One of the methods to make an objective analysis of the use of adequate means and methods of the training process depending on the special qualities of athletes is factor analysis. The article describes a methodological approach to factor analysis of special qualities of elite field hockey players. The aim of the research is to determine the factor structure of special qualities of elite field hockey players based on experimental data. The study in- volved 40 elite male field players in field hockey. The average age of sportsmen was 24.7±4.27 years. Sports qual- ification – masters of sports of Ukraine. Research methodology: analysis and generalization of special literature and Internet data, lesson observation, pedagogical testing, methods of functional diagnostics, video recording of competitive activities, pedagogical expertise, methods of mathematical statistics. 28 specific qualities of elite male field players in field hockey were defined. The structure of special qualities of hockey players was deter- mined by five orthogonal factors, and the sum of the contribution to the total sampling variance was 69.55%. Factor analysis of special qualities of elite field hockey players allowed to manage the training process more pur- posefully and adjust the managerial impact on the state of the players ' sports form in the training macrocycle.
