The match-play sprint performance of elite senior hurlers during competitive games

Abstract

The typical sprint profile in elite hurling has yet to be established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sprinting demands of elite hurling competition and characterize the sprinting patterns of different playing positions. GPS (10-Hz, STATSports Viper) were used to collect data from 51 hurlers during 18 games. The total sprint (≥22 km·h -1 ) distance (TSD), the number of sprints (NOS) classified as length (<20 m, ≥20 m) and relative speed thresholds (<80%, 80–90%, >90%), the between-sprint duration and the number of repeated-sprint bouts (≥2 sprints in ≤60 s) were analyzed. The NOS was 22.2 ± 6.8 accumulating 415 ± 140 m TSD. The NOS <20 m, ≥20 m was 14.0 ± 4.7 and 8.1 ± 3.6 respectively. The NOS <80%, 80–90% and >90% was 10.6 ± 4.3, 8.2 ± 3.6, 3.4 ± 2.4 respectively. The between-sprint duration and the repeated-sprint bouts were 208 ± 86 s and 4.5 ± 2.6 respectively. TSD (ES = -0.20), NOS (ES = -0.34), NOS <20 m (ES = -0.33), ≥20 m (ES = -0.24), 80–90% (ES = -0.35) >90% (ES = -0.13) and repeated-sprint bouts (ES = -0.28) decreased between-halves. Full-backs performed a lower NOS <80% than half-backs (ES = -0.66) and a shorter mean duration of sprints than half-backs (ES = -0.75), midfielders (ES = -1.00) and full-forwards (ES = -0.59). These findings provide a sprint profile of elite hurling match-play that coaches should consider to replicate the sprint demands of competition in training.

Metabolic power in hurling with respect to position and halves of match-play

“…Research in team sport has provided valuable information about the movement demands of elite players during match-play describing the different locomotion intensities ranging from low to high speeds [1–3]. The emergence of player tracking technology has facilitated the capability to assess the match-play locomotion ranging from walking to sprinting as reported in soccer, rugby and Australian football [2,4–6]. Consequently, global positioning system (GPS) technology has been used to quantify the positional profile and temporal changes during match-play [2,4–6].…”

“…The emergence of player tracking technology has facilitated the capability to assess the match-play locomotion ranging from walking to sprinting as reported in soccer, rugby and Australian football [2,4–6]. Consequently, global positioning system (GPS) technology has been used to quantify the positional profile and temporal changes during match-play [2,4–6]. These studies have focused on presenting distances covered using fixed absolute speed-based thresholds (e.g.…”

“…However, a similar team sport called hurling has yet to be investigated. Hurling is a physically demanding and highly skilled stick and ball field sport, consisting of changes of direction, tackling, jumping and sprint actions [1,6,20]. The game is 70 minutes (35 minutes per half) in duration and is played on a pitch 140 m long and 90 m wide [1].…”

The Performance Effect of Scheduled Carbohydrate and Caffeine Intake during Simulated Team Sport Match-Play

“…RSA has previously been reported as an important physical quality with regard to hurling match-play performance [ 4 ]. RSA has been identified as a determining factor in goal scoring situations during soccer match-play, with 45% of all analysed goals scored preceded by a bout of RSA [ 42 ].…”

“…It was previously identified that position directly influences the work-rate profiles observed during hurling match-play with midfielders (MF), completing significantly more TD and HSD than other positional lines of play [full backs (FB), half backs (HB), half forwards (HF), and full forwards (FF)] [ 2 ]. Interestingly, high-speed work rate was shown to decrease throughout match-play, most notably at the latter stages of each half [ 2 , 4 ], with a distinctive positional trend also present. The largest decrement in HSD was observed in half forwards (27%) followed by half backs (24%), full forwards (23%), midfielders (22%), and full backs (13%).…”