Physical and physiological responses of amateur football players on third-generation artificial turf systems during simulated game situations

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the physical and physiological load imposed on amateur football players in a simulated game situation on different artificial turf systems. For that purpose, 20 football players (21.65 6 3.10 year old) were monitored with Global Positioning Systems and heart rate bands during 45-minutes games on 4 selected artificial turf systems. The results show more covered distance in highintensity ranges on the system with lower levels of damping and higher rates of rotational traction (p # 0.05). Likewise, this system of artificial turf demonstrated a high number of sprints (12.65 6 5.67) and more elevated maximum speed peaks during the last part of the game (28.16 6 2.90 km$h21) in contrast to the systems with better damping capacity (p # 0.05). On the other hand, the physiological load was similar across the 4 artificial turf systems (p . 0.05). Finally, the regression analysis demonstrated a significant influence of the mechanical properties of the surface on global distance (15.4%), number (12.6%), and maximum speed (16.6%) of the sprints. To conclude, the mechanical variability of the artificial turf systems resulted in differences in the activity profiles and the players’ perceptions during simulated football games.