Quantification of Workload and Wellness Measures in a Women's Collegiate Volleyball Season.

The purpose of this paper was to quantify internal and external loads completed by collegiate volleyball athletes during a competitive season. Eleven players were sampled (using accelerometers and subjective wellness surveys) during the practice (n = 55) and game (n = 30) sessions over the 2019 season. Longitudinal data were evaluated for trends across the preseason, non-conference play, and conference play periods. Data were also analyzed with respect to positional groups. Longitudinal analysis of accelerometer data showed higher workload demand during practices than games. Positional group differences were most when evaluating jump count and height. Setters accrued over twice as many jumps in a practice than during a game and had similar overall jump counts in practice to attacking positions. Average team wellness values varied with time in the season, especially during times of congested travel. This is the first study to look at both game and practice workload and wellness measures in collegiate women's volleyball. The results suggest athlete monitoring can be used to understand the demands of volleyball and used in the future to enhance practice and recovery day design to optimize athlete well-being.

Athlete Workloads During Collegiate Women's Soccer Practice: Implications for Return to Play.

CONTEXT: Athlete monitoring via wearable technology is often used in soccer athletes. Although researchers have tracked global outcomes across soccer seasons, little information exists on athlete loads during individual practice drills. Understanding these demands is important for athletic trainers in making decisions about return to play. OBJECTIVE: To provide descriptive information on total distance, total player load (PL), total distance per minute, and PL per minute for practice drill structures and game play by player position among female soccer athletes across a competitive season. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: A total of 32 female collegiate soccer players (age = 20 ± 1 years, height = 168.75 ± 4.28 cm). INTERVENTION(S): Athletes wore a single global positioning system and triaxial accelerometer unit during all practices and games in a single soccer season. Individual practice drills were labeled by the team's strength and conditioning coach and binned into physical, technical and tactical skills and large- and small-sided competition drill structures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Descriptive analyses were used to assess the median total distance, total PL, total distance per minute, and PL per minute by drill structure and player position (defender, forward or striker, and midfielder) during practices and games. RESULTS: Large- and small-sided competition drills imposed the greatest percentage of workload across all measures for each position (approximately 20% of total practice), followed by physical drills. When comparing technical and tactical skills drills, we found that technical skills drills required athletes to cover a greater distance (approximately 17% for technical skills and 15% for tactical skills), and tactical skills drills required higher play intensity during practices across all positions (approximately 18% for technical skills and 13% for tactical skills). Defenders had the highest median PL outcomes of all positions during practices. CONCLUSIONS: Different practice drill types imposed various levels of demands, which simulated game play, on female soccer athletes. Athletic trainers and other clinicians may use this information in formulating objective return-to-play guidelines for injured collegiate women's soccer players.

Global Positioning System-Derived Workload Metrics and Injury Risk in Team-Based Field Sports: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the current literature regarding the utility of global positioning system (GPS)-derived workload metrics in determining musculoskeletal injury risk in team-based field-sport athletes. DATA SOURCES: PubMed entries from January 2009 through May 2019 were searched using terms related to GPS, player workload, injury risk, and team-based field sports. STUDY SELECTION: Only studies that used GPS metrics and had injury as the main outcome variable were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Total distance, high-speed running, and acute : chronic workload ratios were the most common GPS metrics analyzed, with the most frequent sports being soccer, rugby, and Australian rules football. DATA SYNTHESIS: Many distinct workload metrics were associated with increased injury risk in individual studies performed in particular sport circumstances; however, the body of evidence was inconclusive as to whether any specific metrics could consistently predict injury risk across multiple team-based field sports. CONCLUSIONS: Our results were inconclusive in determining if any GPS-derived workload metrics were associated with an increased injury risk. This conclusion is due to a myriad of factors, including differences in injury definitions, workload metrics, and statistical analyses across individual studies.