A descriptive profile of elite U.S. women's collegiate field hockey players.

BACKGROUND The purposes of this study were to develop a descriptive profile and examine the relationships between grip strength, power and sport specific test performance in 37 elite, female collegiate field hockey players (N=8 backs, N=13 forwards, N=4 goalkeepers, N=8 midfield players, N=4 wings). METHODS The tests included circumference and limb lengths, %body fat, Margaria-Kalamen stair test, 50-yard dash test, Queen's College step test, grip strength, Illinois agility test, field hockey specific skills tests, and a coordination test. RESULTS Mean (+/-SD) height, weight, percent body fat, and predicted oxygen consumption were 164.26 (+/-5.17) cm, 63.06 (+/-8.60) kg, 17.29 (+/-3.79)% and 42.87 (+/-9.08) ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), respectively. Although the goalkeepers were significantly (p<0.05) heavier and had a higher %body fat, there were no significant differences (p>0.05) between any of the player positions in height, limb length, 50-yard dash time, predicted VO(2max), grip strength, agility, or in the field hockey specific tests. There were no significant (p>0.05) correlations (r=0.03 to -0.13) between right and left grip strength and sport-specific test scores but significant (p<0.05) relationships were found between power and pushing accuracy, as well as between the 50 yard dash and coordination test, pushing power and pushing accuracy. CONCLUSIONS In profiling a sample of elite collegiate field hockey players in the Unites States, the results of this study indicate that there are similarities amongst the defensive and offensive players with international level field hockey players, and that measures of power and sport specific tests are significantly correlated.