Applied Sports Science newsletter – December 9, 2020

… Kristie was called up first to a youth national team, which made Sam realize that she could get there, too. “It made that dream seem less out of reach. She paved the way in a sense and made me believe that I could do it too,” she told The Athletic. Sam has also said that Kristie “sparked a competitiveness in me by beating me in everything,” though at times that hurt Sam’s confidence as a young player. As a teenager, Sam decided to continue her soccer career at UCLA in part because she wanted to forge a separate path from Kristie, who was staying local at Boston College.

… The Reds will also undergo a change in the sports medicine department. Dr. Leon Creaney will be stepping into the role of team physician previously held by Dr. Phil Clelland. Dr. Creaney comes in with a wealth of experience working with top tier athletes. He has served as the team physician for the World University Games in 2007. He has also more recently been a team physician for British Athletics, working with athletes from senior and paralympics teams.

The NBA is easing up on player resting policies for non-nationally televised games during the 2020-21 season, but reaffirmed it will still fine teams at least $100,000 for resting any healthy player for nationally televised games.

Objective
Lack of control over sleep may contribute to population-level sleep disturbances, yet relatively little work has explored the degree to which an individual’s sense of control over their sleep may represent an important factor.
Methods
Data from the Sleep and Healthy Activity Diet Environment and Socialization (SHADES) study, conducted in the Philadelphia area on a population comprising 1,007 individuals aged 22-60 years, was used. The BRief Index of Sleep Control (BRISC) was developed to quantify the degree to which an individual has control over their sleep. Reliability of the BRISC was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Convergent validity was assessed by examining age-adjusted items and total score relationships to insomnia (ISI), sleepiness (ESS), sleep quality (PSQI), and total sleep time (NHANES).
Results
After adjustment for covariates, greater control over sleep was associated with a lower PSQI score (B = -2.2, 95% CI [-2.4,-2.0], P < .0001), lower ISI score (B = -3.1, 95% CI [-3.5,-2.7], P < .0001), lower ESS score (B=-1.4, 95% CI [-1.7,-1.1], P < .0001), and more hours of sleep duration (B = 0.5, 95% CI [0.4,0.6], P < .0001). Each BRISC item was separately associated with each sleep outcome ( P < .0001), although the items were not collinear with each other (all R<0.7). Thus, the BRISC instrument demonstrated high reliability and good validity. Conclusions
Control over sleep may represent an important factor in sleep health. Control over time to bed, time awake, sleep duration, and sleep quality are all related to sleep outcomes and assessment of these constructs may be useful for future sleep interventions.

… All sports are dynamic, occurring in the real world, and as a result, multifactorial in their energetic and physical requirements. As such, the specificity of our chosen monitoring tools needs to be reflective of the activities performed. However, depending on the activity, we may need to dive deeper into getting more ‘bang for buck’ from our sessions. Assessment of the specific system might be an alternate solution that can help practitioners specify the questions they are asking of their systems. One of the complexities that we face within the monitoring process is choosing the right solution and approach to gain a complete understanding of the load that we are trying to examine. For example, even within the ‘external’ and ‘internal’ load aspects, there are multiple weapons practitioners have at their disposal for their sport, depending on availability, cost and what can be implemented in practice (Akenhead & Nassis, 2016).

Many Americans will carefully weigh the risks when deciding whether to gather together or travel for the holidays amid a global pandemic. Maria Konnikova, poker player and author of “The Biggest Bluff,” shares her humble opinion on how to balance luck and skill. [video, 2:48]

… Even in the longest endurance events, speed and strength are key factors in successful competitive results. Billat (2001), for example, demonstrated that marathon results in elite athletes are more related to 1000m personal best than VO2 max! The same author is also collecting evidence that the so-called 30km ‘wall’ has more to do with muscular strength endurance, rather than limits in metabolism.

Interestingly, Ivan (2012) also showed that strength tests (such the absolute static force of the thigh flexors, or distance covered for 10 bounding strides after a 300m run at high intensity) were better predictors of female elite middle distance competition performance than traditional aerobic markers – such as maximal oxygen consumption.

There is a growing body of scientific data on the connection between chronotype and mood, underscoring the fact that natural-sleep wake cycles have a real impact on health and well-being. In the most basic sense, chronotype refers to a person’s activity timing preference. Some people are naturally inclined to be more active and productive during the early part of the day. Others, not so much. Their natural preference skews later, and they tend to be more alert and active during the afternoon or evening.

The timing of activity and alertness cycles is tied to sleep-wake cycles. Studies have shown that those with an evening-oriented chronotype have a higher risk of mood disorders, depression and other health problems.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of bio-banding on indicators of talent identification in academy soccer players. Seventy-two 11 to 14-year-old soccer players were bio-banded using percentage of estimated adult stature attainment (week 1), maturity-offset (week 2) or a mixed-maturity method (week 3). Players contested five maturity (mis)matched small-sided games with physical and psychological determinants measured. Data were analysed using a series of Bayesian hierarchical models, fitted with different response distributions and different random and fixed effect structures. Few between-maturity differences existed for physical measures. Pre-peak height velocity (PHV) and post-PHV players differed in PlayerLoadTM (anterior-posterior and medial-lateral) having effect sizes above our criterion value. Estimated adult stature attainment explained more of the variance in eight of the physical variables and showed the greatest individual differences between maturity groups across all psychological variables. Pre-PHV and post-PHV players differed in positive attitude, confidence, competitiveness, total psychological score (effect sizes = 0.43-0.69), and session rating of perceived exertion. The maturity-offset method outperformed the estimated adult stature attainment method in all psychological variables. Maturity-matched bio-banding had limited effect on physical variables across all players while enhancing a number of psychological variables considered key for talent identification in pre-PHV players.

… Ricky Guo and Aaron Ramzeen are coinventors of KIMIA, a wearable sensor to assist in knee physiotherapy, using proprietary sensor technology and data analytics to monitor the patient’s knee movements during at-home exercise sessions and throughout everyday activities. In September, their efforts saw them named as Singapore National Winners of the 2020 James Dyson Award, an international award recognising current and recent students from design and engineering schools for innovative designs that solve real-world problems.

Whenever the runways of Paris, London, Milan and New York open back up, designers might be showing off looks adorned with flexible color ePaper displays. E Ink has teamed up with Plastic Logic to make the first such panels based on its Advanced Color ePaper (ACeP) tech.

The glass-free organic Thin Film Transistor (oTFT) displays are lightweight and ultra low-power. E Ink claims they’re more durable, thinner and lighter than glass-based TFTs. That, according to the company, makes oTFT displays “ideal” for wearables. For instance, designers could build the Legio-branded displays into smart clothing and jewelry. Until now, ACeP displays have mainly been used for signage, which of course doesn’t require panels to be flexible.

Their mission at Barça is to work outside the immediacy of everyday life. Not to look just at the next game or the next season, but by means of the scientific method to look miles beyond the present, within a decade. Gil Rodas, head of medical research at Barça Innovation Hub, laid down the foundations for a management model in the field of sports medicine R & D + i, which is regarded a pioneer in the world and that has established guidelines for the preservation of the health of athletes and optimisation of their performance. Dr. Rodas (together with his team) tries to solve questions about sports medicine that were asked two decades ago and helps to ask and think about the problems that will be solved by those who come in twenty years.

Beta-alanine (BA) supplementation increases muscle carnosine content (MCarn), and has many proven, and purported, ergogenic, and therapeutic benefits. Currently, many questions on the nature of the MCarn response to supplementation are open, and the response to these has considerable potential to enhance the efficacy and application of this supplementation strategy. To address these questions, we conducted a systematic review with Bayesian-based meta-analysis of all published aggregate data using a dose response (Emax) model. Meta-regression was used to consider the influence of potential moderators (including dose, sex, age, baseline MCarn, and analysis method used) on the primary outcome. The protocol was designed according to PRISMA guidelines and a three-step screening strategy was undertaken to identify studies that measured the MCarn response to BA supplementation. Additionally, we conducted an original analysis of all available individual data on the MCarn response to BA supplementation from studies conducted within our lab (n = 99). The Emax model indicated that human skeletal muscle has large capacity for non-linear MCarn accumulation, and that commonly used BA supplementation protocols may not come close to saturating muscle carnosine content. Neither baseline values, nor sex, appeared to influence subsequent response to supplementation. Analysis of individual data indicated that MCarn is relatively stable in the absence of intervention, and effectually all participants respond to BA supplementation (99.3% response [95%CrI: 96.2–100]). [full text]

With NBA free agency underway, it’s time for front offices to get the spotlight as they build their teams for 2021 and beyond. Some executives, such as Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti and San Antonio’s R.C Buford, seem to consistently unearth underrated players for just the right price. Since the salary cap will fall short of initial expectations (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), front offices will face more pressure to match Presti and Buford’s wise spending if they want to avoid going over the luxury tax.

Because efficient spending will be paramount this year, we at HSAC chose to explore which teams have historically played “Moneyball”, and which teams have been free spenders. As with our MLB payroll efficiency rankings, we examined NBA teams’ performance on two metrics: wins above average and payroll above average. The following graph displays each team’s position on these two metrics since 1990

… With at least 10 games played in Europe’s top five leagues, we are nearing a sufficient sample size of minutes to analyse player performance. Minutes played is an important aspect to consider when delving deeper into how a player is performing. As well as telling us about a player’s availability for selection – often an underrated aspect of high-level performance – it also provides a good marker of how sustainable current performances are for a specific player.

Using the SciSports recruitment platform, we will be taking a balanced look at some of the best strikers in Europe’s top five leagues. With data-driven insights into a whole range of specific action types, the aim is to highlight three young strikers who are currently carrying out their specific role to a high level.