Pub Date : 2022-05-01DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2022.2062897
Franco M Impellizzeri, Alan McCall, Tim Meyer, Maarten van Smeden
Since the beginning of Science and Medicine in Football (2017) as a standalone journal, we have experienced a rise in submissions in the area of epidemiology for injury and illness. Unfortunately, we have also noticed a pattern of inaccurate and confusing terminology when referring to measures of injury and illness occurrence, and when communicating risks. This can be partially explained, because the use of various terms as synonyms and ambiguous definitions has generated confusion and debate even within epidemiology (ElandtJohnson 1975; Bhopal 2016; Spronk et al. 2019). With this editorial, we aim to help authors, and our readers, by providing a very brief primer on the measures of occurrence used in epidemiology. A first distinction among the measures of disease frequency is between incidence and prevalence. For simplicity, we assume the existence of a data sample with data on individuals (e.g., football players) belonging to a group of interest, which we will refer to as ‘study population’. In the study population, certain health-related events or outcomes (e.g., illness or injury) are registered, and such an event or outcome will be referred to as ‘event’. Individuals in the study population that have or (over time) experience an ‘event’ are referred to as ‘cases’.
{"title":"Measures of (injury and illness) occurrence: a primer on epidemiological concepts and terminology for authors.","authors":"Franco M Impellizzeri, Alan McCall, Tim Meyer, Maarten van Smeden","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2022.2062897","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2022.2062897","url":null,"abstract":"Since the beginning of Science and Medicine in Football (2017) as a standalone journal, we have experienced a rise in submissions in the area of epidemiology for injury and illness. Unfortunately, we have also noticed a pattern of inaccurate and confusing terminology when referring to measures of injury and illness occurrence, and when communicating risks. This can be partially explained, because the use of various terms as synonyms and ambiguous definitions has generated confusion and debate even within epidemiology (ElandtJohnson 1975; Bhopal 2016; Spronk et al. 2019). With this editorial, we aim to help authors, and our readers, by providing a very brief primer on the measures of occurrence used in epidemiology. A first distinction among the measures of disease frequency is between incidence and prevalence. For simplicity, we assume the existence of a data sample with data on individuals (e.g., football players) belonging to a group of interest, which we will refer to as ‘study population’. In the study population, certain health-related events or outcomes (e.g., illness or injury) are registered, and such an event or outcome will be referred to as ‘event’. Individuals in the study population that have or (over time) experience an ‘event’ are referred to as ‘cases’.","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"137-140"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45929688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-11DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2022.2053338
I. Peña-González, A. Javaloyes, E. Cervelló, M. Moya-Ramón
ABSTRACT Talent identification and selection process in young football is based on coaches’ decisions regarding the players’ performance at early ages. The aim of this study was to show how the maturity status and the relative age impact on young football players’ physical performance and their coaches’ efficacy expectations. The physical performance (1RM, Peak power output [PPO], 30-m sprint and t-test) of 118 young football players (U13 to U15; and their coaches’ efficacy expectations were assessed. Relative age was calculated according to the players’ date of birth within their selection year. The maturity status was estimated as the years from/to their peak height velocity (PHV). Linear regression analyses showed a significant relationship between players’ physical performance and their maturity status but not with their relative age. In contrast, the maturity status of players only was associated to the coaches’ efficacy expectations in the 1RM and PPO tests, whereas the relative age was a predictor of the coaches’ expectations about players’ performance in the t-test. These findings may be important for coaches and managers in young football academies since inter-individual differences in the maturity status but not in the relative age are related to physical performance despite the coaches’ expectations.
{"title":"The maturity status but not the relative age influences elite young football players’ physical performance","authors":"I. Peña-González, A. Javaloyes, E. Cervelló, M. Moya-Ramón","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2022.2053338","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2022.2053338","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Talent identification and selection process in young football is based on coaches’ decisions regarding the players’ performance at early ages. The aim of this study was to show how the maturity status and the relative age impact on young football players’ physical performance and their coaches’ efficacy expectations. The physical performance (1RM, Peak power output [PPO], 30-m sprint and t-test) of 118 young football players (U13 to U15; and their coaches’ efficacy expectations were assessed. Relative age was calculated according to the players’ date of birth within their selection year. The maturity status was estimated as the years from/to their peak height velocity (PHV). Linear regression analyses showed a significant relationship between players’ physical performance and their maturity status but not with their relative age. In contrast, the maturity status of players only was associated to the coaches’ efficacy expectations in the 1RM and PPO tests, whereas the relative age was a predictor of the coaches’ expectations about players’ performance in the t-test. These findings may be important for coaches and managers in young football academies since inter-individual differences in the maturity status but not in the relative age are related to physical performance despite the coaches’ expectations.","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"309 - 316"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2022-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43449171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-19DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1942539
A. Owen
Dear Editor, We thank the authors of this particular paper for their constructive comments on our manuscript first published within Science and Medicine in football in 2017 (Owen et al. 2017) and welcome the opportunity to address some of the points raised. Overall, we agree with the points made and we welcome further debate within this research area. Furthermore, we take great satisfaction from the discussion the manuscript has caused within the practical and academic communities across professional team sport codes. We also hope these debates will allow for the opportunity for future research within other team sport codes across this multi-modal approach to monitoring. The main concerns raised by Weaving et al. (2020) relate to the collinearity of specific external loading measures that are provided from GPS micro sensor technology within the practical setting daily. We do not disagree with the comments on this fact; indeed, extensive reviews and additional manuscripts across the training load literature have reported on this issue across the preceding three-year period post the initial publication of the manuscript into multi-modal models in 2017. Additionally, while practically through mediums like social media and podcasts, there may have been an increase in interest within the topic area; academically, one additional research manuscript has been published in this area (Owen et al. 2019), highlighting the need for increased debate and refinement of the multi-modal approach originally published in 2017. This research, we hope, will incorporate the specific statistical requirements that may reduce the highlighted collinearity within the original model proposed by Owen and colleagues in 2017. It should be noted by academics that previous literature has reported on the disconnect between practitioners and academics with respect to embedded sports science research (Malone et al. 2019). The research reported that while research collaborations were mainly formed to improve team performance, academics ranked journal articles with increased importance, while practitioners rated one-to-one communication as more preferential. Furthermore, potential barriers were found in terms of staff buy-in, with practitioners reporting a preference for ‘fast’ type research. Overall, practitioners preferred ‘fast’ informal research dissemination compared to the ‘slow’ quality control approach of academics. The above highlights how research over time can improve any methodological issues associated with specific measures, but also how practitioners are concerned with the here and now, and getting staff buy-in through open communication channels with backroom teams and management within a high-performance setting. From its inception, the multi-modal approach was created to condense down specific external loading reports for applied practitioners into two key variables of volume and intensity represented by specific percentage values, in order to allow for a more simpli
{"title":"Author reply to Weaving et al.: comment on: ‘A contemporary multi-modal mechanical approach to training monitoring in elite professional soccer: a mathematical problem?’","authors":"A. Owen","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1942539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1942539","url":null,"abstract":"Dear Editor, We thank the authors of this particular paper for their constructive comments on our manuscript first published within Science and Medicine in football in 2017 (Owen et al. 2017) and welcome the opportunity to address some of the points raised. Overall, we agree with the points made and we welcome further debate within this research area. Furthermore, we take great satisfaction from the discussion the manuscript has caused within the practical and academic communities across professional team sport codes. We also hope these debates will allow for the opportunity for future research within other team sport codes across this multi-modal approach to monitoring. The main concerns raised by Weaving et al. (2020) relate to the collinearity of specific external loading measures that are provided from GPS micro sensor technology within the practical setting daily. We do not disagree with the comments on this fact; indeed, extensive reviews and additional manuscripts across the training load literature have reported on this issue across the preceding three-year period post the initial publication of the manuscript into multi-modal models in 2017. Additionally, while practically through mediums like social media and podcasts, there may have been an increase in interest within the topic area; academically, one additional research manuscript has been published in this area (Owen et al. 2019), highlighting the need for increased debate and refinement of the multi-modal approach originally published in 2017. This research, we hope, will incorporate the specific statistical requirements that may reduce the highlighted collinearity within the original model proposed by Owen and colleagues in 2017. It should be noted by academics that previous literature has reported on the disconnect between practitioners and academics with respect to embedded sports science research (Malone et al. 2019). The research reported that while research collaborations were mainly formed to improve team performance, academics ranked journal articles with increased importance, while practitioners rated one-to-one communication as more preferential. Furthermore, potential barriers were found in terms of staff buy-in, with practitioners reporting a preference for ‘fast’ type research. Overall, practitioners preferred ‘fast’ informal research dissemination compared to the ‘slow’ quality control approach of academics. The above highlights how research over time can improve any methodological issues associated with specific measures, but also how practitioners are concerned with the here and now, and getting staff buy-in through open communication channels with backroom teams and management within a high-performance setting. From its inception, the multi-modal approach was created to condense down specific external loading reports for applied practitioners into two key variables of volume and intensity represented by specific percentage values, in order to allow for a more simpli","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"270 - 271"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1942539","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45981580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-19DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1942538
N. Datson, Lorenzo Lolli, B. Drust, G. Atkinson, M. Weston, W. Gregson
ABSTRACT Introduction Valid and informed interpretations of changes in physical performance test data are important within athletic development programmes. At present, there is a lack of consensus regarding a suitable method for deeming whether a change in physical performance is practically relevant or not. Methods We compared true population variance in mean test scores between those derived from evidence synthesis of observational studies to those derived from practioner opinion (n = 30), and to those derived from a measurement error (minimal detectable change) quantification (n = 140). All these methods can help to obtain ‘target’ change score values for performance variables. Results We found that the conventional ‘blanket’ target change of 0.2 (between-subjects SD) systematically underestimated practically relevant and more informed changes derived for 5-m sprinting, 30-m sprinting, CMJ, and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Level 1 (IR1) tests in elite female soccer players. Conclusions For the first time in the field of sport and exercise sciences, we have illustrated the use of a principled approach for comparing different methods for the definition of changes in physical performance test variables that are practically relevant. Our between-method comparison approach provides preliminary guidance for arriving at target change values that may be useful for research purposes and tracking of individual female soccer player’s physical performance.
{"title":"Inter-methodological quantification of the target change for performance test outcomes relevant to elite female soccer players","authors":"N. Datson, Lorenzo Lolli, B. Drust, G. Atkinson, M. Weston, W. Gregson","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1942538","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1942538","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Introduction Valid and informed interpretations of changes in physical performance test data are important within athletic development programmes. At present, there is a lack of consensus regarding a suitable method for deeming whether a change in physical performance is practically relevant or not. Methods We compared true population variance in mean test scores between those derived from evidence synthesis of observational studies to those derived from practioner opinion (n = 30), and to those derived from a measurement error (minimal detectable change) quantification (n = 140). All these methods can help to obtain ‘target’ change score values for performance variables. Results We found that the conventional ‘blanket’ target change of 0.2 (between-subjects SD) systematically underestimated practically relevant and more informed changes derived for 5-m sprinting, 30-m sprinting, CMJ, and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Level 1 (IR1) tests in elite female soccer players. Conclusions For the first time in the field of sport and exercise sciences, we have illustrated the use of a principled approach for comparing different methods for the definition of changes in physical performance test variables that are practically relevant. Our between-method comparison approach provides preliminary guidance for arriving at target change values that may be useful for research purposes and tracking of individual female soccer player’s physical performance.","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"248 - 261"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1942538","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43709536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-11DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1939408
A. Guard, K. McMillan, Niall G Macfarlane
ABSTRACT Purpose This study aimed to examine physiological, mechanical and perceptual loading in small-sided games using different relative playing areas with balanced and unbalanced player numbers. Methods Data were collected in twelve elite youth male soccer players and included heart rate and standard time-motion outputs using commercial GPS. Results The data demonstrated higher cardiovascular, physical and perceptual demands with increasing pitch size (e.g. average HR was 88.7 vs. 86.7% HRmax with 8 vs. 2 high-intensity acceleration in medium vs. small pitch formats. The largest pitch format resulted in a greater accumulation of high-intensity distance (47 ± 30 m), higher peak velocity (25.2 ± 1.6 km.h−1) and a higher distance and frequency of accelerations (35 ± 9 m and 8 ± 3) compared with the smallest pitch (all p < 0.01). In unbalanced games, there was significantly greater average heart rate in the overloaded team (84.4 ± 4.9 vs. 80.4 ± 4.8% HRmax in 4 v. 6). Conclusion These data suggest that different game formats including numerical imbalance could be prescribed for squad management to target conditioning stimuli for specific players (e.g. to target a higher training load for players that do not get consistent match exposure).
{"title":"The influence of relative playing area and player numerical imbalance on physical and perceptual demands in soccer small-sided game formats","authors":"A. Guard, K. McMillan, Niall G Macfarlane","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1939408","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1939408","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Purpose This study aimed to examine physiological, mechanical and perceptual loading in small-sided games using different relative playing areas with balanced and unbalanced player numbers. Methods Data were collected in twelve elite youth male soccer players and included heart rate and standard time-motion outputs using commercial GPS. Results The data demonstrated higher cardiovascular, physical and perceptual demands with increasing pitch size (e.g. average HR was 88.7 vs. 86.7% HRmax with 8 vs. 2 high-intensity acceleration in medium vs. small pitch formats. The largest pitch format resulted in a greater accumulation of high-intensity distance (47 ± 30 m), higher peak velocity (25.2 ± 1.6 km.h−1) and a higher distance and frequency of accelerations (35 ± 9 m and 8 ± 3) compared with the smallest pitch (all p < 0.01). In unbalanced games, there was significantly greater average heart rate in the overloaded team (84.4 ± 4.9 vs. 80.4 ± 4.8% HRmax in 4 v. 6). Conclusion These data suggest that different game formats including numerical imbalance could be prescribed for squad management to target conditioning stimuli for specific players (e.g. to target a higher training load for players that do not get consistent match exposure).","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"221 - 227"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1939408","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46611088","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-28DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1934527
D. Weaving, D. Read
Dear Editors,We read an interesting approach to monitoring training load in the article titled “A contemporary multi-modal mechanical approach to training monitoring in elite professional soccer” p...
{"title":"Re: A contemporary multi-modal mechanical approach to training monitoring in elite professional soccer: a statistical problem?","authors":"D. Weaving, D. Read","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1934527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1934527","url":null,"abstract":"Dear Editors,We read an interesting approach to monitoring training load in the article titled “A contemporary multi-modal mechanical approach to training monitoring in elite professional soccer” p...","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"268 - 269"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1934527","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46209790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-16DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1921248
Lloyd J F Parker, K. Elliott-Sale, M. Hannon, J. Morton, G. Close
ABSTRACT Purpose To audit hormonal contraceptive use and associated symptomology in elite women’s soccer in England. Methods Seventy-five elite women’s soccer players from the Women’s Super League (WSL) completed a questionnaire to assess: hormonal contraceptive (HC) use or non-use, reasons for initiation and discontinuation and the symptoms experienced by HC and non-HC users. Results Twenty-eight per cent reported current HC use, with 43% having used HCs previously. Combined HCs accounted for 62% of total usage, with progestin-only HCs making up the remainder. Eighty-six per cent pre-empted negative symptoms before commencing HCs, with 38% experiencing adverse symptoms. Negative symptoms were most common in progestin-only HC users (63%). Eighty-six per cent reported benefits associated with HC usage include pain management and the ability to predict or control their cycles. Six non-HC users reported amenorrhea, with one medically diagnosed. Negative MC-related symptoms were reported by 74%, with 4% unable to train due to these symptoms. Unfavorable symptoms typically occurred during the first days of menstruation (59%). Conclusion Most WSL players do not currently use HCs (72%). Most HC users reported benefits of HC usage, whilst most non-HC users reported negative symptoms especially around menstruation. Practitioners should track players' MCs to help minimise discomfort and maximise performance.
{"title":"An audit of hormonal contraceptive use in Women’s Super League soccer players; implications on symptomology","authors":"Lloyd J F Parker, K. Elliott-Sale, M. Hannon, J. Morton, G. Close","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1921248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1921248","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Purpose To audit hormonal contraceptive use and associated symptomology in elite women’s soccer in England. Methods Seventy-five elite women’s soccer players from the Women’s Super League (WSL) completed a questionnaire to assess: hormonal contraceptive (HC) use or non-use, reasons for initiation and discontinuation and the symptoms experienced by HC and non-HC users. Results Twenty-eight per cent reported current HC use, with 43% having used HCs previously. Combined HCs accounted for 62% of total usage, with progestin-only HCs making up the remainder. Eighty-six per cent pre-empted negative symptoms before commencing HCs, with 38% experiencing adverse symptoms. Negative symptoms were most common in progestin-only HC users (63%). Eighty-six per cent reported benefits associated with HC usage include pain management and the ability to predict or control their cycles. Six non-HC users reported amenorrhea, with one medically diagnosed. Negative MC-related symptoms were reported by 74%, with 4% unable to train due to these symptoms. Unfavorable symptoms typically occurred during the first days of menstruation (59%). Conclusion Most WSL players do not currently use HCs (72%). Most HC users reported benefits of HC usage, whilst most non-HC users reported negative symptoms especially around menstruation. Practitioners should track players' MCs to help minimise discomfort and maximise performance.","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"153 - 158"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1921248","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43201607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-13DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1919747
Eyal Eliakim, Elia Morgulev, R. Lidor, Orin Munk, Y. Meckel
ABSTRACT Objective In the current study, we examined how football players’ usage of space and the teams’ ball movement flow throughout the match are associated with the quality of performance achieved in competition. Methods We constructed two novel metrics that aimed at measuring spatial symmetry and passing flow on a team-wide scope. Our aim was to clarify whether the way players position themselves throughout the match, and the passing patterns they produce, can explain team success. Results An analysis of all matches played in the 2018–2019 English Premier League season (N = 380) revealed a positive relationship between the teams’ spatiotemporal dynamics and team performance. Conclusion Based on the findings of our analysis, we discuss the strengths and limitations of the newly-developed metrics, and stress the need for additional studies examining their effectiveness.
{"title":"The development of metrics for measuring the level of symmetry in team formation and ball movement flow, and their association with performance","authors":"Eyal Eliakim, Elia Morgulev, R. Lidor, Orin Munk, Y. Meckel","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1919747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1919747","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Objective In the current study, we examined how football players’ usage of space and the teams’ ball movement flow throughout the match are associated with the quality of performance achieved in competition. Methods We constructed two novel metrics that aimed at measuring spatial symmetry and passing flow on a team-wide scope. Our aim was to clarify whether the way players position themselves throughout the match, and the passing patterns they produce, can explain team success. Results An analysis of all matches played in the 2018–2019 English Premier League season (N = 380) revealed a positive relationship between the teams’ spatiotemporal dynamics and team performance. Conclusion Based on the findings of our analysis, we discuss the strengths and limitations of the newly-developed metrics, and stress the need for additional studies examining their effectiveness.","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"189 - 202"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1919747","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45508622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-20DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1917774
J. O’Brien-Smith, J. Fransen, William B. Sheehan, M. Lenoir, K. Bennett, M. Smith
ABSTRACT Background An expert/non-expert paradigm often helps understand the underpinnings of sports expertise; however, this method is scarcely extended to the complexities of collective behaviour in youth soccer. Aim Therefore, the objectives of the current study are to investigate differences in the collective behaviour of youth soccer teams by expertise level. Methodology Soccer players aged 15 to 20 years from high (n = 35) and low (n = 40) playing levels competed in two age-matched 5v5 small-sided games. For each game, teams’ skill involvement (shot, pass, dribble, touch), passing networks (closeness, density, betweenness), and spatiotemporal characteristics (stretch index, effective area, length (L) & width (W), LpW ratio, synchrony) were measured using video footage and GPS coordinates. Results High level teams had more attempted (p = .009), and completed skills (p = .003), particularly for the number of passes (p = .001) and shots (p = .012-.045). However, there were no significant between-group differences for either the passing networks or spatiotemporal characteristics. Conclusion The findings from the current research suggest that the high-level teams can quickly and effectively move the ball within existing team structures and may better optimise their afforded space to execute desired skills when compared to the low-level teams.
{"title":"Collective behaviour in high and low-level youth soccer teams","authors":"J. O’Brien-Smith, J. Fransen, William B. Sheehan, M. Lenoir, K. Bennett, M. Smith","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2021.1917774","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.1917774","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Background An expert/non-expert paradigm often helps understand the underpinnings of sports expertise; however, this method is scarcely extended to the complexities of collective behaviour in youth soccer. Aim Therefore, the objectives of the current study are to investigate differences in the collective behaviour of youth soccer teams by expertise level. Methodology Soccer players aged 15 to 20 years from high (n = 35) and low (n = 40) playing levels competed in two age-matched 5v5 small-sided games. For each game, teams’ skill involvement (shot, pass, dribble, touch), passing networks (closeness, density, betweenness), and spatiotemporal characteristics (stretch index, effective area, length (L) & width (W), LpW ratio, synchrony) were measured using video footage and GPS coordinates. Results High level teams had more attempted (p = .009), and completed skills (p = .003), particularly for the number of passes (p = .001) and shots (p = .012-.045). However, there were no significant between-group differences for either the passing networks or spatiotemporal characteristics. Conclusion The findings from the current research suggest that the high-level teams can quickly and effectively move the ball within existing team structures and may better optimise their afforded space to execute desired skills when compared to the low-level teams.","PeriodicalId":48512,"journal":{"name":"Science and Medicine in Football","volume":"6 1","pages":"164 - 171"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2021-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/24733938.2021.1917774","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48918609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-09DOI: 10.1080/24733938.2021.1915495
Alberto Fílter, Jesús Olivares Jabalera, Alejandro Molina-Molina, L. Suárez-Arrones, J. Robles-Rodríguez, Thomas Dos’Santos, I. Loturco, B. Requena, A. Santalla
ABSTRACT Objective In soccer, vertical jump means jumping toward a ball. Since no vertical jump test includes the ball as a reference element, the effect that the ball would have in a vertical jump test is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the biomechanical differences between run-up vertical jump measurements without (Run-up Vertical Jump) and with ball inclusion (Heading Test). Methods Twelve semi- and professional soccer players were recruited. Athletes performed both jump tests in a biomechanical laboratory, where kinetic and spatiotemporal variables were collected and compared using a Student’s dependent t-test for paired samples. Results Overall, players performed a different jumping strategy during the heading test compared to the run-up vertical jump, exhibiting: 1) higher horizontal velocity during initial contact (+45.3%, P ≤ .001), 2) shorter contact time, greater rate of force development, and total impulse during push-off (+27.5%, +53%, and +10.6%, respectively, P ≤ .008), 3) higher CoM horizontal and resultant velocity during take-off (+76.1% and 20.5%, respectively, P ≤ .001), 4) better vertical jump performance (+4.3%, P ≤ .0001), and 5) larger body angle rotation during landing (+63.3%, P = .006), compared to run-up vertical jump (effect size: 0.78 to 3.7). Conclusion In general, soccer players display greater vertical jump heights in heading test, which highlights the importance of including an overhead ball during soccer-specific jump tests. Coaches and practitioners are encouraged to assess, and perhaps develop, the jumping ability of soccer players using a suspended ball as a specific target.
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