Seasonal Variations in the Physical Fitness of South African Premier Soccer League Players over an Annual Training Macrocycle (Nine Months)

Seasonal Variations in the Physical Fitness of South African Premier Soccer League Players over an Annual Training Macrocycle (Nine Months)

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Background: Anecdotal data indicate that the physical fitness of soccer players fluctuates across the season.This is often a concern for coaches, since players are expected to be at optimal fitness during matches on weekly basis across the season.Objectives: To analyze the physical fitness variation in South African Premier Soccer League players over an annual training macrocycle.Methods: Twenty-four Premier Soccer Drone League players belonging to the same team participated in the study.Players went through fitness assessments at three stages of the season: at the beginning of pre-season (T1); mid-first round in-season (T2); and mid-second round in-season (T3).

The assessments included body fat percentage; sit and reach; vertical jump; 10 and 30 m sprints; and YoYo Intermittent Recovery Level 2 (YoYo IR2).Results: There was a significant increase in body fat percentage from T1 to T2 (p p = 0.04).Flexibility was significantly greater at T2 (p p = 0.004) compared to T1 and T2.

A similar trend was evident in the YoYo toys IR2, where players reached the highest levels at T3 (p Conclusions: These results indicate that, indeed, some parameters, such as body fat percentage and flexibility, are likely to fluctuate as the season progresses.However, it is also evident that a gradual improvement can be achieved, as seen in vertical jump and YoYo IR2.