The Hydration Status of Female Collegiate Soccer Players Over Consecutive Training and Match Days

Purpose: Hydration has been shown to play a pivotal role in sport. Soccer is a team sport in which the integrity of all players is vital for team performance; thus, individual player hydration status is important. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the hydration status of female collegiate soccer players during regular season. Methods: Sixteen collegiate female soccer players (age: 20.4 +/- 0.8 years; height: 163.6 +/- 6.9 cm; weight: 65.3 +/- 12 kg) provided urine over 9 days to monitor their hydration status. Hydration was determined by urine specific gravity (U-sg). U-sg was analyzed in the morning (AM) and in the afternoon before practice/game (PM). Results: All 16 players were at least minimally hypohydrated (U-sg > 1.010) in the AM on 5 of the 9 days tested. Players had significantly higher U-sg values in the AM as compared to PM (F(1,250) = 23.09; . < 0.0001); however, there was no significant time*day interaction (F(1,250) = 1.98; . = 0.16). Conclusion: Data show a high prevalence of hypohydration occurring in this specific population. This sub-optimal hydration status could be a cause for concern in terms of overall performance. Efforts should be made to integrate hydration interventions and daily monitoring to minimize hypohydration in players.\

Automated summary

The study investigated the hydration status of female collegiate soccer players during regular season and found a high prevalence of hypohydration in this specific population. Efforts should be made to integrate hydration interventions and daily monitoring to minimize hypohydration in players. Players had significantly higher urine specific gravity values in the morning compared to the afternoon, indicating a sub-optimal hydration status that could affect overall performance.