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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VO2MAX, TIME TO EXHAUSTION, AND POSITIONAL PLAY IN NCAA DIII MALE SOCCER PLAYERS.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Soccer consists of repeated bouts of high-intensity efforts that occur during a 90-minute match. Although soccer is a team sport, each position has separate physiological demands. Thus, each position should undergo individual analysis to determine the physiological demands and requirements for elite performance. However, there is a lack of literature regarding positional differences in NCAA DIII Male Soccer Athletes. PURPOSE: To assess potential physiological differences related to positional play in DIII male soccer players. METHODS: Eighteen (3 forwards, 6 midfielders, 6 defenders, and 3 goalkeepers) NCAA DIII male soccer players completed a maximal treadmill GXT. Max values of VO2, Ventilation (VE), Heart Rate (HR), Ventilatory Threshold (VT), and Time to Exhaustion (TTE) were collected and statistically analyzed. The values were compared between groups. A One-Way MANOVA was used to evaluate the positional differences between forwards, midfielders, defenders, and goalkeepers with significant differences occurring at a p-value ≤ 0.05. For the 18 subjects, a bivariate correlation (p≤0.05) was performed for all performance variables. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the groups [VO2max(F=1.374, p=0.292), HRmax(F=0.636, p=0.604), VEpeak (F=.966, p=0.436), TTE(F=1.489, p=0.261), VT(F=1.415, p=0.280). Also, a significant moderately high correlation occurred between VO2max and TTE. No other significant correlations were found between VO2 and other variables. VE had a significant moderately negative correlation between height and weight. No significant correlations were found for HRmax and VT. CONCLUSION: The results were not significant between groups, but this is believed to be due to the sample size of each group. The results have practical application as there were differences between the positions. The differences indicate that the various positions may require different physiological stimuli thus suggesting that coaches should consider training athletes from a positional perspective instead of a generic team training protocol. Future research may need to evaluate larger sample sizes of various positions to fully understand the exact demands of each field position which will help determine specific training programs for various soccer team positions.

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