The match-play sprint performance of elite senior hurlers during competitive games

Damien Young, Giuseppe Coratella, Shane Malone, Collins Kieran, Mourot Laurent, Marco Beato

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The typical sprint profile in elite hurling has yet to be established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sprinting demands of elite hurling competition and characterize the sprinting patterns of different playing positions. GPS (10-Hz, STATSports Viper) were used to collect data from 51 hurlers during 18 games. The total sprint (22 kmh-1) distance (TSD), the number of sprints (NOS) classified as length (<20 m, 20 m) and relative speed thresholds (<80%, 80–90%, >90%), the between-sprint duration and the number of repeated-sprint bouts (2 sprints in 60 s) were analyzed. The NOS was 22.2 ± 6.8 accumulating 415 ± 140 m TSD. The NOS <20 m, 20 m was 14.0 ± 4.7 and 8.1 ± 3.6 respectively. The NOS <80%, 80–90% and >90% was 10.6 ± 4.3, 8.2 ± 3.6, 3.4 ± 2.4 respectively. The between-sprint duration and the repeated-sprint bouts were 208 ± 86 s and 4.5 ± 2.6 respectively. TSD (ES = -0.20), NOS (ES = -0.34), NOS <20 m (ES = -0.33), 20 m (ES = -0.24), 80–90% (ES = -0.35) >90% (ES = -0.13) and repeated-sprint bouts (ES = -0.28) decreased between-halves. Full-backs performed a lower NOS <80% than half-backs (ES = -0.66) and a shorter mean duration of sprints than half-backs (ES = -0.75), midfielders (ES = -1.00) and full-forwards (ES = -0.59). These findings provide a sprint profile of elite hurling match-play that coaches should consider to replicate the sprint demands of competition in training.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0215156
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume14
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The match-play sprint performance of elite senior hurlers during competitive games'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this