Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the way in which anthropometric and fitness measures vary by class year before and after a Division I female field hockey competitive season. Anthropometric (mass and percent body fat) and fitness measures (vertical jump and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test 1 (Yo-Yo IR1) distance) were collected on 16 athletes (mean ± SD: age = 19.5 ± 0.9 years) before and after a competitive season. Class year, based on the athlete’s year in college, was used to group athletes in the study. Body mass, vertical jump height, and Yo-Yo IR1 distance all increased pre to post season (p < 0.05). First-year athletes had a significantly lower body mass, vertical jump height and Yo-Yo IR1 distance compared to other class years across the testing period (p < 0.05). Post season levels for first-years were lower than both pre and post season levels for sophomore or junior athletes. Team mean vertical jump increased 8.9%, with all but two athletes improving. Team mean Yo-Yo IR1 distance increased 16.4%. Athlete training over the course of the study was designed to improve on field playing performance and training was not directly select to improve measures in the study; therefore, the potential success of integrating fitness, speed, and strength development into technical training sessions is indicated. Coaches should be aware that first-year athletes may not be at the same level of conditioning as sophomores and juniors. Coaches should work specifically with the first-year athletes during the season to monitor their fitness levels.
Highlights
The largest gains in mass and percent body fat were seen in first-year athletes
Vertical jump improved for all first-years and sophomores
Yo-Yo IR1 distance was seen in first-year athletes though sophomores had the overall best performance both before and after the season
Summary
Field hockey is a team sport that involves bouts of high speed running followed by time spent walking and jogging [1,2]. Games are played on an artificial turf surface and consist of two 35-min halves with a 10-min half time at the time of this study [3]. Field hockey is a more popular sport than in the United States and may be played by individuals as young as four years old. In the United States, youth field hockey leagues are less common. While research does exist at the international level for field hockey athletes [4,5,6], there is little research on collegiate field hockey athletes in the United
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