Maximizing performance requires a strategic approach to providing both sufficient stimuli for physiological adaptation, as well as appropriate time for recovery. To optimize preparatory training for a give sport, it is important to identify both the demands of competition and how the workload characteristics of practice relate to in-game demands. External load monitoring using Catapult S5 units offers one valid method of quatifying the kinematic characteristics of sport participation. Previous research has identified that specific workload patterns are associated with injury risk. The mechanisms proposed to explain this relationship should also impact performance. The purposes of this study are to 1) determine differences in workload characteristics between practices and games; 2) assess differences between forwards and defensemen; 3) determine the impact of preceding workloads on game workload; and 4) identify if preceding workloads influence game performance.
