Monitoring Workloads of a Professional Female Futsal Team over a Season: A Case Study.

Carlos Lago-Fuentes,Alexis Padrón-Cabo,Marcos Mecías-Calvo,Marián Fernández-Villarino,Alejandro Jiménez-Loaisa,Bruno Travassos,Ezequiel Rey

doi:10.3390/sports8050069

Abstract

The aims of this study were to describe the external and internal workloads in a professional female futsal team during a whole season and to compare workloads during different periods of the season. Ten professional female futsal players (age 22.8 ± 4.3 years; 5.1 ± 2.4 years of experience; weight 61.9 ± 7.1 kg; height 1.66 ± 0.06 m) participated voluntarily in this study during the whole season. The internal workload was measured by the session-Rate of perceived exertion (session-RPE) method, while the external workload was indirectly measured by considering the training and match volume and the type of contents of each session over 43 weeks. Mean sRPE throughout the season was 319.9 ± 127.1 arbitrary units (AU). Higher internal loads (total weekly training load and strain) were reported during the pre-season compared with the in-season mesocycles (p < 0.05); meanwhile, the fifth to eighth mesocycles of the in-season showed an oscillatory pattern. Finally, Monday was the most-demanding session during the in-season period over the Thursday (p < 0.05; effect size: 1.33) followed by match day, meanwhile no statistical differences were reported during different sessions of the pre-season microcycle (p > 0.05). This study suggests that microcycles of pre-season present a stable load pattern, meanwhile workloads during the in-season period report a tapering strategy in a professional female futsal team.

Highlights

The popularity of futsal has been increasing around the world over the last fifteen years [1].two new international tournaments have been recently approved by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), as the YouthOlympic Games and the European Female Futsal Cup to promote the development of this sport worldwide
The Total weekly training load (TWTL) was 2183.81 ± 838.45 arbitrary units (AU), and the monotony and strain were around 1.00 ± 0.32 and 2419.75 ± 1961.25, respectively
The present study shows the variation of training contents along the season, with the high relevance of technical-tactical tasks in a professional female futsal team with an inverse distribution of conditional volume

Summary

Introduction

Olympic Games (both in male and female categories) and the European Female Futsal Cup to promote the development of this sport worldwide. Despite this global growth projection, only a few studies have been published in male futsal, and fewer in female futsal. The training process is the best way for modulating athletes’ performance during the season [2]. Insufficient training can reduce the performance capabilities of one athlete or the whole team [2]. The development of monitoring and control strategies of sessions with an emphasis on the analysis of the workloads might be relevant for improving sports performance and to reduce the injury risk along the season. Team sports workloads (both training and competition ones) are split into external and internal loads

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion