Collegiate Field Hockey Players Experience Different Exercise Loads Between Practices And Matches

Document Type

Conference Presentation

Department

Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences Department

Conference Title

American College of Sports Medicine - Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise conference

Organization

American College of Sports Medicine

Location

Denver, CO

Date of Presentation

6-1-2023

Journal Publication

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

ISSN

0195-9131

DOI

10.1249/01.mss.0000983292.05849.eb

Volume

55

Issue

9S

First Page

374

Last Page

375

Abstract

Field hockey involves considerable aerobic and anaerobic stress. Some of the training load and all of the on-field movement can be captured using heart rate monitors with global positioning systems. PURPOSE: To evaluate differences in exercise demand between practice and competition settings in collegiate field hockey. METHODS: We monitored 19 Division-1 female field hockey players for 88 consecutive days of their competitive season, comprising 51 practices and 20 games. All players wore Polar Team Pro devices (Polar Electro Inc., Bethpage, NY) during each practice and game. Dependent variables exported were mean heart rate (HR), mean HR percentage (HR%), duration spent at 90-100% of maximum HR, average speed, maximum speed, total distance covered, and training load score. Independent-samples t-test were conducted to compare game and practice metrics; where Levene's test for equality of variances was not met, we used Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: In practice settings, mean HR was 138.1 ± 15.7 bpm, mean HR% was 69.4 ± 7.9%, the duration spent at 90-100% of maximum HR was 2.9 ± 2.7 min, average speed was 2.9 ± 0.7 km/h, maximum speed was 23.7 ± 4.2 km/h, total distance covered was 3,866.4 ± 1,583.5 m, and training load score was 117.4 ± 63.6. In game settings, mean HR was 9.2 ± 1.1 bpm higher (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 7.2, 11.3), mean HR% was 4.6 ± 0.5% higher (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 3.6, 5.6), duration spent at 90-100% of maximum HR was 0.5 ± 0.2 min longer (P = 0.008; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.8), average speed was 3.8 ± 0.1 km/h faster (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 3.4, 4.2), maximum speed was 2.9 ± 0.3 km/h faster (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 2.4, 3.4), total distance covered was 1,694.8 ± 117.3 m farther (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 1,418.7, 1,971.0), and training load score was 43.1 ± 4.0 higher (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 35.6, 50.5). Mann-Whitney U tests were performed for comparisons without equal variances: average speed (U = 35,103.5; P < 0.001), total distance (U = 79,733.5; P < 0.001), and training load score (U = 83,201.5; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Athletes experienced greater physical demand in games compared to practices. Games had higher HR values, covered more distance, spent more time near maximum HR, reached higher speeds, and had higher training load scores. More intense practices that stimulate match settings should be considered to better prepare field hockey players for competition.

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