Quantification of Seasonal-Long Physical Load in Soccer Players With Different Starting Status From the English Premier League: Implications for Maintaining Squad Physical Fitness

Purpose: To quantify the accumulative training and match load during an annual season in English Premier League soccer players classified as starters (n = 8, started 150% of games), fringe players (n = 7, started 30-60% of games) and nonstarters (n = 4, started <30% of games). Methods: Players were monitored during all training sessions and games completed in the 2013-14 season with load quantified using global positioning system and Prozone technology, respectively. Results: When including both training and matches, total duration of activity (10,678 916, 9955 947, 10,136 847 min; P = .50) and distance covered (816.2 +/- 92.5, 733.8 +/- 99.4, 691.2 +/- 71.5 km; P = .16) were not different between starters, fringe players, and nonstarters, respectively. However, starters completed more (all P < .01) distance running at 14.4-19.8 km/h (91.8 +/- 16.3 vs 58.0 +/- 3.9 km; effect size [ES] = 2.5), high-speed running at 19.9-25.1 km/h (35.0 +/- 8.2 vs 18.6 +/- 4.3 km; ES = 2.3), and sprinting at >25.2 km/h (11.2 +/- 4.2 vs 2.9 +/- 1.2 km; ES = 2.3) than nonstarters. In addition, starters also completed more sprinting (P < .01, ES = 2.0) than fringe players, who accumulated 4.5 +/- 1.8 km. Such differences in total high-intensity physical work done were reflective of differences in actual game time between playing groups as opposed to differences in high-intensity loading patterns during training sessions. Conclusions: Unlike total seasonal volume of training (ie, total distance and duration), seasonal high-intensity loading patterns are dependent on players' match starting status, thereby having potential implications for training program design.