Within-Season Variation of Fitness in Elite Youth Female Soccer Players

Within-Season Variation of Fitness in Elite Youth Female Soccer Players

The within-season variation in fitness measures of elite youth female soccer players (<18 years of age) has not been investigated previously. Further knowledge of this area could allow more effective periodization of training, whilst also enabling coaches to design appropriate long-term athlete development models. This study investigated the within-season variation of fitness test performance in elite youth female soccer players. In elite youth female soccer players, acceleration, sprint and CoD performance decreased over the course of a season, whilst RSA performance improved in U13 players. Coaches should consider the impact of physiological preparation on performance when working with youth female soccer players, implementing training interventions and recovery strategies accordingly to prevent reduced performance capacity during competition.