The US-Mexico soccer game brought out a bunch of Christian Pulisic where-did-he-come-from articles:
How was the next star of American soccer, Christian Pulisic, created? (Pro Soccer Talk, Joe Prince-Wright)
Christian Pulisic opens up about rise at Borussia Dortmund and U.S. national team (The Washington Post)
Das American: Christian Pulisic’s Spectacular Rise (VICE Sports)
Christian Pulisic: Inside the Dortmund, USA rising star’s growth (SI.com, Grant Wahl)
None of the articles was as thorough as the Pulisic profile that ran in June in his hometown newspaper: Christian Pulisic, his rise, and the truth it speaks about American soccer in 2016 by Jacob Klinger. This September workup on the different paths Pulisic and Jordan Morris have taken (Pulisic, Morris prove there’s more than one right answer for development, FourFourTwo, Steve Davis) is also insightful.
The larger question of how world-class soccer players develop is part of the typical Pulisic story arc. The answer is not as simple as observing which kids score the goals. Talent identification is more a question of who can read the game, who can learn and apply new skills, and who can avoid serious injury setbacks.
Coaches don’t just identify talent, they also develop talent. The task involves knowing what to say and then when and how to say it so the teenage mind can abosrb the lesson. Coaches are also responsible for overseeing young athletes’ training loads, making sure there’s adequate strength and fitness to protect the athlete but not so much that the athlete is overworked and vulnerable.
Sports science has increased the amount of information available to coaches. Examples of the change that is going on and how quality coaches are adapting:
How The Premier League is Rethinking Age in Youth Development (VICE Sports, Brian Bickenstaff)
How Rafa Benitez re-invigorated Newcastle United: 6 key reasons behind the Magpies’ transformation (Mirror.co.uk)
“I Never Look For Players Who Take Advantage Of Their Physical Power At Young Ages” (Paul Grech, Blueprint for Football blog)
Stop yelling from the sideline to go harder, and start teaching effort (AUT Millennium News, Dr. Craig Harrison)
Shaka Smart is Wreaking Havoc on College Basketball (Bleacher Report, Jonathan Abrams)
Searching for answers, Mark Dantonio conducted a survey asking players about confidence in their coaches, teammates, and their head coach (FootballScoop)
A Coach Is Forging a New Path in Danish Soccer (The New York Times, Rory Smith)
Bill Belichick pleased with ‘significant improvement’ on roster health (ESPN NFL, Mike Reiss)
Coaches gain an advantage when they understand technology, data, science and how they factor into how human beings function athletically in general and with regard to what specific sports require. It’s important to realize that sports technology and its application is a field that’s in its infancy. No single technology is a magic bullet and the integration of multiple technologies and their data is a skill that requires technical know how, none more important than the ways technology enables and supports effective collaboration. Sports have crossed the complexity threshold where lone analysts and their laptops can offer singular insights that sports organizations can rely on for decision-making. See:
Athlete Self-Report Measures in Research and Practice: Considerations for the Discerning Reader and Fastidious Practitioner (International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance)
Prospective Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Injury History as Predictors for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk: The JUMP-ACL Study (International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance)
Wearable Training Monitoring Technology: Applications, Challenges and Opportunities. (International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance)
The acute:chonic workload ratio in relation to injury risk in professional Soccer (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport)
Los Angeles Lakers Looking To Lead In Use Of 3D Technology (Forbes, Blake Williams)
Sports medicine at important crossroads for advances (All 22, Will Carroll)
Wearables useful or not? (mysportscience blog, Shona Halson)
TrueHoop Presents: Kawhi Leonard’s strobe-light training: NBA (ESPN TrueHoop, Tom Haberstroh)
More things that I read and liked last week:
Christian Pulisic: Inside the Dortmund, USA rising star’s growth (November 09, SI.com, Grant Wahl)
Christian Pulisic, his rise, and the truth it speaks about American soccer in 2016 (June 01, PennLive.com, Jacob Klinger)
How many players do we need? (November 10, 21st Club Limited, Omar Chaudhuri)
How The Premier League is Rethinking Age in Youth Development (November 10, VICE Sports, Brian Bickenstaff)
Vitamin C–enriched gelatin supplementation before intermittent activity augments collagen synthesis (November 10, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
The Athletic Brain – How Neuroscience Is Revolutionising Sport (November 11, The Set Pieces, Amit Katwala)
A Coach Is Forging a New Path in Danish Soccer (November 13, The New York Times, Rory Smith)
How Rafa Benitez re-invigorated Newcastle United: 6 key reasons behind the Magpies’ transformation (November 13, Mirror.co.uk)
“I Never Look For Players Who Take Advantage Of Their Physical Power At Young Ages” (November 13, Paul Grech, Blueprint for Football blog)
Athlete Self-Report Measures in Research and Practice: Considerations for the Discerning Reader and Fastidious Practitioner (November 12, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance)
Prospective Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Injury History as Predictors for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk: The JUMP-ACL Study (November 07, University of North Carolina, EXSS IMPACT blog)
Wearable Training Monitoring Technology: Applications, Challenges and Opportunities. – PubMed – NCBI (November 11, International Journal of Sports Physiology & Performance)
The acute:chonic workload ratio in relation to injury risk in professional Soccer (November 08, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport)
Drones could offer coaches greater influence of practice, and maybe games. (November 09, Beaumont Enterprise, TX)
NFL HALFWAY: Kickers don’t get coaching other players get (November 11, Associated Press)
Stop yelling from the sideline to go harder, and start teaching effort (November 10, AUT Millennium News, Dr. Craig Harrison)
The key tactical trends in the Premier League season so far (November 12, The Guardian, Michael Cox)
Seahawks’ Jimmy Graham: No one thought I’d be able to be me again (November 09, ESPN NFL, Sheil Kapadia)
Nutrition is Key to Athletic Success (November 07, Daily Utah Chronicle)
Los Angeles Lakers Looking To Lead In Use Of 3D Technology (November 09, Forbes, Blake Williams)
Shaka Smart is Wreaking Havoc on College Basketball (November 10, Bleacher Report, Jonathan Abrams)
Sports medicine at important crossroads for advances (November 09, All 22, Will Carroll)
Under Armour to launch new connected fitness devices in early 2017 (November 10, Wareable, UK)
Wearables useful or not? (November 10, mysportscience blog, Shona Halson)
Jose Mourinho: Manchester United boss examining all aspects of first-team affairs (November 09, BBC Sport)
Reinvented, Reimagined: Terrelle Pryor’s Second Act (November 10, The MMQB, Stephanie Apstein)
How was the next star of American soccer, Christian Pulisic, created? (November 10, Pro Soccer Talk, Joe Prince-Wright)
How what we eat has changed – and will change again (November 09, BBC – Future)
HockeyTech Is Revolutionizing Analytics (November 07, The Hockey Writers)
Searching for answers, Mark Dantonio conducted a survey asking players about confidence in their coaches, teammates, and their head coach (November 09, FootballScoop)
TrueHoop Presents: Kawhi Leonard’s strobe-light training: NBA (November 09, ESPN TrueHoop, Tom Haberstroh)
Pitches, coaches and iPads: what are the reasons for Scotland’s talent decline? (November 09, The Guardian, Ewan Murray)
Christian Pulisic opens up about rise at Borussia Dortmund and U.S. national team (November 09, The Washington Post)
Das American: Christian Pulisic’s Spectacular Rise | VICE Sports (November 09, VICE Sports)
Monday Morning MD: Teams take different approaches to injury reporting (November 07, National Football Post, Monday Morning MD, Dr. David Chao)
Reminder: When it comes to heart-rate tracking, consumer fitness trackers are not medically accurate (November 08, CNET, Dan Graziano)
The psychology behind Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan’s breakthrough (November 08, ESPN NFL, Seth Wickersham)
Kenyans, Cadence, and Ground Contact Time (November 08, Runner’s World, Sweat Science blog, Alex Hutchinson)
Bill Belichick pleased with ‘significant improvement’ on roster health (November 07, ESPN NFL, Mike Reiss)
Pulisic, Morris prove there’s more than one right answer for development (September 20, FourFourTwo, Steve Davis)