Seasonal Variation in Physiological Fitness of a Semiprofessional Soccer Team

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate seasonal variations in physiological fitness of semiprofessional soccer players over a 12-month period. Thirteen male players were tested 5 times over a 12-month period using bioelectrical impedance, a 20-m multistage fitness test, countermovement standing vertical jump, 15-m sprint test, Illinois agility test, and sit and reach test. Significant deconditioning was apparent in all fitness variables from end of season one season to prepreseason training of the next season. Aerobic fitness, vertical jump, percent body fat, agility, and sprint performance improved from prepreseason to midseason. Significant decreases in aerobic fitness and the cessation of significant increases in vertical jump, sprint, and agility performance were shown from midseason onward. No differences between the fitness components at the end of season one and the end of season two were identified. The deconditioning apparent in all fitness parameters during the off season, together with progressive improvement in most from postpreseason to midseason would support these parameters as sport-specific fitness requirements. Such improvements suggest that the short-term demands of playing and training in the first half of the season develop fitness and these trends are similar to those for professional players. Body fat was also shown to be detrimental to sprint performance throughout the 12-month period. Further research is needed to identify if the plateau in fitness from midseason is the result of attaining the required level of fitness, fatigue, allied training, or even relative success. Enhancing off-season training may enable yearly fitness increases by at least maintaining fitness levels for the next year's preseason.

Within-Season Variation of Fitness in Elite Youth Female Soccer Players

“…Whilst our study provides novel descriptive data for elite youth female soccer players, the main focus of our study was to evaluate within-season changes in selected measures of fitness. The existing literature has reported that power, speed and agility remains unchanged over the course of a season in male soccer players [8,24]; our study provided contrasting findings with performance decrements in acceleration, sprint and CoD performance. It is possible that these decrements may be a consequence of reduced training time or increased focus on the technical aspect of performance as oppose to physiological preparation following the pre-season phase [25].…”

“…More specifically, performance level on soccer-specific tests has been found to correlate with match performance in terms of the distance covered at high-intensity -a key determinant of physical match performances -emphasizing the value of such tests to soccer performance [5,7]. The variation in fitness over the course of a season has been investigated extensively in male soccer players of different playing standard, age and nationality [6,[8][9][10][11]. In general, the existing research on male players has indicated that over the course of a season aerobic performance is improved mid-season, after which a decline is reported; whilst sprint and agility performance improve throughout the competitive season [6,[8][9][10][11].…”

“…The variation in fitness over the course of a season has been investigated extensively in male soccer players of different playing standard, age and nationality [6,[8][9][10][11]. In general, the existing research on male players has indicated that over the course of a season aerobic performance is improved mid-season, after which a decline is reported; whilst sprint and agility performance improve throughout the competitive season [6,[8][9][10][11]. However, much of the research has focused on only few components of fitness, which does not present a holistic evaluation of the players in the respective studies.…”

Is Self-Administered Rating Scale for Pubertal Development a Predictor of Countermovement Jump in Young Soccer Players?

“…Given that the care of physical training places a heavy burden on the physiological and psychological responses of athletes [43], particular attention should be placed on the administration of training load. Bunc et al [44] showed that the parameters that characterize the body composition may better reflect the changes in the quality and quantity of the imposed training load and/or training state than the maximal functional variables in soccer players and thus may be used like a supplementary criterion of imposed training effectivity.…”

Agility training in football players: a systematic review

“…Pretemporada, temporada, fuera de temporada Se observa que la agilidad se puede mejorar tanto en pretemporada, no solo en futbolistas semiprofesionales (Caldwell & Peters, 2009), sino también en futbolistas profesionales (Silva et al, 2014), como a lo largo de la temporada (Silva et al, 2011) y fuera de temporada (Jones, Matthews, Murray, Van Raalte, & Jensen, 2010).…”