The Practical Utility of Objective Training Load Indices in Division I College Soccer Players.

ABSTRACT: Coppus, TA, Anderson, T, Hurley, E, Gill, DL, and Brown, PK. The practical utility of objective training load indices in Division I college soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 36(4): 1026-1030, 2022-The aim of this study was to investigate the association of subjective session rating of perceived exertion with objective training load measures and explored data reduction approaches for 26 commonly measured objective load metrics. One National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I male soccer team (N = 28) provided 26 objective measures via a global positioning system and heart rate monitor system and self-report rating of perceived exertion measures for all team activities through the 12-week 2019 fall championship season. The singular associations between session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and objective load metrics were assessed via repeated-measures correlation and collectively assessed via elastic net regression. Principal components analysis was then used to reduce the dimensionality of objective load variables. Level of significance for the study was α ≤ 0.05. The training load variable had the highest correlation with sRPE (r = 0.85) among the 26 metrics. Twenty variables were retained in the elastic-net regression and demonstrated an R2 of 0.76. The principal components analysis demonstrated a 4-component solution. The components were qualitatively described as "moderate- or high-intensity external load," "low-intensity load," "high-intensity internal load," and "average internal load" and accounted for 46, 32, 16, and 6% of the variance, respectively. The sRPE metric had strong correlations with multiple objective measures, demonstrating its utility for practitioners monitoring training load in collegiate soccer with limited resources. Furthermore, the consolidation of 26 metrics into 4 components while retaining data variability allows coaches to focus on a small number of metrics and employ a data-driven approach to training.

Perspectives on cancer health disparities in West Virginia.

"Perspectives on Cancer Health Disparities in West Virginia" provides an overview of the factors that lead to health disparities in general, to the burden of breast and other cancers in our state, and highlights the deep-rooted values and characteristics that will help communities and their partners achieve parity.

The cancer prevention and control research network.

The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network is a national network recently established to focus on developing new interventions and disseminating and translating proven interventions into practice to reduce cancer burden and disparities, especially among minority and medically underserved populations. Jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network consists of sites administered through Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five sites are located in Kentucky, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Texas, Washington State, and West Virginia. The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network's intervention areas include primary prevention of cancer through healthy eating, physical activity, sun avoidance, tobacco control, and early detection of cancer through screening. The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network uses the methods of community-based participatory research and seeks to build on the cancer-relevant systematic reviews of the Guide to Community Preventive Services. Initial foci for the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network's research work groups include projects to increase screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers; to promote informed decision making for prostate cancer screening; and to validate educational materials developed for low-literacy populations.

The Appalachia Cancer Network: cancer control research among a rural, medically underserved population.

Residents of Appalachia, especially those in rural Appalachia, are generally considered to be medically underserved. In fact, cancer mortality in Appalachia, especially in rural Appalachia, is higher than it is in the remainder of the United States. Developing from the Appalachia Leadership Initiative on Cancer, the Appalachia Cancer Network (ACN) is a network of academic and community organizations that seek to conduct surveillance, intervention, and dissemination research to reduce this excess cancer burden in Appalachia. The purpose of this report is to (1) describe the approach to cancer control research in ACN, a Special Population Network, among the medically underserved of Appalachia, and (2) to put forward observations from this experience to enhance the research of other academic and community networks among underserved populations. ACN has instituted a conceptual model, organizational structure, and other methods to foster this research and to develop junior and community-based investigators. Important issues and questions related to the effectiveness of such research networks have also been articulated.