Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis
Soccer players perform a variety of training drills to develop the physical, technical and tactical qualities required for match-play. The role of coaches in prescribing training suggests that players may not always meet physical targets set by conditioning staff. To quantify the physical outputs el...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/22/8149 |
| _version_ | 1797547613929603072 |
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| author | Steve Barrett Matthew C. Varley Samuel P. Hills Mark Russell Matt Reeves Adam Hearn Christopher Towlson |
| author_facet | Steve Barrett Matthew C. Varley Samuel P. Hills Mark Russell Matt Reeves Adam Hearn Christopher Towlson |
| author_sort | Steve Barrett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soccer players perform a variety of training drills to develop the physical, technical and tactical qualities required for match-play. The role of coaches in prescribing training suggests that players may not always meet physical targets set by conditioning staff. To quantify the physical outputs elicited by different training drill types, 183 professional soccer players were monitored over 8 seasons using Microelectromechanical Systems during normal training, yielding 65,825 drill observations [362 ± 341 observations·player<sup>−1</sup>]. Linear mixed models assessed the influence of drill type, head coach and playing position on physical output. Drills lasted ~14 min, eliciting total distances and high speed running of ~1000 m and 40 m, respectively. Conditioning drills elicited substantially greater relative high-speed running [18.8 ± 27.2 m.min<sup>−1</sup>] and Sprint [3.5 ± 9.4 m.min<sup>−1</sup>] distances than all other drill types. The proportion of training drill types used and external outputs elicited per drill were affected by the head coach. Midfielders recorded the highest total distance [77.3 ± 36.1 m.min] and PlayerLoad<sup>™</sup> [8.29 ± 3.54] of any playing position, whilst the lowest outputs were recorded by goalkeepers. This study provides reference data for practitioners when seeking to manipulate training prescription to achieve physical output targets whilst also meeting the team’s technical and tactical objectives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:46:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2e039c6c7eb14653a2eca727a7c9d071 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:46:34Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2e039c6c7eb14653a2eca727a7c9d0712023-11-20T21:19:22ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-11-011022814910.3390/app10228149Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season AnalysisSteve Barrett0Matthew C. Varley1Samuel P. Hills2Mark Russell3Matt Reeves4Adam Hearn5Christopher Towlson6SPARC, Playermaker, London NW1 8NZ, UKSport and Exercise Science, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, AustraliaSchool of Social and Health Sciences, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds LS18 5HD, UKSchool of Social and Health Sciences, Leeds Trinity University, Leeds LS18 5HD, UKSport Science and Medicine Department, Leicester City Football Club, Leicester LE2 7FL, UKSport Science and Medicine Department, Coventry City Football Club, Coventry CV8 3FL, UKDepartment of Sport Health and Exercise Science, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UKSoccer players perform a variety of training drills to develop the physical, technical and tactical qualities required for match-play. The role of coaches in prescribing training suggests that players may not always meet physical targets set by conditioning staff. To quantify the physical outputs elicited by different training drill types, 183 professional soccer players were monitored over 8 seasons using Microelectromechanical Systems during normal training, yielding 65,825 drill observations [362 ± 341 observations·player<sup>−1</sup>]. Linear mixed models assessed the influence of drill type, head coach and playing position on physical output. Drills lasted ~14 min, eliciting total distances and high speed running of ~1000 m and 40 m, respectively. Conditioning drills elicited substantially greater relative high-speed running [18.8 ± 27.2 m.min<sup>−1</sup>] and Sprint [3.5 ± 9.4 m.min<sup>−1</sup>] distances than all other drill types. The proportion of training drill types used and external outputs elicited per drill were affected by the head coach. Midfielders recorded the highest total distance [77.3 ± 36.1 m.min] and PlayerLoad<sup>™</sup> [8.29 ± 3.54] of any playing position, whilst the lowest outputs were recorded by goalkeepers. This study provides reference data for practitioners when seeking to manipulate training prescription to achieve physical output targets whilst also meeting the team’s technical and tactical objectives.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/22/8149footballmonitoringtraining loadcoaching staffdrill categories |
| spellingShingle | Steve Barrett Matthew C. Varley Samuel P. Hills Mark Russell Matt Reeves Adam Hearn Christopher Towlson Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis Applied Sciences football monitoring training load coaching staff drill categories |
| title | Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis |
| title_full | Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis |
| title_short | Understanding the Influence of the Head Coach on Soccer Training Drills—An 8 Season Analysis |
| title_sort | understanding the influence of the head coach on soccer training drills an 8 season analysis |
| topic | football monitoring training load coaching staff drill categories |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/22/8149 |
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