The frequency and intensity of representative and non-representative late adolescent team-sport athletes’ training schedules

This study aimed to identify and compare the training frequency and intensity (via session rating of perceived exertion load (sRPE load)) of representative and non-representative late adolescent athletes. Thirty-six team sport athletes completed a web-based questionnaire daily over an 8-month period, reporting their training/match activities from the previous day. Athletes were categorised as representative (academy/county/international) or non-representative (club/school) depending on the highest level of their sport they participated. Mean weekly frequencies and sRPE load of different training/match activities were quantified for each athlete across five school terms. Mann-Whitney U tests established the significance of differences and effect sizes between playing standards for mean weekly frequencies and mean sRPE load. Within-athlete weekly sRPE loads were highly variable for both playing standards however representative level athletes participated in significantly more activity outside of school compared to non-representative athletes during November to December (effect size; 0.43 – club technical training; 0.36 – club matches), January to February (effect size; 0.78 – club technical training; 0.75 – club matches) and February to March (effect size; 0.63 – club technical training; 0.44 – club matches). Therefore, club and school coaches must ensure that all elements of representative athlete's training schedules are coordinated and flexible to promote positive adaptions to training such as skill & physical development and prevent maladaptive responses such as overuse injury and non-functional overreaching. A cooperative and malleable training schedule between club/school coaches and the athlete will allow the athlete to perform on multiple fronts whilst also being able to meet the demands of additional stressors such as schoolwork.