1st Edition
Elite Soccer Players Maximizing Performance and Safety
The sport of soccer has evolved immensely since its beginning around 2,000 years ago and is now considered the most popular sport in the world. The research related to the physical, psychological, and tactical aspects of the game has risen in conjunction with its fame.
Elite Soccer Players: Maximizing Performance and Safety seeks to inform the reader with the most current research connected to optimizing physical performance and reducing the risk of injury of the elite soccer athlete for a variety of ages.
After providing an initial brief overview of applying physical and psychological scientific concepts in soccer ("Part I: Laying the Foundation”), this book then takes the reader through a series of important yet novel parts including: “Athlete Monitoring and Data Analysis,” “Optimizing Physical Performance,” “Injury Epidemiology and Risk Reduction,” “Achieving Peak Performance and Safety in Various Environmental Conditions,” and “Unique Aspects of the Game.”
The goal of Elite Soccer Players: Maximizing Performance and Safety is to conceptualize and expand upon the current research associated with these topics and provide an applicable point of view to the coaches, sport scientists, strength and conditioning coaches, and sports medicine professionals who work with these athletes every day.
Part 1: Laying the Foundation
1. Applying Science and Monitoring Systems in Soccer
Ryan M. Curtis, Robert A. Huggins, and Mark S. Kovacs
2. Psychological Demands of Soccer: A Decision-Making Perspective
Itay Basevitch
Part 2: Athlete Monitoring and Data Analysis
3. Technology in Soccer
Andrew M. Murray and Matthew C. Varley
4. Workload Monitoring
Ryan M. Curtis, John F. Fitzpatrick, Shaun J. McLaren, and Jason D. Vescovi
5. Fatigue Monitoring
Joao Renato Silva and Antonio N. Rebelo
6. Data Analytics
Mathieu Lacome, Ryan M. Curtis, and Sam Robertson
Part 3: Optimizing Physical Performance
7. Physical Performance Testing in Soccer
Alan J. Walker, Michelle A. Arent, Bridget A. McFadden, and Shawn M. Arent
8. Conditioning in Soccer
Jonathan M. Taylor and Shaun J. McLaren
9. Strength, Power, Speed, and Agility in Soccer
Perry F. Stewart, Noel P. Carroll, and Anthony N. Turner
10. Nutrition for High-Level Soccer
Margaret C. Morrissey, Ian Rollo, Laura J. Kunces, Shiloah A. Fuller, and Michael J. Ormsbee
11. Recovery
Mark Russell, Mayur K. Ranchordas, David R. Hooper, and Ryan M. Curtis
Part 4: Injury Epidemiology and Risk Reduction
12. The Epidemiology of Injuries in Elite Soccer Players
Avinash Chandran, Erin B. Wasserman, and Karen G. Roos
13. Injury Risk Reduction Strategies
Ric Lovell, Matthew Whalan, John A. Sampson, Robert McCunn, Matt James Reeves, and Paul Donald Balsom
14. Soccer Rehabilitation and Return to Play
Adam S. Lepley, Catie L. Dann, and Julianne Hubbard
Part 5: Achieving Peak Performance and Safety in Various Environmental Conditions
15. Hydration and Heat Strategies in Soccer
Yasuki Sekiguchi, Stavros A. Kavouras, Susan W. Yeargin, Jeremy T. W. Ng, and Pete S. Calabrese
16. Other Environmental Considerations for Soccer Athletes
Gabrielle E. W. Giersch, John W. Castellani, Olivier Girard, Andrew J. Grundstein, and Stefanie T. Ebelt Sarnat
Part 6: Unique Aspects of the Game
17. Game Management: Considerations for the Goalkeeper, Substitutes, and Extra-Time
Liam D. Harper, Samuel P. Hills, Adam C. Field, Anthony F. White, and Mark Russell
18. Considerations for Variations in Soccer Around the World
Courteney L. Benjamin, Yasuki Sekiguchi, and Johnathan D. Melhorn
Biography
Ryan M. Curtis, PhD, is a sport scientist and data analyst serving in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was formerly the Director of Athlete Performance and Safety at the Korey Stringer Institute, University of Connecticut, USA. He has served all levels of sport and the military as a sports scientist and practitioner leading large-scale soccer research initiatives and integrating best practices in health and performance optimization.
Courteney L. Benjamin, who will be completing her PhD in May 2020, is the Director of Communication and Director of Athlete Performance and Safety at the Korey Stringer Institute, University of Connecticut, USA. She has won NCAA soccer national championships as a player at University of West Florida (’12 – Division II) while earning her bachelor’s degree in exercise science and as a strength and conditioning coach at Florida State University (’14 – Division I) while earning a master’s degree in sports science.
Robert A. Huggins, PhD, is the President of Research and President of Athlete Performance and Safety at the Korey Stringer Institute, University of Connecticut, USA. He is experienced in the optimization of human and sports performance through scientific insights in both team and individual athletes at the collegiate, amateur, and professional levels.
Douglas J. Casa, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, USA. He has been connected as a researcher and consultant with youth through the most elite levels of international soccer, including but not limited to assisting the NCAA, US Soccer heat policies, US Soccer national teams, IMG, Gatorade Sports Science Institute, the Portugal National Team, UCONN, WAM United, Northeast United (NEU), MLS, Pro European teams, and many others.
