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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Will U.S. Soccer gain edge with player DNA?

Taking a step beyond blood analysis, U.S. Soccer has begun analyzing genetic biomarkers of its players, looking at players’ DNA in hopes of gaining an edge on the field.

It marks the first time that a national team has used analysis of DNA sequences for performance. The platform is an extension of U.S. Soccer’s partnership with Thorne Research and its owned affiliate WellnessFX. New York-based Thorne works with several U.S. national governing bodies, including USA Gymnastics, Hockey and Triathlon.

Traditional blood analysis has been used by U.S. Soccer in the past to provide players with information about what supplements they should be taking as a result of nutritional deficiencies, as well as more in-depth analysis, such as the tracking of indicators related to systemic inflammation that can be used to detect and monitor infection or injury.

Now, it’s taking a step further with the study of a player’s genetics. The test provided by WellnessFX inspects 87 genetic variations related to areas of health such as nutrition, metabolism, diet and exercise, and correlates that with the blood test results.

The efforts began in U.S. Soccer’s January training camps, where more than 80 men’s and women’s national team players provided blood samples, and the genetic tests were rolled out recently. After being tested, the players and their private health care professionals receive the results, which can be accessed via WellnessFX’s web portal and phone app. These results are also reviewed with U.S. Soccer’s medical and high performance staff, ultimately providing the athletes with recommendations for diet and nutritional supplements. Participation in the program was voluntary.

The new effort with Thorne Research began at U.S. Soccer’s January training camps.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

Paul Jacobson, CEO of Thorne Research and WellnessFX, said that as the cost of genetic testing has decreased in recent years, it has allowed for work that shows how genetics and blood are tied together, and how athletic performance can be optimized by looking at the results.

“When you start looking at the correlations, it allows an athlete to see not just that they have a problem, but why,” Jacobson said. “Trainers often spend a lot of time trying to figure out how you should eat — when you tie blood and genetics together, making recommendations becomes a lot easier.”

U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer Dr. George Chiampas said that while it will take time to build up enough results to create actionable plans for the players, providing them with further information about what could improve their performance or help resist injuries is a key goal.

“Athletes are like most individuals — they want to understand themselves and their bodies, and they want to get better,” Chiampas said. “Some of the biomarkers and results might only be smaller details, but if we can help be part of the process of helping them understand themselves better, as well as optimize themselves as best as possible to be able to perform, we want to be a part of that.”

Chiampas said the federation has identified sports science as a way toward greater success on the field. In February, it hired James Bunce as its high-performance director, overseeing its initiatives dedicated to improving performance and the development of younger players. U.S. Soccer has also made several hires on the analytics and sport science side, and Chiampas said he expects greater investment in both personnel and different measuring capabilities in the next year, broadening the efforts to not only the senior national teams but also to the youth national teams, developmental academy and the NWSL. He declined to comment on the cost of the overall investment.

More than 20 teams across the U.S. professional leagues work with Thorne and WellnessFX on programs like this, including the Golden State Warriors, Jacobson said. The costs of the program vary based on size of organizations and level of medical depth.

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