Do contextual factors, tournament level, and location affect external match load in elite Brazilian youth soccer players?

Objective: The present study compares the external load of a Brazilian first-division U-20 team match between the tournament level (regional vs. national) and the match's location (home or away). Methods: Thirty-five athletes from a U-20 team belonging to the same Brazilian first-division team participated in the study (age=19.1 ±0.58 years;body mass=70.1 ±7.64 kg;height=176.1 ±6.28 cm). Twenty-eight games belonging to the national championship (14 Brasileirão matches) and regional championship (14 Carioca state matches) were analyzed, following these external load variables through a global positioning system: Total distance traveled (TD), player load (PL), distance traveled >20 km/h, distance traveled >25km/h, the number of accelerations and decelerations > 2 m/s2 (AD2) and >3 m/s2 (AD3) and the number of Repeat High-Intensity Efforts (RHIE). A two-factor ANOVA compared the tournament level and the match's location, and the effect size (ES) was verified, considering p≤0.05. Results: Significant differences were found in TD (F=3.42 and ES=0.7), PL (F=4.2 and ES=0.8), D20 (F=2.87 and ES=0.67), AD3 (F=6.49 and ES=0.97), RHIE (F=14.6 and ES=1.18) and in AD2 (F=10.1 and ES=1.24). No effects were found according to location or interaction effects (p>0.1). Conclusion: Findings indicated that the tournament type impacts the external match load - with higher effort values in the national tournament. The location did not affect the external load, but further studies are required to corroborate these results due to the lack of public presence because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following data may be helpful for the coaching staff to consider this factor when planning and programming the training load concerning the tournament in which they are participating. © JPES.

Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Body Composition and Physical Performance of Elite Female Football Players

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unusual situation in sports. Players were forced to stay at home for an undefined period of time and not allowed to use any training facilities or even exercise outdoors. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on physical performance and body composition in elite female football players. During the confinement period, 19 players (n = 19, M = 27 years;SD = 4.19) volunteered to participate in the present study. Participants were confined during 5 months and performed six remotely guided sessions a week, designed and structured by a certified fitness coach. Pre-and postconfinement period, players were tested for body composition, strength in the squat exercise, vertical jump, 30-m sprint, kicking velocity, and intermittent endurance capacity (Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Level 1). Fat mass and muscle mass remained unaffected after the confinement period, while only body mass showed a significant increase between periods (1.19%;p =.014). In addition, physical performance measures postconfinement showed positive changes in kicking (p <.001;effect size = 1.02), in contrast to a reduction in mean propulsive velocity against 40-kg load and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Level 1 total distance covered (p:.041 and.010, respectively). Present findings indicate that the implementation of home-based training programs during confinement periods could be sufficient stimulus to maintain body composition and physical performance (i.e., strength, vertical jump, and sprint), although they might not be sufficient to maintain intermittent endurance capacity in elite female football players. © 2022 University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).

Effects on the wellness state in period of confinement due to COVID-19 in professional soccer players

This study aimed to find changes in the wellness state, during the confinement period due to COVID-19, in professional soccer players from the first division B of Chile. The studied sample consisted of 28 professional male soccer players aged 26 +/- 6.3 years, body mass 74.2 +/- 5.5 kg, and height 177 +/- 0.05 cm. The degree of well-being was evaluated through a questionnaire (McLean et al., 2010) during the 2020 competitive and confinement periods. Statistically, significant differences (p <0.05) between the competitive period and the confinement period are shown in FT (t = 2.5;p = 0.0), SO (t = 2.71;p = 0.01), ES (t = 5.07;p = 0.0), EA (t = 1.82;p = 0.08), and T (t = 4.87;p = 0.0). Small TE were reflected in the variables EA and DM (d = 0.7;d = 0.4 respectively), moderate in FAT and SO (d = 1.0;d = 1.2 respectively), and very large in ES and T (d = 2.1;d = 2.0 respectively). The CP and CV between periods for the well-being variables were the following: for FAT, 11% and 11.6%, for DM, 5.3% and 13.1%;for SO, 9.3%;7.5%, ES 11.6% and 5.9, for EA 3.9%;5.2%, and finally for T 8.1% and 4.0% respectively. It is possible to conclude that the state of well-being in professional soccer players is altered in the period of confinement with respect to that of competition, finding significant changes in the variables FT, SO, ES, and T, which coincided with the changes from moderate to very large of these same variables, as well as the PC were larger than the CV between periods. Therefore, we could consider these changes as real, and they could be an effect attributable to the mandatory isolation.