External and internal motor load in Italian young beach soccer players: A pilot study

Abstract

Purpose. The primary aim of this study was to asses the internal and external match demands of young beach soccer players during an official match. The secondary aim was to evaluate how these demands compared to those of 11-a-side soccer Materials and methods. The study involved 24 young soccer players under the age of 17 (all outfield players). Performance assessments were performed on a sand field (35 x 28 m) with beach soccer ball, over three 12-min periods. Internal physiological indicators (heart rate, RPE) and external indicators (total distance, distance/per minute, peak speed, ecc) were collected during and after the match. Results. The internal load values obtained show that the beach soccer competition imposes high cardio-vascular intensity on the young soccer player: about 70% of the distance covered results in a HR value between 80% and 100% of HRmax, with an average HR of about 95% of HRmax. The playing time for each player was 17.11±4.23 minutes. The total distance covered and the distance achieved per minute of play were 1733.21±280.76 meters and 83.95±6.29 meters, respectively. The equivalent distance was 1957.98±320.29 meters. The peak speed reached by the young soccer players was 20.01±0.97 km/h while the average speed observed was 5.12±0.52 km/h. The distance measured in moderate- and high-intensity running was significantly lower than the value of low-intensity running (p<0.05). The metabolic power intervals showed that the young soccer players ran 1480.46 ± 236.48 meters at low power, 199.45 ± 49.56 meters at high power, 46.13 ± 14.25 at very high power, and 7.43 ± 6.57 meters at maximum power. The values at high power (p<0.05), very high power (p<0.05) and maximum power (p<0.001) were significantly lower than those at low power. Conclusions. The performance profile of the young beach soccer player imposes high heart rate values and modest mechanical load during official competition. The performance profile is very different from that of the young 11-a-side soccer player. Beach soccer can be considered a sport that complements the physical condition of the 11-a-side soccer player.