Effect of Substitution Time on Physical, Technical and Cognitive Performance in Sub-Elite Male Field Hockey Players

We examined the effects of substitution time (i.e., recovery time) in a simulated field hockey test on physical, technical and perceptual/cognitive performance. Nine sub-elite male field hockey players (age: 20 ± 2 yrs, height: 1.81 ± 0.06 m, body mass: 71 ± 10 kg, body fat: 10.3 ± 3.7%, V̇O_2max: 67 ± 3 mL·kg^-1·min^-1) completed four 8-min 40-s bouts of high-intensity intermittent exercise with 2-min and 5.5-min substitution time replicating the demands of a 4-quarter field hockey match. After each bout, a 15-m maximal sprint, agility/dribbling test, passing accuracy test, and a cognitive task were completed. Heart rate (p < .001) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (p < .001) increased with every bout. RPE was higher for the 5.5-min condition during the 2^nd and 4^th bout. No differences were observed between the substitution times and the number of bouts on 15-m maximal sprint time (2-min: 2.03 ± 0.14 s, 5.5-min: 2.07 ± 0.12 s), average reaction time (2-min: 347.19 ± 30.78 ms, 5.5-min: 346.69 ± 38.73 ms), cognitive error rate (2-min: 0.86 ± 0.77; 5.5-min: 0.44 ± 0.37), passing accuracy (2-min: 6 ± 1, 5.5-min: 6 ± 1) and agility/dribbling time (2-min: 7.06 ± 0.41 s, 5.5-min: 7.23 ± 0.55 s). It was concluded that a longer recovery time (i.e., substitution time 5.5-min) did not provide better physical and technical performance than 2-min during a simulated 4-quarter field hockey test. Further research with a larger sample size should address whether the shorter 2-min substitution time seemed to result in lower cognitive performance.