Player Position Affects Relationship Between Internal and External Training Loads During Division I Collegiate Female Soccer Season

Abstract

Ishida, A, Travis, SK, Draper, G, White, JB, and Stone, MH. Player position affects relationship between internal and external training loads during Division I collegiate female soccer season. J Strength Cond Res 36(2): 513-517, 2022-The purpose of this study was to investigate how competition phase and player position affect the relationship between internal and external training loads (ITL and ETL, respectively) in collegiate female soccer. Seventeen players participated (21.8 6 1.7 years; 165.1 6 6.2 cm; and 63.7 6 7.9 kg). Nineteen match-plays (10 nonconference and 9 conference) were completed during the 2019 competitive season, including 270 observations of 17 players (defenders 5 5, midfielders 5 9, and forwards 5 3). Internal training load was assessed using session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE). External training load included total distance and high-speed running (HSR) distance. A linear mixed model was compiled with fixed effects of total distance, HSR, competition phase, and player position (defenders, midfielders, and forwards) and random effects of player. There were statistically significant main effects for total distance (p , 0.001), HSR (p 5 0.047) and player position (p 5 0.045) on the prediction model of sRPE. However, the main effect of competition phase did not statistically contribute to the prediction model of sRPE (p 5 0.38). In the final model, total distance (p , 0.001) and player position for forwards (p 5 0.008) were significant predictors of sRPE. However, there was no statistically significant fixed effect of HSR on sRPE (p 5 0.15). The final model explained 60.6% of the variance in sRPE (R 2 5 0.60), whereas the random effect also explained 6.1% of the variance (R 2 5 0.06). Our findings indicated that total distance and player position were strong predictors of sRPE. The relationship between ITL and ETL should be monitored by player position in female soccer players.

Differences across Playing Levels for Match-Play Physical Demands in Women’s Professional and Collegiate Soccer: A Narrative Review

“…Total sprint distances covered during match-play for DI athletes varies throughout the literature, ranging from 86 m ± 81 m [ 30 ] to 401 m ± 158 m [ 10 ] to 747 m ± 387 m [ 27 ] per match, due to differing definitions of speeds designated as a “sprint” (definitions include ≥22 kph [ 30 ], >10 kph [ 10 ], >18 kph [ 27 ],). Per position, forwards had sprint (>18 kph) distances between 608 m ± 199 m [ 26 ] and high-speed running (>15 kph) distances of 682 m ± 492 m [ 12 ], midfielders covered between 256 m ± 75 m [ 26 ] and 595 m ± 428 m [ 12 ], and defenders had the widest range with 277 m ± 61 m [ 26 ] to 734 ± 367 m [ 12 ] per match. The larger variation in sprint distances for midfielders and defenders is due to different definitions of sprint/high speed and player descriptions.…”

“…In order to implement evidence-based training practices and optimize training stress, understanding the physical demands of a sport is critical. Considering the sport of soccer, match-play data can provide objective measures of match-play demands, can reveal positional differences during match play, can help coaches identify changes in performance over time, and can help guide player management strategies [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Objective data for match-play demands (also referred to as external load, which includes total distance, sprint distance, top speed, number of sprints/explosive efforts, and Player Load, among others) are relatively easy to capture with GPS microtechnology which has become commonplace in professional and collegiate settings.…”

“…The physical demands of professional and collegiate male soccer athletes have been studied extensively for over 35 years [ 1 , 10 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Less information exists regarding the physical demands of female soccer athletes at the professional level [ 11 , 24 , 25 ] and NCAA Division I (DI) level [ 10 , 12 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], and even less evidence exists specific to NCAA Division II (DII) [ 2 ] and NCAA Division III (DIII) [ 31 , 32 ]. The lack of research on female players at each playing level substantiates the need for a narrative review that explores and summarizes match-play demands across playing levels for women’s soccer.…”

Minutes Played Should be Used for the Calculation of Session Rating of Perceived Exertion During Matches in NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer

“…Due to the suggested positional differences in physical demands, we investigated whether the team's staff may potentially need to adjust their calculations based on position in order to accurately assess internal training load 19,24,35 . A recent investigation by Ishida et al 35 , aimed to verify how competition phase and athlete position affect the relationship between internal and external training loads. The authors concluded that athlete position affects the relationship between internal and external training loads during collegiate women's soccer matches 35 .…”

“…A recent investigation by Ishida et al 35 , aimed to verify how competition phase and athlete position affect the relationship between internal and external training loads. The authors concluded that athlete position affects the relationship between internal and external training loads during collegiate women's soccer matches 35 . In the current study, TD was strongly positively correlated with sRPE-TL using 'minutes played' in the defender group.…”