Date of Award

Spring 2017

Degree Type

Honors Project

School

College of Liberal Arts

First Advisor

Lisa Ferguson-Stegall

Abstract

Soccer requires a significant amount of aerobic and anaerobic training to improve one’s performance. Because lactate threshold (LT) is an important component of endurance sport performance, testing the LT of soccer players in response to their off-season and in-season training regimens could help to gauge the success of those programs in improving or maintaining fitness levels. This study evaluated the effects of off-season training and in-season training types on LT in 11 NCAA Division III female soccer players (age 19.5 +/- 1.3 years). Off-season training was comprised of aerobic and anaerobic workouts, while in-season training was more sport-specific, and involved playing soccer six days a week. Each athlete performed two LT tests on a cycle ergometer after off-season training and in-season training were completed. There were no significant differences in mean LT levels between off-season training and in-season training (125.5 +/- 18.9 Watts vs. 119.5 +/- 13.4 Watts, respectively, p=0.33). It was concluded that LT levels were maintained, but not improved, by in-season, sport-specific training when compared to off-season training. Other metrics, such as shuttle run performance or VO2max testing, may be more useful in assessing the differences between the two training types.

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

Departmental Honors Project

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