Training Load Comparisons in Division III Women's Soccer — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Training Load Comparisons in Division III Women's Soccer

Name: Linnae Johnson
Major: Physical Education
Hometown: Plymouth MN
Faculty Sponsor: Andrew (Tony) Pustina
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research

Abstract

Introduction

Monitoring training load is essential for reducing the risk of overtraining and overuse injuries, while ensuring that all athletes receive a sufficient training stimulus. This is beneficial for soccer coaches to monitor because this information can enhance the application of a periodized training schedule and help maximize team performance. The purpose of this study was to compare training loads from the 2018 and 2019 Division III Women’s Soccer season. Specifically the researchers sought to determine whether changes occurred during the preseason and the entire season.

Methods

This study involved analyzing previously collected data from an NCAA Division III women’s soccer team. Both the 2018 and 2019 seasons consisted of 29 players. Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) was taken at the end of each training session and game. For training sessions, the personal RPE of each player was recorded after the aerobic cool down, while they were stretching. For games, it was recorded after either in the locker room for home games or on the bus for away. The duration of time recorded for training sessions began at the beginning when the dynamic warm-up started and ended after the aerobic cool down portion. If a player had to leave practice early, their training time was adjusted accordingly. To calculate training load during competitive soccer matches , RPE was multiplied by minutes played, which has been shown to be a better representation of training load (Pustina et al., 2017). Independent samples t-tests were used to determine if differences in training loads existed between soccer seasons.

Results

Significant differences were found between both the first week and the first two-week pre season training load measures. A significant difference was also found between the two seasons, with 2019 having significantly higher training loads.

Discussion

The main finding from this study was that there was significantly more training during the 2019 season. This may have been due to the longer average practice times and higher average RPE’s.