Relationship Between Internal and External Load in Under-16 Soccer Players: Heart Rate, Rating of Perceived Exertion, and GPS-Derived Variables

Heart rate (HR) monitoring is a practical method for assessing internal load (IL). However, it remains unclear for which age group HR would be an appropriate predictor of IL considering the relationship with external load (EL). Thus, this study aims to evaluate the relevance and applicability of HR monitoring by exploring the relationship between EL and IL among U16 soccer players. EL was measured using global positioning system (GPS) data, while IL was assessed through training impulse (TRIMP), Edward's TRIMP, HR exertion, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and session-RPE (s-RPE). Nineteen (N = 19) male footballers from an elite football academy participated, with data collected from 50 training sessions and 11 matches. In the analysis of the training sessions, TRIMP demonstrated a near-perfect correlation with total distance (TD) (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and eTRIMP correlated strongly with TD (r = 0.82) and player load (r = 0.79). HR exertion also correlated significantly with TD, medium-speed running, decelerations, inertial movement analysis (IMA) events, and player load (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In matches, a large correlation was observed between TRIMP and TD (r = 0.73), while the strongest correlation was between RPE and s-RPE with TD and PL (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Furthermore, TD emerged as the best GPS-derived predictor of both TRIMP and HR exertion in training contexts. These findings provide evidence for the validity and usability of heart rate-based and RPE-based measures to indicate IL in U16 soccer players. Future research should focus on contextual factors in exploring the relationship between EL and IL.