Assessment of periodization training in soccer

Abstract

Football is a situation sport, which means the athletes are part of many dependents variables, such as field, climate conditionings, teammates, presence of ball and more. Aspects that significantly affecting the training in this sport are: conditional aspect, psychological and technical-tactical. In power words, Soccer is a sport about situation and therefore imposes high demands for technical skills and physical specifications that have to be continually stressed in training. Several key components affect the performance of athletes during the race. The thesis developed is the concept of periodization, that is the division of athlete's preparation in particular periods of time with well-defined objectives, it means the division of training season in specific periods in order to clearly defined goals. The research is made by two part, the first one is carried out with the data on 16 male athletes aged between 18 and 34 years of a football team to 11 enrolled in the championship of Campania region, with the use of physical tests for the evaluation of Resistance, Speed, Acceleration, measurement of body circumferences, height and weight. Periodization is a proposal for a Tudor Bompa and constitutes a methodological approach aimed at achieving the objectives of training required for competitive levels predetermined. The second one is characterized by High Intensity Intermittent Training (HIIT), such important in soccer as many team sports, characterized by phases of high oxygen consumption alternate by recovery series. The study is conducted on a sample of 20 male Soccer players of 16.8 ± 1 years old members of a Sub-18 team of Italian National League “Beretti”. The athletes were divided into two groups according to their results of aerobic power detected by the Cooper test carried out at the beginning of the preparatory period: a group working with an higher internal load (90% HR), and another group performing the same, but holding a lower one (80% HR.). That division was made in such a way as to obtain the desired adaptations and improvements in both groups, because having different characteristics, and in such a manner as to not create high overloads that, producing lactate they would prevent the adaptations and improvements sought. This study shows us how the intermittent training leads to a significant increase in VO2max. The research takes into account the different phases of training annually monitored for a period of 4 months using 4 measurements of physical tests. The data collected will have to demonstrate an improvement in the ability of conditional force in order to reach the peak performance of the variables under consideration within the period. The data collected were subjected to a statistical study that showed improvements in physical performance of the different athletes thanks to the use of Periodization method integrated to High Intensity Intermittent Training. Significant, according to the method of periodization, the gradual increase of the applied load which allows the central nervous system (CNS) to adapt and achieve improvements. The aim of this study was to compare effects and improvements of an HIIT in two groups of Youth Soccer Players with different fitness characteristics, monitoring the Maximum Oxygen Consumption (VO2max) as parameter of internal load.