Over the next couple posts, I’m going to share some data that I’ve been using as part of our player assessments thanks to our use of Prozone 3.

In 90 minutes, one might expect a soccer player to cover a lot of ground. But most don’t understand just how top players run, walk, sprint and jog or how hard and often they run fast. Today, let’s look at how much an average top level player covers in 90 minutes.

The average MLS field player (excluding goalies) covers 11.1km in a game. FAPL is slightly lower at 10.9 and nPC slightly higher at 11.3. That’s about 7 miles in 90 minutes. While not all that much in terms of a long distance runner, when one thinks of the frequent starts and stops, changes of direction, and intermittent rest periods (i.e. walking) this number is quite impressive.

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Mike Young

Director of Performance at Athletic Lab

Mike is the Head Fitness Coach for the North Carolina Courage and North Carolina FC. He is also the owner and Director of Performance at Athletic Lab sports performance training center. He previously served as the fitness coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps and Carolina Railhawks. He has a PhD in Biomechanics, an MS in Coaching Science, and a BSS in Exercise Physiology and has coached Olympic and professional athletes in Skeleton, Track & Field, MLS and NASL Soccer, PGA Golf, NFL Football, MLB Baseball and Olympic Weightlifting. He has lectured around the world and authored 2 books and dozens of research and coaching articles.

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