Internal and external load responses between congested and non-congested matches in youth soccer players

The aim of our study was to investigate the internal and external load responses between matches played under congested and non-congested conditions. Data from 10 competitive youth soccer players (mean age 18 ± 1 years, height 175.50 ± 0.05 cm, weight 67.64 ± 11.07 Kg) was collected across 8 matches during 35 days. Several measures of internal (perceptual recovery, sRPE and HR) and external (TD, VHIA and Pmet) load were assessed. Magnitude based inference was used to compare any temporal changes between two conditions. Our results suggest that internal and external load measures of youth soccer players were not affected during a short period of congested matches. Independent of match conditions, there were substantial impairments in perceived recovery post (48 and 46 %; ES: -1.42 ± 0.30, -1.53 ± 0.34), post 24 h (30 and 28 %; ES: -1.06 ± 0.36, -1.15 ± 0.44) and post 48 h (16 and 12 %; ES: -0.74 ± 0.40, -0.67 ± 0.51) for congested and non-congested matches respectively. Moreover, perceived recovery return to baseline at 72 h post-match. Our results provide important information for coaches to schedule training sessions and recovery strategies during congested fixtures.