Hockey can be discribed as a high intensity, repeat sprint sport that also requires a high level of aerobic capacity (Spencer et al., 2004). Hockey at the elite end of the spectrum requires players to maintain work quality through the course of a tournament (Jennings, 2011;Spencer et al., 2005), which may be as many as eight matches in 13 days. As a consequence there are different physical challenges placed on these players, coupled with the fact that in many instances the tournaments are held in hot and humid climatic conditions. The non-elite player may more often experience one match per week and inevitably in an environment they are chronically acclimatised to. As a consequence there are different demands placed on these different player groups. The elite player may need to develop a high tolerance to lots of training as a vehicle for developing `tournament durability`. The club player may need to focus on the physical challenges of the `one off` game. Both international and domestic matches are 11v11 and involve rolling substitutions. Whilst domestic teams compete over two halves of 35 minutes (separated by a 10 minute break), international teams compete over four quarters of 15 minutes (separated by two 2 minute quarter time breaks and a 10 minute half time break). Teams are made up of 16 players who must remain the same across the course of an international tournament. In the UK, domestic teams typically train two nights per week and usually undertake strength and conditioning sessions two to three times per week. International teams typically run a cen- tralised training programme in which the athletes are expected to train five to six times per week, train and play for their club once per week and undertake three to four strength and conditioning sesions per week.
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