Science and Football III

Jens Bangsbo, Thomas Reilly, A Mark Williams

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317832935
• Print ISBN:
  9780415512268

The Third World Congress of Science and Football was held in Cardiff, Wales in April 1995. The aim of the conference was to continue to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of the various branches of football and increase the awareness of the value of a scientific approach to these games. These aims and the outcomes of the conference are reflected in this third volume of Science and Football. The volume is divided into eight parts, each part containing a group of papers that are related by theme or disciplinary approach. Metabolism and nutrition, football training, match analysis, medical aspects of football and psychology and football behaviour are just a few of the areas covered in this comprehensive, in-depth volume that has been fully edited and revised. The conclusions drawn during the congress represent an invaluable practical reference for coaches, scientists, players, managers, and all those involved in the many football codes.

Part One

Fitness Test Profiles of
Footballers

A Comparison of Fitness Characteristics of Elite and Non-Elite Gaelic Football Players

S. Keane, T. Reilly and A. Borrie
Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Mountford Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, England.

1 Introduction

Gaelic Football is one of the national sports in Ireland. It is a field sport played by two teams of 15 players, in which a round ball may be caught and/or kicked from the ground or the hands. Comparatively little scientific data are available concerning the physiological and fitness characteristics of players at elite (inter-county) or non-elite (senior club) standards. Such information is important as it provides reference values to which coaches may compare their players’ performance in training. This information can then be used to develop and monitor new training programmes. A comparison with the reference values and those attained by players may help coaches to assess the ability of their players. The motivation of the players may be increased as a result of having an exact target to aim for, i.e. to attain similar figures to those reported here.

Physiological profiles have been commonplace in a number of sports, including soccer and rugby (Reilly, 1990), both of which have common threads with Gaelic football. Useful information, for the coach, may be obtained by a comparison of results.

The aim of this study was to establish and compare a number of fitness characteristics for elite and non-elite players.

2 Methods

Between 37 to 35 inter-county players and 34 to 40 senior club players participated in this study. Because players were tested on eight different occasions during the season, while training with their county or club, the number of subjects taking part in each fitness test varied. The highest overall test value were then recorded for each subject.

Anthropometric measures included height, body mass and the body mass index. The horizontal and vertical jump tests were used as indices of “explosive” performance of the leg muscles (Clarke, 1967). The maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂ max) was estimated, in an outdoor setting, on a grass surface, from performance on a progressive 20 m shuttle run test (Leger and Lambert, 1982). Cooper’s (1968) 12 min run was conducted in a outdoor setting. Subjects ran around a 500 m grass circuit, which was marked out in 20 m intervals. Subjects were informed of the elapsed time as they ran. A whistle was blown after 12 min and subjects were instructed to stop and move to the nearest marking cone. The total distance completed was then calculated for each player. The sprint test results are the mean times for the five sprints. Each sprint was a straight line 100 m run, undertaken from a standing start. Subjects had a 2 min recovery between each sprint(in which time they walked back to the starting position)and completed 5 sprints in total.

The results were analysed using multivariate analysis (MANOVA) to investigate overall differences between the two groups. The highest overall values for each subject, from the eight separate test occasions, were used in this analysis. Further analysis (univariate analysis) was also undertaken.

3 Results and Discussion

Elite players were significantly taller and had a higher body mass than their club counterparts, although the body mass index was not significantly different. This suggests a similar body build, but with the requirement of being heavier and taller to compete at elite level. This may reflect the more robust nature of competition at elite level. The poorer performances in the power tests (vertical and horizontal jump) by the club players suggest lower muscularity than that of elite players. This is further underlined by the difference in the sprint test times, with the inter-county players being significantly quicker.

The aerobic fitness, as indicated by the shuttle run and 12 min run tests were significantly higher for elite players. This suggests a higher aerobic level of fitness, which may be consistent with a higher work-rate during competition.

Table 1. Performance on selected tests for elite and club players

	Inter-county	Senior club
Age (years)	23.5 (±4.9) n=37	26.8 (±3.9) n=40	(a)
Height (cm)	181(±4.0)n=37	175(±6.4)n=40	(a)
Body mass (kg)	82.6 (±4.8) n=37	76.5 (±6.7) n=40	(a)
Body mass index	25.3 (±1.5) n=37	24.9 (±1.7) n=40
Horizontal jump (m)	2.44 (±0.2) n=37	2.28 (±0.1) n=40	(a)
Vertical jump (cm)	58.4 (±6.4) n=36	51.6 (±6.5) n=40	(a)
Estimate VO2max (ml/kg/min)	54.1(±3.2) n=37	51.4 (±5.8) n=35	(c)
Cooper’s 12 min run (m)	2990 (±182) n=35	2866 (±207) n=34	(b)
Sprint test mean (s)	13.44 (±0.4) n=35	14.11 (±0.5) n=33	(a)

(a)significantly different (P<0.001) (b)significantly different (P<0.01) (c) significantly different (P<0.05)

Values reported by Kirgan and Reilly (1993) for Gaelic footballers playing in the English county leagues are lower than those reported here. The Irish club players had a higher VO₂ max (51.4 ml/kg/min to 47.6 ml/kg/min), horizontal jump (2.28 m to 2.10 m) and vertical jump (51.6 cm to 48.6 cm). Irish players were slightly taller (175 cm to 174 cm) and heavier (76.5 kg to 73.3 kg) than their English club counterparts. These differences reflect the systematic training and competition of players domicile in Ireland, which is not always available to English club players.

The results in this study are similar to those reported by Young and Murphy (1993) for Ulster inter-county players. The Ulster champions were smaller (178 cm to 181 cm), lighter (80.7 kg to 82.6 kg), and had a higher estimated VO₂ max during the pre-season (57.1 ml/kg/min), but a similar value during the off-season (54.1 ml/kg/min), to the elite subjects reported here. The Ulster players also had a shorter horizontal jump (2.29 m to 2.44 m).

Inter-county player, when compared to English professional soccer players are taller and heavier, and have higher values for the explosive power tests (Thomas and Reilly, 1979). This may be the result of having to compete for possession of the ball in the air as well as on the ground. The soccer players did show a higher cardiovascular fitness (Raven et al., 1976), as indicated by the VO₂ max values (54 ml/kg/min to 58.4 ml/kg/min), but a lower distance was covered by the soccer players in Cooper’s 12 min run (2990 m to 2970 m).

These results are surprising when the amateur status of Gaelic football players is taken into consideration. Although Gaelic Football matches are between 20 min and 30 min shorter than soccer games, it seems that the level of fitness required to play at an elite level approaches that called for in soccer. This reflects a high degree of commitment and dedication on behalf of elite players to their sport.

4 References

Clarke, H.H. (1967) Application of Measurement to Health and Physical Education. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

Cooper, K.H. (1968) A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake correlating between field are treadmill running. Journal of the American Medical Association, 203, 201–204.

Kirgan, B. and Reilly, T. (1993) A fitness evaluation of Gaelic football club players, in Science and Football (eds T.Reilly, J.Clarys and A.Stibbe), E. and F.N. Spon, London, pp. 59–61.

Leger, L. and Lambert, J. (1982) A maximal multistage 20 m shuttle run test to predict VO₂ max. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 49, 1–5.

Raven, P.B., Gettman, L.R., Pollock, M.L. and Cooper, K.H. (1976) A physiological evaluation of professional soccer players. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 10, 209–216.

Reilly, T. (1990) Football, in Physiology of Sports (eds T.Reilly, N.Secher, P.Snell and C.Williams), E. and F.N. Spon, London, pp. 371–425.

Thomas, V. and Reilly T. (1979) Fitness assessment of English league soccer players through the competitive season. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 13, 103–109.

Young, E. and Murphy, M.H. (1993) Off season and pre-season fitness profiles of the 1993 Ulster Gaelic football champions. Communication to BASES, Nov. 4–7.

Profile of Elite Female Touch Football Players

Donna O’Connor
Human Movement and Health Education, University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney. Australia.

1 Introduction

Touch football is one of the fastest growing sports in Australia with over 180,000 registered participants in 1993 and a growth rate of 20% per annum. Despite the popularity Touch football enjoys in Australia, comparatively little scientific information is available on the fitness characteristics of the elite player. Touch football involves intermittent activity of varying intensities from walking to a sequence of forwards and backwards runs or all-out-sprints. The game consists of two 25 minute halves. The physiological fitness levels depend on the work-rate demands of the game. These demands increase as the standard of competition improves.

Australia is the leading nation in Touch football. Consequently, knowledge of the physical and physiological characteristics of Australian female Touch football players participating at an international level, will aid coaches in designing and evaluating training programmes and implementing talent identification programmes.

Australia is the World champion team, having won the previous two world titles and all Trans-Tasman tests (Australia v New Zealand). Somatotype for Australian female players was assessed at 2.9 - 3.0 - 2.2 prior to the 1993 Trans-Tasman test (O’Connor, 1993). There was no significant difference between playing position in somatotype.

The purpose of this study was to outline the fitness profile of elite female Touch football players and document their training regime prior to the World Cup.

2 Methods

A fitness assessment was conducted on the Australian Women’s squad (n=25) nine weeks prior to the Third World Cup held in Hawaii in March, 1995.

Session one involved testing in the laboratory. This included height (cm), body mass (kg), sum of seven skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, abdominal, thigh, calf) and isokinetic assessment using the Cybex 340 dynamometer. The knee flexors and extensors were evaluated at an angular velocity of 1.05 rad/s. Gravity correction was performed prior to testing. After two submaximal repetitions and two maximal repetitions for familiarisation, the test protocol consisted of four maximal repetitions.

Session two consisted of the following field tests: 10 m and 40 m sprint using timing gates; the “defensive agility test” p...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part One: Fitness Test Profiles of Footballers
• Part Two: Metabolism and Nutrition
• Part Three: Football Training
• Part Four: Medical Aspects of Football
• Part Five: Paediatric Science and Football
• Part Six: Match Analysis
• Part Seven: Psychology and Football Behaviour
• Part Eight: Management and Organisation
• Index