… [Marcus] Elliott, a Harvard-trained physician who previously led the first sports science departments in the NFL (New England Patriots) and in MLB (Seattle Mariners), had evaluated McCollum at P3 and hasn’t been surprised by the guard’s success—even if he understands the basis of those pre-draft assessments. “McCollum is our classic kinematic mover,” Elliott says. “These are athletes that are completely under the radar most of the time, they don’t wow you with anything. But everything works right. They have an answer for every job, every situation.”
Tonight, the NBA will hold its annual draft in a virtual format (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), turning lottery picks into instant millionaires and setting franchises on different trajectories that will ultimately be traced back to the scouting and decision-making processes. Front offices, finally, are relying more on data than eyeball tests.
“Everyone knows these things can be done smarter,” says Elliott, noting that even five years ago only the most innovative teams were interested in new, advanced data streams. But now? “It’s just accepted. All the teams are interested in this data at either a high level or at least a moderate level.”
Champion's Mind, G.O.A.T. Food blog, Jim Afremow from
Tennis is technically an individual sport, but at the high school and college level, most players are part of a team and even singles specialists compete in doubles. In this continued conversation with 2017 NCAA champion Brienne Minor, she shares how she contributed to University of Michigan’s squad, the comradery between her and teammate Kate Fahey that took them all the way to the Division I title game, and how setting a secret goal helped her reach the pinnacle of collegiate tennis.
Speed Coach Erskine Baker Jr., currently in Essen, Germany, has seen it all. After an athletic career in the NFL and then as an American Football and T&F coach, he takes his speed coaching to the pitch; he currently works with women’s professional club SGS Essen, among other teams and individuals. We talk about speed, sprint rehab, developing the energy (aerobic vs. anaerobic) systems, who we are learning from, and why there are no secrets in this business. [video, 1:03:23]
University of South Carolina, UofSC News & Events from
… The Arnold School’s athletic training program, offering two master’s degree options, has a reputation of excellence in preparing students to work as athletic trainers in a variety of clinical settings, while the exercise science program prepares students for entry into a wide range of health-related graduate and professional programs.
“To have our exercise science and athletic training programs recognized as tops in the U.S., along with our physical education and sport management programs, is quite an accomplishment,” says Tom Chandler, dean of the Arnold School. “This is the second 5-year period that the best ‘sports science university’ rankings have been in existence, and we (UofSC) remain at the top! Very exciting, indeed.”
Understanding that there is poor compliance to the 11+ injury prevention program universally, @FigtreePhysio
and colleagues set about modifying the 11+ program to see if they could make a dif…
PLOS One; Johannes Istvan Rydsa and Roland van den Tillaar from
The aim of the study was to examine the acute effect of different lower limb wearable resistance on placement (shank vs thigh) and various loads (1−5% of body mass) upon change of direction (COD) ability. Twelve male soccer players (age: 23.3 ± 2.5 years; height: 179.2 ± 7.4 cm; body mass: 78.3 ± 7.1 kg) performed a change of direction test with different additional loads fixed on either the shank or thigh. Measurement consisted of total time, 90° and 45° split times. large effects of the different wearable resistance placement (p<0.05) and load (p<0.001) were found for total and split change of direction time performance. Change of direction times were higher with shank loading compared with thigh loading. It was concluded that lower limb wearable resistance loading with different loads had an acute effect upon change of direction performance in male soccer players. Furthermore, that distal placement (shank vs thigh) with similar body mass load had a larger effect upon COD performance. [full text]
Levels today is announcing a large seed round to help bring its biowearable metabolic sensor to market. The innovative platform pairs continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with an impressive software suite to provide the wearer with deep insights about their health. The company’s founders strongly feel that this approach helps users close the loop between food, exercise and well-being.
Levels provides actionable health information by constantly monitoring the wearer’s blood sugar using proven technology. This isn’t a wearable worn around the wrist; Levels uses medical hardware that’s attached to the wearer’s arm for two weeks. It sounds scarier than it is. I have one on right now, and it’s painless.
Adidas has formed a formal partnership with Berlin-based leAD Sports & Health Tech accelerator, which is backed by the family of Adidas founder Adi Dassler and supports start-ups.
The partnership will focus on driving innovation in the sports and health tech space. This could include possibilities for identifying and researching promising areas within the industry as well as creating new opportunities for startup pilots and case studies, co-investments and product development.
The targeted diagnosis and effective treatments of chronic skin wounds remain a healthcare burden, requiring the development of sensors for real-time monitoring of wound healing activity. Herein, we describe an adaptable method for the fabrication of carbon ultramicroelectrode arrays (CUAs) on flexible substrates with the goal to utilize this sensor as a wearable device to monitor chronic wounds. As a proof-of-concept study, we demonstrate the electrochemical detection of three electroactive analytes as biomarkers for wound healing state in simulated wound media on flexible CUAs. Notably, to follow pathogenic responses, we characterize analytical figures of merit for identification and monitoring of bacterial warfare toxin pyocyanin (PYO) secreted by the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We also demonstrate the detection of uric acid (UA) and nitric oxide (NO•), which are signaling molecules indicative of wound healing and immune responses, respectively. The electrochemically determined limit of detection (LOD) and linear dynamic range (LDR) for PYO, UA, and NO• fall within the clinically relevant concentrations. Additionally, we demonstrate the successful use of flexible CUAs for quantitative, electrochemical detection of PYO from P. aeruginosa strains and cellular NO• from immune cells in the wound matrix. Moreover, we present an electrochemical examination of the interaction between PYO and NO•, providing insight into pathogen–host responses. Finally, the effects of the antimicrobial agent, silver (Ag+), on P. aeruginosa PYO production rates are investigated on flexible CUAs. Our electrochemical results show that the addition of Ag+ to P. aeruginosa in wound simulant decreases PYO secretion rates.
With the start of winter sports on the horizon, the ACC has updated its policies for how student-athletes participating in winter sports will be tested for COVID-19 throughout the season.
The report from the ACC’s Medical Advisory Group specifically addresses “enhanced safety standards and testing measures in basketball, wrestling and low transmission risk sports.”
It calls for all team members and those in close contact with the teams in men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling to be tested three times each week on non-consecutive days. One molecular (PCR) test must be administered within three days of the first test of the week.
Starting this Saturday, all NFL teams must operate under the league’s intensive COVID-19 protocols for the remainder of this season, according to a league memo sent to teams Wednesday afternoon and obtained by ESPN.
Requirements under the intensive protocols, which 28 of the league’s 32 teams have already experienced at some point this season, include virtual team meetings and the wearing of masks by all players and staff at all times while at the facility, including during practice.
“It has been said many times that our 2020 season cannot be ‘normal’ because nothing about this year is normal,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in the memo. “Flexibility and adaptability have been critical to our success to date and we must continue with that approach.”
The famed architect of Red Sox and Cubs championship teams announced Tuesday that he’s leaving Chicago. Now comes the wait to find out his next position—and the effect it could have on the baseball world.
… Last year, when I asked Robbie Earle about the implication of the Premier League’s massive economic clout on the lower leagues, whether the big TV deals had provided a “trickle-down effect” of sorts, he said he’d like to think so. The former Port Vale and Wimbledon man emphasized how the lower league clubs should have a relationship with the rich clubs, largely through promoting the use of youth players to sell on for a large fee. “I was at Port Vale,” Robbie recollected, “fortunately I got spotted…and ended up playing in the Premier League, and that’s where the trickle-down effect should come from.” Robbie mentions how difficult it is to break through now at a club like Chelsea, but that smaller clubs can provide access to first-team action for youth academy graduates.
The problem is that the game doesn’t quite work out that way. Not only are lower league clubs more worried about remaining afloat as institutions than developing a few young stars, with nothing more than a lifejacket shared from the top, but a vast majority of the high-value transfers to PL sides come from overseas, and many high-potential academy players are pried away by the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea before commanding a high fee. Even if the Football League were rewarded for their players properly, the big clubs would still amass the greatest revenue possible and attract the most ambitious billionaires in the world. Unless a small club miraculously made it to the Premier League for a sustained period, they are at a severe disadvantage and less likely to attract a monied owner.
