about a player’s fitness and performance.
With the help of Whitecaps FC strength and conditioning coach Mike Young, we’ve compiled some of the more noteworthy stats from the past season.
Blink and you’ll miss them.
Speed:
In order to determine who has the greatest acceleration ability and down-field speed, players undergo a 30-metre sprint test with splits at 10 metres, 20 metres, and 30 metres.
- Fastest accelerator (10m from a standing start): striker Omar Salgado (running 10 m in 1.58 seconds for an acceleration of 4.01 m/s2)
- Fastest top speed (10m time w/ a 20m running start): stiker/winger Erik Hurtado (over 34 kph in testing and practice)
Young said Hurtado’s top speed makes him faster than any player ever recorded in the English Premier League (EPL). He’s one of six Whitecaps FC players who have “world-class speed,” according to Young. Here are their times over 30 metres.
- Hurtado, Salgado and Manneh all at 3.87 seconds; striker Darren Mattocks and left back Sam Adekugbe at 3.94 seconds; centre back Carlyle Mitchell at 3.99 seconds
For football fans more familiar with the 40-yard dash used at NFL combines, these players would all run about 4.5-4.65 seconds, according to Young.
- Following his surgery, centre back Jay DeMerit ran the 30-metre sprint in 4.3 seconds, but by the end of the year he had reduced his time to 4.00 seconds.
- Notably, keeper Brad Knighton is faster than most field players.
Jumping Ability:
Standing vertical leap (EPL average = 55-60 cm):
- Hurtado: 80.3 cm
- Mattocks: 77.7 cm
- DeMerit: 75.9 cm
- Manneh: 73.4 cm
- Fisk: 73.2 cm
Vertical leap with step-in (NBA average = 75 cm):
- Camilo: 87.6 cm
- Hurtado: 83.8cm
- DeMerit: 81.3cm
- Mattocks: 80.8 cm
- Fisk: 80.3 cm
Endurance:
- Based on the YoYo IR2 Test, a common test for aerobic endurance in field sports, the following players are above the “elite standard” in endurance: Aminu Abdallah, Bryce Alderson, Ben Fisk, Jordan Harvey, Greg Klazura, Ethen Sampson
- Distance covered (MLS average = 10.8 km/game): Harvey, Nigel Reo-Coker and Russell Teibertall cover in excess of 12.5 km per game.
