… Shaw’s early-season form has ensured he will be one of the first names on the teamsheet for next week’s visit of Spurs – some turnaround for a player who once looked destined for the exit door during the summer transfer window.
There have been times during Jose Mourinho’s Old Trafford tenure that the Portuguese has appeared intent on breaking Shaw and the defender was left out of the matchday squad for last season’s FA Cup final defeat by Chelsea.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for Shaw after that crushing blow but he was so intent on reviving his United career that he returned to pre-season early in a bid to prove his dedication to Mourinho.
Shaw took Gary Walker, the head of strength and conditioning at United, to Dubai with him to get a week’s headstart on his teammates ahead of their return to Carrington in July and that move is already paying dividends.
… As Sherman prepared to face one of the most difficult challenges of his NFL career, a conversation with Bryant served as a springboard to his recovery and set the stage for the second phase of Sherman’s career, this time as a 49er. That begins Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Long before Sherman’s injury, he and Bryant forged a friendship. For Sherman, who said Bryant was “essential” in his rehabilitation, there was no better person to speak to about recovering from such an injury. Bryant suffered the same injury in 2013, and he and Sherman share the same me-against-the-world mentality that has taken each of them to lofty heights.
PLOS One; Shota Sakamoto, Haruki Takeuchi, Naoki Ihara, Bao Ligao, Kazuhiro Suzukawa from
In open-skill sports such as soccer, the environment surrounding players is rapidly changing. Therefore, players are required to process a large amount of external information and take appropriate actions in a very short period. Executive functions (EFs)—the cognitive control processes that regulate thoughts and action—are needed for high performance in soccer. In this study, we measured the EFs of young soccer players aged 8–11 years, who were applying for admission to an elite youth program of a Japanese Football League club. We found that even though admission was determined by the soccer performance of the players, significant differences were observed between players who were approved and those who were not approved into the program. Soccer players who had been approved into the program got higher scores in general EFs tests than those who had been rejected. Our results proposed that measuring EFs provides coaches with another objective way to assess the performance levels of soccer players.
The quality of decision and assessment of risk are key determinants of successful sport performance. Athletes differ fundamentally in their decision-making ability according to their athletic expertise level. Moreover, given the influence of emotions on decision-making, it is likely that a trait reflecting emotional functioning, trait emotional intelligence, may also influence decision-making. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the respective contribution of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence to non-athletic decision-making. In total, 269 participants aged between 18 and 26 years with a range of athletic experience i.e. none (n = 71), novice (n = 54), amateur (n = 55), elite (n = 45) and super-elite (n = 44), completed the Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Cambridge Gambling Task. Regression modelling indicated a significant positive relationship of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence with the quality of decision-making, and a negative relationship with deliberation time and risk-taking. Cognitive skills transfer may explain the higher decision-making scores associated with higher athletic expertise, while individuals with higher trait emotional intelligence may anticipate better the emotional consequences linked with a gambling task, which may help individuals make better decisions and take less risks.
For the anguished parent standing on the touchline, it all seems so unfair. Week after week they fret as their 12-year-old, a diminutive but naturally gifted midfield general, is harried off the ball by bigger players.
But change may be on the way. Grouping young footballers according to physical maturity, as opposed to age – a practice called biobanding – improves performance and reduces the chances of injury, according to research that will be examined by coaches in many sports.
The study, by a team at the University of Bath’s department for health and published in the Journal of Sports Sciences, is the first to explore young players’ experiences of competing in a biobanded tournament.
Becker played Division 1 softball at Cal State Sacramento while studying kinesiology with an emphasis in teaching and coaching. “I always thought that I wanted to become a softball coach, but when I went into my master’s program, I took a sports psychology class that really resonated with me.” After earning a doctorate in sports psychology from the University of Tennessee, Becker met John Speraw, the men’s volleyball coach at UC Irvine, who persuaded her to join his staff while she taught kinesiology at Cal State Fullerton. “I’ve been part of his staff ever since, when he went to UCLA and now for Team USA.”
Speraw told Becker he wanted to integrate more mental skills into his environment. “He also said that he’s always the one providing feedback to the athletes and that it would be nice for him to sometimes get feedback as well. So he kind of always considered me the coach’s coach.” Becker often coaches players indirectly, through Speraw. It could be as simple as letting him know that it looks like a certain player could benefit from a meeting with him. “I’m an extra set of eyes.”
… We have all been there. As a student-athlete, we have all walked on campus as a first-year athlete with our eyes wide open going from class to practice to study hall then to bed wondering where the day went. The key to success is very similar to your path to athletic success; preparation and practice. You learn the skills, practice them for mastery, and then trust in your training.
So, let’s teach you a few skills.
It Starts with Me
Anxiety doesn’t always hit you from the side and knock you clean off your feet. It can sometimes just feel like a fog.
… The drone is relatively new, another high-tech instrument in an ever-growing collection at the club. The Sounders’ data surge has been spearheaded by Ravi Ramineni, a former Microsoft data analyst with a background in computer science who joined the club full time ahead of the 2013 season. Through his wife, Sarah, who does data analytics for English Premier League club Arsenal, he met former Sounders High Performance Director Dave Tenney. Ramineni had been interested in soccer analytics for quite some time, and he would occasionally help Tenney with special projects. The two would meet at a Starbucks, Tenney would give Ramineni raw numbers and a few weeks later they would reconvene to discuss his findings. By the end of 2012, Ramineni had quit his job at Microsoft and Tenney and the coaching staff wanted his services.
“The first year was interesting when I came in because there was no infrastructure,” Ramineni said. “There was no database or website or anything, so I started building that.”
There are three main components to Ramineni’s job. The first is helping General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey and the scouting team find new players. The second is helping coaches and players prepare for the next opponent. And the third is general sports science and monitoring training loads. He and his team collect data through GPS and heart rate trackers, software that Ramineni created with the help of Tenney to take that information and formulate reports.
… The PowerSpot wireless transmitter automatically powers enabled devices it detects within its charging zone and stops charging when no devices are within range. According to the company, the wireless transmitter can charge and power smaller, less power hungry devices—such as smart cards and basic sensors—at distances up to 24 meters while for more power hungry devices like game controllers, headphones, and smartwatches, the most suitable charging range is typically within 30cm. The transmitter itself can be mains- or USB-powered, so the ultra low power consumption of the nRF51422 SoC was important to keep the temperature of the 915-MHz subcircuit low, and enhance the efficiency of wireless power transmission.
Engineers at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a self-powered knee sensor to help monitor patients undergoing rehabilitation therapy. The device has a tubular shape and it generates its own electricity every time it’s flexed, enough so to power not only the sensor, but the electronics, and an antenna for wireless data transmission.
The electricity is generated using electromagnetism and the triboelectric effect, which involves a material becoming electrically charged when another material rubs against it.
This device has the capacity to be used continuously by rehab patients without having to exchange batteries, all while statistics on patient movement characteristics is shared with the rehabilitation team.
Caffeine has well-documented benefits on endurance athletic performance. Because of caffeine’s ergogenic effects of reducing perceived fatigue, it is hypothesized that as duration of athletic event increases, so will the effect size of caffeine upon performance. This study aims to examine the relationship between duration of endurance athletic event and the effect size of caffeine compared to placebo for athletic performance. DESIGN:
A systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials assessing the effects of caffeine in adults performing endurance athletic events. METHODS:
We searched MedLine, Web of Science, and review article references published through March 2016. We performed meta-analyses on placebo-controlled trials to determine the effect of the duration of an endurance athletic event on the standardized mean difference (Cohen’s d) between the caffeine and placebo groups for athletic performance. RESULTS:
Forty articles including 56 unique comparison groups were included. Pooled results showed a Cohen’s d of 0.33 (95% CI=0.21, 0.45; p=1.00; I2=0%). The effect of the duration of athletic event was significantly associated with Cohen’s d (Relative Risk: 0.005; 95% CI=0.001, 0.009; p=0.024). For a 30min increase in duration of the athletic event, Cohen’s d will increase by 0.150. CONCLUSIONS:
This study is the first to report on the statistical finding that the effect size of caffeine increases along with the increasing duration of the time trial event. Endurance athletes may especially benefit from caffeine for performance enhancement.
The aims of this paper are threefold: (1) to summarize the research examining the effects of caffeine on isokinetic strength, (2) pool the effects using a meta-analysis, and (3) to explore if there is a muscle group or a velocity specific response to caffeine ingestion. Design
Meta-analysis. Methods
PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus were searched using relevant terms. The PEDro checklist was used for the assessment of study quality. A random-effects meta-analysis of standardized mean differences (SMDs) was done. Results
Ten studies of good and excellent methodological quality were included. The SMD for the effects of caffeine on strength was 0.16 (95% CI = 0.06, 0.26; p = 0.003; +5.3%). The subgroup analysis for knee extensor isokinetic strength showed a significant difference (p = 0.004) between the caffeine and placebo conditions with SMD value of 0.19 (95% CI = 0.06, 0.32; +6.1%). The subgroup analysis for the effects of caffeine on isokinetic strength of other, smaller muscle groups indicated no significant difference (p = 0.092) between the caffeine and placebo conditions. The subgroup analysis for knee extensor isokinetic strength at angular velocities of 60°·s−1 and 180°·s−1 showed a significant difference between the caffeine and placebo conditions with SMD value of 0.21 (95% CI = 0.07, 0.36; p = 0.004; +6.0%) and 0.23 (95% CI = 0.07, 0.38; p = 0.005; +5.5%), respectively. No significant effect (p = 0.193) was found at an angular velocity of 30°·s−1. Conclusions
This meta-analysis demonstrates that acute caffeine ingestion caffeine may significantly increase isokinetic strength. Additionally, this meta-analysis reports that the effects of caffeine on isokinetic muscular strength are predominantly manifested in knee extensor muscles and at greater angular velocities.
Caffeine is a well-established ergogenic aid, demonstrated to enhance performance across a wide range of capacities through a variety of mechanisms. As such, it is frequently used by both athletes and non-athletes alike. As a result, caffeine ingestion is ubiquitous in modern society, with athletes typically being exposed to regular non-supplemental caffeine through a variety of sources. Previously, it has been suggested that regular caffeine use may lead to habituation and subsequently a reduction in the expected ergogenic effects, thereby blunting caffeine’s performance-enhancing impact during critical training and performance events. In order to mitigate this expected performance loss, some practitioners recommended a pre-competition withdrawal period to restore the optimal performance benefits of caffeine supplementation. However, at present the evidence base exploring both caffeine habituation and withdrawal strategies in athletes is surprisingly small. Accordingly, despite the prevalence of caffeine use within athletic populations, formulating evidence-led guidelines is difficult. Here, we review the available research regarding habitual caffeine use in athletes and seek to derive rational interpretations of what is currently known—and what else we need to know—regarding habitual caffeine use in athletes, and how athletes and performance staff may pragmatically approach these important, complex, and yet under-explored phenomena. [full text]
Samford University, in Alabama, will collaborate with software company SAS to provide students at its Center for Sports Analytics the opportunity to work with data from top teams and sports apparel companies, as well as with SAS’s machine learning and data visualization technologies, the company announced.
The support will help the year-old Center for Sports Analytics give students “industry standard” skills in the fast-growing field, according to Michael Hardin, Samford University provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Concussions draw the headlines in NFL injury news these days, but a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee is still a big deal. A torn ACL almost always means a player’s season is over, but what are the concerns for the following season? Recovery time for these injuries is generally viewed as six to nine months.
Roughly 50 players tore their ACL in 2017. The biggest name on that list is Carson Wentz, the starting quarterback for the defending champion Eagles. Wentz tore his ACL in Week 14 last year before the Eagles finished 5-1 with Nick Foles starting in his place. We are exactly one week away from opening night kickoff in Philadelphia and Wentz has not been cleared for contact yet. He has been cleared for 11-on-11 practice, but not contact, and he did not participate in the three preseason games. While it seems unlikely that Wentz will land on the PUP list, which would require him to miss at least the first six weeks of the season, there is a growing possibility that he misses a couple of regular-season games.
How common of a timetable would that be for someone coming off an ACL injury so late in the season? With help from our injury expert Zach Binney and the Football Outsiders injury database, we prepared some data.