Prevalence of non-functional overreaching in elite male and female youth academy football players

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of non-functional overreaching (NFOR) and overtraining (OT) in elite male and female youth football players. Methods: Two-hundred and forty-two youth football players (n = 138 boys and n = 104 girls) aged between 12 and 17 years completed a questionnaire to identify the occurrence of NFOR/OT and associated symptoms. Results: No players experienced OT. Significant sex differences for NFOR were found between girls 9% compared to boys 27% (P < 0.05). For players that experienced NFOR, 33% of girls and 60% of boys experienced multiple bouts. Compared to girls, boys completed higher volumes of football training (16.3 ± 4.5 versus 12.7 ± 5.7 h per week, P < 0.05), but training load was not a significant predictor of NFOR for either sex. In both sexes, NFOR was associated with tiredness, a lack of appetite, sore or heavy muscles, feeling in a bad mood, and feeling apathetic. Conclusion: Male and female elite youth football players engaged in high training volumes and experienced similar NFOR symptoms. However, there is a much higher prevalence of NFOR in boys and in those who have suffered previous bouts of NFOR.