The association between training load and physical development in professional male youth soccer players: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives 1) To evaluate current physical performance tests used within professional male youth soccer; 2) to understand the relationship of these tests performance in relation to specific measures of external and internal training load (TL) to conclude if there is a subsequent change in test performance. Methods Relevant literature was searched using five electronic databases (PubMed Medline, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, CINAHL and Scopus), with additional articles identified by the authors. Articles relating to TL and physical development assessment within professional male youth soccer players were evaluated. Results Database searches yielded 5683 articles following removal of duplicates. After screening the titles, abstracts and full texts, 28 articles were identified. Both external TL (total distance, high speed distance, duration) and internal TL (rating of perceived exertion, training impulse) measures were found to be associated with improvements in physical test performance across both pre-season and in-season phases. Field-based testing was found to be sensitive to changes in physical performance for aerobic capacity, lower body power/strength and sprint performance. However, limited sensitivity to change was found when assessing player agility performance. Conclusion Future research in this area should look to enhance our understanding of the dose-response of TL with changes in fitness across different age groups in professional male youth soccer.

The development of physical characteristics in adolescent team sport athletes: A systematic review

“…However, the specific effects of aspects related to training load remain uncertain in this population. Adaptations to training have been extensively studied in adults, both in the context of the development of physical characteristics and injury prevention [ 19 , 20 ]. However, less attention has been given to understanding the unique responses of young athletes to exercise stimuli [ 21 ], highlighting the need for further exploration in this area.…”