Accumulated Workload Differences in Collegiate Women's Soccer: Starters versus Substitutes

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Soccer Performance Analysis

Background:

• Understanding player workload is crucial for optimizing training and preventing injuries in collegiate athletics.
• Differences in playing time between starters and substitutes can lead to disparities in accumulated physical demands.
• Previous research has explored workload quantification, but specific comparisons in female collegiate soccer are less defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the accumulated workloads of female collegiate soccer players across a competitive season.
• To compare the seasonal workloads between starting players and substitutes.
• To identify potential differences in training and match demands based on player role.

Main Methods:

• Utilized global positioning system (GPS) and heart rate (HR) monitoring sensors for 19 collegiate female soccer players.
• Collected data on total distance, distance in speed and HR zones, and accelerations throughout the 2019 season.
• Employed repeated-measures ANOVA and Student's t-tests to analyze differences between starters and substitutes.

Main Results:

• Starters exhibited significantly greater seasonal accumulated total distance, sprint distance, and high-speed distance compared to substitutes (p < 0.001).
• No significant differences were found in accumulated training load (p = 0.08) or training load per minute played in matches (p = 0.08) between starters and substitutes.
• Substitutes showed comparable workload profiles during training but distinct differences during match play relative to starters.

Conclusions:

• Starters experience higher overall physical demands throughout a competitive season in female collegiate soccer.
• While total match exposure differs, the intensity per minute played may be similar, suggesting strategic substitution patterns.
• Coaches and practitioners should implement targeted monitoring to address workload disparities between starters and substitutes.