Methods RECOVERY KINETICS IN SOCCER GOALKEEPERS AND OUTFIELD PLAYERS Mathieu Nédélec ab, Alan McCall ab, Serge Berthoin a, Gregory Dupont ab a : University of Lille Nord de France, EA 4488 b : LOSC Lille Métropole Football Club, France Results & Discussion Conclusions During a soccer match, goalkeepers and outfield players perform running activities and actions leading to muscle damage which may impair physical performance (Byrne et al., 2004). In addition, a soccer match involves mental activities for both goalkeepers and outfield players (Williams, 2000). Mental fatigue has been shown to impact cognitive performance (Greig et al., 2007) and to reduce physical performance (Marcora et al., 2009). The purpose of this study was to analyze the recovery kinetics of physical and cognitive performance, as well as subjective ratings in goalkeepers and outfield players after a soccer match. Eight goalkeepers (age: 18.5±2.5 yr; height: 182.3±4.6 cm; body mass: 75.9±8.8 kg) and eight elite outfield players (17.1±0.9 yr; 180.9±5.8 cm; 70.5±6.8 kg) performed: - test battery: Subjective ratings of quality of sleep, fatigue, stress, muscle soreness (from 1 to 7 points; Hooper et al., 1995) and recovery (from 6 to 20 points; Kenttä and Hassmén, 1998) Cognitive tests: reaction time and motor time were measured using Vienna Reaction Test; number of stimuli and number of correct responses were measured using Vienna Determination Test Physical tests: squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance were measured on a force plate (Kistler AG, Switzerland); 6-s sprint performance (i.e. mean power output – MPO – and mean speed – MS) was measured on a non-motorised treadmill (Woodway Force 3.0, USA) (Image 1) - competitive soccer match (90 min). Physical activity of goalkeepers during the match (i.e. number of jumps, ball kicks, hand passes, movements and saves) was analysed through standardised observation in real-time. Players performed the test battery before, 45 min, 24 h and 48 h after the match. Squat Jump and CMJ were both significantly (p 0.05) for goalkeepers throughout the protocol whereas MPO and MS were significantly altered for outfield players immediately after the match (p<0.01; Figure 1). There was a main effect of time (p 0.05). Figure 1. Mean power output during 6-s sprint during 48 h after the match. ** Significantly different from baseline (p<0.01). The present study suggests that outfield players require a longer time than goalkeepers to recover sprint performance, which may have implications for the time to return safely to training and matches. Future studies are required to determine if other aspects of cognitive function (e.g. voluntary allocation of attention) are affected by a soccer match. Introduction References Byrne C, Twist C, Eston R (2004). Sports Med 34, 49-69; Greig M, Marchant D, Lovell R, Clough P, McNaughton L (2007). Br J Sports Med 41, ; Hooper SL, Mackinnon LT, Howard A, Gordon RD, Bachmann AW (1995). Med Sci Sports Exerc 27, ; Kenttä G, Hassmén P (1998). Sports Med 26, 1-16; Marcora SM, Staiano W, Manning V (2009). J Appl Physiol 106, ; Williams AM (2000). J Sports Sci 18(9), Time (after competitive match) Mean power output (W) Contact: Image 1. The non-motorised treadmill (Woodway Force 3.0, USA)