Ground travel-induced impairment of wellness is associated with fitness and travel distance in young soccer players

Abstract

The aims of this study were to 1) investigate the influence of ground travel on wellness measures, and 2) examine the possible influence of travel distance and fitness on the magnitude of these possible changes. Compared with home matches, wellness measures showed moderate-to-large impairments of wellness of soccer players for away matches the day prior to the match (D-1) (range; +5 to 68%, [90%CL 1-88]; standardized difference: range; +.6 to +1.75 [.1-2.07]) and small-to-large impairments on the day of the match (D-0, range; +7 to +68.1 [-1.6-87.5]; standardized difference, range; +.24 to 1.78, [-.06-2.15]), respectively. There were large and very large negative relationships between the increases of fatigue (r = -.84, 90%CL -.95; -.56) or soreness (r = -.80, -.93; -.84) at D-1 and players’ fitness. There were also very large positive correlations between actual wellness measures and traveling distance to away locations (r range: .70 to .87). Ground travel-induced impairment of wellness is associated with fitness and distance of away locations in young soccer players. Simple wellness questionnaires could be used to effectively monitor young soccer players’ freshness and readiness to train or compete during away games.