(55) POSITION-SPECIFIC MATCH DEMANDS ACROSS A COLLEGIATE WOMEN’S LACROSSE SEASON

Purpose: Quantifying athlete external load match demands can inform training programs to ensure athletes receive sufficient stimuli to prepare for competitions. Further, examining differences in sport positional groups can be beneficial for individualized off-season program design. To assess positional differences in match external loads across a collegiate women’s lacrosse season. Methods: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women lacrosse athletes (n=13; mean+SD; age: 20.21 + 1.35 years; body mass: 66.14 + 8.89 kg; height: 165.51 + 6.81 cm; body fat: 26.78 + 3.43 %) participated. Athletes who played > 50% of each game were included for data analysis: attack (n=3), midfield (n=6), and defense (n=4). For 18 matches of a single competitive season, athletes wore a microsensor positioned between the scapulae for collection of external load data via global positioning system. External load metrics included: Playerloadä ((PL, (AU)), player load per minute (PL/min), total distance (TD, meters), high speed distance (HSD, distance >70% of max speed, meters), high speed efforts (HSE, # of efforts completed >70% of max speed), explosive efforts (EE, # of accelerations, decelerations, and changes of direction), max velocity (MV, meters/second), repeated high intensity efforts (RHIE, # of accelerations and decelerations at > 2m/s²), and energy expenditure ((kilocalories (kcal)). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to assess the differences in external loads across sport position groups (p< 0.05) Results: Match demands differed across position groups (Table 1). Midfielders experienced higher TD, HSD, EE, accelerations, decelerations, RHIE, and energy expenditure compared to defenders and attackers (p< 0.001). Defenders experienced greater PL (p< 0.001), PL/min (p< 0.001), HSD (p< 0.001), HSE (p = 0.002), accelerations (p< 0.001) and decelerations (p< 0.001) compared to attackers. Attackers engaged in more RHIEs (p< 0.001) than defenders. Conclusions: Midfielders experienced higher volume and intensity of external load metrics when compared to defense and attack players. Practical Applications: When athletic performance is considered, understanding how one portion of a movement directly transfers to another can provide practitioners with insight into movement efficiency and can support training approaches to optimize athletic preparation and performance. Acknowledgements: None