Metabolic Equivalent Distance Across Game Quarters And Athlete Position In Female Collegiate Lacrosse Players.

As a sport, field lacrosse requires seamless transitions between acceleration and deceleration. The integration of global positioning systems (GPS) in sports has popularized the use of displacement variables, like total distance, as indicators of the amount of work performed. Unfortunately, displacement variables underestimate the energy demand of team sport by not considering the additional energy expense of acceleration and deceleration. To account for these additional energy costs and offer a more accurate measure of an athlete’s workload, the metric, metabolic equivalent distance (MED), was created. MED as a measure has seen limited use in sport science research, and its application in female field lacrosse research is even rarer. PURPOSE: Assess the differences in MED across game quarters and athlete positions among female collegiate lacrosse players and determine potential relationships between MED and other performance variables. METHODS: GPS units were worn by 17 female collegiate lacrosse players and data were collected over 17 games. Performance variables were analyzed per minute played (min PT) and included: MED (m), total distance (m), accelerations (count), decelerations (count), total sprints (count), metabolic peak power (J), metabolic energy cost (J/kg/m), and equivalent distance index (%). RESULTS: No difference was found between athlete position. Performance variables did not differ between game quarters, except for playing time (p < .001). Athlete playing time was reduced in the 3rd and 4th quarters compared to quarter 1 (p < .001). MED showed a perfect correlation with total distance and metabolic energy cost (r = 1; p < .001) and a near-perfect correlation with accelerations and total sprints (r = .93; p < .001). Decelerations exhibited a strong correlation with MED (r = .86; p < .001). MED was moderately correlated with metabolic peak power (r = .34; p < .001); whereas equivalent distance index displayed a small correlation (r = .15; p = .02). CONCLUSION: Athletes exhibited a consistent output in metabolic workload variables across position and game per minute of play. MED, being a novel metric, necessitates further investigation as a workload assessment tool, specifically its utilization in women’s field lacrosse.