Following on from the previous blog post about the physical benchmark between the Keuken Kampioen Division and the Tweede Divisie amateurs, this time we will take a closer look at the positional differences between the two football competitions. At the time, the focus was mainly on the team average. This gives a global picture of the physical differences. Where the Keuken Kampioen Division teams scored slightly higher on average than the Second Division teams, it was noticeable that the high-intensity sprint meters (>25 km/h) were higher in the Second Division (top amateurs) compared to the Keuken Kampioen Division. However, it is more interesting to go one step further and compare the positions. This position benchmark Keuken Kampioen Division – Second Division maps the differences of both competitions and parameters per position.
POSITIONAL DIFFERENCES
We know that there can be significant differences per position within a team. For example, between wingers, wing backs, strikers, midfielders and central defenders. How do the strikers of Kozak Boys, HHC Hardenberg, Rijnsburgse Boys, Quick Boys, De Treffers, compare to the strikers of Helmond Sport, De Graafschap, FC Volendam, FC Dordrecht, Roda JC, FC Den Bosch or FC Eindhoven? To get a better picture of this, we looked at 5 different positions in the Keuken Kampioen Division and the Second Division amateurs. The GPS data collected for the position benchmark Keuken Kampioen Division – Second Dvision concerns the 2019-2020 season.
TOTAL DISTANCE PER GAME
On average, the Keuken Kampioen Division already scored a bit higher on the total distance. If we look at the different positions, the difference is especially visible with the midfielders (CMID) and the wingers (WING). It is not surprising that most kilometers are made in midfield. They must ensure the balance between the attackers and defense. Yet it is striking to see that the wingers and the wing defenders score a lot higher in the Kitchen Champion Division than in the Second Division. Could this be because the wing defenders come up more often and the wingers more defensively?
RUNNING DISTANCE BETWEEN 14 KM/H AND 20 KM/H
Although these are not yet top speeds, but mainly meters that are run at a higher pace, it is interesting to see here also the Keuken Kampioen Division scores higher than the Second Division in every position. The midfielders in particular cover a lot of running distances between 14 km/h and 20 km/h. These are mainly the meters that are made in choosing position (quick tilt), putting pressure and switching from attack to defense or defense to attack.
SPRINT DISTANCE PER COMPETITION
The sprint distances are by far the most important distances that are made and measured with GPS equipment. The differences in sprint distances are clearly visible per competition (read blog about benchmark Premier League, Eredivisie, U21). It is clear to see that in both competitions the attackers make more sprint meters than midfielders and defenders. In addition, the differences in sprint meters are greater with the strikers (STR) and wingers (WIN). This may be because there is more frequent and more specific training on making sprint meters. Do you want to know how to increase the sprint meters during competitions? Read this blog: https://www.johansports.nl/hoe- Prepared-je-players-voor-op-de-sprint-belasting-van-de-match/. This blog describes how and why you can increase the sprint load of players using various exercises.
HIGH-INTENSITY SPRINT DISTANCE KEUKEN KAMPIOEN DIVISION – SECOND DIVISION
Although we saw in the previous blog that in general more hi-intensity sprint meters above 25 kilometers per hour were covered in the Second Division compared to the Keuken Kampioen Division, this appears to be different at a positional level. It can be seen that the Second Division mainly scores higher on high-intensity sprint meters with the central defenders (CDEF) and midfielders (CMID), while these are not necessarily the positions where this parameter is important. The wingers (WIN) in the Keuken Kampioen Division, on the other hand, run considerably more high-intensity sprint meters during the match compared to the Second Division.
HIGH ACCELERATIONS AND HIGH DECELERATIONS (>3 METERS PER SECOND)
The short sprints (hi-accelerations or high gears) and fast braking (hi-decelerations) are real football actions. In general, the Kitchen Champion Division scores slightly higher in this area compared to the Second Division. The differences can mainly be seen between the strikers (STR) and the wingers (WIN).
CONCLUSION
We already knew that physically the bar is slightly higher in the Keuken Kampioen Division than in the Second Division. However, there are clear positional differences within this position benchmark Keuken Kampioen Division – Second Division. For some parameters, these differences also become larger when you zoom in per position. Particularly with the sprint meters (> 20 kilometers per hour) and high-intensity sprint meters (> 25 kilometers per hour), relatively large differences can be seen in the wing backs, strikers and wingers.