Distance and Intensity Profiles in Division I Women's Soccer Matches across a Competitive Season.

Mario Norberto Sevilio De Oliveira Junior,Christian Emmanuel Torres Cabido,Jason M Cholewa,Alyson Felipe Da Costa Sena,Christiano Eduardo Veneroso,Justin P Guilkey,Guilherme Passos Ramos,Kelly E Johnson

doi:10.3390/sports9050063

Mario Norberto Sevilio De Oliveira Junior, Christian Emmanuel Torres Cabido + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9050063

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Abstract

Women’s participation in soccer has increased rapidly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological demands imposed on women’s NCAA Division I soccer players across a season according to speed, total distance traveled, and numbers of sprints measured via GPS (Polar Team Pro®). Eighteen athletes (19.2 ± 1.1 years, 50.5 ± 6.5 mL/kg/min and 23.4 ± 3.6% fat) participated in this study. The analysis was obtained through 13 official matches. Speed zones were defined as Zone 1 (1.0 to 5.99 km·h−1), Zone 2 (6.0 to 10.99 km·h−1), Zone 3 (11.0 to 15.49 km·h−1), Zone 4 (15.5 to 19.9 km·h−1) and Zone 5 (sprint > 20 km·h−1), with Zones 4–5 considered as high intensity running. Individual differences in playing time and total distance were highly variable due to substitutions. Average distance traveled per game in quartiles was 3.9 km, 5.6 km and 7.4 km in the 25th, 50th, and 75th quartiles, respectively. Relative to playing time, players travelled an average of 113.64 ± 17.12 m/min (range: 93.7 to 143.5 m/min) and ran one sprint every 4.12 ± 2.06 min. When distance was summated and analyzed for the entire team, significant difference between halves was found for speed Zones 2, 3 and 4, with greater values found in the first half. Total distance, high intensity running and sprint distance were significantly less than previously recorded in professional players. These findings suggest that coaches should consider the unique physiological demands and recovery opportunities present in NCAA play when constructing practices and conditioning programs.

Highlights

Women’s participation in soccer has increased rapidly since the first Women’s FIFAWorld Cup was held in 1991 [1], and soccer is currently considered one of the most popular sports for women’s participation in the United States
The number of athletes and the level of competition in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) soccer has increased in recent decades
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological demands imposed on women NCAA Division I soccer players during the games of a university season according to speed, total distance covered (TDC) and numbers of sprints measured via global positioning systems (GPS)

Summary

Introduction

World Cup was held in 1991 [1], and soccer is currently considered one of the most popular sports for women’s participation in the United States. The number of athletes and the level of competition in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) soccer has increased in recent decades. It is likely that collegiate soccer players are being exposed to greater training volumes and competition demands than previously estimated [3]. At the national and professional levels, the running demands in both men and women’s soccer athletes have been extensively studied [7,8,9]. For professional women soccer players, single sprint distances (15.1 ± 9.4 m), sprint times (2.3 ± 1.5 s), and rest between sprints (2.5 ± 2.5 min) have been reported [10]

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