Physiological Demands, Morphological Characteristics, Physical Abilities and Injuries of Female Soccer Players
Journal Title: Journal of Human Kinetics - Year 2017, Vol 60, Issue 6
Abstract
The popularity of female soccer is increasing as well as the number of females playing soccer. Similarly, over the last twenty or so years, research in soccer has increased significantly, but a large disparity exists in the volume of studies involving male and female players. As a consequence of this, female players remain less well understood compared to males. The purpose of the present narrative review was to describe morphological characteristics, physiological demands, physical abilities and injuries in female soccer players. Physiological demands are similar between men’s and women’s soccer, but competitive women’s matches were characterized by nearly 33% less distance covered, although at higher intensity levels (maximum speeds greater than 15 km/h) than typically found in the men’s game. Sub-elite female players also tended to run less at higher intensity levels at the end of both halves in comparison with elite female players. High intensity running is an important factor of success in soccer since many critical moments of the game occur under this condition. The ability to rapidly change direction also determined elite, sub-elite and amateur levels. The implementation of functional training, which focused on soccer-specific drills and plyometric exercises, to improve explosive power, may improve conditioning in female soccer players as well as decrease the risk of injuries which was 3-8 times higher in females compared to males. This review presents an in-depth overview of the most influential factors for determining success in female soccer.
Authors and Affiliations
Zoran Milanović , Goran Sporiš, Nic James, Nebojša Trajković, Aleksandar Ignjatović, Hugo Sarmento, Athos Trecroci, Bruno Miguel Borges Mendes
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP239948
- DOI 10.1515/hukin-2017-0091
- Views 145
- Downloads 0
Analysis of the Hamstring Muscle Activation During two Injury Prevention Exercises
The aim of this study was to perform an electromyographic and kinetic comparison of two commonly used hamstring eccentric strengthening exercises: Nordic Curl and Ball Leg Curl. After determining the maximum isometric vo...
Variability of Metabolic Power Data in Elite Soccer Players During Pre-Season Matches
This study aimed to determine the within-subject variability of GPS-derived metabolic power data in elite soccer players across several pre-season matches and compare the variability of high metabolic power, velocity, ac...
Butterfly Sprint Swimming Technique, Analysis of Somatic and Spatial-Temporal Coordination Variables
The aim of this study was to investigate somatic properties and force production of leg extensor muscles measured in the countermovement jump test (CMJ), as well as to analyse kinematic variables of sprint surface butter...
Foreword of the Special Issue on Motivation in Physical Education, Sport and Physical Activity and Health
Following the growing concern of health specialists over physical activity levels in a population with high rates of sedentary behaviors, the aim of this Special Issue is to emphasize the importance of motivation to crea...
Effects of an Interpersonal Style Intervention for Coaches on Young Soccer Players’ Motivational Processes
The main goal of the study was to assess the effects of an intervention programme developed with soccer coaches, based on promoting strategies to optimise the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of athletes. Ei...