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Latest Research
Research Details
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| Research Title: |
Physiological demands of water polo goalkeeping |
| Type of Research: |
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| Category: |
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| Keywords: |
Water polo, goalkeeper, competition, physiological demands
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| Author(s): |
T. Platanou |
| Author(s) Bio Box: |
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| Release Date: |
25 June 2009 |
| Research Summary/Text: |
The goalkeeper is a specialist defensive role in team sports with physiological demands quite different to that for other positions. In water polo, the goalkeeper moves minimally away from his area, performs various jumps and floats more time in a vertical position than the field players. Eight male elite water polo goalkeepers from different First Greek National Division clubs participated in a study involving measurements of heart rate, movement patterns and blood lactate levels taken during official competition games.
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| Research Objectives: |
The aims of the study were to investigate the physiological demands of goalkeepers during competition and to examine whether the playing intensity of the goalkeeper decreases as game time progresses, as typically occurs with field players.
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| Research Outcomes: |
A goalkeeper’s game is intermittent in nature with great variability in the intensity performed. Six distinct activities were observed: ‘treading water’, ‘treading water goal’, ‘time out’, ‘ready to jump’, ‘ready to jump and jump’, and ‘man down’. While the intensity, frequency and duration of each activity of a goalkeeper may vary from one game to another, the results of the study show that physiological demands of goalkeeping during the four periods of a game appear the same and are not influenced by the progression of time as is the case with other water polo players. This is due to the intermittent nature of the game, where high intensity-short duration activities are interspersed with low-intensity-long duration activities enabling complete recovery.
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| Research Implications: |
Training for water polo goalkeepers should focus on low intensity aerobic activity with a small amount of high intensity and medium duration activity to improve performance in ‘man down’ or ‘ready to jump’ playing situations. To improve a player’s ability for different types of jumps, exercises that develop explosive power should be included.
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