An exploration of strength and conditioning practices within the western Australian national premier league

The purpose of this study was to explore the strength and conditioning (S&C) practices within the Western Australian National Premier League men's (NPLM) and women's (NPLW) competition from an athlete's perspective. A quantitative cross-sectional survey comprising of 40 closed-ended questions was distributed to semi-professional football athletes (n = 143). Independent t-tests and chi-squared analysis were used to examine between-competition differences. NPLM athletes reported significantly longer time participating in organised football ( p = .011, d = 0.33), the NPL competition ( p = .003, d = 0.49) and earlier exposure to unsupervised ( p = .012, d = 0.38) and supervised ( p = .007, d = 0.48) resistance training than NPLW athletes. No significant differences were observed in beliefs regarding the importance of resistance, cardiorespiratory, sprint, or plyometric training, nor in perceived training obligations across the season. Training frequency during the pre-season, in-season and off-season was comparable between competitions. However, NPLM athletes were more likely to complete supervised off-season resistance training ( p = .036, ϕ c = 0.16), cardiorespiratory training ( p = .044, ϕ c = 0.16), and off-season physical performance testing ( p = .011, ϕ c = 0.21). No differences were observed for recovery session participation or wellness monitoring. These findings suggest similar in-season S&C structures between semi-professional men and women in the NPL. However, there appears to be small differences between NPLM and NPLW off-season training supervision and physical performance testing. Reduced access to structured off-season support in the NPLW may contribute to developmental inequities. Practitioners and governing bodies should consider targeting strategies to improve off-season provisions within women's football.