ABSTRACT

This chapter summarizes the important findings from Australian football research, and attempts to apply these results to the other football codes. Always topical, altitude training has generally been investigated with regard to endurance performance enhancement. However, interest in altitude training for team sports such as Australian football has recently grown; in 2012 the Australian Football League commissioned a report into its use and efficacy from the Australian Institute of Sport. Sophisticated post-training/game recovery procedures are now commonplace in the football codes; it is recognized that accelerated recovery from exertion is both possible and vital for optimizing next performance. Player movements/actions within the football codes are somewhat specific, based on their particular rules, player numbers, ball shape and playing area dimensions. Every football code has injuries reflecting their unique game demands, but in most codes hamstring strains are the most common soft tissue injury.