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Applied sport science of Gaelic football

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Abstract

The current review focuses on Gaelic football literature providing an insight into the physical characteristics of players, the demands of match-play, the injury profile, and nutritional considerations within the game. Since the first review of Gaelic football in 2001, an increased understanding of match dynamics has taken place through the application of movement analysis technology. In recent years, the evolution of the application of sport science provisions within Gaelic football has increased. This has resulted in researchers attempting to bridge the gap between the scientific laboratory and the applied practitioner. Overall, intermittent aerobic fitness remains important during competition, along with upper and lower body strength, speed and jump-based characteristics, with positional and seasonal variations present in Gaelic football. The stochastic nature of Gaelic football means distances covered during match-play will have an inherent positional profile, with gradual reductions in match-play running performance frequently observed. Monitoring training loads in combination with response variables, such as well-being, can allow practitioners to achieve optimal dose and response characteristics via training regimes. The risk of injury to elite Gaelic football players is significantly greater during match-play, compared to during training. 70% of injuries occur to the lower limb region, with hamstring and knee injuries being the most common. Furthermore, specific findings show that training days elicit the greatest deficits between intake and expenditure, as such practitioners should target specific nutritional interventions to ensure that players are optimally loaded for the energetic requirements of these sessions. The current review can provide information to coaches and practitioners around position-specific physical qualities, match-play demands, and concurrently, support the training process within Gaelic football.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gaelic Sports Research Centre, Technological University Dublin-Tallaght Campus, Dublin, Ireland

    Eoghan Boyle, Shane Malone, Shane Mangan, Dominic A. Doran & Kieran Collins

  2. Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Shane Malone, Dominic A. Doran & Kieran Collins

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  1. Eoghan Boyle
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  2. Shane Malone
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  3. Shane Mangan
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  4. Dominic A. Doran
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  5. Kieran Collins
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Correspondence to Eoghan Boyle.

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Informed consent was given by the local board of ethics for this review and conforming to the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki, 1964). Ethics reference number: REC-PGR5R-201920.

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Boyle, E., Malone, S., Mangan, S. et al. Applied sport science of Gaelic football. Sport Sci Health 19, 27–39 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-022-01015-x

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