Applied Sports Science newsletter – May 30, 2016

When Antoine Griezmann was in primary school, he was tasked with writing an essay explaining what sort of job he would like to do when he grew up. He wrote that he would be a footballer, decorating his exercise books with little sketches of him giving postmatch interviews to television stations. He idolised Sonny Anderson, the Lyon striker, but he wanted to grow his hair long and blond like Pavel Nedved.

Looking back, his parents say now that he was sure his future was in football but for a long time, football was not quite so sure.

… Oklahoma City once looked so formidable, Durant so unstoppable, yet Iguodala turned him into a liability. Kerr started Iguodala for the second half, in place of Harrison Barnes, to turn up the heat on Durant. And Iguodala came through like he always has, and like never before.

The Warriors were keenly aware Durant had taken 19 shots in the first half, making just six. And they were betting the former MVP and four-time scoring champion would try to put the Warriors away. But even Durant’s arms get tired. And with Iguodala on him — playing the percentages and angles, using his instincts and IQ to make Durant work harder — Durant had no rhythm.

Most of the world will get its first look at Simone Biles, the nineteen-year-old American gymnast whom I profiled in this week’s magazine, during this summer’s Olympics, in Rio. But why wait until then? Biles is considered the world’s best on the balance beam, floor exercise, and vault. In this footage, we take a look at what makes her so exceptional on each apparatus.

The purpose of this study was to track changes in training load (TL) and recovery status indicators throughout a 2-week preseason and to interpret the meaning of these changes on an individual basis among 8 Division-1 female soccer players. Weekly averages for heart rate variability (lnRMSSD), TL and psychometrics were compared with effect sizes (ES) and magnitude based inferences. Relationships were determined with Pearson correlations. Group analysis showed a very likely moderate decrease for total training load (TTL) (TTL week 1 = 1203 ± 198, TTL week 2 = 977 ± 288; proportion = 1/2/97, ES = -0.93) and a likely small increase in lnRMSSD (week 1 = 74.2 ± 11.1, week 2 = 78.1 ± 10.5; proportion = 81/14/5, ES = 0.35). Fatigue demonstrated a very likely small improvement (week 1 = 5.03 ± 1.09, week 2 = 5.51 ± 1.00; proportion = 95/4/1; ES = 0.45) while the other psychometrics did not substantially change. A very large correlation was found between changes in TL and lnRMSSD (r = -0.85) while large correlations were found between lnRMSSD and perceived fatigue (r = 0.56) and soreness (r = 0.54). Individual analysis suggests that 2 subjects may benefit from decreased TL, 2 subjects may benefit from increased TL and 4 subjects may require no intervention based on their psychometric and lnRMSSD responses to the TL. Individual weekly changes in lnRMSSD varied among subjects and related strongly with individual changes in TL. Training intervention based on lnRMSSD and wellness responses may be useful for preventing the accumulation of fatigue in female soccer players.

… Panio: Grit is interesting because of the balance between mastery and exploration. On the one hand, people are told, find one thing you’re great at and become an expert. Don’t be a jack of all trades. But on the other hand you’re told to explore, because you might not know that thing you’re incredible at yet. How do you balance it?

Angela: There’s a tension, as you say, between mastering one thing and becoming a jack of all trades. Grit is very much about trying to become a master of one trade. But here’s where exploration is important. Very few people I’ve interviewed are blessed with the good fortune of knowing what that one thing will be when they’re young. There are people like [New York Times crossword puzzle editor] Will Shortz who did his first puzzle when he was eight, and by the time he was a teenager knew that he wanted to be a puzzle master for the rest of his life. He’s the exception, not the rule.

Most people that I talk to stumbled around a little bit. They explored, but the exploration had a purpose in that they weren’t content to explore indefinitely. Like dating, you’re dating so that you can get married.

The Colts continue to discuss when they will leave for their game in London this season. Does the recent NFL trend of leaving later during game week make sense to the Colts?

It could be perceived as a lot of pressure to be told at the beginning of the season that you’re in a three man race for the position you want on the team. San Francisco 49ers ILB Gerald Hodges says that’s not the case, citing that the competition is making everyone better. It’s not just competition at the linebacker position, it’s at every position on the team.

It’s still early in the offseason but it seems as though there is a lack of angst towards new HC Chip Kelly compared to what was reported in Philadelphia. Everyone seems to be buying into the new system and coaching staff.

Most of what you know about concussion is wrong, including the belief that there is no helmet design that can truly protect the brain, says former college football player and Stanford bioengineer David Camarillo. His lab is determined to build a better, smarter helmet, based on their new discoveries about what actually causes concussions. And he plans to accomplish this before his 2 year-old daughter starts riding her bike on the road.

… AIMTech has developed a force-induced treadmill that has applications in the physical therapy and sports medicine industry. Officially dubbed the ResistX, the new device will be shown at the American College of Sports Medicine in Boston next week.

The ResistX will help those recovering from neurological or physical disorders to train on a treadmill and improve cardiovascular and leg strength.

… Everyone thinks these things are new and revolutionary…but they really aren’t. All that’s happened is that they dropped in price from $80,000 to $500…and many corners have been cut along the way.

There are several claims that the nausea problem has either been fixed, or will soon be fixed, or that application design can be used to work-around the problem.

The claims that it’s been fixed are based on the theory that the nausea is caused by latency/lag in the system, or by low resolution displays or by inaccurate head motion tracking…all of which can (and are) being fixed by obvious improvements to the system. Sadly, the $80,000 googles we made for the US military had less latency, higher resolution displays, and more accurate head tracking than any of the current round of civilian VR goggles…and they definitely made people sick – so this seems unlikely.

Last year, the Seattle Mariners gave their players the opportunity to participate in a new kind of training program. It was unlike anything the players had ever taken part in before. No one lifted any weights, or spent any extra time at the gym. Instead, those who chose to participate were issued something called a Readiband and given instructions to wear it around the clock.

If you’re not familiar with the device—and not many outside of the field of athletic performance management are—a Readiband doesn’t look like much. It’s a small thing, black and rubbery and roughly the size and shape of a watch. Its manufacturer, a Vancouver-based company with the oddly evocative name Fatigue Science, claims that it is “the only scientifically validated tool for measuring the impact of sleep on human performance.” Here’s a simpler way of putting it: Readiband watches you while you sleep.

Background The decision as to whether or not an athlete is ready to return to sport (RTS) after ACL reconstruction is difficult as the commonly used RTS criteria have not been validated.

Purpose To evaluate whether a set of objective discharge criteria, including muscle strength and functional tests, are associated with risk of ACL graft rupture after RTS.

Materials and methods 158 male professional athletes who underwent an ACL reconstruction and returned to their previous professional level of sport were included. Before players returned to sport they underwent a battery of discharge tests (isokinetic strength testing at 60°, 180° and 300°/s, a running t test, single hop, triple hop and triple crossover hop tests). Athletes were monitored for ACL re-ruptures once they returned to sport (median follow-up 646?days, range 1–2060).

Results Of the 158 athletes, 26 (16.5%) sustained an ACL graft rupture an average of 105?days after RTS. Two factors were associated with increased risk of ACL graft rupture: (1) not meeting all six of the discharge criteria before returning to team training (HR 4.1, 95% CI 1.9 to 9.2, p?0.001); and (2) decreased hamstring to quadriceps ratio of the involved leg at 60°/s (HR 10.6 per 10% difference, 95% CI 10.2 to 11, p=0.005).

Conclusions Athletes who did not meet the discharge criteria before returning to professional sport had a four times greater risk of sustaining an ACL graft rupture compared with those who met all six RTS criteria. In addition, hamstring to quadriceps strength ratio deficits were associated with an increased risk of an ACL graft rupture.

Seattle Seahawk defensive lineman Michael Bennett spent his Saturday extolling the benefits of healthy eating and living to a group of local young families.

More than any other professional sport, NBA basketball is a family business. For evidence, look no further than the reigning champion Golden State Warriors.

The father of two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Dell, played in the NBA for 16 seasons as an expert outside shooter. His brother, Seth, plays for the Sacramento Kings. Curry’s backcourt mate Klay Thompson is the son of Mychal Thompson, a former No. 1 draft pick of the Trail Blazers and two-time NBA champion. Warriors guard Brandon Rush has two brothers—JaRon and Kareem—who played in the NBA. Forwards Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala both had brothers play in college. And guard Shaun Livingston’s uncle played pro basketball in Germany.

This web of familial relationships is hardly unique to Golden State. In fact, it exists on every single NBA team, with athletic bloodlines that aren’t just limited to basketball.

… How could a bombastic, aggressive reality TV star become the leading candidate for the Republican Party? However, to someone trained in the behavioral sciences, his rise makes sense. Trump has masterfully tweaked dozens of different persuasion triggers, and has shaped the media narrative to make him seem as important, and popular, as possible.

In the following article I’m going to go through Trump’s persuasion tactics. I’ll explain which psychological tactics he uses, how each of them works, and provide clear examples (when possible). By the end of this article, you’ll either be incredibly happy or unbelievably distraught, but wiser for the journey.