An Examination of Training Load, Match Activities, and Health Problems in Norwegian Youth Elite Handball Players Over One Competitive Season

Abstract

Talent development is integral to the policy and organizational practice of competitive sport, but has also been associated with excessive amounts of training and competition, and athlete injuries and illnesses. The lack of available prospective data on the training and match activities of youth athletes and their health problems is therefore of concern. The aim of this study was two-fold: (a) to examine the amount and frequency of training load, match activities, injury and illness incidence, and prevalence among Norwegian youth elite handball players over the course of the 2018–2019 competitive season; and (b) to explore whether the injury rates are related to the sex or competition level of players, or their membership of the youth international team. We recruited 205 handball players (64% female, 36% male), aged 15–18 years (17.2 years ± 0.9) from five different sport school programs in southeast Norway. Data were collected daily from September 2018 to May 2019, during the competitive handball season. The variables included types of athlete activities, the number of activities, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and the duration of training and matches. Injury and illness data were collected weekly using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) questionnaire. The mean number of matches per week per player was 0.9 ± 1.29; the number of weekly training events was 6.1 ± 4.4; and the mean weekly session RPE was 986 ± 1 412 arbitrary units. The players reported a total of 472 injuries, and the mean number of injuries per player was 2.3 ± 2.9. The results demonstrated a 53% weekly injury prevalence, of which 38% were categorized as substantial injuries. Male players and players who participated at the highest level of senior competition and/or the youth international team reported significantly lower weekly incidences of health problems, compared to other players. Our findings showed that players enrolled in sport school programs are exposed to high training and competition loads, and that both general and substantial health problems are common. The potential implications for talent development and future research are discussed.

Illness prevalence and symptoms in youth floorball players: a one-season prospective cohort study involving 471 players

“…We observed a slightly higher weekly illness prevalence in female youth floorball players than males (13% vs 11%), and our findings concur with the results from several different sports in Norwegian youth elite athletes 8 18. In elite adult sports as well, female athletes appear to be more prone to illness,9 yet the influence of sex on illness prevalence remains unclear in elite youth sports 10–13.…”

“…The average weekly illness prevalence was 12%, which is comparable to Norwegian youth elite athletes participating in technical sports (10%),8 but higher than for Norwegian elite youth athletes participating in team sports (8%–9%),8 18 Dutch junior tennis players (6%),10 and Irish elite youth track and field athletes (7%) 19. The Swedish floorball season runs from September to March (autumn and winter months) when illness is more prevalent compared with summer months when athletics and tennis are played.…”

Methodological implications of adapting and applying a web-based questionnaire on health problems to adolescent football players

“…Comparable studies with the OSTRC-O or OSTRC-H have shown a higher response rate among adult athletes [ 10 – 14 ]. A higher response rate was also found in studies with younger athletes [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 16 – 18 , 24 , 25 ]. Some of these studies, however, relied heavily on parental engagement [ 1 , 18 ], weekly follow ups and methods to collect data retrospectively (e.g., interviews; weekly follow-ups) [ 2 , 6 , 18 ].…”

“…Additionally, a range of elite sport organizations have employed the tools in their sport injury research and clinical health monitoring programmes [ 15 ]. In recent years, the two questionnaires have also been applied to children and adolescents of different sport contexts [ 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 , 16 – 18 ]. Most of these studies, however, applied the questionnaires without reporting any consideration regarding methodological suitability and implications for application.…”

Not straightforward: modelling non-linearity in training load and injury research

“…We obtained training load and injury data collected from three cohorts: Norwegian elite U-19 football players (n=81, 55% male, mean age: 17 years, SD: 1 year), 12 one male football team from the Norwegian Premier League (n=36, mean age: 26 years (SD: 4)) 13 and elite youth handball players recruited from Norwegian sports high schools (n=205, 36% male, mean age: 17 years (SD: 1)). 14 These cohorts were followed for 104, 323 and 237 days, respectively, during the competitive season.…”