Association Between Field Test Performance And Match Physical Performance In Collegiate Female Soccer Players

Soccer programs frequently utilize fitness testing as a means of evaluating player physical capacity. The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIR1) is an incremental exercise protocol to exhaustion involving bouts of high-intensity running, with brief periods of active recovery. Test performance is quantified as the number of bouts, or levels, the individual completes. Previous literature has shown that increased YYIR1 level is associated with increased match physical performance (MPP) in elite adult and youth soccer players, with a void of literature on female athletes. Further, these relationships have not been investigated in the collegiate soccer setting despite the YYIR1 being regularly utilized to determine preparedness for competition. PURPOSE: 1) To investigate the association between YYIR1 and MPP in collegiate female soccer players. 2) To expand on existing YYIR1 performance and MPP data in collegiate female soccer athletes. METHODS: Baseline YYIR1 performance scores, attribute variables, and GPS match data were collected for two competitive seasons (‘20-21, ‘21-22). A linear mixed model was iteratively designed, with additional confounding factors adjusted for each iteration, to assess the relationship between baseline YYIR1 performance and match total distance (TD), high-intensity running distance (HIRD), and sprint distance (SD) metrics. RESULTS: The mean YYIR1 baseline score was 33.1 ± 5.3 levels (1323 ± 211 m). Mean MPP values for TD, HIRD, and SD were 107.7 ± 12 m/min, 7.84 ± 3.34 m/min, and 1.63 ± 1.1 m/min, respectively. The model demonstrated a significant increase in YYIR1 performance by one level is associated with increases in MPP of 0.95 (0.257 - 1.651) m/min, 0.27 (0.138 - 0.405) m/min, and 0.05 (0.002 - 0.095) m/min for TD, HIRD, and SD, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Increased performance in the YYIR1 is associated with increased match physical performances in collegiate female soccer players. Our findings, when applied to an expected change in YYIR1 performance following a training period, suggest increases may translate to increases of 5% for TD and ~ 15% for HIRD and SD. Previous efforts in other populations support the present findings and provide evidence that the YYIR1 is a valuable tool for assessing physical preparation for competition in collegiate female soccer players.