The overall activity pattern of soccer is that of intermittent high-intensity (Int-HINT) type and elite players have a greater repeated high-intensity running capability. Since soccer involves rapidly changing work intensities in an unpredictable manner, tests simulating overall activity pattern in a cyclical sequence have limited practical usefulness in testing of soccer fitness. The primary aim of this study was to develop a laboratory-based protocol to specifically assess the Int-HINT running capability in soccer players. University team games athletes (n=8, Mean ± SD; age 22.30 ± 1.65 years, stature 1.73 ± 0.04 m, body mass 69.36 ± 6.04 kg) participated in the reliability study and male youth professional soccer players (n=20, Mean ± SD age, 17.5 ± 0.3 yrs; stature, 1.73 ± 0.04 m; body mass, 67.2 ± 7.5 kg) participated in the validity study. The players performed on the NIE Intermittent High-intensity (NIE Int-HINT) Running Test during the preseason, early in-season and end mid-season phases of the soccer season. Performance was measured as total distance covered on the treadmill. The participants also performed the YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 2 (YoYo IRT L2) during each phase of the competition season. The NIE Int-HINT test was found to be of high reliability (ICC, 0.98; CV, 2.1%; ratio limits of agreement (rLOA) 0.99 x/÷ 1.03). A positive and significant correlation (p The NIE Int-HINT test provided a reliable measure of intermittent high-intensity running capability and a valid and sensitive method of estimating soccer-specific fitness in youth professional soccer players. Further studies are needed to evaluate the applicability of this test in adult elite soccer players and other intermittent team game athletes.
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