Sprint technical training, named the catapult start, is defined as partner assisted pulling of the hip backward at the set position and during block clearance, released by the forward motion of the athlete. This study investigated the characteristics of the catapult start and its influence on the following sprint start performance. Fourteen male sprinters performed a single 15-m control, catapult,

Performance in a volleyball match is the result of a dynamic and interactive process between two teams. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of the quality of opposition on skill performance indicators. A total of 550 teams’ performances (N = 550) from 275 sets of men’s European Championship 2019 was recorded and the effectiveness of 12 parameters from 5 basic volleyball skills was

This study compared the effects of integrative neuromuscular training (INT) versus FIFA 11+ protocols on sprint, change of direction performance and inter-limb asymmetries. Thirty young (U-11) male soccer players (age: 11.2 ± 0.7 years; height: 145.6 ± 6.8 cm; body mass: 72.5 ± 3.0 kg) were randomly assigned to each training group, which consisted of two sessions/week for a period of 6-weeks. The INT

This study examined coaches’ perceived organizational support (POS) on their affective commitment and turnover intention and the role played by felt obligation (a reciprocal exchange) and workplace familism (a non-reciprocal exchange) on these work-related outcomes. Based on the stratified random sampling, a total of 333 full-time head coaches employed in athletic departments affiliated with the NCAA

Efficient recruitment to Australia’s most popular professional sporting competition, the Australian Football League (AFL), requires evaluators to assess athlete performances in many lower tier leagues that serve as pathways. These competitions and their games are frequent, widespread, and challenging to track. Therefore, independent, and reliable player performance statistics from these leagues are

Talent development is at the forefront of research in sport, where female athletes remain underrepresented. With ongoing success and rapid participation growth, there is an opportunity to describe and assess talent development in cricket for female athletes. Research in other sports recommends a holistic approach to talent development, where the connection between individual, task and environmental

Doubles tennis has received little interest from quantitative research to date. Coach-led anecdotes therefore abound. The aims of this study were therefore to evaluate the veracity of the following common anecdotes: (a) serving teams have an advantage regardless of the length of the point; (b) serving teams have a greater advantage with new balls; (c) regular teams perform better when serving than

Contacting the base is a common injury mechanism for base runners in softball, with ankle sprains being the most common type of injury, but it is not known how the base affects lower extremity mechanics. The purpose of this study was to analyze lower extremity biomechanics while rounding a base. Sixteen recreationally active females with previous softball experience completed two base rounding conditions

Elbow tendinopathy injuries are very common in tennis players. One of the commonly accepted theories describing the development of elbow tendinopathy in tennis is based on stiffness of the forearm skeletal muscle units and their repetitive overuse in the forehand stroke. Our objective was to use a novel microcontroller based wearable device to compare the influence of different forehand spin levels

We examine the effect of card (yellow and red) collection on player remuneration under the salary cap in Major League Soccer (MLS). The data contain 1478 observations of 731 players under contract between 2015 and 2019. Though the number of yellow cards a player collected had a significant impact, the number of red cards collected was not found to be a significant factor. On average, when a player

The overhead throw is a fundamental technical-tactical ability for overhead sports. The purposes of this review are to assess the effect of resistance training (RT) in enhancing throwing velocity in athletes and to investigate the relationships between age or gender in this effect. Control group trials were identified through looking up electronic databases with a search span of 10th December 2020

The concern with the performance of football referees has opened lines of investigation in areas such as technical and physical performance. Theoretical and analytical gaps regarding the causes of their performances in a holistic perspective are scarce. The purpose of this study is to understand how various processes of personal, career development and contextual nature influences the classification

Based on theory and research on athlete motivation and sport cohesion, this study examined the concurrent association of perceived coach and peer motivational climates with team cohesion among female adolescent athletes. Participants (N = 235) included 14- to 18-year-old competitive volleyball players who completed self-report measures of motivational climates and team cohesion in the latter part of

This study examined dose-response effects of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Shuttle Time programme on fundamental movement skills (FMS) and perceived FMS competence in 6–9-year olds. Children (n = 158, 83 boys, 75 girls, Mean ± SD age = 7.6 ± .97) were randomly allocated into three conditions: Shuttle Time 2Xweek; Shuttle Time 1Xweek; 3) control (CON) group. The intervention groups undertook

Field hockey is an evolving sport, but it is unclear whether performance analysis techniques are reflective of current best practice. The objective of this review was to identify performance analysis methods used in field hockey, assess their practicality, and provide recommendations on their implementation in the field. A systematic search of the databases SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE

Coaches in basketball often need to know how specific rotation line-ups perform in either offense or defense and choose the most efficient formation, according to their specific needs. In this research, a sample of 1131 ball possession phases of Greek Basket League was utilized, in order to estimate the offensive and defensive performance of each formation. Offensive and defensive ratings for each

The aim of the present research was to describe the changes in the locomotor competence [i.e. sprint, change of direction ability (CODA) and jump capacity] of young runners from an athletic training school after one season, according to runners’ sex and age. Two hundred and forty-one young runners from an athletic training school were divided by sex (boys, n = 107, and girls, n = 134) and age [under

When competing in road races, runners enter starting corrals long before the starting gun triggers. Athletes consequently must complete warm up routines well in advance of race commencement. To optimize performance readiness warm up intensity may need altered to account for the prolonged time between warm up and performance. This study tested the effectiveness of various warm up intensities on 1600 m

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of grunting on overhead throwing velocity in collegiate baseball pitchers. A repeated-measures experimental design was used. Twenty-four division III collegiate baseball pitchers with a mean age of 20.3 ± 1.6 years voluntarily participated in the study. Subjects were shown a video demonstration of a pitcher grunting during the acceleration phase

Change of direction movement is common in sports and the ability to perform this complex movement efficiently is related to athlete's performance. Wearable devices have been used to evaluate aspects of change of direction movement, but so far there are no clear recommendations on specific metrics to be used. The aims of this scoping review were to evaluate the reliability and validity of inertial measurement

As it is appreciated that learning is a non-linear process – implying that coaching methodologies in sport should be accommodative – it is reasonable to suggest that player development pathways should also account for this non-linearity. A constraints-led approach (CLA), predicated on the theory of ecological dynamics, has been suggested as a viable framework for capturing the non-linearity of learning

Time constraints often result in the challenge to fit desired programming into training time allotments. Wearable resistance (WR) may be an option to optimise the training content in function of constrained training time. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a lower-limb WR sprint running training intervention on athlete speed capabilities following a nine-week off-season, low

This paper presents a cognitive ethnography on the variability of interpersonal coordination in defense against direct screens during basketball games. We collected data through observation of ten games of Estudiantes U18 Team during the 2014/2015 season in Madrid. We filmed the game and showed clips of specific direct screens to players while conducting semi-structured interviews. We analyzed the

This study quantifies the maximum number of impacts and peak running demands during 1– to 10– minute rolling window periods in elite rugby union matches using a multi-team dataset (n = 2232 player-games). Maximum values for impacts (impacts·min−1) and running (m·min−1) were calculated for 161 athletes from four teams across the 2018 and 2019 Super Rugby seasons. The effect of window duration and playing

In the game of cricket, the decision to bat first after winning the toss is often taken to make the best use of superior pitch conditions and set a big target for the opponent. However, the opponent may fail to show their natural batting performance in the second innings due to several factors, including deteriorated pitch conditions and excessive pressure of chasing a high target score. The advantage

Data from elite professional sports players provide a valuable source of information on human performance and ageing. Functional declines in performance have been investigated across a wide range of sporting disciplines that vary in their need for physical strength, endurance, cognitive ability and motor skills, but researchers do not always consider other sources of heterogeneity that can exist between

To date, little research has explored differences between competitive and recreational youth sport contexts beyond descriptions of inherent features. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine if differences existed between competitive and recreational youth sport on (a) observed quality delivery and (b) youth’s perceptions of basic psychological needs satisfaction and developmental experiences

This study investigated the physical characteristics, match demands and their relationships in elite-level male field hockey players (n = 23; 24 ± 3 years). Testing data were collected to investigate the physiological profiles of the players, while match demands were quantified with GPS data over 26 matches. There were significant differences (p = <0.05) between positional groups for pull ups, relative

The purpose of this study was to quantify load across an entire season for professional youth football players and assess the effects of stage of season, playing position and training day relative to match day (MD). Data from ratings of perceived exertion and seven global positioning system (GPS) derived measures of external training load were collected from 20 players across a 47-week season. Mixed

Numerous studies have demonstrated improved performance results for sport skills through attentional focus instructions. However, few studies have examined the effects of cueing on expert kinematic performance, and this is the first to assess cueing’s kinematic effects on expert soccer players performing .common techniques This study assessed the lower extremity kinematics of an inside of the foot

The tackle is the in-game activity with the greatest risk for injury in collision sports. Qualitative match analysis has associated injury risk with tackle technique (e.g. tackle height, head position before contact). This exploratory study used gold-standard three-dimensional (3D) motion capture to investigate whether prior instructions to a tackler to execute different torso tackle types altered

Sagittal plane inclination of the trunk and tibia have been shown to independently modulate hip and knee extensor moments during squatting. The purpose of this study was to determine if the difference between sagittal plane trunk and tibia inclinations can be used to approximate the relative demand of the hip and knee extensors across a range of squatting conditions. Kinematic and kinetic data were

This article investigates the earnings of Chinese golf trainers. Through a combination of ethnographic observations, interviews and a quantitative survey analysis, it depicts the social structure of the economy of golf training in China, showing that golf trainers’ playing abilities and fame, rather than any certificate of competence (e.g. diploma or professional certification), determine their earnings

Negative long-term outcomes have been reported following sport specialisation including increased injury risk. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear; however, fewer exposures to broad ranging movement patterns and reductions in movement competency have been suggested. This review synthesised the evidence to examine if an association is present between sport specialisation and movement competency

Research has shown that short points (points of 0–4 shots) are crucial in determining the outcome of elite men’s and women’s grass court tennis matches. However, research has not explored the importance of short points in more detail to inform practice design. This study aimed to establish the prevalence and importance of individual rally lengths within short points (i.e. points of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4

This paper provides an insight into the trajectory of coach learning over two seasons through a shared reflective process. It describes how a collaborative process in a volunteer, amateur coach setting was supported and sustained. The coach-researchers had coached a university sports team together for two years prior to formalising the collaborative process. They adopted a collaborative self-study

Purpose Force-velocity-power (F-v-P) profiling can illustrate an individual’s sprinting capabilities, but no study has explored the effect of different running surfaces on F-v-P outcomes. Method Twelve elite youth football players (age 16.3 ± 0.5 years, mass 67.3 ± 5.4 kg, height 176.2 ± 4.6 cm) performed two 30 m sprints on concrete and artificial turf in a randomised order on two testing days. Differences

Objective To identify challenges for implementing Netball Australia’s ‘Knee injury prevention for Netballers and Enhance performance and Extend play’ (KNEE) program for 17/U & 19/U State (i.e. regional/provincial representative) teams. Design Concept mapping, a mixed-methods approach incorporating qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyses. Setting Pre-elite netball. Participants Thirty-nine

This study aimed to determine if children playing field hockey small-sided games (SSG) have different levels of physiological, performance and perceptual responses, compared to traditional hockey. Fifteen school hockey players (10–12 y) played eight matches over four months. Traditional games (n = 4) were played on a full-sized pitch with 11 players per team, and SSG were played as two-separate games

Objectives This study examined the effect of match location, score-line, team quality and match outcome on the expression of team playing styles in the National Rugby League (NRL) across the 2015–2019 seasons. Methods Thirty-eight performance indicators (e.g. offloads, runs) from all NRL games (n = 2010) were collected. Match-related factors examined were location (home/away/neutral), match type (absolute

Background Flourishing is a multi-dimensional construct that encompasses physical, psychological and social well-being. A proposed positive attribute of flourishing is resilience, which is the ability to bounce back despite the presence of stressors. A common stressor among athletes is overuse injuries, which may negatively affect well-being. Objective To examine the relationships of resilience and

The aim of this study was to examine whether match physical output can be predicted from the workload applied in training by professional soccer players. Training and match load records from two professional soccer teams belonging to the Spanish First and Second Division were collected through GPS technology over a season (N = 1678 and N = 2441 records, respectively). The factors playing position,

This study systematically reviewed scientific literature regarding the effects of the FIFA 11+ intervention on the change of direction (COD) performance in soccer and futsal players. We conducted a keyword search on June 30, 2020, in SPORTDiscus, PubMed, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, Scopus, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. We performed a meta-analysis to estimate the pooled effect size of FIFA

Concussions are an inherent part of rugby; however, subsequent concussions can be decreased by following the appropriate post-concussion return-to-play (RTP) protocols. The aim of this study was to compare stakeholders’ perceptions regarding their roles and responsibilities in terms of the implementation of post-concussion RTP in community club rugby in the Western Cape, South Africa. The results of

Set pieces in soccer (i.e., free kicks and corners) have been examined in detail and are a common focus for coaches during training and performance preparation. However, limited evidence is available on the impact of throw-ins on soccer performance and if coaches should dedicate time in training towards this specific set piece. Therefore, this research aimed to firstly examine if throw-in performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the landscape of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) and strength development in professional football (soccer) academies in the UK. To achieve this, we interviewed 16 participants, whose primary responsibility was the physical development of youth players from a variety of Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) categorised academies. Following abductive analysis

There is continuing discussion in talent research on the best approach to developing sporting expertise through learning activities during early sport participation. Among other concepts, the specialized sampling model describes a pathway between early specialization and early sampling and yields promising results in Swiss football. As successful constellations of early sport participation might be

Increasing conversation about mental health is one way to decrease stigma and prevent/treat maladaptive processes within the context of sport. Due to their proximity and influence over athletes, coaches can increase conversation and change team culture. The objective of this study was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore the factors associated with coach-athlete conversation about

Drop out and attrition rates in youth sport are well-documented in the literature. Research has found that children overwhelmingly state that enjoyment, fun, and positive experiences are the primary reasons to participate in sport. Competitive Engineering (CE) is a structurally-based competitive climate process designed to create a more positive experience in youth sport. CE encompasses changes to

This study characterized developmental sporting activities undertaken by volleyball players between ages of 6 to 12 years. Highly skilled (n = 30) and less skilled (n = 30) players participated in retrospective interviews to identify the nature of their formative enrichment experiences (formal adult-led and informal child-led activities) and types of sports practised (team or individual sports). All

During a shot put, there are different finite variables that can be controlled by the thrower, including release angle, release height, release direction, and release velocity. Previous studies have determined thresholds of release velocity necessary for achieving certain distances, and this case study sought to expand upon that concept. Conclusions from key biomechanical data can make a significant

About 70% of youth athletes drop out of sport by age 13. Self-determination theory has been utilised to investigate athletes’ motivations for behaviours including sport persistence (i.e. continuation) and suggests that the coach can be an influence on such motivations. Basic need fulfillment via interpersonal coaching behaviours, the coach-athlete relationship (CAR), and intentions to continue sport

The aim of the current study was to capture and better understand the current perceptions of injury risk factors and player monitoring practices in elite men’s domestic senior cricket, to help guide practice in this setting. A cross-sectional mixed-methods design was used, consisting of a quantitative survey sent to science and medicine practitioners at all English County clubs (n = 23, with representation

We aimed to assess the risk of injury associated with training activities in a population of elite adolescent judo athletes, expected to represent South Korea. From 2019, we prospectively collected data on elite adolescent judo athletes at the Korean Training Center. The athletes were assessed by sports medicine doctors, and data were stratified according to sex, weight class, and injury location.

Performance analysis during match play is vital for the long-term development of tennis players. The primary goal of this study was to establish the differences between junior and entry professional tennis player's selected performance indicators in five-game situations. Data were collected using the Sagit/Tennis tracking system during six junior and four professional tennis matches. Eight boys performed

The doubles game has considerable relevance in professional tennis, especially in team competitions such as the Billie Jean King Cup (former Fed Cup) (BJKC) and the Davis Cup (DC). However, there are very few studies that have carried out quantitative notational analysis to provide information on the specific features of this tennis modality. The goal of this study was to analyse the differences in

The aim was to assess factor structure of player-reported fatigue and quantify within-subjects association between changes in training load measures and next day player-reported fatigue at different time points of an elite football season. Using longitudinal research design, twenty-four professional footballers, mean (SD) age of 25.7 (3.4) years, were monitored during their competitive season, including

This study aimed to identify what male coaches of elite female team sport athletes want to know about the menstrual cycle and its influence on athlete health and performance. Using a mixed-methods concept mapping approach, 18 male coaches of Australian female elite football-codes brainstormed what they wanted to know about the menstrual cycle to work more effectively with female athletes. Ideas were

The present study sought to provide support for the roles of both the social identity approach (group identification and identity leadership) and relational identification in adherence to group exercise classes. One hundred and twenty U.K. based group exercise class attendees completed an online survey in a cross-sectional design. Group identification, perceptions of identity leadership behaviour,

The purpose of this study was to assess current perceptions of strength and conditioning coaches’ use of sled towing (ST) as part of their training programs. One-hundred and twenty-five coaches responded to a survey of their ST practices. Themes investigated included the primary purpose and usefulness of using ST, the loads used in short and long distances, rest times between sprints, total volume