Competitive sports have historically remained gender-specific due to different endurance levels between men and women. For instance, different testosterone levels between men and women account for diverse sports performance across genders. Sports performance relies on a range of factors rather than physical, technical, and tactical training. For example, sports performance seems to vary according to mindset and stress resistance among athletes. Comparing men and women in sports competition indicates different stretching activities, endurance, and tactical training distinguishing sports participation across genders.
Top-class female players can run significantly longer and more intensively as they sprint more during soccer matches than high-level female players competing at lower levels. However, top-class women players stretch for a long time before undertaking sports competitions. When sports participants train without supervision, there is a need to use the most simple stretching techniques to avoid inappropriate intensity and positioning (Babault et al., 2021). Using high-intensity pre-activity training techniques deprives women of the energy to endure throughout a single competition. For instance, females who stretch intensively in pre-activity become more exhausted than their counterparts during sports competitions. The level of intensity running also reduces significantly following the most intense period of a game. Therefore, professional female athletes exhibit fatigue temporarily during a match and severe fatigue towards the end of the game due to higher sprinting amid low masculinity.
The fatigue levels during female sports differ between defense, midfield, and attack positions. For instance, midfielders and attackers develop more fatigue than defenders because they perform more intense running and sprinting. Therefore, sufficient warm-up protocols should include dynamic exercises before participating in a competition and incorporate static stretching into a post-activity protocol (Cooper, 2013). Running intensity appears to increase with an increase in professionalism because athletes in the higher standards of women’s soccer exhibit more endurance than athletes from lower levels. However, athletes’ abilities might face restrictions amid insufficient endurance capacities because all players decrease the amount of intensity running towards the end of a game. Defenders do not indicate tactical limitations by running less than midfielders and attackers because they exhibit reduced running intensity towards the end of a game.
Apart from overcoming physical fatigue during sports competitions, athletes must also cope with psychological pressure and unpleasant emotions. Soccer has high contact between players; thus, competitions may include more physical aggression that requires effective emotional and psychological control. Athletes should undergo coping skills training and improvement because the skills determine performance by affecting their personal and professional lives (Cosma et al., 2020). For instance, mental health problems from day-to-day life challenges can persist into athletes’ capabilities and performance during matches and cause high physical aggression. Therefore, athletes need coping skills training and improvement to reduce physical aggression that may cause conflicts during sports competitions.
Most athletes undertake stretching exercises without supervision but often receive instruction from coaches as they look for information. Most athletes usually conduct stretching exercises at least once per week, with stretches lasting less than 15 minutes (Babault et al., 2021). Therefore, athletes require regular stretching sessions for general recovery after training or competitions. Women soccer players at the higher standards exhibit higher intensity than athletes at the lower standards as indicated by the ability to perform high intense running bouts repeatedly and recover consistently during competitions. Therefore, women soccer players must prioritize fitness training like aerobic high-intensity and speed endurance to improve their quality and performance during competitions.
Regarding male sports, athletes improve their endurance and performance when they discontinue passive static stretching in the pre-activity warm-up. Some form of aerobic physical activity succeeded by dynamic warm-up remains the best protocol for pre-participation, while post-participation activity requires static stretching (Cooper, 2013). There is a relatively small difference in physical match performance between professional female athletes and moderate international standard male athletes. Despite female athletes covering less distance at a high intensity than male athletes, there is no difference in total distance covered during soccer competitions. The ability to perform repeated sprints among male soccer players also decreases after an intense period of a game. Therefore, aerobic physical activity and dynamic warm-up are necessary for improved endurance and match performance, while static stretching should occur after participation to fasten muscle recovery.
Copping skills also determine sports performance in male athletes as they show more physical aggression than women during competitions. Therefore, male soccer players also require coping skills training, teaching, and improvement to cope with psychological pressure and unpleasant emotions that may affect their personal and professional lives (Cosma et al., 2020). Gender differences also exist in athletes’ coping strategies regarding goal setting, mental preparedness, and motivations for confidence and achievement. For instance, males have higher abilities to set goals and establish modalities necessary for task accomplishment than female athletes. Males appear to have more mental preparation for potentially challenging situations like match conflicts than female athletes. The higher confidence levels and motivations in dealing with match conflicts support this aspect. For example, males use task-oriented styles of handling conflicts while female athletes prefer avoidance styles.
Men’s sports competitions have more injuries than female sports. This aspect is more prevalent in less recreate players who undertake less intense physical activity and exercise during training. Therefore, athletes must undergo stretching before sports activities to develop the fitness necessary for alleviating injuries (Babault et al., 2021). Undertaking pre-activity stretching exercises help athletes increase motion, health, and muscle performance to minimize activity-related injury risks. On the other hand, post-activity stretching exercises promote recovery from exhaustion and reduce overall injury risks. Injuries also emanate from fatigue that male soccer players experience temporarily during a game and towards the end of the competition. Therefore, pre-activity stretching exercises are necessary for reducing injuries.
Male athletes exhibit higher control levels over performance influence evaluation than female athletes. For instance, women show increased concern and anxiety levels towards sports practice than men. One reason for female anxiety and concern for sports participation includes feelings that men have more significant opportunities that offer more experience (Fradejas & Espada-Mateos, 2018). Therefore, male athletes may take many risks during learning and training to develop more confidence in their athletic abilities and decrease levels of concern and stress in sports performance evaluation. Both training and competition have a practical sense by creating awareness on emotional and competitive challenges requiring physical activity and exercise to address effectively.
In conclusion, both male and female athletes exhibit temporary fatigue during a game and intense fatigue towards the end of the game. This aspect emanates from exhaustion that requires pre-activity stretching exercises for increasing motion, health, and muscle performance necessary for endurance and injury alleviation during sports competition. Additionally, athletes need coping skills training, teaching, and improvement to overcome psychological pressure and unpleasant emotions. This aspect is necessary for ensuring mental wellbeing necessary for maximum performance and minimal conflicts during sports competitions.
References
Babault, N., Rodot, G., Champelovier, M., & Cometti, C. (2021). A survey on stretching practices in women and men from various sports or physical activity programs. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(8), 3928.
Cooper, K. (2013). An examination of pre-activity and post-activity stretching practices of National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s track and field programs.
Cosma, G., Chiracu, A., Stepan, R., Cosma, A., Nanu, C., & Pǎunescu, C. (2020). Impact of coping strategies on sport performance. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 20(3), 1380-1385.
Fradejas, E., & Espada-Mateos, M. (2018). How do psychological characteristics influence the sports performance of men and women? A study in school sports.
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