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Physical training in Swedish elite soccer from the coaches´perspective
Halmstad University.
2013 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Abstract

Background: Soccer (football) is an area which concerns many people, elite soccer becomes more systematic at the highest levels regarding training. The clubs optimize the training program for their players so they can cope with the demands of physiological training and matches. It has been shown that teams which end at the top have higher maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) compared to teams at the bottom of the table. How do Swedish elite soccer teams train to enhance physical capabilities? Do they measure the training load of the players? How do elite coaches increase their knowledge?

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the coaches’ perception of physical training in Swedish male elite soccer.

Method: The design of the study was explorative and was based on a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. The coaches (n=13) were strategically chosen dependent on their education, age, number of years as a coach, previous experience as a player in order to be as broad as possible.  The interviews were semi-structured and lasted between 30 and 75 minutes. They took the form of dialogue and looked a lot like the conversations of everyday life. The interviews were transcribed exactly and the data was analyzed by a qualitative content analysis focusing on both the manifest content (what the text says) and the latent content (the interpreted meaning).

Result: The result showed that “physical training in Swedish soccer is a cyclic process constantly ongoing” and contain four different categories: plan (lack of resources, teamwork, seasonal training and basic knowledge), execute (individual training, weekly rotation and training methods), evaluate (measure training load and physiological testing in soccer players) and improve (influences from others, long-term development and search for knowledge).

Conclusion: Physical training in Swedish male elite soccer is developed by the constantly ongoing cyclic process including planning, execution, evaluation and improving. The coaches try to follow the development in sports science with a criticism attitude. After careful consideration the coaches try to absorb new knowledge and improve their training methods although lack of resources sometimes does not allow them to introduce new training methods.  The work with individual training and position based training is important and needs to continue and improve. It is important to measure the players training load for two reasons, both to avoid over-training and to enhance endurance.

Key words:  elite soccer, experience, physical training, qualitative study, coaches´ perception, Sweden.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2013. , p. 39
Keywords [en]
elite soccer, experience, physical training, qualitative study, coaches´perception, Sweden
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-23964OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-23964DiVA, id: diva2:663619
Subject / course
Biomedicine Targeting Physical Education
Presentation
2013-08-26, Högskolan Halmstad, 13:00 (English)
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2013-11-14 Created: 2013-11-12 Last updated: 2025-02-11Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
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  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
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  • asciidoc
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