Heart rate and activity profile for young female soccer players

Abstract

The physical and physiological demands of high-level male soccer have been studied extensively, while few studies have investigated the demands placed on females during match-play, however, there is no information available about the heart rate and activity profile of young female soccer players during match play. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine cardiovascular (heart-rates HR) and physical demands of young female soccer players during a match. Players were observed during a friendly competitive match (7-a-side) over 2 x 25-min halves. Match activities were assessed with Global Position System technology (1Hz). Result showed that young female soccer players attain 88±4.4% and 86.3±4.8% of HRmax during the first and second half respectively (P=0.3), the average heart rate was 87%. During the first and second half, they covered 2072±197 m and 1905±144 m (P<0.001) respectively. At speed faster than 13 km/hr, they covered 132.6 m and 116 m during the first and second halves respectively (P=0.4). The results show that, during competitive matches, YFPs experience a cardiovascular load similar to that reported for adolescent male soccer players and professional female soccer players. However match work-rate (total distance covered and distance at a speed of >13 km/h) resulted lower than that previously reported for age-matched male soccer players and elite female soccer players. This seems to indicate that gender and competitive level differences in match physical performance seem to occur mainly in the absolute match work-rate domain.Key words: female soccer, match analysis, physiological stress, GPS.Reference Data: Barbero-Álvarez, J.C., Gómez, M., Barbero, V., Granda J. y Castagna C. Heart rate and activity profile for young female soccer players.

Heart Rate Responses and Technical-Tactical Aspects of Official 5-A-Side Youth Soccer Matches Played on Clay and Artificial Turf

“…Considering that even under most environmental conditions of elite match play fluid loss is minimal, metabolite accumulation remains fairly constant, and core temperature does not reach levels considered critical (17), it could be unfeasible to attribute to thermal stress the high HR values recorded in children during the two 15-minute match periods, which were organized under mild environmental conditions (ambient temperature around 12°C; humidity around 63%). In line with the findings of previous studies (5,9,16), the HR showed no difference between the 2 periods, indicating that a 15-minute match play has a duration that does not induce a variation in HR responses during the subsequent 15-minute period, despite the high intensity demands of the 5-a-side competition.…”

“…In agreement with the literature on youth soccer competitions (5,6,9,10,39), the 5-a-side match posed a high load on the 8-year-old players, who maintained for half of the playing time intensity of efforts .85% of individual HR peak . In elite players, HR responses ,85% and .85% of individual HR max have been used to estimate the duration of aerobic and anaerobic work carried out, respectively (3).…”

“…Thus, youth soccer trainings should prioritize the development of basic motor abilities, improvement of soccer skills, and increase of the fitness level of young players (8,11,19,40). Accordingly, youth competitions should also be based on a progression, where the demands of the matches are sequentially linked to meet the physiological characteristics of the young players and to facilitate the development of their technical-tactical skills (5,9,10,39).…”

“…For this reason, the Italian Soccer Federation has differentiated the rules of youth matches in relation to the age of the children (i.e., 8-12 years) by reducing the number of players (range: [5][6][7][8][9], the pitch (range: 45 3 25-65 3 70 m), and goal (range: 3 3 2-6 3 2 m) dimensions, the ball size (number 4), and the match duration (range: 45-60 minutes, organized in 3 periods) (18). In particular, the first official Italian youth tournament (i.e., ''Pulcini'') is organized for 8-year-old players, who engage in 5-a-side matches (i.e., 4 outfield players and 1 goalkeeper) played on a 45 3 25-m pitch (18).…”

Caracterização métrica em futebolistas Sub-15

“…O estudo de Castagna et al (2003) investigou o perfil de atividade em 12 jovens futebolistas (idade média de 11.8 anos), que foram monitorados durante 11 partidas oficiais, com duração de 30 minutos, e a distância média percorrida ascendeu a 6175 m. Barbero et al (2008) registaram, em 12 jovens jogadoras de futebol (idade média de 12.1 anos), durante um jogo não oficial de 2 períodos de 25 minutos, avaliadas com a tecnologia do GPS (1Hz), que durante o primeiro e o segundo tempo, elas cobriram 2072 e 1905 m, respectivamente. Ao analisar os resultados do presente estudo com os citados acima, verificamos que os valores da nossa amostra foram superiores.…”