The aims of the study were to examine: how many and which steps are needed to initiate and complete accelerations and turnings at different angles at different approach speeds; and how an intended turning angle and approach speed influence the magnitude of the actual turning angle in each step. Eight soccer players participated in the study. They performed acceleration and turnings: 1) from a standstill; 2) while already jogging; and 3) while already running on an outdoor soccer field. The speeds and angles were calculated from the data obtained from the high-end Global Navigation Satellite System. The high correlation between the intended turning angle and actual turning angle indicated the major turning steps during a turn. The intended turning angle revealed a large effect on the magnitude of the turning angle during the side-step (r = 0.995, p < 0.01) and the following step (r = 0.950, p < 0.01) for acceleration and turning from a standstill, and during the first two steps following the side-step for starts made while already jogging (r= 0.919, p < 0.01; r = 0.952, p < 0.01) and running (r = 0.897, p < 0.01; r = 0.881, p < 0.01). Further, a major part of the turning began earlier at a lower approach speed, which allowed the turning to be more quickly completed. In conclusion, the effect of acceleration with turning on the turning angle could already be seen two steps before and up to two steps after the major turning steps during a turn.
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