Physical and physiological demands in women’s field hockey: Differences between play times

Abstract

Coaches and physical trainers must know the physical and physiological demands of field hockey to be able to tailor trainings based on the specific competition needs. The objective of the study was to analyze the patterns of movement of field hockey players during competition throughout four match quarters. A total of 18 players (22.8 ± 2.9 years of age), were monitored with GPS and heart rate monitor. The players covered 6,668 m, 276 of which were at high intensity (>18 km·h-1); an average speed of 99.33 m·min-1 and 7.28 sprints (> 20 km·h-1) were recorded by match. Those players who played the full match decreased the distance covered in the last quarter (p