External Load Comparisons Between Starters And Non-Starters By Position In Division III Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a growing NCAA sport with the largest participation coming from the Division III level. Strategy changes have impacted how players are used during practices. As a result, starters may be challenged at a different level than non-starters during practices, thus increasing their external load accumulation. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the external loads of starters and non-starter lacrosse players by position (attack, defense, offensive midfield, defensive midfield, face-off, and goalie) during practices. METHODS: The external load was assessed using a global positioning system (GPS). Players were identified as starters (n = 24; 20.29 ± 1.60 yrs, 181.19 ± 5.38 cm, 79.83 ± 8.38 kg) if they played in >50% of the competitions and > 50% of the duration of each competition, whereas others were classified as non-starters (n = 28; 19.75 ± 1.60 yrs, 182.06 ± 6.11 cm, 83.28 ± 7.22 kg). Multiple 2 x 6 ANOVAs were used to assess differences in the practice duration (min), total distance (m), walk distance (m), jog distance (m), run distance (m), sprint distance (m), sprint efforts (m), work rate (m/min), and intensity. RESULTS: Expected significant positional differences (p < 0.05) were observed across all dependent variables. However, when comparing by position, attack reported significant differences (p < 0.05) for starter vs non-starter, in the total distance (4430.83 ± 1333.16 m vs 3868.92 ± 1305.92 m, respectively), jog distance (881.37 ± 364.61 m vs 720.47 ± 322.13 m, respectively), run distance (808.63 ± 390.87 m vs 648.31 ± 354.40 m, respectively), work rate (51.37 ± 8.52 m/min vs 44.44 ± 9.61, respectively), and intensity (26.19 ± 9.30 AU vs 21.63 ± 8.56 AU, respectively). Whereas defense reported significant differences (p < 0.05) between starters and non-starters only in Sprint Efforts (1.66 ± 1.89 vs 0.73 ± 1.04, respectively). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found between starters and non-starter external loads for offensive and defensive midfielders, face-offs, or goalies. CONCLUSIONS: Starting attack players experienced the greatest practice load compared to their non-starting positional partners. This may indicate the need to address load accumulation of these players for conditioning or recovery when going from practices to competitions over the course of a season.