Training Load In Professional Soccer

This concise yet comprehensive book bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering a sound understanding of training load and its impact on performance and injury prevention. In the opening part it equips the reader with a clear definition of training load as well as evidence-based methods and parameters for its monitoring, including advanced technologies like wearable sensors and tracking systems. It further explores the critical role of training load in preparing athletes for peak performance and managing the overall training process. Specifically tailored to football, the authors analyze the challenges of monitoring training load in team sports and highlight the importance of accurate management for optimal adaptation and fatigue reduction. They further analyze the relationship between training load and injury risk as well as the role of its monitoring in mitigating injury risks. Additional chapters delve into topics such as fatigue in soccer, return-to-play decision-making, manipulating training load within a seasonal schedule, and building a comprehensive monitoring system. With each chapter written by leading experts in the field, this book is a must-have resource for sport scientists, coaches and players seeking evidence-based strategies to optimize performance and minimize injuries in the dynamic world of soccer.

In this book, over 40 of the world’s leading practitioners working in elite soccer— over 6 continents—share advanced knowledge of the environment as well as a scientific understanding of the game and players. This book explores those traits at an intricate level through shared experiences of some of the best performance coaches working in elite soccer. The content in this book is derived from practical and evidence-based concepts that have been applied at the elite level. Uncovering the coaching strategies as well as contemporary issues in elite soccer, this comprehensive textbook illustrates what it takes to thrive as a performance coach at the top level. Collaborating with the industry leaders in soccer, the chapters address a myriad of topics such as: • the multiple roles and responsibilities; • youth development; • strength and conditioning application; • nutrition and recovery strategies; • tracking and monitoring fitness and fatigue; • powerful communication methods and staff cohesion; and • return to play and injury prevention strategies Peak Performance for Soccer is essential reading for all coaches and practitioners, at any level, who work in soccer. Alex Calder is the head of sports science with the Houston Dynamo, competing in Major League Soccer (MLS). He is an accredited level 3 elite coach with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA), as well as holding accreditations through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). Adam Centofanti is currently the head of fitness for the Seattle Sounders FC, having previously served as the head of academy strength and conditioning for Houston Dynamo FC. Formally with Melbourne City FC, Adam held various roles with the club including conditioning coach/sports scientist in the academy sector as well as overseeing the women’s performance program, achieving multiple championships.

This book is intended for those who want to work on improving the fitness and conditioning of football players. The contents are written, above all, for the needs of the fitness coaches (strength and conditioning / performance coaches) in football/ soccer, but the needs of the head and assistant coaches have also been covered. This book is a particularly useful tool for coaches working with young categories of football players. The principles for fitness (and conditioning / performance) training are similar for different categories of players, professional (adults) / young players. The following contents, through examples and programmes, explain the principles of the processes of training and transformation of Human Motor Abilities (HMA), which are predominantly recognisable in the football game, and which affect the improvement of the general and specific fitness of football players. For us, as authors of this book, our goal is, through these contents, to enable the coaches to independently understand and set up transformation of Human Motor Abilities in the form of fitness and conditioning trainings. The trainings described are examples of good practice (based on science). After reading the contents of this book, the coach should be able to develop one’s own plan and programme for each kind of training. The future fitness and conditioning training plan should be a flexible plan and should follow the changes that occur in the players; it should be dynamic and adaptable according to the respective conditions. Topics covered: PRE-SEASON PLAN | TRANSFORMATION OF HUMAN MOTOR ABILITIES | TRAINING LOAD + DOSAGE MANAGEMENT | FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH/POWER TRAINING | PERFORMANCE MONITORING | OFF-SEASON- TRAININGS | REHABILITATION (INJURY PREVENTION)

Several internal and external factors have been identified to estimate and control the psycho-biological stress of training in order to optimize training responses and to avoid fatigue, overtraining and other undesirable health effects of an athlete. An increasing number of lightweight sensor-based wearable technologies (“wearables”) have entered the sports technology market. Non-invasive sensor-based wearable technologies could transmit physical, physiological and biological data to computing platform and may provide through human-machine interaction (smart watch, smartphone, tablet) bio-feedback of various parameters for training load management and health. However, in theory, several wearable technologies may assist to control training load but the assessment of accuracy, reliability, validity, usability and practical relevance of new upcoming technologies for the management of training load is paramount for optimal adaptation and health.