Improving Athletes’ Performance and Avoiding Health Issues

Dear Colleagues,

In several elite sports, training and match loads have been assessed over the years. However, only the clubs with the most resources and money are able to apply more valid and reliable tools. For instance, at the regional level, clubs and their coaches do not have sufficient resources to allow them to precisely monitor the training/match load. As an example, elite football generates the most media and commercial attention, but it is in regional football that the greatest number of clubs, players, and coaches are found. Meanwhile, the literature that investigates load monitoring in teams at regional level is sparse. Considering other sports such as futsal, basketball, volleyball, rugby, hockey, handball, and/or others, resources could be equally reduced to apply proper load management. Conducting studies at regional level enables the development of knowledge about this population, promoting the evolution of this sport at all competitive levels which will also contribute to avoid any kind of healthcare issues such to injury or illness. 

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to provide information on load monitoring, especially in less resourceful sports, but not only, and to show how several load monitoring tools can be used to avoid healthcare issues. The present Special Issue will accept original research and systematic reviews from all sports. We hypothesize that this Special Issue will generate relevant information for several sports to increase performance levels and to avoid healthcare issues.

Dr. João Brito
Dr. Rafael Oliveira
Guest Editors

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