Does skill only conditioning help improve physiological and functional fitness in amateur soccer players

[Extract] Acquiring and maintaining seasonal fitness is a priority amongst soccer players who strive to play at a professional or elite level. This level of fitness is maintained by participating in games and training a minimum of three to four times per week for a total of approsimately twelve to fourteen hours. These athletes also participate in off-season training aimed at maintaining the majority of the fitness gains acquired during the competitive season. Comparatively, amateur soccer players generally undertake limited off-season training and subsequently, any acquired fitness from the previous season tends to deteriorate over the off-season period, essentially requiring them to begin again from the foundation level. Whilst the seasonal fitness changes of professional male players particularly in Europe is well known, less is known about players in Australia, particularly females and youths. Further research in this area is needed as playing soccer in European winter is substantially different to playing in an Australian winter and even more so if based in Far North Queensland.