Applied Sports Science newsletter – April 26, 2017

Applied Sports Science news articles, blog posts and research papers for April 26, 2017

 

Kyle Beckerman: A legend in a league still figuring out how to define one

FourFourTwo, Richard Foley from

Kyle Beckerman should go down as an all-time MLS great, but properly appreciating his career is a tough task.

 

WNBA: Skylar Diggins isn’t a “female athlete” or “natural athlete.” Here’s how she sees herself instead.

Excelle Sports, Emma Leyden from

Skylar Diggins is one of the best WNBA players in the country and, arguably, one of the top athletes in the world.

And yet the two-time WNBA All-Star and Dallas Wings point guard, who went third overall in the 2013 WNBA draft, doesn’t necessarily see herself as possessing any more God-given athletic talent than the rest of us who didn’t graduate from Notre Dame leading the powerhouse school in points and assists.

“I’ve really never seen myself as a natural athlete,” Diggins, 26, told Excelle Sports.

 

Bosa: working with personal trainer makes him better athlete

Associated Press, Bernie Wilson from

Figuring that it’s hard to argue with results, Joey Bosa saw no problem with missing the last two weeks of voluntary workouts in order to spend time with his personal trainer in Florida.

Bosa was back with his Los Angeles Chargers teammates on Tuesday for the start of a two-day voluntary minicamp for veterans.

The defensive end said his work with his trainer is “nothing magical,” but it works for him.

 

Injury prevention training in football: Time to consider training under fatigue?

Darren Paul, Joao Brito, George Nassis from

Muscle injuries often occur towards the end of each half and this has been associated with fatigue (1). Current practice often means injury prevention training is performed at the start of the session. The hypothesis is that when training is performed in a fresh state it allows players to demonstrate better form. In this article we will look at fatigue, fitness and training order to question this existing practice and build a case for performing injury prevention at the end of practice, when in a fatigued state.

 

Exploring the Science Behind Resting Athletes

Jo Clubb, Sports Discovery blog from

… As Sports Scientists it is our responsibility to constantly revisit the science on topics such as these. Rest and recovery are pertinent areas in Sports Science and one that has already been mentioned on Sports Discovery. Previously Jonny discussed this in his post entitled ‘What precisely is the role of the Sports Scientist?’, in response to suggestions in the media that Sports Science is turning athletes ‘soft’. The increased understanding of the balance of training and rest, as well as greater awareness and availability of recovery strategies, have perhaps augmented our interventions in this area. Such interventions may be an attempt to maximise performance, minimise injury risk, prolong athlete careers, or perhaps a combination of all three reasons. The data to assess such outcomes remain to be seen but for now let’s explore some of the scientific basis behind rest and recovery.

 

The Impact of Video on Player Development

Hudl Blog, Trevor Hellman from

All clubs aim to bring out the best in their players. They seek to ensure that strides made through development on the practice pitch and in the classroom translate to on-field success for the club.

That’s the basic meaning of player development, but what it means to each club specifically gets a bit convoluted. Each club and staff might have different ideas on how to execute their philosophy. So we asked coaches from across the globe what player development means to them, and specifically what aspects of video analysis helps them gauge progress.

These are the key takeaways from those conversations.

 

NFL Players, in a First, Can Sell Health Data in Deal With Whoop

Bloomberg Technology, Scott Soshnick from

Picture this: A television network during an NFL broadcast comparing the heart rates of star players doing the same workout — or while they sleep. Say Tom Brady versus Cam Newton. Now picture being able to determine which player’s body was better prepared to play.

That scenario is closer to reality after the National Football League Players Association reached a deal with wearable device company Whoop Inc. that for the first time gives players the ability to make money on their health data.

Under the deal, closely held Whoop will distribute its wrist-worn strap to current and incoming NFL players to monitor their strain, recovery and sleep. According to the Boston-based company, its strap’s sensors measure data 100 times per second and transmit the information to mobile and web applications for analysis. Whoop says the data gives the athlete, trainers and coaches a snapshot of the player’s body preparedness.

 

Flexible Electronics Update: We Have a Solution to the Fragility Issue

Edgy Labs, Zayan Guedim from

Ultra-thin, flexible silicon materials aren’t as durable as we’d hope. In response, Saudi researchers have developed a novel method for creating bendable and stretchable silicon-based electronics.

 

Nanofilm Acts as Electronic-Device Tattoo for Wearables Apps

Design News, Elizabeth Montalbano from

Wearable devices currently are a key focus of researchers, with engineers working on printed electronics and other enabling technologies to make these types of devices more flexible and comfortable for users while still maintaining optimal functionality.

Researchers at Waseda University in Japan have taken this research to the next level with the design of new processes and materials for what are essentially electronic device-tattoos made using elastomeric “nanosheet” film.

The devices are ultrathin and can be stuck onto human skin, making them both cost-effective and easy to produce while also being highly comfortable, according to a cross-disciplinary team of engineers at the university that worked on the project.

 

‘Junk food’ and the consumer blame game

The Conversation, Hayley Janssen from

People in the UK are hooked on takeaways and microwave meals, or so we are constantly told by TV chefs and the media. This apparent addiction to fast food is leading to an obesity epidemic.

But what exactly is “junk food”? And why is the consumer always at fault for failing to resist these hyper-palatable foods?

 

What Do Electrolytes Actually Do?

YouTube, Reactions from

Sports drink commercials love talking about them, but what are electrolytes, why do we need them, and what happens if we don’t have enough? Electrolytes are salts that, once in our bodies, help our cells move water around. They also enable the nerve impulses that keep our hearts beating, our lungs breathing and our brains learning. But we can also lose them — for example, by sweating. Given all the ins and outs of electrolytes, should you reach for that bright orange sports drink after running around the block?

 

Interactive Visualization Illustrates Uncertainty of NFL Dr

Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Interactive Computing from

An interactive visualization created by a team of researchers in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Interactive Computing illustrates just how fleeting the career of a professional football player can be and how difficult it can be for teams to differentiate between the superstars and the busts.

The visualization, which catalogues each of the 32 teams’ draft picks from 2007-16, indicates with a green icon a player who is currently active on the team that drafted him. A blue icon indicates a player still in the league, but playing on a different team, and a red icon indicates a player that is no longer active in the NFL.

 

Does your team botch the NFL draft? Find out here

The Washington Post, Reuben Fischer-Baum from

For once, the Browns are in an enviable position. Cleveland holds 11 picks in this year’s draft, including the 1st, 12th, 33rd, 52nd and 65th overall. But the team isn’t exactly famous for its drafting prowess. Will they blow it?

By comparing how much value teams should get given their set of picks with how much value they actually get, we can calculate which franchises make the most of their draft selections. Approximate Value (AV), a stat created by Pro Football Reference that measures how well a player performed overall in a season, is useful here. Based on this metric, we find that the Browns draftees have underperformed in the NFL given their draft position, especially when compared to the draftees of a team like, say, the Seahawks.

 

How disinformation spreads in a network

FlowingData, Nathan Yau from

Disinformation is kind of a problem these days, yeah? Fatih Erikli uses a simulation that works like a disaster spread model applied to social networks to give an idea of how disinformation spreads.

 

Aging Patterns

Bill James Online from

The 26-year-old hitters in my study hit 10,409 triples, which is 1,138 triples more than expected. +1,138. At age 27 they drop to +463 in triples, at age 28 to +229, and at age 29, to -38. By age 30, they hit 396 fewer triples than expected (-396), at age 31 -700, and by age 33 -857.

You may remember that last week I published a study in which I had compared each player’s RBI in each season to his career RBI, by finding the RBI per plate appearances for his career, and then projecting that onto his plate appearances in the season. Luke Appling was +61 RBI in 1936, which is a record; not just RBI, but I also did this for runs, hits, doubles, triples, walks, home runs, hit by pitch, grounding into double play, sacrifice hits and flies, and some other things. I should also repeat the ground rules: I didn’t include active players or 19th century players, and I didn’t include 20th century seasons by 19th century players.

Even without including those—or pitchers—I did have a very large number of players included in the study, which is kind of the whole point. At the age of 26 there are 4,052 players included in the study. It’s a big number. They bat 250 times apiece, you’ve got a million at bats there. It’s enough to make pretty good measurements of how skills change over time.

 

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