Applied Sports Science newsletter – April 5, 2018

Whenever future generations decide to curate the Zdeno Chara Exhibition, they will find ample relics of a singular hockey life. Archaeologists will track down his 67-inch (rules-exempt) Warrior sticks, painted black and gold. They will unearth the puck he sizzled at an NHL-record 108.8 mph, the sweater he wore when he captained the Bruins to a Stanley Cup in 2011, the pull-up bar that always draws a crowd. They will probably dust off the bicycle he rides around Boston, built with a heavy-duty frame to handle the cobblestone streets (not to mention his 6’ 9″, 250-pound body). And they will discover the presentation folder.

It’s an otherwise nondescript piece of office supply—dark blue, two pockets, letter size—but should serve as the collection’s crown jewel. Visitors will peruse the sheets of scrap paper, some already yellowing from age. They will scan the calendars and charts, pencilled in a blend of English, Slovak and inscrutable shorthand that spills into the margins. “But you won’t be understanding what it means,” Chara says. “If you do, then you are a genius.”

Here is the gist, decoded and translated: For almost three decades now, the 41-year-old Bruins defenseman has meticulously catalogued every single one of his offseason workouts. Each exercise. Each repetition. Each kilogram. Curious how many pucks he shot on, say, Aug. 31, 2014? How long he spent, oh, mountain biking on July 17, 1996? Those details live within that folder, protected by a plastic sleeve, stashed above his desk in the family’s combo office-playroom.

As David Price left Vanderbilt in 2007, lured by a $5.6 million signing bonus after being drafted first overall by Tampa Bay, his college pitching coach offered a few parting words.

“The thing I said to him that I really meant was, ‘You never need to change the way that you play this game,’” Derek Johnson recalled recently. “He played it like a little kid, and it was easily, by far and away, the most beautiful thing about him.”

For the better part of the next nine years, Price heeded that advice. He boiled over with glove-smacking joy after hurling high-90s heat past helpless hitters. He challenged fellow pitchers to goofy contests such as the “perfect sit,” in which they found a spot on the bench and tried not to get up, not even to use the bathroom, for nine innings. When he played for the Detroit Tigers, Price rode an electric scooter to and from home games. With the Toronto Blue Jays, he gifted monogrammed blue bathrobes to his teammates.

The hits keep coming for Auburn football this spring. Four different players — defensive tackle Daquan Newkirk, wide receiver Eli Stove, wide receiver Will Hastings and center Nick Brahms — will all miss the rest of camp with injuries.

Stove and Hastings both tore ACLs. Newkirk tore his Achilles tendon in a mat drill shortly before the start of spring practice. Brahms suffered a leg break near his ankle. Several other players have suffered injuries that have kept them out for various lengths of time.

When a team has an outbreak of serious injuries in a short span, it’s natural for some fans to question the strength and conditioning program.

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn addressed those concerns Saturday after the Tigers’ second scrimmage of spring camp, when center Kaleb Kim went down with a leg injury.

“Our strength and conditioning program is one of the best in the country,” Malzahn said. “Really, last year, we stayed really healthy for the most part, [with] just a couple of minor things. So, I feel very good about that. … Both of [the ACL injuries] were really fluke deals.”

Sustained persistence in deliberate practice (DP) could be aided by engagement in adaptive motivational and metacognitive types of self-regulated learning (SRL) processes. We examined relationships between SRL and each of DP and physical preparation (PP; e.g., cross-training) in supervised, unsupervised, social and non-social practice contexts. 272 individual-sport athletes (from city to international level; M sport activity = 13.54 hrs/wk; 200 males, ages 18–35) completed the Self-Regulation of Learning Self-Report Scale and reported weekly DP and PP amounts. We found contrasting results depending on specific SRL processes. Self-monitoring was related to DP (total, supervised, social conditions) but inversely related to PP. Effort was inversely related to supervised DP but positively associated with PP. Planning was associated with DP, and reflection and self-efficacy related to PP. We discuss the contrast between DP and PP, highlighting differences in the nature of these practice activities, and self-monitoring as a key SRL process for DP.

Purpose

To determine the time course of architectural adaptations in the biceps femoris long head (BFLH) following high or low volume eccentric training.
Methods

Twenty recreationally active males completed a two week standardised period of eccentric Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) training, followed by four weeks of high (n=10) or low volume (n=10) training. Eccentric strength was assessed pre and post intervention and following detraining. Architecture was assessed weekly during training and after two and four weeks of detraining.
Results

After six weeks of training, BFLH fascicles increased significantly in the high (23 ± 7%, P<0.001, d=2.87) and low volume (24 ± 4%, P<0.001, d=3.46) groups, but reversed following two weeks of detraining (high volume, ‐17 ± 5%, P<0.001, d=‐2.04; low volume, ‐15 ± 3%, P<0.001, d=‐2.56) after completing the intervention. Both groups increased eccentric strength after six weeks of training (high volume, 28 ± 20%, P=0.009, d=1.55; low volume, 34 ± 14%, P<0.001, d=2.09) and saw no change in strength following a four week period of detraining (high volume, ‐7 ± 7%, P=0.97, d=‐0.31; low volume, ‐2 ± 5%, P=0.99, d=‐0.20). Conclusions

Both low and high volume NHE training stimulate increases in BFLH fascicle length and eccentric knee flexor strength. Architectural adaptations reverted to baseline levels within two weeks after training, but eccentric strength is maintained for at least four weeks. These observations provide novel insight into the effects of training volume and detraining on BFLH architecture, and may provide guidance for the implementation of NHE programmes.

Doctors Alexander Bilbily and Mark Cicero spent years training to be radiologists. But the two believe their biggest impact will be outside their medical offices.

Bilbily and Cicero are founders of 16 Bit, a Toronto-based startup that intends to reinvent radiology with GPU-accelerated deep learning.

The 18-month-old company recently took a big step in that direction by beating about 50 teams to win the Radiology Society of North America pediatric bone age competition. The contest, designed to show how AI could be applied to medical imaging, challenged competitors to modernize the decades-old test now used to assess children’s growth.

When someone thinks about knitting, they usually don’t conjure up an image of sweaters and scarves made of yarn that can power watches and lights. But that’s just what one group is reporting in ACS Nano. They have developed a rechargeable yarn battery that is waterproof and flexible. It also can be cut into pieces and still work. For more information see the IDTechEx report on flexible, printed and thin film batteries.

Most people are familiar with smartwatches, but for wearable electronics to progress, scientists will need to overcome the challenge of creating a device that is deformable, durable, versatile and wearable while still holding and maintaining a charge. One dimensional fiber or yarn has shown promise, since it is tiny, flexible and lightweight. Previous studies have had some success combining one-dimensional fibers with flexible Zn-MnO2 batteries, but many of these lose charge capacity and are not rechargeable. So, Chunyi Zhi and colleagues wanted to develop a rechargeable yarn zinc-ion battery that would maintain its charge capacity, while being waterproof and flexible.

Background:

The anterior bundle of the medial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is the primary restraint to valgus stress at the elbow and is often injured among overhead throwing athletes. Despite prevention strategies, injuries to the elbow UCL are on the rise.
Purpose:

To determine (1) the return-to-sport (RTS) rate of Major League Baseball (MLB) position players after elbow medial UCL reconstruction, (2) postoperative career length and games per season, (3) pre- and postoperative performance, (4) postoperative performance versus matched control players, and (5) whether position players changed positions after UCL reconstruction.
Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.
Methods:

MLB players who underwent elbow UCL reconstruction were identified (cases). Demographic and performance data were collected for each player. Matched controls were identified. RTS in MLB was defined as playing in at least 1 MLB game after UCL reconstruction. Comparisons between case and control groups and pre- and postoperative time points were made via paired samples Student t tests.
Results:

Thirty-three players (34 surgical procedures) were identified with a mean ± SD age of 30.2 ± 4.2 years and a mean experience in the MLB of 6.3 ± 3.9 years at the time of surgery. Twenty-eight players (84.8%) were able to RTS in MLB at a mean 336.9 ± 121.8 days. However, players ≥30 years old demonstrated a significantly lower RTS rate (53.3%) than players <30 years old (89.4%; P < .05). Catchers had a significantly shorter postoperative career length (2.8 ± 1.8 years) versus matched controls (6.1 ± 1.9 years; P < .05). Outfielders had a significantly lower wins above replacement postoperatively (0.8 ± 0.7) versus preoperatively (1.5 ± 1.1; P < .05). There were no performance differences between cases and matched controls. Twelve players (48%) returned to a different position postoperatively. Conclusion:

The RTS rate for MLB position players after elbow UCL reconstruction is similar to that of pitchers. Catchers had a significantly shorter career length than that of matched controls. Outfielders performed worse postoperatively versus preoperatively. There is a high rate of position change after Tommy John surgery for infielders and outfielders.

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in the National Hockey League (NHL) and to examine the effects of this injury on return-to-play status and performance.
DESIGN:

Case series; level of evidence, 4.
METHODS:

This was a 2-phase study. Phase I used the NHL electronic injury surveillance system and Athlete Health Management System to collect data on ACL injuries and man games lost over 10 seasons (2006/2007-2015/2016). Data collected in phase I were received in deidentified form. Phase II examined the performance impact of an ACL injury. Players were identified through publically available sources, and performance-related statistics were analyzed. Data collected in phase II were not linked to data collected in phase I. A paired t test was used to determine any difference in the matching variables between controls and cases in the preinjury time period. A General linear model (mixed) was used to determine the performance impact.
RESULTS:

Phase I: 67 ACL injuries occurred over 10 seasons. The incidence for all players was 0.42/1000 player game hours (forward, 0.61; defenseman, 0.32, goalie, 0.08) and by game exposure was 0.2/1000 player game exposures (forward, 0.33; defenseman, 0.11; goalie, 0.07). Forwards had a greater incidence rate of ACL tears with both game hours and game exposures when compared with defensemen and goalies (P < 0.001, <0.001; P = 0.008, <0.001, respectively). Phase II: 70 ACL tears (60 players) were identified. Compared with controls, players who suffered an ACL tear demonstrated a decrease in goals/season (P < 0.04), goals/game (P < 0.015), points/season (0.007), and points/game (0.001). Number of games and seasons played after an ACL injury did not differ compared with controls (P = 0.068, 0.122, respectively). CONCLUSIONS:

Anterior cruciate ligament injuries occur infrequently, as it relates to other hockey injuries. Despite a high return to play, the performance after an ACL injury demonstrated a decrease in points and goals per game and per season.

New research provides the first molecular understanding of why people gain weight due to chronic stress, disrupted circadian rhythms and treatment with glucocorticoid drugs: It’s all in the timing of the dips and rises of a class of hormones called glucocorticoids — predominantly the “stress hormone” cortisol, according to a new study by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers.

Nutrition usually makes a small but potentially valuable contribution to successful performance in elite athletes, and dietary supplements can make a minor contribution to this nutrition program. Nonetheless, supplement use is widespread at all levels of sport. Products described as supplements target different issues, including the management of micronutrient deficiencies, supply of convenient forms of energy and macronutrients, and provision of direct benefits to performance or indirect benefits such as supporting intense training regimens. The appropriate use of some supplements can offer benefits to the athlete, but others may be harmful to the athlete’s health, performance, and/or livelihood and reputation if an anti-doping rule violation results. A complete nutritional assessment should be undertaken before decisions regarding supplement use are made. Supplements claiming to directly or indirectly enhance performance are typically the largest group of products marketed to athletes, but only a few (including caffeine, creatine, specific buffering agents and nitrate) have good evidence of benefits. However, responses are affected by the scenario of use and may vary widely between individuals because of factors that include genetics, the microbiome, and habitual diet. Supplements intended to enhance performance should be thoroughly trialed in training or simulated competition before implementation in competition. Inadvertent ingestion of substances prohibited under the anti-doping codes that govern elite sport is a known risk of taking some supplements. Protection of the athlete’s health and awareness of the potential for harm must be paramount, and expert professional opinion and assistance is strongly advised before embarking on supplement use.

… Last year, FourFourTwo wrote an article about how teams started to achieve fewer points after reaching the 40 point barrier that is the commonly accepted magic number to ensure safety in the Premier League using data from the 2016/17 Premier League season. Their two most jarring examples were West Bromwich Albion, who reached the 40 point barrier after only 26 matches but only attained 5 from their final 12 matches and Watford who hit the 40 point barrier after 32 matches and failed to pick up a point the rest of the season. Arsene Wenger complained last season that “some teams turn up, some teams are on holiday” at the end of the season after West Ham lost 4-0 at home to Liverpool, which severely damaged any hopes Arsenal had of qualifying for the Champions League for a 20th consecutive season.

This got me wondering; was last season an aberration where teams were noticeably worse when they had nothing to play for or has this trend been present for a longer period of time?

I set out to answer this question in the following way. For each season dating back to 1996/7, I constructed the Premier League table five weeks before the end of the season.

A rebellion is underway in the billion-dollar NFL concussion case, as lawyers representing thousands of former players are asking a federal judge to curb the league’s influence in the process and correct flaws that have allegedly threatened the settlement’s integrity and left many brain-injured players unpaid.

“The settlement is broken’’ and “on the brink of collapse,’’ said attorney Peter Shahriari, whose firm represents about 250 former players, in a document seeking the court’s intervention.

Shahriari, one of more than 15 lawyers in the case who are pushing for action, claims the league is evading its obligations to compensate brain-injured players by waging “a campaign to hide the truth about the dangers of the game’’ and by calling the former players and their doctors deceptive and fraudulent.

I wrote an open-source app called NBA Shots DB that uses the NBA Stats API to populate a database with all 4.5 million shots attempted in NBA games since 1996. The app also processes a dataset provided by Sportradar of over 1 million NCAA men’s shot attempts since 2013 into a format that can be merged with the NBA data. Both datasets include similar information: location coordinates, player and team names, which shots went in, and so on. The merged dataset allows us to compare NBA and NCAA shot patterns on the same scale, and even allows tracking individual players as they move from college to the pros.

Shot data has some significant limitations, and we should be very wary of drawing unjustified conclusions from it, but it can also help illuminate trends that might not be otherwise obvious to the human eye.

Standing in front of a dozen members of the media in the visiting manager’s office at Citi Field, Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler took stock of a bizarre and controversial first weekend of play for his team and put the blame squarely on himself.

“My job is to stand up and be accountable for any of those mistakes and explain why I make the moves I make, and that’s an important [lesson] from the first three days,” Kapler said before Tuesday night’s game against the Mets. “There’s been some difficult moments, and there’s also been a lot of opportunities to learn.”

“Difficult moments” may be underselling it. Over the first three games of his big league managerial career, Kapler found himself enmeshed in messes of his own design. On Opening Day, he pulled starter Aaron Nola after just 68 pitches and 5 1/3 innings of scoreless work against the Braves, then watched as five relievers combined to blow a 5–0 lead and the game. The next day, Kapler burned through nearly his entire bullpen—eight pitchers in all—to secure the final 15 outs of a one-run win, Philadelphia’s only one this season. And in the series finale, he tried to put in a reliever who wasn’t ready because he hadn’t been told to warm up en route to using four more pitchers, and ultimately a position player, in a 15–2 rout.