Evaluating training load self-monitoring in female soccer players: Estimating GPS-derived parameters

Abstract

This study explores the feasibility of assessing self-monitoring abilities in a female semi-professional soccer team. It investigates whether athletes can accurately evaluate their external workload by comparing GPS-derived metrics with subjective estimates, including perceived exertion and self-estimated distances. Furthermore, the study exploratorily examines whether regular, session-by-session feedback improves athletes’ estimation accuracy over time compared to sporadic feedback limited to match performance. Twenty-three female athletes (age 21.1 ± 3.7 years) participated in the experiment. After familiarization with the task, their monitoring abilities were assessed by asking them to estimate total distance, very high-speed running distance (>20 km/h), and RPE (Borg CR10 scale) without accessing GPS data (7–8 training sessions considered on average). During subsequent training sessions, athletes in the experimental group were shown the actual GPS data after each post-training estimation, whereas the control group continued to estimate the parameters without feedback (56–57 training sessions considered on average). Finally, monitoring abilities were reassessed for all participants. The results show that female football players underestimated the Total Distance covered during training sessions (p < 0.001). However, the experimental group's accuracy of their distance estimations significantly improved compared to the control group (p = 0.01), suggesting that regular feedback appears to be an effective strategy for enhancing athletes’ self-monitoring abilities, with potential implications for optimizing training autonomy and performance awareness in elite sports contexts.