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Hormonal (Cortical-Gonadotropic Axis) and Physical Changes With Two Years

Intense Exercise Training in Elite Young Soccer Players

Article  in  The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research · September 2016

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001664

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DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001664

Hormonal (cortical-gonadotropic axis) and physical changes with two years

intense exercise training in elite young soccer players

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Submission type: Original Research

Mohamed Ali HAMMAMI1,2,3, Abderraouf BEN ABDERRAHMAN1,2,4, Anthony C.

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HACKNEY5, Wiem KEBSI1, Adam L. OWEN6, Amar NEBIGH3, Ghazi RACIL7,

Zouhair TABKA3, Hassane ZOUHAL1

1
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Movement, Sport and Health Sciences Laboratory (M2S), UFR-APS, University of Rennes

2-ENS Cachan, Rennes, France.

2
Institut Supérieur du Sport et de l’EPS de Tunis. Ksar Saïd, University of Manouba

Tunisie.
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3
Laboratory of Physiology and Functional Explorations, Ibn Eljazzar Faculty of Medicine,
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University of Sousse, Tunisia.

4
''Sport Performance Optimization'' National Center of Medicine & Science in Sport
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(CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.

5
Endocrine Section, Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Exercise & Sport

Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-8700, USA.

6
Centre de Recherche et d’Innovation sur le Sport (CRIS), Université Claude Bernard

Lyon.1, Lyon, France.

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Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science of Tunis, University Tunis el Manar,

Tunis, Tunisia


Running title: Intense training in elite young athletes.

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Corresponding author: Professor H. ZOUHAL

Movement, Sport and Health Sciences laboratory (M2S). UFR-APS, University of

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Rennes 2, Avenue Charles Tillon, CS 24414, 35044 Rennes Cedex, France.

Phone number: +33.2.99.14.17.60.

E-mail: [email protected]
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ABSTRACT
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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two soccer-training seasons on physical

fitness and hormone concentrations in elite youth soccer players. Twenty male elite soccer
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players (SP, age 14.5 ± 0.4 years) and 20 male control subjects (CS, age 14.3 ± 0.3years)

participated to the study. Anthropometric measurements, aerobic (Yo-Yo Intermittent

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Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIRT1)) and anaerobic soccer relevant performances (jump and

sprint tests), blood testosterone (T), cortisol (C),sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and

T/C ratio were assessed 5 times (from T0 to T4) during two competitive seasons. Significant

differences from basal values (∆) of T, SHBG and C between SP and CS were observed

(p<0.01). Additionally, T and T/C ratio changes were positively correlated to physical

performance (p<0.05). In conclusion, as expected, higher T concentration and greater power

performance were observed in the soccer players group compared to controls. Our findings

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also show that the T concentrations and power performance outcomes covary positively over

the two soccer seasons in soccer players.

Keywords: Soccer training, Hormones, Football, Performances, Elite-youth academy.

INTRODUCTION

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Soccer at the elite level is characterized as a high intensity sport and physical demanding

game. Indeed, soccer international players run between 10 and 13km during a match (34).

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Thus, the majority of their energy metabolism is based on aerobic mechanisms, but anaerobic

capacity such as during sprints plays a critical factor in this sport too. Indeed, Mallo and

Navarro (2008) have referred to football as an intermittent sport, characterized by a need for
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high levels of intense training loads, involving varying intensities distributed in cycles

throughout a training regime, for appropriate adaptations to occur.

The physical requirements of the sport have increased during the last 10 to 20 years, as the
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game has become more intense and matches more frequent (23). In order to optimize physical

performance of the team or an individual player, factors such as training type and amount,
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match participation, restitution, diet and various other aspects of the players’ daily life can be

adjusted (23). As soccer is known as a very complex sport, monitoring systems that might
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explain decrements in physical capacity as well as predicting the players’ risk of injury or

overtraining/over reaching are in demand. One such tool could potentially be frequent

analysis of blood samples obtained from the players (23).

It is well accepted that physical training can affect the state of the gonadal and cortical axis

hormones in both men and women (19). This is especially true for football soccer as the

hormonal responses of players during intensified training (as well as during a single game) are

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tremendously affected (18). During training and competition season the quality of a player's

performance can be affected because muscular force characteristics are influenced by the

dynamic homeostatic balance between anabolic (building) and catabolic (breakdown)

processes within the muscle (13,16). Adaptive responses to the physiological and

psychological stresses associated with training are believed to be reflected by alterations in

the concentrations of specific anabolic and catabolic hormones (8). Therefore, it has been

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suggested that the status of the body in response to exercise to indicate the anabolic/catabolic

state can be monitored by measuring both testosterone and cortisol. An increase in cortisol

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and a decrease in the concentration of testosterone, or a reduction in the so-called

testosterone/cortisol (T/C) ratio, is thought to indicate an increase in catabolic activity, and

perhaps represent a state of overstrain or insufficient recovery (37).Consequently, cortisol and

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testosterone have been identified as reliable markers of training stress (24). Moreover, Carli

et. al (1982) have demonstrated that basal levels of both cortisol and testosterone can become

significantly elevated during the course of a competitive soccer season. Despite this, few data
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exist to track hormonal responses over the course of a competitive season (24). Some

researchers have shown that during periods of intensive training, the resting values of
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testosterone are lower than before the training period (1, 11). Conversely, other studies have

noted an increase in testosterone at rest (20,25), while other investigations did not notice a
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change in testosterone levels at all (28,33). Importantly, some authors have also observed that

high testosterone levels are positively correlated with strength and performance (3,5). With

regards to cortisol, many studies have indicated that improved performance in sports,

including soccer, is associated with a significant increase in cortisol concentrations at rest

especially if training programs were intensive (11,12,36,39) but, elsewhere results have

shown the opposite effect (4, 5). Furthermore, several other investigators have reported no

change in resting cortisol values with sports (11,12). Evidently, the lack of agreement in

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findings suggests that more research is necessary on cortisol and training.

It is worth noting that the majority of the studies mentioned above were cross-sectional and in

most cases there was no control group. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the effects

of training on hormonal concentrations over a long period, especially in football (21).

Recently, one such study focused on this topic and involved a two-year follow-up

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investigation observed in youth Finish soccer players changes in body composition, hormonal

status and physical fitness (38). However, these results are limited since participants in this

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study were measured only at the start and the end of two years. Moreover, to the best of our

knowledge no longitudinal investigation (more than 2-yrs.) has studied the impact of intense

soccer practice in elite youth soccer players on the critical hormones associated with the

cortical-gonadotropic axis.
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For long term monitoring of exercise stress the use of biochemical markers is widespread.

Despite that, during the course of a soccer season the relationship between hormonal

concentrations and physical performance standards remains unclear (24). One can expect that
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catabolic activities will predominate because the physical demands of training and

competition are too great. However, performance can be maintained or improved over the
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course of the season if the body accentuates anabolic metabolism (15).

Consequently, the purpose of this study was to assess the changes of hormonal concentrations
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(i.e., testosterone [T], cortisol [C], T/C Ratio and sex hormone binding globulin [SHBG]),

physical performances and their relationships in elite youth soccer players belonging to

Tunisian national team U17 attending a federal youth academy over two seasons. We also

analyzed whether there are differences between elite young soccer players and control

subjects. We hypothesized that two high-levelsoccer-training seasons would be accompanied

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by positive physical performance and physiological adaptations, and associated hormonal

changes (status) to promote such adaptations.

METHODS

Experimental Approach to the Problem

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The purpose of this randomized controlled design was to evaluate two soccer-training seasons

effects on physical fitness and cortisol-gonadotropic axis in young elite soccer players. We

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utilized high-level training soccer players and a control group composed by non-athletic boys.

Vertical jump, running speed test, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (YYIRT) were

performed to evaluate physical fitness as well as plasma testosterone, cortisol, and SHBG
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were measured at baseline, in the middle and at the end of the first season, and at the

beginning and the end of the second season.

The soccer players and control subjects were evaluated at five different time points:
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- First test, (T0) baseline at the start of the preparatory period in October 2008.
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- Second test, (T1) in February 2009 in the middle of the first season.

- Third test, (T2) in May 2009, the end period of the first competitive season.
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- Fourth test, (T3) in November 2009.

- Fifth test, (T4) in the end of May 2010, the end period of the second competitive

season.

The measurements were made over a 2-day period at each time point. On the first testing day,

after a standardized warm-up of 15 minutes, consisting of low-intensity running, followed by

a series of exercises (high knee lift, butt kicks, straight line skipping) and then short

accelerations, subjects performed the squat jump, counter movement jump, five jump test and

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30m sprint. On the second testing day, after a standardized warm-up, the subjects performed a

Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1(YYIRT).

Before beginning our protocol, the participants were thoroughly familiarized with all testing

equipment and procedures. For all testing days, subjects were asked to refrain for many

exhaustive physical activity during the 48 hours preceding the experiment and to eat a

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standardized meal 1.5h before measurements (10 kcal/kg, 55%, of which came from

carbohydrates, 33% from lipids and 12% from proteins) as determined by the nutritionist. To

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minimize any effects of diurnal variation, the three testing sessions were conducted within 2 h

of the same time of the day.

Puberty stage was the indicator of biological maturity status. It was determined and recorded
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by a paediatrician experienced in the assessment of secondary sex characteristics according to

the Tanner method (35). Children at pubertal development stages 1-5 were evaluated.

According to their pubescent status, the young soccer players and the control group belonged

to Tanner stage (2-3).

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Subjects
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Forty boys were recruited to participate in our study. Twenty were residents in the youth

academy of elite soccer players (Borj Cedria, Tunisia), were members of the national
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selection of Tunisia and they were preparing for the preliminaries/qualifiers of the U-17

Championship of African Nations at the world cup (age 14.5 ± 0.4 year at the beginning of the

study). This group of elite players was selected from six regional football centres throughout

Tunisia. The first selection from these centres came from 800 young male soccer players. The

criteria used for selection, was based on technical tests and physical fitness parameters. These

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players have practiced soccer 11 months a year, for at least 5 years at a rate of 5 sessions and

one competitive game per week, in addition to their school physical education.

In general, when healthy all players trained at the soccer center for 90 to 100 minutes each

day from Monday to Friday during the season (32 weeks). Healthy players also participated in

up to 22 matches during the season, and these generally took place on the weekends for their

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home clubs. Each soccer training session generally consisted of a 15-minute warm up, 20 min

of technical training, 20 min of tactical training, 30 min simulated competition, and a 15 min

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cool-down. Within the team, players of all the different positions trained together.

It is important to note that all the players reside at the soccer center during the soccer season

except the weekends when they return in their family and their soccer teams for the match.
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Consequently, the nutrition and hydration habits were well controlled by the nutritional staff

of the soccer center. Nutritional guidelines were provided to the players for the weekends.

Hence, the players followed the same nutritional and hydration protocol during the soccer

season. The period of training in the Football Federation Tunisian youth academy was spread
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over two years.

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The other twenty subjects (age 14.3 ± 0.3 year at the beginning of the study) were assigned to

the control group (non-athletic boys). They participated only in the compulsory physical
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education curriculum at school (two weekly sessions of 50 min of physical education). They

were randomly chosen and were representative of the general Tunisian population. Before the

study, written informed consent was obtained from each participant and their parents or

guardiansin accordance with the international ethical standards and the study was approved by

the Ethical Committee on Human Research of the University of Manouba, Tunisia, and was

conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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Procedures

Anthropometry Characteristics: Each participant came to the laboratory for a medical

examination and anthropometric measurements performed by a paediatrician at each period

(T0, T1, T2, T3 and T4). Body height and body mass were measured with standard techniques

to the nearest 0.1 cm and 0.1 kg, respectively for each subject. To estimate adiposity, skin-

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fold thicknesses were measured at four sites on the left-side of the body (triceps, biceps,

subscapular and suprailiac) using a Harpenden skin-fold calliper (British Indicators Ltd.,

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Luton) for calculation of percent body fat according to the equations described by Durnin and

Rahaman (1967). All measurements were taken in the morning at 07:30 h by the same

investigator at each period (T0, T1, T2, T3 and T4).

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Physical fitness Characteristics:

Vertical Jumping: Each subject performed three kinds of maximal jumps, the squat-jump

(SqJ), starting with knees bent at 90° and without previous counter movement and the
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counter-movement-jump (CMJ), starting from a standing position allowing for counter

movement with the intention of reaching a knee angle of around 90° just before propulsion.
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The ground reaction force generated during these vertical jumps was estimated with an ergo

jump (Opto Jump Microgate - ITALY). In addition, the subjects performed a five-jump-test
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(5J); each subject performed 3 jumping trials interspersed with 1-minute rest between each

jump, and the best jump was used for analysis.

Running speed test: The participants performed three maximal 30-m sprints, measured with

an infrared photoelectric cell (Cell Kit Speed Brower, USA). During the 3-minute recovery

periods in between sprints, the participants walked back to the starting line and then waited

for the next sprint. The participants commenced the sprint when ready from a standing start

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0.5 m behind the first timing gate. The stance for the start was consistent for all participants.

The best (fastest) 30 m sprint time was selected for analysis. The results show that these tests

were highly repeatable: 30-m sprint (intra-class correlation) (ICC = 0.96), SJ (ICC = 0.93),

CMJ (ICC = 0.90), 5J (ICC = 0.89).

Yo-Yo Intermittent recovery test level 1performance (YYIRT1): The YYIRT1 was used to

estimate VO2max (1): VO2max (ml. kg.-1min.-1) = YYIRT1 distance (m)* 0.0084 + 36.4 (2).

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Briefly, the YYIRT1consists of repeated 2×20m runs back and forth between the starting,

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turning, and finishing line at a progressively increasing speeds controlled by an audio

metronome from a calibrated CD player. The subjects had a 10s active rest period

(decelerating and walking back to the starting line) between each running bout. When the

subjects failed twice to reach the finishing line in time, or decided that he could no longer run
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at the required pace, the total distance covered was recorded. All tests were performed by the

same investigators, scheduled at the same time of day, carried out in the same order and using

the same apparatus at each period.

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Rating of perceived exertion (RPE): The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was also

implemented within this investigation. The session-RPE assessment was conducted in

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accordance with the procedures previously described by Foster et al. (2001). Briefly, this
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method of monitoring training and competition load required each athlete to provide an RPE

using Borg’s 6-20 scale. To ensure that the perceived exertion was reflective of the entire

session rather than the last effort, data was collected 15 to 20 minutes following each training

session.

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Blood analysis: Blood samples were taken from the participants on five times at T0, T1, T2,

T3 and T4 in the same week as the physical tests and anthropometric measurements. Blood

samples were taken between 7:00 and 8:30 in the morning following an overnight fast.

The blood samples were collected in tubes containing EDTA. Then samples were centrifuged

for 10 minutes at 4° at 3000 rpm and the extracted plasma was stored frozen at - 80°C until

analysis.

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The analysis of T concentration was performed by radio immunoassay using reagent kits from

DSL Inc. (USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The sensitivity of the assay was

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about 0.28 nmol.l-1. The intra- and inter-assay CVs (%) were 9.6, 8.1, 7.6 and 8.6, 9.1, 9.4 for

concentrations of 3.26, 24.18, 68 and 2.41, 20.53, 55.41 nmol.l-1, respectively. SHBG

concentrations were determined using a two-site immuno radiometric assay (DSL Inc. USA).
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The sensitivity of the assay was 3 nmol.l-1. The intra- and inter-assay CVs (%) were 3.7, 1.1,

3.4 and 11.5, 10.3, 8.7 for doses of 27, 92, 119 and 26, 87, 115 nmol.l-1, respectively. The

plasma level of C was measured by electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay using the

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Elecsys 2010 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland). Inter-assay coefficient of variation

(CV) was 8.4-9.1% and intra-assay CV was 7.8-9.6%. Assay sensitivity was 0.08 nmol.l-1for
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C.

Statistical Analysis
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Results are expressed as means ± standard deviations (SD). Statistical analysis was performed

with SPSS for Windows, version 16.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago). All the participants were included

in the two-way factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to estimate the training effect on

the outcome variables (anthropometric and physical parameters and hormonal concentrations

at the 2 soccer season follow-up (Baseline values were used as covariates, and the groups

(soccer players vs. control) were used as fixed factors. The training effect was defined as a

mean between-group difference in absolute changes from baseline to the end of the 2 soccer

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season. Significant differences were assumed when p<0.05. All variables used in the study

were checked for normality of distribution before the analyses (Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests).

The reliability of each test was assessed by intra-class correlations (ICCs). Effect size was

calculated to document the size of the statistical effects observed and defined as small for r >

0.1, medium for r > 0.3, and large for r > 0.5. The correlations between independent variables

(T, C, SHBG, T/C) and the dependent variables (physical performances) were determined by

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simple regression. The magnitude of the effect for the correlations was determined using the

modified scale as proposed by Hopkins: r < 0.1, trivial; 0.1–0.3, small; > 0.3–0.5, moderate; >

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0.5–0.7, large; > 0.7–0.9, very large; > 0.9, nearly perfect; and 1 perfect (22).

RESULTS
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Table 1a shows the anthropometric data of the soccer players and control groups. Significant

differences were observed in body mass, height and % of body fat for soccer players

compared with the control group throughout the assessment points, T0 to T4 (p < 0.001).

Table 1b shows changes in anthropometric parameters (body mass, height and % body fat) in
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young soccer players compared with the control group through the assessment points of T0-

T1 (first follow-up period), T1-T2 (second follow-up period), T2-T3 (third follow-up period),
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T3-T4 (fourth follow-up period), and T0-T4 (total period follow-up). From these results, we
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observed that for soccer players the change in values (∆) are statistically significant for height

and weight (p<0.01). However, for % body fat, we found significant differences only at T0-

T4. For the control subjects significant ∆differences were observed in different follow-up

periods for height and the same result occurred for weight, except at the first follow-up

period: T0-T1.The percentage of body fat for the soccer players had decreased significantly in

the total followed period (T0-T4) comparison (p<0.01), but for control subjects no significant

changes were observed in any follow-up periods.

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Table 1 (a &b) are about here

The changes in physical parameters (CMJ, SqJ,5J, 30m Sprint, YYIRT1 (m) and VO2max) in

soccer players compared with the control group throughout the measurement points of various

periods T0-T (first follow-up period),T1-T2 (second follow-up period), T2-T3 (third follow-

up period),T3-T4 (fourth follow-up period), and T0-T4 (total period) are presented in Table

2. The results demonstrate that the ∆differences are significant for soccer players compared

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with controls for CMJ, SqJ, YYIRT, VO2max and 5J (p<0.01).

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The 30m-sprint performances were statistically significant for soccer players during the

period T2-T3 and the final period compared with control subjects. For this last group some

significant differences (p<0.05) for∆were noted for CMJ in T1-T2, SqJ in T3-T4, 5J in T0-T1
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and T2-T3.In the total period (T0-T4) comparison we observe significant differences (∆)

in both groups for all parameters, but these differences were most prominent in soccer

players compared to the controls (Table 2).

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Table 2 is about here

The evolution of hormonal concentrations of soccer players and control subjects are presented
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in Table 3.The results indicate that in young soccer players significant differences are
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observed for T in the (T1-T2) and (T2-T3) periods (p < 0.01) and in the total period (T0-T4)

(p < 0.001). No significant differences for controls were observed over the measurement

periods. Also, significant differences (∆) of T concentrations between young soccer players

and control subjects were observed in (T1-T2), (T2-T3) and (T0-T4) (p < 0.01).Figure 1a

shows the significant differences in T between soccer players and controls at T1 and T2

(p<0.01). The same differences were observed at T3 and T4 (p<0.001).

Table 3 is about here

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Cortisol concentrations showed significant differences for young soccer players after the first

follow-up period (T0-T1), the second follow-up period (T1-T2) and after the total period

follow-up (T0-T4) (p<0.01). Also, significant differences were observed for the control

subjects at (T2-T3), (T3-T4) and (T0-T4) (p < 0.01) (Table 3). Also, significant differences

(∆) for C concentrations were observed between soccer players and control subjects in (T2-

T3), (T3-T4) and in (T0-T4) (p < 0.01). Figure 1b shows the significant differences in C

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between soccer players and controls at T0 and T3 (p<0.01).

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The SHBG concentrations were significantly different for the total period follow-up (T0-T4)

for soccer players and control subjects. Also, significant differences (∆) SHBG between the

soccer players and control subjects were observed after the first follow-up period (T1-T2) and
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after the total follow-up period (T0-T4) (p < 0.01).Additionally, for SHBG, significant

differences were observed between the two groups at T0, T1, T2 and T3 (p<0.01) (Figure

2a).

Significant differences for the T/C ratio concentrations for soccer players were observed after
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the first follow-up period (T1-T2) and after the total follow-up period (T0-T4)(p < 0.01). For
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controls, significant differences were observed at (T0-T1) and (T0-T4) (p < 0.01). Significant

differences (∆) T/C ratio between soccer players and control subjects were observed in
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different periods of the study, except at (T2-T3).The Figure 2b depicts the T/C ratio

significant differences between the young soccer players compared to the controls at T1

(p<0.01) and atT0, T2, T3 and T4 (p<0.001).

Several significant correlations were observed for soccer players. T was significantly

correlated with CMJ at T0 (r =0.28), T4(r =0.31) and with SqJ at T0(r = 0.27), T4 (r=

0.29).The same correlation was observed between TandYYIRT1 (m) at T0 (r=0.29), T4

(r=0.31) and with VO2max at T0(r = 0.30),T4(r=0.33) (p<0.05).For the T/C ratio, a positive

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correlation was observed with CMJ at T0 (r=0.33), with SqJ at T0 (r=0.34), T4 (r=0.34) and

with YYIRT1 (m) at T4 (r=0.39),VO2maxat T4(r=0.33)(p<0.05).No significant correlations

between C and SHBG concentrations and physical performance measures were detected.

DISCUSSION

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The main purpose of our investigation was to assess the changes of hormonal concentrations

(T, C, SHBG and T/C) and their relationships to physical performances in elite youth soccer

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players belonging to the U17 Tunisian national team and to analyze whether there are

differences between elite young soccer players and control subjects. Our results showed

significant alterations in the hormonal concentrations and physical fitness parameters in the
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young soccer players compared to the control subjects matched for age during the two-season

follow-up. Specifically these changes were mainly seen between T0 and T4. These

differences may represent an adaptation to the exercise occurring with soccer training.
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Furthermore, the hormonal status represented by the T and T/C ratio levels were significantly

correlated with indicators of the power of the lower limbs (CMJ, SqJ and 5J) and aerobic
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performances (VO2max,YYIRT1) only in young soccer players.

It is important to note that several basal measure values at the beginning of the study were
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different between soccer players and control subjects and this is normal as our players were

selected for their attributes from the among 8000 players when they were 13 years old.

Therefore, in our study the key aspects of our results are presented and interpreted as a

variation between the measured values and basal (i.e.,∆).

With respect to the anthropometric characteristics, in this study, the young soccer players

were comparable to soccer players previously analysed at the national (12) and international

levels (16). For height a significant increase was observed in the elite soccer players

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compared to the control group. Thus, our results support the idea that sport has beneficial

effects on growth (27) and, agree with previous studies that reported that young soccer

players were taller (16) were skeletally more mature (30) when compared to their

chronological age counterparts.

In the present investigation, a substantial difference was also observed in weight between the

soccer players and control subjects during the two-soccer seasons over the five time-points. In

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the soccer players, weight decreased significantly from T0 to T3, then showed a shift increase

in T4, while for controls a significant increase of weight was observed from T0 to T4. The

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training program may explain this decrease during the period between T0 and T3 according to

investigations presented by Gil et al. (2007). Concerning the percentage of body fat, we

observed significant differences between the two groups throughout the study period. As a
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result, for youth soccer players the body fat decreased significantly from the T0 to T4

measurements (p<0.01).

T and C are known to play a significant role in metabolism of proteins as well as

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carbohydrates (35,37). Both are competitive agonists of one another at the receptor level in

muscular cells (37). The T and C levels we found in the subjects remained within the normal
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range reported in agreement with several other studies (3,21,29). Our results show significant

differences in T and T/C ratio between soccer players and controls throughout the two soccer
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seasons. In fact, significant increases in T and T/C ratiowere seen in the soccer players

compared to the control subjects (T1-T2), (T2-T3) and total period (T0-T4). Interestingly, for

C, however, significant decreases were observed in the two groups in (T2-T3), (T3-T4) and

total period (T0-T4).The fact that this decrease occurred in both groups would suggest this

occurrence was an effect of the maturation process and/or seasonal influences. Furthermore,

the SHBG differences detected between the groups most likely represents a function of the

prevailing testosterone differences between the groups (26). As it is well known that both

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testosterone and cortisol have been identified as reliable markers of training stress (20,21,24),

our data indicate that anabolic processes (i.e., elevated testosterone, reduced cortisol) may

have predominated for much of the season (T0-T4). This assumption is supported by the high

testosterone/cortisol ratio, previously referred to by Hakkinen et al. (1995), which suggests

anabolic metabolism was fore most throughout the majority of the season. Interestingly, as

also observed by Kraemer et al. (2004) the catabolic environment that was apparently already

D
initiated in the preseason was not obviated over the course of the season.

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Soccer bas been categorized as high-intensity intermittent exercise and a prevalence of

repeated bouts of maximal effort sprints are observed in this sport (34). It has been previously

reported that an increase in physical performances may be related and explained by an

increase in plasma testosterone levels coupled with a decrease or maintenance of plasma

EP
cortisol levels. This was the case observed in the present tracking study over the two soccer

seasons. While these hormonal and performance parameters were certainly related over the

course of this two-year period, the causative nature of increased T/C can only be inferred at
C

this time.

Several studies have been conducted on both young and adult athletes and demonstrate the
C

well-known effect of T in mediating adaptive training responses (1,6,10). Moreover,

A

considering that HPG axis activation induces progressive secretion of testicular sex hormones,

and mainly T, which are important for the changes associated with behavioral, biological,

morphological, and psychological aspects during puberty (1), it seemed reasonable to assume

that the alteration in this hormone concentration might affect explosive-type performance as

observed in soccer. Thus, the results observed in the present study corroborate the initial

hypothesis and are in line with findings from those few studies conducted with young soccer

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players in which associations between T concentration and performance were demonstrated

(17,32).

In conclusion, the current results showed that the T concentration and power performance

outcomes covary positively over time (two soccer seasons) only in soccer players. As

expected, higher T concentration and greater power performance were observed in the soccer

D
players group compared to controls. Moreover, our present findings allow us to recognize

that T has a role in the power performance of young soccer players (17,32).

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PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This study provides results concerning anthropometric characteristics, physical performances

and hormonal concentrations for highly trained young soccer players. Our data indicated that
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soccer participation by young malessignificantly increased T level and the T/C ratio, while

decreasing SHBG and C when compared to age-matched control subjects. These findings, in

our opinion, represent an advantageous adaptation to exercise as associated with soccer

C

training. Additionally, we found many of the performance capacity tasks were associated with

the hormonal changes in the soccer players and likewise point to positive adaptation with
C

exercise training and support the hypothesis we proposed in approaching this study. Taking

into account the results from our study in conjunction with results from the previous studies,
A

head coaches, fitness coaches and staff members working with adolescent soccer players may

need to more carefully consider the use of both testosterone and cortisol responses (to monitor

the « stress » of training) and physical performances, over the training season, in parallel to

psycho metric tools to optimize the training monitoring and to adjust the training program in

an individualized level.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the soccer players and control boys who participated in

this study with great enthusiasm. We pay a great tribute to Tunisian Football Federation for its

unfailing collaboration.

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Figures Legend
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Figure 1: Testosterone (Fig. 1a) and Cortisol (Fig. 1b) differences between each point-time

during 2 seasons on young soccer players compared with control subjects (mean ± SD).

Figure 2: SHBG (Fig. 3a) and T/C (Fig. 3b) differences between each point-time during 2
C

seasons on young soccer players compared with control subjects (mean ± SD).
C
A

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Table 1: Anthropometric characteristics (Table 1a) and their evolutions (Table 1b) of soccer

players and control subjects determined during two-soccer seasons follow-up (mean ± SD).

Table 1a

Measurements Soccer players (n = 20) Controls (n = 20) P Values ∆

Weight (kg)

D
T0 69.0± 5.7 52.7±12.4 0.001 16.3**

T1 66.6±5.5 53.4 ±12.6 0.001 13.2**

TE
T2 67.9±5.3 54.55±12.0 0.001 13.3**

T3 68.7±5.4 56.6±12.3 0.001 12.1**

T4 70.0±5.3 57.8±11.9 0.001 12.1**

Height (cm)
EP
T0 174.5±3.5 167.7±8.8 0.01 6.7*

T1 176.0±3.4 168.2±8.9 0.01 7.7*

T2 178.2±3.1 170.1±8.9 0.001 8.0**

T3 181.0±3.4 171.8±8.8 0.001 9.2**

C

T4 184.2±3.8 173.25±9.0 0.001 10.9**

Body fat (%)

C

T0 12.8±3.0 17.9±2.9 0.01 -5.1*

T1 12.2±2.9 16.6±2.6 0.01 -4.4*

A

T2 11.4±2.6 16.6±2.2 0.01 -5.1*

T3 10.8±1.4 16.7±2.2 0.001 -5.9**

T4 10.1±1.0 16.3±2.4 0.001 -6.2**

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Table 1b

Measurements Soccer players (n = 20) Controls (n = 20)

Weight (kg) ∆ ∆

T0-T1 -2.4±0.2* 0.7±0.2

T1-T2 1.2±0.2* 1.1±0.6*

T2-T3 0.8±0.1* 2.0±0.3*

T3-T4 1.2±0.1* 1.2±0.4*

D
T0-T4 0.9±0.4* 5.1±0.5**

Height (cm) ∆ ∆

TE
T0-T1 1.4±0.1* 0.4±0.1*

T1-T2 2.2±0.3* 1.8±0.0*

T2-T3 2.8±0.3** 1.7±0.1*

T3-T4 3.2±0.4** 1.4±0.2*

EP
T0-T4 8.7±0.3** 5.4±0.2**

%Body fat (%) ∆ ∆

T0-T1 -0.5±0.1 -1.3±0.3

T1-T2 -0.7±0.3 0.0±0.4

C

T2-T3 -0.5±1.2 0.1±0.0

T3-T4 -0.7±0.3 0.4±0.2

C

T0-T4 -2.6±2.0* 1.5± 0.5

T0: First Test in October 2008; T1: Second Test in February 2009; T2: Third Test in May
A

2009; T3: Fourth Test in November 2009; T4: Fifth Test in May 2010; Significant differences

between soccer players and control subjects. * p< 0.01 ; ** p < 0.001.

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D
TE
EP
C
C
A

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Table 2: Evolution of physical fitness parameters of soccer players and control subjects determined during two-soccer seasons follow-up (mean

± SD).

D
Variables VO2max
CMJ (cm) SqJ (cm) 5J (cm) 30m (s) YYIRT (m)
(ml/kg/min)

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Groups SP C SP C SP C SP C SP C SP C

T0-T1 3.12 ** 0.93£ 1.80 ** 0.25£ 1.31 ** 0.44*£ -0.03 -0.02 744 ** 18£ 5.35 ** 0.10£

EP
T1-T2 2.22** 1.57*£ 1.40* 0.01£ 0.36 0.42 -0.03 -0.01 326* 90£ 2.30* 0.03£

T2-T3 5.27 ** 0.97£ 3.43 ** 0.72£ 0.57* 0.63* -0.17* -0.07£ 224** 72£ 1.11* 0.62£

T3-T4 2.13 ** 1.08£ 0.39* 0.48*£ 1.21** 0.51£ -0.04 -0.05 262 ** 8£ 1.87 ** 0.61£

T0-T4 12.62 ** 3.85**£ 7.02 ** 1.46 **£

C 2.73 ** 1.14**£ -0.27** -0.15**£ 1108 ** 188**£ 8.40 ** 1.36 **£
C
CMJ: Counter Movement Jump; SqJ: Squat Jump; 5J: Five Jump Test; YYIRT:Yo-Yo Intermittent recovery test level 1 performance; T0: First Test in

October 2008; T1: Second Test in February 2009; T2: Third Test in May 2009; T3: Fourth Test in November 2009; T4: Fifth Test in May 2010;£:
A
Significant difference (∆) of physical fitness parameters between soccer players and control subjects. £: p<0.01; *: Significant differences of

evolution between each period-time during two soccer seasons follow-up on young soccer players and control subjects. * p<0.01 ; ** p<0.001.

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Table 3: Evolution of hormonal concentrations of soccer players and control subjects

according to different periods during two soccer seasons follow-up (mean ± SD).

Variables Testosterone Cortisol SHBG T/C

∆ ∆ ∆ ∆

Groups SP C SP C SP C SP C

D
T0-T1 0 .05 0.11 -73.73* 8.11£ -1.87 -2.33 0 .002 0.006*£

TE
T1-T2 0.70* 0.05£ -72.94* 18.13 0.01 -2.15£ 0.003*£ -0.002

T2-T3 0.44* -1.14£ -7.85 -142.0*£ -1.89 -1.68 0.001 0.003

T3-T4 0.27 1.22 -10.61 91.96*£ -3.48 -0.18 0.002£ -0.002

T0-T4 1.46** 0.24£ -166.13* -23.82*£ -7.97* -6.34*£ 0.008*£ 0.005*

EP
T0: First Test in October 2008; T1: Second Test in February 2009; T2: Third Test in May

2009; T3: Fourth Test in November 2009; T4: Fifth Test in May 2010; £: Significant

difference (∆) of physical fitness parameters between soccer players and control subjects. £:
C

p<0.01; *: Significant differences of evolution between each period-time during two soccer

seasons follow-up on young soccer players and control su * p<0.01 ; ** p<0.001.

C
A

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Figure 1: Testosterone (Fig. 1a) and Cortisol (Fig. 1b) differences between each point-time
during 2 seasons on young soccer players compared with control subjects (mean ± SD).

Fig. 1a

D
TE
EP
Fig. 1b
C
C
A

T0: First Test in October 2008; T1: Second Test in February 2009; T2: Third Test in May
2009; T3: Fourth Test in November 2009; T4: Fifth Test in May 2010; *: Significant differences
between groups *: p<0.05; **: p<0.001.

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Fig. 2a

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TE
EP
Fig. 2b
C
C
A

Figure 2: SHBG (Fig. 3a) and T/C (Fig. 3b) differences between each point-time during 2
seasons on young soccer players compared with control subjects (mean ± SD).

T0: First Test in October 2008; T1: Second Test in February 2009; T2: Third Test in May
2009; T3: Fourth Test in November 2009; T4: Fifth Test in May 2010; *: Significant differences
between groups *: p<0.05; **: p<0.001.

Copyright ª 2016 National Strength and Conditioning Association

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