Longitudinal development of match performance in elite field hockey players training within a high-performance environment

Lam, EP, Sunderland, CD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7484-1345, Morris, JG ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6508-7897, Furlong, L-AM, Forouhandeh, A, Bevan, T, Mason, BS, Tolfrey, K and Barrett, LA, 2025. Longitudinal development of match performance in elite field hockey players training within a high-performance environment. Journal of Sports Sciences. ISSN 0264-0414

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Abstract

This study examined whether the performance characteristics of male university field hockey players were associated with undergraduate degree year of study. Fifty-two male university field hockey players (age 20.8 ± 2.4 years, stature 1.79 ± 0.06 m, body mass 75.8 ± 8.3 kg) were monitored over 85 matches played across four national league seasons in the UK (2018–2022) using 15 Hz Global Positioning System units and heart rate monitors. Total distance, high-speed running distance (≥15.5 km.h−1), accelerations (≥2 m.s−1), decelerations (≤ −2 m.s−1), average heart rate and percentage of time spent at >85% of maximum heart rate were compared between 1st year, 2nd year and final year players across 1090 player-match files. Hierarchical linear modelling of performance characteristics (Match – level 1, Player – level 2), normalised to 70 min match time, found that the total and high-speed running distance covered by final year players was lower compared to 2nd year players (by 163 m and 127 m, respectively, both p < 0.05). With increased training experience in a high-performance programme, running performance required to perform optimally could be reduced in university players due to the high level of match performance achieved, development of game understanding and improved technical ability.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Sports Sciences
Creators:	Lam, E.P., Sunderland, C.D., Morris, J.G., Furlong, L.-A.M., Forouhandeh, A., Bevan, T., Mason, B.S., Tolfrey, K. and Barrett, L.A.
Publisher:	Informa UK Limited
Date:	16 August 2025
ISSN:	0264-0414
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/02640414.2025.2545703 DOI 2486929 Other
Rights:	© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	20 Aug 2025 08:46
Last Modified:	20 Aug 2025 08:46
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54232

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