Maximal power output and perceptual fatigue responses during a Division I female collegiate soccer season.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how maximal power output (PMAX), as measured via the inertial load cycling technique, changes throughout a collegiate soccer season in relation to training load completed. The current investigation took place throughout the 2010 Big XII soccer season. Nineteen Division I female collegiate soccer players (age: 19.9 ± 1.2 years, stature: 165.1 ± 6.6 cm, mass: 61.0 ± 6.8 kg) from the same team completed regular inertial load cycling tests and perceptual fatigue questionnaires throughout the season. Players were divided into STARTERS and NON-STARTERS based on percentage of matches started throughout the season. The results demonstrated that STARTERS experience much greater load throughout the season than NON-STARTERS (2247 ± 176 arbitrary units [AU] and 1585 ± 174 AU, p < 0.05), accounted for by increased load during matches. This increased load throughout the season was accompanied by decline in PMAX in STARTERS (to 92.3 ± 6.6%, p < 0.05), whereas PMAX was maintained in NON-STARTERS for the duration of the season (99.0 ± 4.9%). Furthermore, STARTERS experienced greater muscle soreness throughout the in-season period compared with NON-STARTERS. The main finding of this study is that PMAX declined throughout the middle and latter parts of the season in STARTERS, after experiencing significantly greater match loads than NON-STARTERS throughout the season. The current findings, combined with previous investigations, suggest that load needs to be carefully monitored throughout the in-season period to maintain optimal neuromuscular performance throughout a team's entire sporting season.