Association Between Match Activity, Endurance Levels and Maturity in Youth Football Players

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine the associations between maximal and submaximal field tests with match physical activity and biological maturation in youth football players. Sixty-eight youth football players (U14, U15, U16, U17) performed maximal and submaximal field endurance tests. Biological maturity was estimated calculating the distance from peak height velocity (Y-PHV). Physical match activities were tracked using GPS units and players’ post-match rate of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded. Mainly moderate associations were found between field tests and match activities. Large correlations were found between Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 1, distance covered at high and very high-speed running, the quantity of very high and maximal metabolic power running. Small to moderate associations between match activities and Y-PHV were observed. The magnitude of correlation between match activities and field tests increased from moderate to large when matches with an RPE>5 were considered. The results provide further evidence of the association between young football players’ aerobic performance and match work rate. Submaximal field tests demonstrate ecological validity and may constitute a practical alternative to performing maximal tests. Maturation was found to have a moderate effect on youth players’ match work rate.

Maturity-associated considerations for training load, injury risk, and physical performance in youth soccer: One size does not fit all

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COVID-19-Related Restrictions and Quarantine COVID-19: Effects on Cardiovascular and Yo-Yo Test Performance in Professional Soccer Players

“…Previous reports indicated that straight line sprinting is categorized as acceleration, deceleration and maximal running speed (Haugen et al, 2014). Yo-Yo test has a higher ecological validity and reliability (Castagna et al, 2019;Francini et al, 2019), since soccer matches performance analyses have shown that >90% of all sprints in games are shorter than 20 m, acceleration and deceleration capabilities are essential for soccer athletes (Modric et al, 2019). Still, the importance of peak velocity increases during the game when sprints start from a jogging or non-stationary condition (Datson et al, 2014;Palucci Vieira et al, 2019;Slimani and Nikolaidis, 2019), with the Yo-Yo intermittent test being useful to evaluate the physical fitness condition of soccer players in terms of levels (Redkva et al, 2018;Povoas et al, 2020;Castagna et al, 2020b), gender (Emmonds et al, 2019;Castagna et al, 2020a), and age classes (Ehlert et al, 2019;Francini et al, 2019).…”

Mathematical Method to Construct the Linear Programming of Football Training

“…Therefore, the flight speed and rotation angle are used as the parameters to establish the prediction model of football's direct free-kick trajectory under this condition. We regard the movement process of a football direct free-kick as the movement of a sphere of uniform mass in the gravitational field in the fluid [5]. When the Reynolds number is in the range of [300, 3×105], the air will fall off on both sides of the football's back and rotate in opposite directions.…”