Relationship Among Repeated Sprint Ability, Chronological Age, and Puberty in Young Soccer Players.

Perroni, F, Pintus, A, Frandino, M, Guidetti, L, and Baldari, C. Relationship among repeated sprint ability, chronological age, and puberty in young soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 32(2): 364-371, 2018-The aim of this study was to analyzed the relationship of repeated sprint ability (RSA) with chronological age and puberty in 100 young soccer players (age: 13 ± 3 years-160 ± 33 months-; height: 159 ± 16 cm, mass: 49.7 ± 14.1 kg; body mass index [BMI] 19.2 ± 2.5 kg/m) grouped on "Pulcini" (9-10 years), "Esordienti" (11-12 years), "Giovanissimi" (13-14 years), "Allievi" (15-16 years), and "Juniores" (>17 years) categories. Anthropometric (weight, height, BMI), RSA (7 × 30 m sprint with 25 seconds active rest: total time-TT, the lowest sprinting time, and the fatigue index percentage-%IF), and development (self-administered rating scale for pubertal development PDS; puberty) parameters were measured. ANOVA among categories was applied to asses differences (p ≤ 0.05) in TT and %IF. When a significant effect was found, Bonferroni's post hoc analysis was used. Pearson correlation among all variables was calculated considering all subjects and also within categories. Among categories, statistical analysis showed significant differences (p < 0.001) in TT and a considerable trend toward significance (p = 0.06) in %IF. Significant correlations among variables were found in all subjects and within categories. In particular, TT showed large significant correlation with PDS (r = -0.66) and puberty (r = -0.67) only in "Esordienti." This study provides useful information for the coach to propose an appropriate training and to obtain the optimal training effect and to minimize the risk of injury and overtraining during the different phases of growth and maturation.

Chronological age, relative age, pubertal development, and their impact on countermovement jump performance in adolescent football players: An integrative analysis.

This paper examined the relationship among countermovement jump (CMJ), football category, chronological age, relative age, and pubertal development status to investigate which parameter could be better associated with jumping performance. We tested 259 young male football players (14.9 ± 1.8 yrs; 169.7 ± 9.8 cm; 60.6 ± 11.3 kg; 20.9 ± 2.6 kg m-2) belonging to elite football academies. One-sample chi-square tests were used to test the uniformity of distributions of the proportions of players in each year quarter (relative age effect, RAE) for the whole sample and stratified for each football age category (U14, U15, U17, and U19). One-way ANOVAs were used to test the associations among a) categories, RAE, and CMJ, and b) the pubertal status category and CMJ. Pearson's correlation assessed the relationship among variables. The birth distribution among the year's quarters significantly differed from the expected proportion of 25 % of participants each quarter (χ 2 = 41.74; p < 0.001), highlighting the presence of a relative age effect. Results indicate that age significantly influences CMJ (F (6,231) = 8.85, p < 0.001, η2 p = 0.187), and a significant interaction effect (age × birth quarter) was found. Coaches, strength and conditioning trainers, and scouts should be aware of physical and biological players' maturation.

Heart rate responses during small-sided games and short intermittent running training in elite soccer players: a comparative study.

The purpose of this study was to compare heart rate (HR) responses within and between physical controlled (short-duration intermittent running) and physical integrated (sided games) training methods in elite soccer players. Ten adult male elite soccer players (age, 26 +/- 2.9 years; body mass, 78.3 +/- 4.4 kg; maximum HR [HRmax], 195.4 +/- 4.9 b x min(-1) and velocity at maximal aerobic speed (MAS), 17.1 +/- 0.8 km x h(-1)) performed different short-duration intermittent runs, e.g., 30-30 (30 seconds of exercise interspersed with 30 seconds of recovery) with active recovery, and 30-30, 15-15, 10-10, and 5-20 seconds with passive recovery, and different sided games (1 versus 1, 2 versus 2, 4 versus 4, 8 versus 8 with and without a goalkeeper, and 10 versus 10). In both training methods, HR was measured and expressed as a mean percentage of HR reserve (%HRres). The %HRres in the 30-30-second intermittent run at 100% MAS with active recovery (at 9 km.h with corresponding distance) was significantly higher than that with passive recovery (85.7% versus 77.2% HRres, respectively, p < 0.001) but also higher than the 1 versus 1 (p < 0.01), 4 versus 4 (p

[HIV and related infections in Italian penal institutions: epidemiological and health organization note]. / HIV e infezioni correlate negli Istituti Penitenziari Italiani: note di epidemiologia e di organizzazione sanitaria.

HIV and other infections represent an important health problem in Italian jails. In particular, HIV prevalence is high, due to the characteristics of the prison population, which is constituted by a large proportion of injecting drug users and foreigners. In addition, data from other countries suggest that risky behaviour are not uncommon during imprisonment, and transmission of HIV and other infection in this setting may also occur. Data from surveys conducted by the Penitentiary Authority in Italian jails show a decline of HIV seroprevalence from 9.7% in 1990 to 2.6% in 2001. However, these data are largely incomplete and do not account for possible biases due to self-selection of inmates toward HIV serological testing or to variations in the access to screening activities. More accurate data, possibly obtained through anonymous unlinked surveys, are needed in order to better plan health services and preventive measures.