Acute pre- and post-competitive soccer match-play changes in neuromuscular factors, physical performance, and muscle response in youth male players.

There is a paucity of literature analyzing the impact of fatigue from actual competitive soccer match-play on measures of neuromuscular function and muscle damage markers in youth players. Aims The main purpose was to analyze the acute pre- and post-competitive soccer match-play changes in measures of landing mechanics, stretch-shortening cycle capability, physical performance, muscle damage, and match intensity. A secondary purpose was to explore whether the players' maturity status and chronological age were associated with post-soccer match-play responses.

Lost in transition: Exploring injury risk in academy footballers shifting between the second and first teams.

Objectives: To compare the injury profiles of football players shifting between second and first teams with those of second- and first-team players, and to examine the opinions of shifting players.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: 170 male players from Athletic Club (second team = 90, shifting = 20, first team = 60) were followed over eight seasons.

An injury burden heat map of all men's and women's teams of a professional football club over a decade.

The aim was to present a descriptive 10-season summary of injury data from all teams of a professional football club using a heat map approach. Injuries and exposure time were registered according to the FIFA consensus in all men's and women's teams from Athletic Club over 10 seasons. A team-by-injury table was created, showing the incidence, median severity, and burden in each cell.

What Are the Load and Wellness of Young Second-Team Football Players When Transitioning to the First Team? A Comparison of 2 Consecutive Preseasons.

Purpose: To compare the load and wellness of second-team academy football players during a first-team preseason with those of first-team players and those of their previous second-team preseason.

Methods: Athletic Club's first- (n = 10) and second-team (n = 9) players were prospectively followed during the 2019-20 first- and second-team and 2020-21 first-team preseasons. Weekly external and internal loads and average wellness z-scores (fatigue, sleep quality, muscle soreness, stress, and mood) were compared between preseasons and teams.

Injuries are negatively associated with player progression in an elite football academy.

Background: The aim was to investigate the association of injuries with male football player continuity, progression and chances of reaching the First team in an elite academy.

Methods: Injuries and exposure time were prospectively recorded, following the FIFA guidelines, over 6 seasons (2011-2017) in Under (U)12, U14, U16, U19, 2nd/3rd team and First team players from the same professional football club.

Results: U19 and 2nd/3rd team players progressing to the next level had a lower injury burden and higher match availability compared to players that did not progress.

Peak Height Velocity Affects Injury Burden in Circa-PHV Soccer Players.

Growth and maturation are potential risk factors for soccer injuries. This research sought to describe how peak height velocity (PHV) affects overall and specific injury burden in circa- and post-PHV elite academy soccer players. Injuries and growth data collected from 2000 to 2020 were studied retrospectively.

Relative skeletal maturity status affects injury burden in U14 elite academy football players.

Maturation progresses at different times and at different rates between individuals. Thus, differences in maturity status exist among players in the same chronological age-based category, especially in U14 players. The purpose of this prospective study was to describe injury burden according to the relative skeletal maturity status in U14 elite academy football players.

Knee Flexor Eccentric Strength, Hamstring Muscle Volume and Sprinting in Elite Professional Soccer Players with a Prior Strained Hamstring.

The aim was to determine if players with a prior hamstring strain injury (HSI) exhibit bilateral deficits in knee flexor eccentric strength and hamstring muscle volume and differences in sprinting performance compared with players without a history of HSIs. Forty-six male professional soccer players participated in this study. Eccentric knee flexor strength, hamstring muscle volume (MRI), and a 20-m running sprint test (5- and 10-m split time) were assessed at the start of the preseason.

The burden of injuries according to maturity status and timing: A two-decade study with 110 growth curves in an elite football academy.

Injuries have a negative impact on the development of football players. Maturation is a potential risk factor for football injuries but available data on this topic provide limited evidence due to methodological shortcomings. The aim of this study was to describe the injury burden of male academy football players according to growth curve-derived maturity status and timing.