Pre-season aerobic performance of elite Japanese soccer players

OBJECTIVE Laboratory and field tests are useful to examine players' aerobic capabilities for performance. Most aerobic tests are continuous, whereas, in field sports such as soccer, exercise is intermittent and performance is related to the athletes' ability to repeatedly perform intense e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sports science & medicine 2007-01, Vol.6
Main Authors: Grantham, J, Brocherie, F, Mikinobu, Y, Balasekaran, G
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:OBJECTIVE Laboratory and field tests are useful to examine players' aerobic capabilities for performance. Most aerobic tests are continuous, whereas, in field sports such as soccer, exercise is intermittent and performance is related to the athletes' ability to repeatedly perform intense exercise. Therefore, field tests provide specific results and are more valid than laboratory tests for coaches. The aim of the present study was to employee two field tests to determine player position specific aerobic fitness indicators for 31 male elite Japanese soccer players (aged 21-29 y), who were all regu-lar members of the national "A" squad of the Japan Football Association. A secondary aim was to make a comparison with other corresponding level data. METHODS Players were allocated in goalkeeper (GK), defender (DF) and midfield (MF) groups. Strikers were evalu-ated, but not included in the analysis. The (45:15 sec) Intermittent Field Test (INT), and the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recov-ery Test Level 2 (YYIRTL2) were used to evaluate aerobic fitness. An ANOVA assessed between group differences. Data was expressed as mean plus or minus SD with significance set at p
ISSN:1303-2968
1303-2968