Well-being issues: Its influence on RPE and enjoyment in masters water polo training and the player–coach gap

The present study aimed to monitor male master water polo players' training by means of well-being (Hooper-Index), internal training load (ITL) parameters (rating of perceived exertion, RPE; session-RPE), and rate of enjoyment, for different types of training (i.e., swimming, SW; technical and tactical, TTW; training matches, TM; friendly matches; FM). Seventeen male master water polo players (age: 50 ± 12 years) performed 19 ± 7 sessions and reported Hooper-Index scores in the morning of training day, and RPE (CR-10) and rate of enjoyment after sessions. Linear mixed effects models were applied to quantify whether players' RPE, session-RPE, and rate of enjoyment were: (i) different for type of training session, (ii) affected by pre-session well-being, and (iii) correlated to corresponding coach's estimations. FM was the training type with the highest session-RPE (p < 0.001, ES range = 1.4-1.9), whereas SW reported the lowest rate of enjoyment (p < 0.05, ES range = 0.8-1.4). Similar effects emerged for coach's estimations (the highest session-RPE in FM, p < 0.001, ES range = 1.4-2.1; the lowest rate of enjoyment in SW, p < 0.001, ES range = 3.2-5.3). RPE resulted affected by all well-being factors excepting sleep quality (β range = 0.16-0.28), whereas session-RPE was influenced only by fatigue, and Hooper-Index overall (β = 0.23) and no effect emerged for rate of enjoyment. Finally, players' and coach's ITL and rate of enjoyment were not correlated, with exception of TM session-RPE (β = 0.21). Master water polo coaches could benefit from these findings, being aware of how training load could be: different for types of workouts, influenced by pre-session well-being, and differently perceived by players if compared with their coach's estimations.