Citation

Barreira P, Robinson MA, Drust B, Nedergaard N, Raja Azidin RM, Vanrenterghem J. J. Sports Sci. 2016; 35(17): 1674-1681.

Affiliation

Sport Sciences , Liverpool John Moores University , Liverpool , England.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/02640414.2016.1229015

PMID

27598850

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine reliability and construct convergent validity of Player Load™ (PL) from trunk-mounted accelerometry, expressed as a cumulative measure and an intensity measure (PL · min(-)(1)). Fifteen male participants twice performed an overground football [soccer] match simulation that included four different multidirectional football actions (jog, side cut, stride and sprint) whilst wearing a trunk-mounted accelerometer inbuilt in a global positioning system unit.

RESULTS showed a moderate-to-high reliability as indicated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (0.806-0.949) and limits of agreement. Convergent validity analysis showed considerable between-participant variation (coefficient of variation range 14.5-24.5%), which was not explained from participant demographics despite a negative association with body height for the stride task. Between-task variations generally showed a moderate correlation between ranking of participants for PL (0.593-0.764) and PL · min(-)(1) (0.282-0.736). It was concluded that monitoring PL(®) in football multidirectional actions presents moderate-to-high reliability, that between-participant variability most likely relies on the individual's locomotive skills and not their anthropometrics, and that the intensity of a task expressed by PL · min(-)(1) is largely related to the running velocity of the task.

Language: en