TEMPLATE DESIGN © PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES IN CONSECUTIVE GAMES IN A NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM William P. McCormack, David R. Williams, Jay R. Hoffman, Adam M. Gonzalez, Gerald T. Mangine, Adam J. Wells, Nadia S. Emerson, Tyler C. Scanlon, Christian Tyman, Colin Rice, Maren S. Fragala, Jeffrey R. Stout Human Performance Laboratory, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL ABSTRACT RESULTS METHODS PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS INTRODUCTION Subjects Sixteen NCAA Division I women soccer players (age = 20.6 ± 1.1 yrs; 61.5 ± 7.0 kg; ± 7.7 cm) were tracked during 6 games, which occurred over three weekends. Games were played on Friday evening followed by a game on Sunday afternoon, which equates to 40 hours of rest. The average temperature at game time was 26.2 ± 5.2°C (range 15.9° to 29.7°C) with an average relative humidity of 49.2 ± 12.7% (range 32.9 to 59.7%). GPS Set-up A 10-hertz global positioning system (GPS) (Minimax 4.0, Catapult Sports, Ltd, Victoria, Australia) was utilized for data collection. The GPS is worn in a vest, with the device located over the cervical spine, underneath the jersey. The devices were turned-on 30 minutes prior to game time to allow for GPS lock. Just prior to kick-off, the devices were placed into the vests. At the sound of the referee’s whistle, the computer program was started. At the whistle at the end of each half, the computer program was stopped. Measures On completion of the game, the data was analyzed for the entire game, each half, and 15-minute periods utilizing Logan Plus software. The data included the Distance Run (DR) rate, the High Intensity Running (HIR) rate, and the Player Load (PL) rate. Since coaches can substitute at will, most players do not play the entire game, therefore all data was analyzed relative to minutes played. To analyze relative distance covered, a DR rate was utilized. DR rate was calculated using the total distance covered divided by the number of minutes played. To analyze HIR rate, the amount of distance covered at a moderate speed (3.3 m·sec -1 ) and above was divided by the number of minutes played. PL is the accumulated instantaneous rate of change of acceleration in the anterior-posterior, lateral-medial, and vertical planes. To analyze PL rate, the PL was divided by minutes played. The data for all three Friday games and all three Sunday games was averaged with the means for each player compared using dependent sample t-tests with significance set at p = PURPOSE SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS Distance Rate There was a trend toward a significant decrease (p = 0.06) in the distance rate between Friday games and Sunday games. The Friday games mean distance rate was ± 18.1 m·min -1 and the Sunday games mean was ± 15.3 m·min -1. High-Intensity Run (HIR) Rate There was no difference (p = 0.40) in the mean HIR rate between Friday games and Sunday games. The Friday games mean HIR rate was 28.4 ± 12.8 m·min -1 and the Sunday games mean was 27.4 ± 11.3 m·min -1. Player Load Rate There was no difference (p = 0.28) in the mean Player Load Rate between Friday and Sunday games. The Friday games mean Player Load rate was 11.4 ± 2.7 units·min -1 and the Sunday Player Load rate was 11.0 ± 2.2 units·min -1. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women’s soccer schedule requires consecutive games played with as little as 40-hours of recovery between games. It is not known whether athletes are able to recover sufficiently within this timeframe to perform at the same level of play in the subsequent game. PURPOSE: Knowing if there are any physiological differences between games will give coaches information to develop training and nutrition programs to optimize performance. The purpose of this study was to examine performance between consecutive games in a NCAA Division I women’s soccer program. METHODS: Sixteen women soccer players from a top 12 NCAA Division I program were monitored during consecutive games played over three weekends. All games were played on a Friday evening with the second game played on Sunday afternoon (40-hr recovery period). Data were averaged for all three sets of games. A 10 Hz global positioning system (GPS) was used to gather distance and run velocity information. Comparisons of distance run (DR) rate, high intensity running (HIR) rate, and player load (PL) rate were made between games. DR rate was calculated as total distance covered divided by minutes played. HIR rate was calculated as distance covered at moderate speed (≥3.61m·sec -1 ) and above divided by minutes played. PL is the accumulated instantaneous rate of change of acceleration in the anterior-posterior, medial-lateral, and vertical planes. RESULTS: A trend (p = 0.06) towards a decrease in DR rate (119.2 ± 18.1 m·min -1 vs ± 15.3 m·min -1 ) was seen between the Friday game and the Sunday game. There was no significant difference in HIR rate (28.4 ± 12.8 m·min -1 vs ± 11.3 m·min -1, p=0.40), and PL rate (11.4 ± 2.7 vs ± 2.2, p=0.28) between Friday and Sunday games. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate no significant difference in HIR and PL rates between consecutive games, however, the trend towards a decrease (-3.8%) in DR rate suggests that recovery may not have been complete. Further research appears warranted regarding recovery between consecutive soccer games. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Coaches, strength and conditioning personnel, and nutritional staff should take into account the physiological demands of a single game and the amount of time between games when planning their training and nutritional interventions in intercollegiate women’s soccer competition. The purpose of this study was to examine performance between consecutive games in a NCAA Division I women’s soccer program Coaches, strength and conditioning personnel, and nutritional staff should take into account the physiological demands of a single game and the amount of time between games when planning their training and nutritional interventions in intercollegiate women’s soccer competition. Distance Rate Friday vs. Sunday HIR Friday vs. Sunday Player Load Rate Friday vs. Sunday Soccer is a very demanding sport. Players can routinely cover 8,000 to 11,000 meters during a game (1,2) so a measure of aerobic fitness is required. There is also a demand for anaerobic fitness, since there are a number of sprints performed throughout a game. During NCAA women’s soccer competition, there are a number of conferences that play games on a Friday evening followed by a Sunday afternoon. This allows for only a 40-hour recovery period between games. Knowing if there are any physiological differences between games will give coaches information to develop training and nutrition programs to optimize performance. The results indicate no significant difference in HIR and PL rates between consecutive games, however, the trend towards a decrease (-3.8%) in DR rate suggests that recovery may not have been complete. Further research appears warranted regarding recovery between consecutive soccer games. REFERENCES 1. Rampinini E, Coutts AJ, Castagna C, Sassi R, and Impellizzeri FM. Variation in top level soccer match performance. Int J Sports Med, 28: 1018 – 1024, Mohr M, Krustrup P, Anderson H, Kirkendal D, and Bangsbo J. Match activities of elite women soccer players at different performance levels. J Strength Cond Res, 22: , 2008.