Match Load, Positions, Formations, and Injury Susceptibility in Collegiate Men's Soccer

by Ethan Byrnes, Maren Clark, Rebecca Downey, DPT, And Erin Choice, PhD, CSCS, CPSS
NSCA Coach May 2025
Vol 11, Issue 3

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The purpose of this article is to provide key considerations for the strength and conditioning coach to design effective holistic programs for collegiate men’s soccer clubs.

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This article originally appeared in NSCA Coach, a quarterly publication for NSCA Members that provides valuable takeaways for every level of strength and conditioning coach. You can find scientifically based articles specific to a wide variety of your athletes’ needs with Nutrition, Programming, and Youth columns. Read more articles from NSCA Coach »

Related Reading

Bradley, P, Di Mascio, M, Peart, D, Olsen, P, and Sheldon, B. High-intensity activity profiles of elite soccer players at different performance levels. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(9): 2343-2351, 2010.

Caterisano, A, Decker, D, Snyder, B, Feigenbaum, M, Glass, R, House, P, et al. CSCCa and NSCA joint consensus guidelines for transition periods: Safe return to training following inactivity. Strength and Conditioning Journal 41(3): 1-23, 2019.

Curtis, R, Huggins, R, Looney, D, West, C, Fortunati, A, Fontaine, G, and Casa, D. Match demands of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men’s soccer. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 32(10): 2907-2917, 2018.

Curtis, R, Huggins, R, Benjamin, C, Sekiguchi, Y, Adams, W, Arent, S, et al. Contextual factors influencing external and internal training loads in collegiate men’s soccer. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 34(2): 374-381, 2020.

Curtis, R, Huggins, R, Courteney, B, Sekiguchi, Y, Arent, S, Armwald, B, et al. Seasonal accumulated workloads in collegiate men’s soccer: A comparison of starters and reserves. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 35(11): 3184-3189, 2021.

French, D. Interdisciplinary support. In: French, D and Ronda, LT (Eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Sport Science (1st ed.) Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 447-460, 2021.

Gdovin, JR, Galloway, R, Tomasiello, LS, Seabolt, M, and Booker, R. External training load monitoring and the impact on training load management in collegiate male soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 37(7): 1434-1439, 2023.

McFadden, B, Walker, A, Bozzini, B, Sanders, D, and Arent, S. Comparison of internal and external training loads in male and female collegiate soccer players during practices vs. games. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 34(4): 969-974, 2020.

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Erin Choice, CPSS, CSCS

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Erin Choice is a current Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Regis University and is the Program Director for Health and Exercise ...

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