DIFFERENT TEAM DEFENSE TACTICS AND HEART RATE DURING A FIELD HOCKEY MATCH

Modern professional training in different sports is based on many variables observed during training matches and competitions [4, 5, 6]. The recording of physical activity and measurement of different physiological parameters of players during a match can be useful to estimate demands during a field hockey game. This issue has been discussed in relation to different sports by many researchers [3, 5]. One of such variables is the heart rate, which displays an internal picture of body’s reaction to diverse physical and psychological loads. Monitoring the heart rate is used to control adaptation changes during a training process and qualify the types of exercise [2] to prepare better individual exercise loads for competitors. The researchers and coaches note that the replacement of natural grass with an artificial playing surface has changed different elements of field hockey games such as players’ technical, tactical and physiological requirements [3]. Field hockey has become a swift and skill-based game [1], in which numerous changes of action require a high level of endurance and velocity preparation [4]. The above transformations point to the question of relationships between energy cost, heart rate and tactical tasks in field hockey. Publications on this subject have been rare and very often they are merely theoretical presumptions. There are different defense and attack systems in field hockey. The most popular team defense tactics in field hockey are: man-to-man marking, zone marking and combination of both. In man-to-man marking, one defender takes on a specific responsibility for one opponent. Although the opponent may have difficulty escaping and using space, this system requires a huge amount of discipline from every player on the team. With zone marking, each defender takes responsibility for an opponent entering their zone of defense. The zone concentrates on the region of greatest danger but also ensures that cover is provided around the zone should the point of attack be changed to another area on the field [1]. But which system is better and more effective for a team? Which tactics system permits to realize the assumptions of the game with lower energetic expenditure? Which system lets the players achieve the final effect (win) at the lower cost? The available literature gives no clear answer to these questions. The main objective of this study was to examine the heart rate responses and estimate energy expenditure of competitive field hockey played in two different team defense tactics: man-to-man marking and zone marking, to see which one will turn out to be useful in planning tactical solutions with reference to players’ capabilities.