Substitutions in elite male field hockey - A case study

The purpose of this study was to (i) describe and analyse the substitution tactics of an international field hockey team during competitive match play and (ii) to identify the impact of bench periods on the physical output of players when re-entering active game play. Data were collected from thirteen professional male field hockey players during three international tournament matches. The physical performance of the players was recorded by a high-frequency local position measurement system. The number and length of substitutions were obtained by observation. An average of 58.0 ± 4.6 substitutions were registered during the course of a tournament match, where the average player performed 4.7 ± 0.8 individual substitutions with an average pause duration of 5.4 ± 1.2 min and an average on-field playing duration of 7.18 ± 2.14 min. Within the first minute of substitution, re-entering players covered a significantly larger total distance (159.7 ± 33.0 m ˙ min^-1) compared with the team average (139.4 ± 33.3 m ˙ min^-1). A significant decrease in physical performance was observed within the fifth minute after substitution. Our findings suggest a ‘first-minute-rush-effect’, wherein substitutes covered a significantly larger total distance compared with the team average. Further, re-entering field hockey players experienced distinguishable signs of fatigue approximately four minutes after substitution.