'Temporary fatigue' is not apparent In elite youth soccer players

Recent time-motion analyses have identified and described the phenomenon of 'temporary fatigue' in elite-level soccer match-play (Mohr et al., 2003, 2008), whereby the players' work-rate is temporarily decreased after intense period of play. The approach typically adopted to detect this phenomenon involves categorising time-motion data into pre-determined 5-min periods, with 'temporary fatigue' denoted as a marked reduction in the players' high-speed running distance (≥15km h -1; HSR) in the 5-min period immediately subsequent to the 5-min period in which the most HSR is observed. 'Temporary fatigue' is said to be evident where the HSR in the subsequent 5-min pre-determined period is lower than the average 5-min match period (Mohr et al., 2003, 2008).