TY - JOUR
T1 - Gaelic Games Players’ and Practitioners’ Perceptions of Recovery Strategies
AU - Daly, Lorcan S.
AU - Kelly, David T.
AU - Ó Catháin (Jnr), Ciarán
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Human Kinetics, Inc.
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Purpose: This study both investigated and compared Gaelic games players’ and practitioners’ perceptions of the importance of postexercise recovery strategies. Methods: Gaelic players (n = 1178 [n = 574 female], age 24.6 [6.6] y) and practitioners (n = 148 [n = 29 female], age 35.9 [8.7] y) completed a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of various postexercise recovery strategies (importance ranked out of 5 [1 “not important at all” to 5 “extremely important”]). Players were further categorized by playing standard into developmental (club/collegiate; n = 869) and national (intercounty; n = 309) levels and by sport: Gaelic football (n = 813), camogie/hurling (n = 342), and Gaelic handball (n = 23). Practitioners were categorized as sport coaches (n = 67), strength and conditioning staff (n = 34), nutrition staff (n = 15), and athletic rehabilitation staff (n = 32). Results: Gaelic players prevalently perceived sleep (76.4%), rehydration (72.5%), postexercise meal (48.4%), stretching (47.6%), active cool-down (25.1%), foam rolling (23.1%), and massage by therapist (22.6%) as “extremely important.” Practitioners prevalently perceived sleep (90.1%), rehydration (83.6%), postexercise meal (76.6%), daytime naps (36.2%), stretching (25.4%), discussion with teammates (24.6%), and getting into nature (19.4%) as “extremely important.” Conclusions: While strategies with well-documented efficacy such as sleep, nutrition, and rehydration were rated as most important, a distinct and possibly problematic disconnect exists between the perceived importance of many strategies and their empirically demonstrated effectiveness. For instance, active cool-downs and stretching were perceived as highly important despite prevailing evidence suggesting that their effects are often small in magnitude. Collectively, work promoting optimal recovery practices and aligning player-practitioner perspectives would be beneficial to maximize time and resource allocation and enhance player buy-in.
AB - Purpose: This study both investigated and compared Gaelic games players’ and practitioners’ perceptions of the importance of postexercise recovery strategies. Methods: Gaelic players (n = 1178 [n = 574 female], age 24.6 [6.6] y) and practitioners (n = 148 [n = 29 female], age 35.9 [8.7] y) completed a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of various postexercise recovery strategies (importance ranked out of 5 [1 “not important at all” to 5 “extremely important”]). Players were further categorized by playing standard into developmental (club/collegiate; n = 869) and national (intercounty; n = 309) levels and by sport: Gaelic football (n = 813), camogie/hurling (n = 342), and Gaelic handball (n = 23). Practitioners were categorized as sport coaches (n = 67), strength and conditioning staff (n = 34), nutrition staff (n = 15), and athletic rehabilitation staff (n = 32). Results: Gaelic players prevalently perceived sleep (76.4%), rehydration (72.5%), postexercise meal (48.4%), stretching (47.6%), active cool-down (25.1%), foam rolling (23.1%), and massage by therapist (22.6%) as “extremely important.” Practitioners prevalently perceived sleep (90.1%), rehydration (83.6%), postexercise meal (76.6%), daytime naps (36.2%), stretching (25.4%), discussion with teammates (24.6%), and getting into nature (19.4%) as “extremely important.” Conclusions: While strategies with well-documented efficacy such as sleep, nutrition, and rehydration were rated as most important, a distinct and possibly problematic disconnect exists between the perceived importance of many strategies and their empirically demonstrated effectiveness. For instance, active cool-downs and stretching were perceived as highly important despite prevailing evidence suggesting that their effects are often small in magnitude. Collectively, work promoting optimal recovery practices and aligning player-practitioner perspectives would be beneficial to maximize time and resource allocation and enhance player buy-in.
KW - cold water immersion
KW - fatigue
KW - nutrition
KW - postexercise recovery
KW - stretching
KW - team sport
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205083531&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1123/ijspp.2023-0302
DO - 10.1123/ijspp.2023-0302
M3 - Article
C2 - 39179221
AN - SCOPUS:85205083531
SN - 1555-0265
VL - 19
SP - 1128
EP - 1136
JO - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
JF - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
IS - 10
ER -