Ratio of accelerations to decelerations in Women’s division I lacrosse

This study analyzed the differences by position in acceleration, deceleration, and the ratio of accelerations to decelerations in drills and quarters of games (Q1-Q4). Data were collected in 23 female collegiate lacrosse athletes (20.8 ± 1.5 years, 168.3 ± 6.1 cm), consisting of ten midfielders, five defenders, and eight attackers. Drills were categorized as: stickwork (SW), small-sided games (SSG), warm-up (WU), active recovery (AR), individual skills (IS), scrimmage, and conditioning. AR (0.31 ± 0.09 accelerations/min) and WU (0.47 ± 0.07 accelerations/min) showed the lowest number of accelerations, and conditioning and SW were the highest (>1.0 accelerations/min). Conditioning showed the highest demand for decelerations (0.37 ± 0.14 decelerations/min) and AR and WU had the fewest (0.10 ± 0.04 decelerations/min). AR, IS, SW, and WU all had higher acceleration/deceleration ratios (4:1 to 5.7:1) than the remaining drill types (p = .000 - .050, 3:1-4:1). Q1 had a higher acceleration demand (0.72 ± 0.52 accelerations/minute) than the remaining three quarters (0.57 - 0.67 accelerations/min). The game demand in decelerations was approximately 0.20 decelerations/minute across all quarters and the acceleration/deceleration ratio was approximately 4:1, with the exception of defenders in Q1 who had 6:1 ratio. There is a large demand for accelerations in field lacrosse with no positional differences, and training should be devoted towards this skill.