A comparison of seasonal fitness of female adolescent netball and soccer players

[Extract] Two sports commonly played in Australia by adolescent females are soccer and netball. Previous research has identified that speed, agility and repeatedly executed high-intensity actions (7) as well as strength and power (11) and aerobic endurance (1) are all important determinants of successful soccer performance. In comparison, netball requires slightly different fitness attributes including a high degree of strength/power, flexibility and speed (8). Although the two sports differ in regards to their physiological requirements, both are regarded as highly skilled games (8) that require athletes to be at their physical peak to perform well.