Ground hardness and its affect on injury in professional football

- Does ground hardness have an effect on injury in professional football?

- Objective measurements of stadium pitch & training pitch ground hardness are taken over the course of a season

- Comparisons will be drawn with injury patterns in relation to pitch hardness

Current Status: Writing up year one study for publication

Research Contact: Dave.Rennie@lcfc.co.uk

Establishing a soccer specific test for attaining maximal heart rate

- What is the most effective test for establishing maximal Heart Rate amongst a squad of professional footballers?

- Comparison of maximal Heart Rate achieved by each individual across four different test protocols.

- Additional interest surrounds the time taken to achieve maximal heart rate in each protocol, along with practical considerations when testing a whole squad.

Current Status: Identifying an appropriate testing period

Research Contact: Matt.Reeves@lcfc.co.uk

Evaluating recovery and readiness to perform markers in professional football

- There is a need to identify appropriate markers of recovery within professional football, and therefore establish an individual's 'readiness to perform'.

- Various markers are being monitored including hydration, subjective muscle soreness, Heart rate Variability, and hormone levels.

- Relationships between training load and these markers of recovery will be established.

Current Status: Preliminary trial of different markers with a longitudinal study to be conducted during the 10/11 season.

Research Contact: Matt.Reeves@lcfc.co.uk

Reliability of Keiser Air Squat as a measure of Power in professional footballers

- To assess whether the Keiser air squat is a reliable measure of peak power output in professional footballers.

- To establish the smallest worthwhile change (SWC) within a cohort of professional footballers to determine whether changes in peak power output are meaningful to enhance or inhibit performance.

Current Status: Waiting to complete a final testing session.

Research Contact: Jordan.Milsom@lcfc.co.uk