Applied Sports Science newsletter – August 27, 2020

Applied Sports Science news articles, blog posts and research papers for August 27, 2020

 

Why does Lionel Messi want to leave Barcelona? How the perfect football relationship broke down

FourFourTwo, Conor Pope from

… Messi has publicly rebuked statements from inside the club twice over the past few months, on whether the players had a role to play in manager Ernesto Valverde’s sacking, and whether they were prepared to take pay cuts to ease financial pressures caused by coronavirus.

It has led to a widespread belief there is a rift between Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and their star player. With Bartomeu facing a re-election campaign next summer, a narrative grew that Messi’s future depended on the outcome of that ballot. It seems now that election did not come soon enough. Not great for Bartomeu’s hopes.

Then there’s stories of dressing room unhappiness. Messi reportedly wanted the club to sign Antoine Griezmann last year – which they did, at eye-watering expense. Now, it’s claimed, the two don’t get on, following an inconsistent debut season from the £120m Frenchman. Perhaps Messi is simply tired of reading what are supposedly his own thoughts in the media.


How Jaap Stam is applying his Manchester United days to FC Cincinnati’s 2020 MLS season

Cincinnati Enquirer, Pat Brennan from

… “You need to understand, when we played, the roster holds 20 players at the time when we played and from these 20 there were, like, two youngsters,” Stam said during a Sunday video-conference call. “So, a lot of the players that played in that season played in 62 or 63 games, maybe, in all competitions. (Sir Alex) Ferguson, the manager, didn’t change a lot. Occasionally he subbed certain players or gave certain players a rest but during the whole season, he stuck to his team and that’s a thing as well. There’s always, because people think a lot that with playing a lot of games you need to rotate the team every time but that’s not the case sometimes.


Tips for aspiring leaders – You don’t have to be “born with it”!

Sport Information Resource Centre SIRC (Canada) from

There is a tendency to assume that leaders are “born with it,” but as you will learn in this blog, anyone can be a leader. It comes down to your behaviours, which is great, because that is something that everyone can control.


How do we balance self-interest with fairness for others?

University of Chicago, UChicago News from

Human beings, like all living things, are driven by an innate sense of self-preservation. But humans have also built cities and governments, complex industries and lasting cultural institutions—none of which would be possible without long-term cooperation.

That sort of cooperation hinges not only on a desire for individual benefits, but a sense of communal fairness and what economists call social preferences.

A new study from University of Chicago cognitive neuroscientists offers a glimpse at how people weigh self-interest against fairness for others—and provides evidence that the former takes precedent over the latter.


Girls Running Book Review – A Guide for Young Female Runners

Runner's World, Becky Wade from

Written by Melody Fairchild (above, left) and Elizabeth Carey for middle and high school female runners—though parents, coaches, and male peers stand to gain, too—Girls Running provides a roadmap to a healthy and lasting relationship with self and sport that young endurance athletes have needed for years. Topics range from training and physiology to body image and puberty, with science, interviews, and real stories from real runners to support the findings.

Fairchild’s background as a star runner at the high school, college, and in the professional ranks, plus more than a decade of coaching and camp directing experience, uniquely positions her to discuss both the challenges facing female runners and the triumphs that are possible on the other side. And Carey, a former collegiate runner who was once coached by Fairchild at a summer camp, brings her journalistic training to the collaboration, as well as 17 years of coaching runners of all levels.

One week after the launch of Girls Running, Fairchild and Carey spoke with Runner’s World about the origins of the book, the process of writing it, and their hopes for its impact on female runners.


Exercise-Based Strategies to Prevent Muscle Injury in Male Elite Footballers: An Expert-Led Delphi Survey of 21 Practitioners Belonging to 18 Teams from the Big-5 European Leagues | SpringerLink

Sports Medicine journal from

Purpose

To define based on expert opinion and practical experience using a systematic and scientific approach, (1) the perceived most effective exercise-based strategies to prevent muscle injury in elite footballers; and, (2) when and how these exercise programs are prescribed based on the number of days between games i.e. implementation strategy.
Methods

A Delphi survey obtained opinions and assessed for agreement. Delphi respondents consisted of 21 experienced sports practitioners (12 ± 5.3 years in elite football and with an academic background) belonging to 18 teams from the Big-5 European football leagues; England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain. Three teams were represented collaboratively by two experts. The Delphi process involves sequential rounds each evolving based on the responses from the previous. The number of rounds is not pre-defined and continues until an agreement is either achieved or it is clear that no agreement will be reached. Frequency of responses was recorded where the agreement was sought (i.e. in closed questions) and an agreement was achieved if ≥ 13/18 (70%) respondents agreed. For open-ended questions, a qualitative content analysis was performed to identify recurring themes and when themes were specified by ≥ 13 (70%), these were also considered as reaching an agreement. Practitioners had the opportunity to raise concerns if they disagreed with the ‘agreement from recurrent themes’.
Results

There were four Delphi rounds (100% response for each round). Sprinting and High-Speed Running (HSR) focused exercises were agreed as most effective (perceived) to prevent muscle injuries. Eccentric exercise was perceived as the next most effective. It was agreed that sprinting and HSR be integrated into coaches training, and target 100% of players worst-case match scenario (e.g. volume, intensity) based on individual maximum speeds. Eccentric exercise was recommended to be implemented according to the context of the main football session and planned/actual sprinting and HSR content. It was agreed that eccentrics can be performed before or after training, context dependent. The day to perform specific sprinting and HSR or eccentric exercises depended on the proximity of previous and upcoming matches. Other exercises reaching agreement as ‘somewhat effective’ included concentric and isometric, horizontal and vertical plyometrics, coordination, core and dynamic flexibility in addition to core stability. No agreement was reached for multi-joint, resisted sprinting, kicking or agility exercises nor simultaneous single-leg strength and stability. Finally, no agreement was reached regarding programming variables e.g. sets, repetitions as deemed too contextual.
Conclusion

Regarding exercise-based strategies, particular importance agreed by the Delphi expert group was to focus on sprinting, HSR and eccentric exercises, integrated with a variety of other exercise modes which also carry some level of effectiveness in a multidimensional programme. Context was agreed to be key and decision-making about when to undertake/ how to prescribe exercise strategies to be made according to the content of normal football training and the proximity of matches. [full text]


Coffee stains inspire optimal printing technique for electronics

University of Cambridge, Research from

… Researchers, led by Tawfique Hasan from the Cambridge Graphene Centre of the University of Cambridge, with Colin Bain from the Department of Chemistry of Durham University, and Meng Zhang from School of Electronic and Information Engineering of Beihang University, studied the physics of ink droplets combining particle tracking in high-speed micro-photography, fluid mechanics, and different combinations of solvents.

Their solution: alcohol, specifically a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and 2-butanol. Using these, ink particles tend to distribute evenly across the droplet, generating shapes with uniform thickness and properties. Their results are reported in the journal Science Advances.

“The natural form of ink droplets is spherical – however, because of their composition, our ink droplets adopt pancake shapes,” said Hasan.

While drying, the new ink droplets deform smoothly across the surface, spreading particles consistently. Using this universal formulation, manufacturers could adopt inkjet printing as a cheap, easy-to-access strategy for the fabrication of electronic devices and sensors. The new inks also avoid the use of polymers or surfactants – commercial additives used to tackle the coffee ring effect, but at the same time thwart the electronic properties of graphene and other 2D materials.

Most importantly, the new methodology enables reproducibility and scalability – researchers managed to print 4500 nearly identical devices on a silicon wafer and plastic substrate. In particular, they printed gas sensors and photodetectors, both displaying very little variations in performance. Previously, printing a few hundred such devices was considered a success, even if they showed uneven behaviour.


The NBA bubble has rolled out some wild technology to help keep players, coaches, and staff COVID-free — including a $300 smart ring that can monitor biometric data

Business Insider, Lisa Eadicicco from

  • The NBA has since July been making use of technology as part of its health and safety measures, which have been successful so far: there have been zero COVID-19 cases among players since the season restarted in late July.
  • One optional tool the NBA is using is the Oura smart ring, a wearable device that can measure skin temperature and heart rate, among other metrics.
  • About 25% of the NBA bubble has been using the health-tracking Oura ring, a spokesperson told Business Insider.
  • Oura is one of several technologies being deployed. Players also use bluetooth thermometers, pulse oximeters, and smart wristbands to log their movements and vitals.

  • Toronto FC unveils app to help spot a soccer hidden gem

    CBC Sports, The Canadian Press, Neil Davidson from

    Toronto FC is hoping your phone will help unearth a soccer diamond in the rough.

    The Major League Soccer team is unveiling TFC Widenet, an app that evaluates young athletes six and up based on their speed and skills. In its present form, the free app will help TFC find kids who are fit and fast — and measure them against their own academy products.

    “It’s a pathway to become, potentially, a TFC player,” said Humza Teherany, chief technology and digital officer at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.


    Pre-med student-athletes get mentorship, guidance from Stanford group

    Stanford University, Stanford Medicine, Scope blog from

    When Jacie Lee Lemos tore her ACL during her freshman year at Stanford, she sought advice about how to keep her athletic and academic careers on track.

    As a varsity lacrosse player and a pre-med student, she had two different advisors, but they each were highly specialized; neither could help her create a master plan for the two equally important facets of her college career.

    With help from those advisors, as well as family and friends, Lemos successfully navigated her way through the injury to the ligament in her knee.

    The experience inspired her to co-found Athletes in Medicine at Stanford, a group that provides mentoring, guidance and support for undergraduate athletes who aspire to be physicians.


    Infectious Diseases Outbreak Management Tool for endurance mass participation sporting events: an international effort to counteract the COVID-19 spread in the endurance sport setting

    British Journal of Sports Medicine from

    The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable economic damage throughout the world in addition to a severe health crisis. Social distancing is the main preventative measure for person to person transmission of SARS CoV-2.1 This has essentially put a halt to all mass participation endurance sporting events, with road races, triathlons, cycling, Nordic skiing and rowing events being indefinitely postponed or cancelled. The benefits of endurance exercise have been widely demonstrated,2 therefore, the current halt has had significant health and social consequences worldwide. From a financial perspective, the economic impact on the endurance sport mass participation industry has also been catastrophic. Endurance events are estimated to generate over US$3 billion/year in the USA alone.3 Taking the example of road running, 17.6 million people registered for road running events in the USA in 2019.4 Endurance sports, thanks to the competition format, allow elite and amateur athletes to compete together, attracting large crowds of participants (e.g. Henley Royal Regatta, Vasaloppet, Gran Fondos, International Triathlon Union World Championship Grand Final). Therefore, the cessation of endurance events represents a huge societal loss.

    At some point, the pandemic will give way to isolated clusters of cases with no widespread community transmission and people will be able to return to mass participation sporting events.5 However, until there is a vaccine, a specific cure or wide-spread herd immunity, participation in endurance events will remain potentially unsafe and could be considered socially dangerous. COVID-19 has dramatically shifted the focus of medical directors to infectious threats, reflecting the concerns that endurance mass participation events can present specific public health challenges because of the gathering of large crowds for prolonged periods. Furthermore, such events often result in mixing of populations that travel to the competition destination from different parts of the world, thus are exposed to a different infectious risk (higher or lower) than the hosting local community.


    AIS backs athlete preventative healthcare model with scholarship program

    Australasian Leisure Management from

    Four students enrolled in the world-first Master of Applied Clinical Epidemiology (MACE) course at the University of Canberra (UC) are set to benefit from a new Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship program.

    Earlier this year, the AIS and the University announced they had joined to develop the MACE course, a unique academic program designed to provide health professionals with the skills and insight to optimise elite human health and performance.

    The course is co-designed with Australia’s leading practitioners in the area of performance health program implementation in response to an emerging professional development priority.


    Canadian student athletes will no longer be tested for cannabis

    The GrowthOp, Sam Riches from

    “The CCES has long advocated for the removal of cannabis from the WADA Prohibited List, and the legalization of cannabis in Canada reflects a shifting societal view of how to manage cannabis education and harm reduction”


    NCAA Expects Decision on College Basketball Start by Mid-September

    Front Office Sports, Torrey Hart from

    … “As we prepare for the 2020-21 college basketball season, we have exercised patience and discipline in monitoring the effects of COVID-19 and making decisions regarding the season. We have learned a great deal over the course of the summer, and with health and safety being our priority, we have developed and studied contingency plans for alternatives to the scheduled Nov. 10 start date,” NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement.

    “By mid-September, we will provide direction about whether the season and practice start on time or a short-term delay is necessitated by the ongoing pandemic,” he said.


    COVID-19 has laid bare flaws in the youth sports governance model. Each state has a federation to guide school-based sports, but nothing for community sports.

    Twitter, Aspen Inst Sports from

    Providers are forced to turn to overwhelmed public health departments not steeped in sports.

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