Effect of long-term soccer training on changes in cardiac function during exercise in elite youth soccer players

It is unclear what the effect of long-term, high-volume soccer training has on left ventricular (LV)

function during exercise in youth soccer players. This study evaluated changes in LV function during

submaximal exercise in a group of highly-trained male soccer players (SP) as they transitioned over a

three-year period from pre-adolescent to adolescent athletes. Data were compared to age-and sex matched recreationally active controls (CON) over the same time period. Twenty-two SP from two

professional English Premier League youth soccer academies (age: 12.0 ± 0.3 years at start of the

study) and 15 CON (age: 11.7 ± 0.3 years) were recruited. Two-dimensional echocardiography was

used to quantify LV function during exercise at the same submaximal metabolic load (approx.

45%VO2peak) across the 3 years. After controlling for growth and maturation, there were training induced changes and superiority (p<0.001) in cardiac index (QIndex) from year 1 in the SP compared

to CON. SP (year 1: 6.13 ± 0.76; year 2: 6.94 ± 1.31 and year 3: 7.20 ± 1.81 L/min/m2

) compared to

CON (year 1: 5.15 ± 1.12; year 2: 4.67 ± 1.04 and year 3: 5.49 ± 1.06 L/min/m2

). Similar training induced increases were noted for mitral inflow velocity (E): SP (year 1: 129 ± 12; year 2: 143 ± 16 and

year 3: 135 ± 18 cm/s) compared to CON (year 1: 113 ± 10; year 2: 111 ± 12 and year 3: 121 ± 9

cm/s).This study indicated that there was evidence of yearly, training-induced increases in left

ventricular function during submaximal exercise independent from the influence of growth and

maturation in elite youth SP