Over the past 3 years, Paolo Pacione, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Ontario Soccer Association and Fitness Coach for various Canadian National teams, Richard Bucciarelli, President of Soccer Fitness, and Robert Rupf, Researcher at the Canadian Sport Centre Ontario, have collected data on Canadian female Provincial and National team players, for a comprehensive study comparing fitness test scores between these players as they progressed through higher ages and levels of play in Canada. Our abstract, titled A Longitudinal Analysis of Speed Characteristics for Talented Youth Female Soccer Players in Canada, was written and submitted in November, 2010, for presentation at the Seventh World Congress on Science and Football, being held May 26-30, 2011, at Nagoya University in Nagoya, Japan. We have recently received confirmation that our abstract has been accepted, and as a result, Paolo and Richard will be heading to Japan in May to present the study at the Conference!
An internationally recognized event, highlighting the latest in soccer-specific scientific research, the World Congress of Science and Football is aimed at academics, sport scientists, teachers, students, and administrators with an interest in the scientific study and/or the practical performance of football codes, including soccer, from grass roots to the professional levels. Held every four years, in the year after the FIFA World Cup, this Congress is regarded as the best soccer-specific sports science conference in the world. Topics covered in both oral and poster presentations will include: Sports Biomechanics & Engineering, Game & Skill analysis, Exercise Physiology & Training Science, Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, Social Science & Management, Psychology, and Other / Interdisciplinary Approaches to Football.
“It is a huge honour for me to be able to attend and co-present research at such a prestigious event,” commented Richard. “I specifically would like to thank Paolo Pacione, Robert Rupf, the Canadian Soccer Association, the Ontario Soccer Association, and the Canadian Sport Centre Ontario, for setting up this project. Without them, this study would never have happened and I look forward to a continued relationship with the CSA, OSA, and CSCO in the future”. Stay on the look-out at www.soccerfitness.ca, and for future issues of Soccer Fit-Facts, for an in-depth review of our presentation, as well as highlights from the Seventh World Congress on Science and Football!
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