Revealing the Relationship Between Flexibility and Leg Muscle Strength in Football Dribbling Skills

This study aimed to examine the relationship between flexibility and leg muscle strength with football dribbling skills and to determine the combined contribution of both physical components to performance. Dribbling is recognized as a complex motor skill requiring efficient biomechanical movement, dynamic balance, and adequate force production. Therefore, understanding its physical determinants is essential for evidence-based training in youth football development. A quantitative correlational design was employed. The sample consisted of 23 male football players aged 14–15 years from Bangunjiwo FA Demak, selected using a total sampling technique. Flexibility was assessed using the V-sit and reach test, leg muscle strength was measured with a leg dynamometer, and dribbling performance was evaluated through a standardized football dribbling test based on completion time. Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression analysis after meeting assumptions of normality, linearity, and multicollinearity (α = 0.05). The findings revealed significant negative correlations between flexibility and dribbling time (r = -0.489; p = 0.018) and between leg muscle strength and dribbling time (r = -0.576; p = 0.004), indicating that higher levels of flexibility and strength are associated with faster and more efficient dribbling performance. Simultaneously, both variables contributed 43.2% to dribbling skills. These results highlight the integrated role of flexibility and lower-limb strength in optimizing technical performance in adolescent football players