Typical weekly workload of under 15, under 17, and under 19 elite Portuguese football players

Abstract

This study aims to describe the time-motion and physiological performance profiles of footballers whose ages are under 15 (U15), under 17 (U17), and under 19 (U19) during a typical week of a competitive season. A total of 151 elite Portuguese players U15 (age 14.0 ± 0.2; n = 56), U17 (age 15.8 ± 0.4; n = 66), and U19 (age 17.8 ± 0.6; n = 19) were monitored during 33 training sessions (TSs) (U15 n = 12; U17 n = 11; and U19 n = 10 TSs). The TS data were captured at 15 Hz by global positioning systems devices and divided into post-match (session after the match), prematch (session before the match), and middle week (average of remaining sessions). The U15 middle week showed a higher number of sprints, distance covered in intermediate speed zones, and time spent above 90% HRmax, while the prematch presented a higher distance covered above 18 km · h(-1) and time spent below 75% HRmax. In U17, both prematch and post-match data presented lower values than middle-week data in most of the variables. The post-match data in U19 presented higher values of distance covered above 13 km · h(-1), body impacts above 10 G, and time spent above 85% HRmax, while middle week showed higher values in body impacts in most of the zones. In addition, the prematch data presented 35% to 100% less values than the middle-week data. Understanding the weekly workload variations according to the competition and the developmental ages of the players can contribute to optimising short- and mid-term planning.

Heart rate variations between training days and types of exercise in men and women futsal and soccer players

“…26%. These results are in line with findings in elite youth players that revealed that the workload was increasing until the last middle-week session [22]. At that moment, it was observed that the most demanding tasks were associated with tactical development and match.…”

“…This may suggest the caution of coaches to provide an optimal recovery period, thus opting for an increase in the training load in middle-week sessions. A similar study conducted in elite youth players verified that the post-match period was bound with lower values of distance covered, body impact, and time spent in highest HR zones [22]. The results of the present study also revealed that the most intense training sessions occurred in middleweek, more particularly 4 days after match.…”

“…In a study conducted in elite football, it was verified that commonly, heavy training sessions were not imposed to players on the days imme- diately before or after competitions [26]. These results are not in line with some more recent findings, which revealed great similarities in intensities between postmatch and middle-week sessions [22]. Nevertheless, it is important to analyse results based on the specific conditionings of the teams.…”

“…Specifically, within-week and within-session comparisons in terms of HR responses were performed. Previous evidence revealed that middle training sessions usually increased the load [22] and therefore we hypothesized that the middle week sessions would increase HR responses and the time spent in high intensity zones.…”

Who runs the fastest? Anthropometric and physiological correlates of 20 m sprint performance in male soccer players

“…In a secondary application, the use of performance groups would facilitate talent identification from a physical point of view (sprinting). Four performance groups have been used previously in a study on youth categories in soccer (Coutinho et al, 2015). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) compared A, B, C and D groups for anthropometric characteristics and short-term power.…”