BETTER

ATHLETES
MAKE BETTER
FOOTBALLERS

sparq is the performance

standard for football
WE PROVIDE ATHLETES AND COACHES WITH
SPORT-SPECIFIC PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS
AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES DESIGNED TO
MAKE PLAYERS BETTER ATHLETES FOR THEIR SPORT.

SPARQ is the performance training platform for Nike. SPARQ Testing is the entry point into a
football experience that is designed to help players develop their physical abilities and improve
their games.
With an objective assessment profile in hand, coaches and players can identify effective
fitness programmes focused on overcoming weaknesses in the individual profile, while
nurturing strengths. Objective data also provide a basis for comparison.
Individual results are important, but the power of the data is revealed in the numbers of
players tested across the sport of football and around the world. Our intent is to make testing
accessible to every footballer and the resulting data a tool for comparison, coaching and the
foundation for physical training programmes that change the way kids prepare to compete.

The combination of effective fitness and

technical/tactical training will help produce
players who are better-prepared to perform
when it counts: on the pitch.

sparq services
athletes & coaches
in these sports
FOOTBALL
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
BASKETBALL
BASEBALL
FASTPITCH
HOCKEY

SPARQ FOOTBALL

SPARQ FOOTBALL rating

In 2006, SPARQ & Nike hosted a summit attended by

some of the worlds leading PERFORMANCE
experts with the goal of developing future
football performance standards for the sport.

To allow for greater diagnostic and prescriptive power, individual test results are transformed into a standardised index of football-specific athleticism via a proprietary statistical
method. This summary index is the SPARQ Football Rating.

since 2004
over 300,000 athletes
have been tested.
+
objectives
1. Identify the key physical demands of football
2. Identify a battery of field tests which is

a. Accessible to individual players and teams

b. Suitable for boys and girls spanning a wide range of playing abilities

c. Practical for administering to large groups

d. Supported by published research and prevailing field testing practices

contributors
1. Jens Bangsbo Juventus, AEK Athens, Danish National Team
2. Ivan Carminati Inter Milan
3. Don Kirkendall FIFA
4. Luc van Agt PSV, Dutch National Team
5. GianPiero Ventrone Juventus
6. Paul Winsper Newcastle United, Toronto FC

outcome: The SPARQ Football battery

Football-specific tests of speed, power, agility and endurance capacity
1. Vertical Jump
2. 20-Metre Sprint
3. Arrowhead Agility
4. Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Boys: Level 2; Girls Level 1)

Testing and the SPARQ Rating provide a competitive element to training and are useful
motivational tools for encouraging players toward improving their physical abilities.
The Rating is also useful in tracking the effectiveness of training, providing an answer
to the questions: AM I GETTING BETTER? AND IF SO, BY HOW MUCH?

Objectives
1. Establish the connection between physical abilities and on-pitch performance in the
minds of youth footballers and their coaches
2. Establish SPARQ as the physical assessment STANDARD, providing footballers and
their coaches from around the UK with the tools and resources to improve and
compare performance

a. Partner with County FAs to adopt SPARQ Testing

b. Integrate SPARQ Testing into Professional Youth Academies

How Will Players and Coaches Benefit?

1. Theyll gain a better (and objective) understanding of the players physical strengths
and weaknesses
2. Theyll be able to compare performance amongst their squad and against other UK
footballers and global benchmarks on ukfootball.sparqtraining.com.
3. Coaches will have the opportunity to become accredited to deliver SPARQ Testing to
their squads and will be equipped with tools to get started.

PRE SEASON 2011/2012

BOOK SPARQ IN TO TEST YOUR CLUB ACADEMY SQUADS THIS COMING JUNE/JULY/AUGUST.
TESTING SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE SEVEN DAYS A WEEK THROUGHOUT PRE SEASON TRAINING.
GIVING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEASURE THE LEVEL OF FITNESS AND ATHLETICISM OF YOUR SQUAD.

WHERE DOES YOUR SQUAD STACK UP?

SPARQ TESTING WILL GIVE YOU BENCHMARKS TO MONITOR, AND RESULTS TO COMPARE AGAINST AS THE SEASON PROGRESSES.
SPARQ WILL THEN RETURN TO YOUR CLUB MID-YEAR AND END OF SEASON TO HELP YOU FULLY TRACK THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR PLAYERS.
SPARQ WILL TEST AGE GROUPS U/8S U/18S. TESTING TAKES APPROXIMATELY 60 MINUTES TO GET THROUGH THREE FULL SQUADS.

TO BOOK YOUR SPARQ TEST SESSION, CONTACT RALPH NEWBROOK ON 07900 211 420 OR ralph.newbrook@sparqtraining.com