Practical Applications of Strength and Conditioning Practices in Elite Male Football
type: CreativeWork
description: This overview draws together the findings from three projects, each exploring the implementation of strength and conditioning (S&C) practices in professional football, and how these practices are applied in the real-world setting. The overview combines the findings to explore the relationships between the different projects and aims to build a more comprehensive understanding of the three concepts in this particular context. This portfolio consists of three projects. Project one comprises of an in-depth questionnaire of 51 high level S&C, sports science and medical practitioners’ currently working in male football. The questionnaire focused on examining staff structure, qualifications, the S&C practices currently implemented by practitioners’, with reference to programming, use of technology, the skills required for successful coaching, challenges faced and opinions on the future of strength and conditioning research. The outcome of the survey allowed the creation of two separate published research papers (Beere et al., 2020; Beere & Jeffreys 2021). Project two examined injury occurrence in professional football players over two consecutive pre-season phases at one football club. The unique aspect of this project was that on-field training load was the same in both pre-seasons, with the implementation of a structured S&C programme the only intervention in the second. In addition,the same 20 players were included. The findings revealed that the inclusion of an S&C programme during the 2nd pre-season phase reduced soft tissue incidence, average severity,and total severity in elite football players. Project three explored the content and delivery of an S&C programme across a full football season. Isometric strength testing was used to monitor the changes in maximal isometric force and rate of force development capabilities in response to the concurrent training programme and match play. Findings highlighted that force-specific changes can occur at different phases of t…
abstract: This overview draws together the findings from three projects, each exploring the implementation of strength and conditioning (S&C) practices in professional football, and how these practices are applied in the real-world setting. The overview combines the findings to explore the relationships between the different projects and aims to build a more comprehensive understanding of the three concepts in this particular context. This portfolio consists of three projects. Project one comprises of an in-depth questionnaire of 51 high level S&C, sports science and medical practitioners’ currently working in male football. The questionnaire focused on examining staff structure, qualifications, the S&C practices currently implemented by practitioners’, with reference to programming, use of technology, the skills required for successful coaching, challenges faced and opinions on the future of strength and conditioning research. The outcome of the survey allowed the creation of two separate published research papers (Beere et al., 2020; Beere & Jeffreys 2021). Project two examined injury occurrence in professional football players over two consecutive pre-season phases at one football club. The unique aspect of this project was that on-field training load was the same in both pre-seasons, with the implementation of a structured S&C programme the only intervention in the second. In addition,the same 20 players were included. The findings revealed that the inclusion of an S&C programme during the 2nd pre-season phase reduced soft tissue incidence, average severity,and total severity in elite football players. Project three explored the content and delivery of an S&C programme across a full football season. Isometric strength testing was used to monitor the changes in maximal isometric force and rate of force development capabilities in response to the concurrent training programme and match play. Findings highlighted that force-specific changes can occur at different phases of t…
author: Beere, Michael
language: eng
date published: 2023
date modified: 2026-07-24T04:39:51Z
provider: University of South Wales
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of South Wales