The aims of this study were to determine the association between asymmetry and measures of speed and change of direction speed (CODS) performance throughout a competitive soccer season and, determine whether any observed changes in asymmetry were associated with changes in speed and CODS performance. Eighteen elite male under-23 academy soccer players performed unilateral countermovement jumps, unilateral drop jumps (DJ), 10- and 30-m sprints, and 505 CODS tests at pre, mid, and end of season. No significant relationships were evident during preseason or midseason between asymmetry and speed or CODS performance. Significant correlations were shown at the end of season between DJ height asymmetry and 10-m sprint time (ρ = 0.62; p = 0.006) and 505 time on the right limb (ρ = 0.65; p = 0.003). No significant correlations between changes in asymmetry and changes in speed or CODS were evident at any time point. Although numerous studies have reported associations between asymmetry and reduced athletic performance, it seems that these associations with speed and CODS do not track consistently over time. Thus, suggestions for the reduction of asymmetry that may indirectly enhance athletic performance cannot be made.
… “What we were trying to do in this work is to explain how perception can be so much richer than just attaching semantic labels on parts of an image, and to explore the question of how do we see all of the physical world,” says Josh Tenenbaum, a professor of computational cognitive science and a member of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines (CBMM).
The new model posits that when the brain receives visual input, it quickly performs a series of computations that reverse the steps that a computer graphics program would use to generate a 2D representation of a face or other object. This type of model, known as efficient inverse graphics (EIG), also correlates well with electrical recordings from face-selective regions in the brains of nonhuman primates, suggesting that the primate visual system may be organized in much the same way as the computer model, the researchers say.
Artificial turf (AT) is common at all levels of soccer and rugby. Employing an interdisciplinary design, this study aimed to examine the extent to which the negative attitude commonly expressed by players concerning AT is based on the difference in technique between AT and natural turf (NT), or due to pre-existing biases. Thirty professional soccer and rugby players performed a defined set of movements with masked and normal perception conditions on NT and AT. Two-dimensional kinematic analysis (100 Hz) of characteristics in parallel to a psychological assessment of the impact of cognitive bias for a playing surface was assessed. No significant interaction effects between the level of perception and surface type were found. For AT, contact time (CT) was shorter across conditions, while for NT rugby players had longer CT during acceleration/deceleration phases and shorter flight times. Pre-existing negative bias against AT was found during the normal perception trials in the technology acceptance model (Usefulness and Ease of Use) and the general preference questions on how much the athlete would like to play a game on it. The results suggest that opinion was not driven by surface characteristics, but by a cognitive bias, players brought with them to the pitch.
… According to Andreas Heyden, Executive Vice President of Digital Innovations at the German Football League (DFL), there are five overarching trends pushing innovation in sports media forward and changing the industry fundamentally.
The first of these is artificial intelligence (AI), using algorithms to analyse vast amounts of data, which enables machines to perform tasks which previously could only be completed thanks to human intelligence. AI is already widely used in our daily lives and at the DFL, it is viewed as the underlying approach that will improve and enable all high-tech capabilities in the future. For example, the DFL is able to create personalised highlight clips for Bundesliga fans. In Norway clips from Erling Haaland could feature more heavily, whereas fans in Brazil could receive more of Philippe Coutinho’s highlights.
After winning two consecutive Austrian Bundesliga titles as manager of Red Bull Salzburg, and maintaining an unblemished home record over the same period, coach Marco Rose had his choice of vacancies in the Bundesliga and further abroad. But it was Borussia Monchengladbach who managed to secure one of the game’s most exciting managers. … But how does technology, specifically video analysis, help Rose get his ideas across to his players?
Performance technology company Hyperice has acquired NormaTec.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed by Hyperice CEO Jim Huether tells CNBC the company is projecting to “more than double” its gross revenue within 18 months with the NormaTec acquisition.
Purpose: We assessed the reliability of fundamental movement skills in young male footballers within one session. Methods: 197 players from 5 English category 3 football academies across U9 – U18 age groups volunteered (mean: age = 12.6 ± 2.8 years; stature = 156 ± 17 cm; weight = 47 ± 15 kg; years from peak height velocity (PHV) = – 1.1 ± 2.3). Motion tracking of squat depth and anterior Y-balance test maximum reach was recorded. Reliability was assessed (trial 1 vs. 2; trial 2 vs. 3) via mean change, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and typical error. Results: The overall mean change was trivial (−1.8–2.9%), while Y-balance left showed a small negative change (trial 2 vs. 3; −3.2%). All ICCs across the tests ranged from moderate to high (0.71–0.79). Typical errors for Y-balance tests ranged from 8.3–10.8% and squats from 19.3–21.8%. Pre-PHV vs. post-PHV players had similar typical errors for Y-balance left and right (9.0 vs. 11.5%; 9.0 vs. 7.1%, respectively), and the squat (21.1 vs. 20%). Conclusions: The high within-player typical error scores obtained over three trials suggest that, contrary to some movement screening guidelines, prior habituation is needed to increase both the stability and reliability of these tests.
Sports physicians routinely prescribe corticosteroids to athletes for conditions like inflammation, asthma and allergies, but not all of them know which forms of these drugs are banned under anti-doping rules, a study suggests.
The survey of 603 physicians from 30 countries found that four in five prescribe oral corticosteroids to athletes, one of the forms prohibited during competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
While 73% of physicians knew athletes needed a medical exemption to use oral corticosteroids just before or during competition, far fewer knew exemptions were also required for other forms of these drugs including intravenous injections, ointments, creams and inhaled medicines.
Coding in sports medicine generally uses sports-specific coding systems rather than the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), because of superior applicability to the profile of injury and illness presentations in sport. New categories for coding were agreed on in the ‘International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement: Methods for recording and reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sports 2020.’ We explain the process for determining the new categories and update both the Sport Medicine Diagnostic Coding System (SMDCS) and the Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System (OSIICS) with new versions that operationalise the new consensus categories. The author group included members from an expert group attending the IOC consensus conference. The primary authors of the SMDCS (WM) and OSIICS (JO) produced new versions that were then agreed on by the remaining authors using expert consensus methodology. The SMDCS and OSIICS systems have been adjusted and confirmed through a consensus process to align with the IOC consensus statement to facilitate translation between the two systems. Problematic areas for defining body part categories included the groin and ankle regions. For illness codes, in contrast to the ICD, we elected to have a taxonomy of ‘organ system/region’ (eg, cardiovascular and respiratory), followed by an ‘aetiology/pathology’ (eg, environmental, infectious disease and allergy). Companion data files have been produced that provide translations between the coding systems. The similar structure of coding underpinning the OSIICS and SMDCS systems aligns the new versions of these systems with the IOC consensus statement and also facilitates easier translation between the two systems. These coding systems are freely available to the sport and exercise research community.
… The question is, How on earth are we supposed to deliver on all this promise? It’s one thing to talk onstage about the benefits of microbiome-based eating or reinventing the restaurant loyalty program. It’s quite another to convince the mainstream these operations actually do what they say, are based on sound science, and, most important, responsibly handle all that user data required to create truly personalized experiences.
Are we there yet? No. The next steps for food personalization need to be around investing in the infrastructure to scale these technologies and, for investors, funding the kinds of companies that treat both users and their data with the utmost respect.
… “The easiest way to frame it is an unwillingness to consider — let alone listen — to anybody who isn’t widely known by the hiring manager, whether it’s the GM, the [assistant] GM, owner, or whoever is running the search,” Glasberg said. “Which I think is selling themselves short. Why wouldn’t you want to talk to as many qualified people as possible? Instead, most NHL teams have this ‘hire-a-friend’ mentality. I hear this from my guys all the time: ‘It’s not the best candidate that gets hired. It’s the candidate with the best network or who is the best known.’ That’s not how you build success. No company would ever be successful if they were just hiring people they knew.”
Since 2005, NHL teams have made 162 head coaching hires; the number is 152 for NBA, 126 for NFL and 121 for MLB. And the NHL leads the other leagues in retreads. Of NHL coaching hires in the past 15 years, 60% have previous head-coaching experience. That’s three out of every five hires.
If you don’t evolve, you die. That’s the dilemma that college soccer has faced for decades. Now, there is a chance for Men’s Division I soccer to make a change, and there is something you can do to help.
The most important moment for the growth of soccer in the United States this year will not happen on a field. It will happen with a vote in April at the 2020 NCAA Division I Council Meeting.
Legislation to modify the Men’s Division I Soccer season, also known as the 21st Century Model, is up for a vote before the NCAA. After being formally submitted to the NCAA in July of 2019 and receiving a clarifying edit in February of 2020, the bylaw amendment was officially added to the docket for the April vote.
It’s midway through the fourth quarter of a tie game in Boston, and Jayson Tatum is smelling blood. As he accelerates down the right wing, he spots a dream scenario for any elite wing scorer in 2020: a scrambled Houston Rockets defense running to match up, leaving nobody on the second line of defense. The proverbial “wall” every coach begs their team to build to stop great players in the open floor was nowhere to be found.
What happened next was a flashpoint moment in NBA tactical history. It explains why the Rockets’ small-ball approach is so successful, why Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker deserve far more appreciation than they’ll ever get, and how the unique demands of the modern game have changed the way teams successfully protect the rim.
University of South Florida, The Oracle student newspaper, Nolan Brown from
… USF coach Bob Butehorn is one of the outspoken proponents of change in the structure of men’s college soccer.
“It’s a critical time in the college game,” Butehorn said. “If we can get this split-season model to be accepted and understand it’s the movement toward the 21st century of our game, I think it’ll be a great thing for everybody involved, especially the college soccer game.”
Aside from restructuring the season, the model proposes changes that would also improve the overall experience of college soccer athletes by emphasizing wellness and making sure the athletes spend the least amount of time away from the classroom as possible.