In soccer, physical development is crucial for developing optimal performance. This study aimed to assess and compare the of elite non-elite professional soccer players. Seventy-eight male football players divided into four competitive levels participated in this study: group (EG), A (NEG-A), B (NEG-B), under 23 (U23). Body composition, static strength, lower-body explosive flexibility, balance...

The jump shot is one of the most important elements of specific handball motor behaviour. We wanted to assess it with the method of expert modelling. The sample of subjects consisted of ten male elite handball players, members of the national Slovenian teams that play in the first national handball division (average height 191.1 ± 4.48 cm; average body mass 90.0 ± 4.40 kg, average age 23.4 ± 4....

OBJECTIVE The project aimed to implement neuromuscular training during a full soccer and handball league season and to experimentally analyze the neuromuscular adaptation mechanisms elicited by this training during a standardized sidecutting maneuver known to be associated with non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. DESIGN The players were tested before and after 1 season withou...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the risk between throwing workload and upper limb injury in elite cricketers. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Elite Australian cricket. PARTICIPANTS 28 adult male cricketers aged 18-32 years. ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS Daily throwing workload and injury were prospectively monitored over the 2007-2008 cricket season. Risk ratios (RRs) were calculated to ...

BACKGROUND The incidence of lower extremity injuries in female soccer players is high, but the risk factors for injuries are unknown. PURPOSE To investigate risk factors for lower extremity injuries in elite female soccer players. STUDY DESIGN Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS Players in the Norwegian elite female soccer league (N = 12 teams) participated in baseline screening t...

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of additional in-season speed endurance production versus speed endurance maintenance training regimes on performance in competitive male soccer players. In a randomised controlled trial 18 male sub-elite players were exposed to additional speed endurance production (SEP) or speed endurance maintenance (SEM) training (two additional se...

The evolution of referees' physical fitness has been studied over one or several seasons, however, the variation of the physical performance between the end of the competitive season (T1) and the start of the following pre-season (T2) has not been ascertained. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of the transition period on physical performance variables (i.e. linear stra...

Background. Regardless of the age, elite athletes exhibit various motor capabilities (e.g., speed; endurance; strength) that are specific to that particular sport. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to compare different aspects of physical fitness (agility, strength, endurance) in thirty, 9 year old elite soccer and hockey players. Methods. Participants completed a 90 minute familiariz...

BACKGROUND The age of peak performance in elite endurance athletes has been investigated for elite marathoners, but not for elite Ironman triathletes. The aim of this study was to analyze the age of peak performance in swimming (3.8 km), cycling (180 km), running (42 km), and overall race time for elite female and male Ironman triathletes competing in Ironman Switzerland, a qualifier for the Ir...

OBJECTIVE To compare aerobic capacity of young and adult elite soccer players using appropriate scaling procedures. METHODS Twenty four male adult (mean (SD) age 24 (2) years, weight 75.7 (7.2) kg, VO2max 66.6 (5.2) ml/lbm/min, where lbm is lean body mass in kg) and 21 youth (14 (0.4) years, 60.2 (7.3) kg, 66.5 (5.9) ml/lbm/min) elite soccer players took part in the study. Allometric equation...