Deceleration characteristics of elite Australian male field hockey players during an Olympic tournament

Abstract

Objectives: This study described the deceleration efforts of the Australian men's field hockey team during the 2016 Olympics by categorising efforts into 'bands' of intensity; and comparing the deceleration intensity and frequency by player position, game period and opponent.

Design: Descriptive retrospective analysis.

Methods: Global positioning system sensors (MinimaxX S4, Catapult Sports Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Australia; 10Hz) were worn by 15 male field hockey players during six games of the 2016 Olympic tournament.

Results: There were 8998 individual deceleration efforts (≤-3ms^-2) performed over the tournament with the most intense effort measured at -13.6ms^-2. Deceleration intensity 'bands' were calculated using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves as low intensity=-3 to -5.99ms^-2; medium intensity=-6 to -8.99ms^-2; high intensity=-9 to -11.99ms^-2; and, very high intensity=<-12ms^-2. There were no significantly different decelerations between field positions but decelerations performed within game period one were more intense than game period two (-0.11±0.01ms^-2, p<0.001). Deceleration efforts were more frequent in game period one than two [X²(3, N=8997)=12.00, p=0.007].

Conclusions: Decelerations are common in elite field hockey and very high intensities are present. These findings, in conjunction with other metrics can be used as a tool to monitor the load associated with training and match play in field hockey.

Keywords: High intensity intermittent exercise; Muscle fatigue; Physical conditioning; ROC analysis.