Association between preseason training and performance in elite Australian football

Purpose: To examine the association between preseason training variables and subsequent in-season performance in an elite Australian football team. Methods: Data from 41 elite male Australian footballers (mean [SD] age = 23.4 [3.1] y, height =188.4 [7.1] cm, and mass = 86.7 [7.9] kg) were collected from 1 Australian Football League (AFL) club. Preseason training data (external load, internal load, fitness testing, and session participation) were collected across the 17-wk preseason phase (6 and 11 wk post-Christmas). Champion Data© Player Rank (CDPR), coaches’ ratings, and round 1 selection were used as in-season performance measures. CDPR and coaches’ ratings were examined over the entire season, first half of the season, and the first 4 games. Both Pearson and partial (controlling for AFL age) correlations were calculated to assess if any associations existed between preseason training variables and in-season performance measures. A median split was also employed to differentiate between higher- and lower-performing players for each performance measure. Results: Preseason training activities appeared to have almost no association with performance measured across the entire season and the first half of the season. However, many preseason training variables were significantly linked with performance measured across the first 4 games. Preseason training variables that were measured post-Christmas were the most strongly associated with in-season performance measures. Specifically, total on-field session rating of perceived exertion post-Christmas, a measurement of internal load, displayed the greatest association with performance. Conclusion: Late preseason training (especially on-field match-specific training) is associated with better performance in the early season

Influence of physical fitness, age, experience, and weekly training load on match performance in elite Australian football

Season long competition schedules in football create unique challenges for coaches in balancing the requirements of recovery, developing and maintaining physical fitness, and adjusting the training load before each match. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of player characteristics (physical fitness, age, and playing experience) and weekly in-season training load on elite match performance across an Australian football season. Twenty-five players (age: 24.1 ± 3.0 years; height: 188.3 ± 7.3 cm; weight: 90.4 ± 8.3 kg) from one elite team participated in this study. Before the season, player's age, experience, height, and weight along with measures of aerobic (6-minute run) and anaerobic (6 × 40 m repeated sprints) physical fitness were recorded. Individual player training load during the season was measured using global positioning system technology for the main training session of the week. Player match performance was calculated weekly from 33 individual playing statistics. Multilevel modeling was used to investigate the relationship between weekly training load and match performance and to explore the influence of player characteristics on this relationship. Playing experience (p < 0.01) and aerobic fitness (p < 0.05) displayed positive relationships with performance, whereas player age (p < 0.01) showed a negative relationship. Most players coped well with weekly variations in training load; however, the relationship was moderated by the results of the preseason repeated sprint test (p < 0.05). The adverse effect on playing performance in selected players after a more intense training session suggests that recovery from the session may be delayed in players who exhibit a better anaerobic fitness profile