Author: Will G Hopkins
Translation: Liu Hongyou
Source: Bende Fast Football Science and Performance
The 9th International Conference on Science and Football (WCSF) was held in Melbourne in early June. The WCSF Conference is held every 4 years. The first session has been 36 years since then. It is the largest and longest historical conference among football science conferences. The conference covered all football codes, "Soccer/Association football" was translated as "football", "Australian Rules Football" was translated as " Australian Rules ", "America Football" was translated as "American Football", "Rugby Union" was translated as "United Nations Rugby", and "Gaelic Football" was translated as "Gaelic Football". Chinese scholars participating in this conference include Professor Wang Peilin, Associate Professor Liu Hongyou and Huang Zhanyu.
Conference Committee commissioned Professor Will Hopkins to write a post-conference report for the entire conference. The report is divided into 6 parts: (1) Sports injury, (2) Competition and sports analysis, (3) Material selection and youth training, (4) Testing and technology, (5) Training intervention, (6) Others.
1. Athletic injury
In the first study to explore the impact of sports injuries on team performance, through an analysis of 20 years of Australian rugby games and more than 15,000 sports injuries, it was found that the sports injury burden of playoff teams was small- to medium levels lower than that of non-playoff teams, especially after weighted players' value. Avoid damage! [Daniel Hoffman, Australia]
In a study of 734 players in the U10 to U15 age group in seven Belgian football academies, "the machine learning algorithm is able to correctly identify 92% of (potential) injuries based on body morphological indicators, physical fitness test indicators and physical coordination test indicators measured early in the season," it also accurately classifies injuries as overuse or acute injuries. The results of this study are clearly applicable to the "development and improvement of injury prevention strategies". [Nikki Rommers, Netherlands ]
On the other hand, 48 professional league-style rugby players had only 36 contactless soft tissue injuries in a season, "I'm skeptical of the connections that recognize training or lack of training through machine learning." [Cloe Cummins, Australia]. Judge's comment: The predictive performance of the model is only slightly higher than accidental, much lower than the accuracy required in a practical environment.
In her opening keynote speech, Caroline Finch [Australia] introduced her various frameworks for implementing sports injury prevention strategies: TRIPP (Translating Research into Injury-Prevention Practice) and TIP (Team-sport Injury Prevention). Specifically, they are equivalent to RE-AIM (Reach the people who need to know about it with an Effective program that is Adopted, Implemented and Maintained by the people who need to use it). She launched FootyFirst in community-level Australian football, a special warm-up program similar to FIFA 11+. The club sports injury rate in the experimental group decreased by 22%, while the control group and other clubs in the state increased by 13-24%. Coach replacement is an important factor in the ability to persist in the injury prevention program, so it is very important to try to make the injury prevention program a part of the club culture.
To reduce the high risk of knee injury in team sports for female athletes, 27 experts have advised on elements of the neuromuscular training program for female Australian rugby players. Most elements are similar to FIFA 11+, while the special preparation and education of Australian rugby are unique components. [Andrea Bruder, Australia, Youth Researcher Award Winner]
With the efforts of a multidisciplinary team at a league-style rugby academy, the burden of athletic injury in 40 players in one season was 41% lower than the previous baseline season. [Jason Tee, UK]
conducted a controlled trial of young female football players (ages 10-16) for a 12-week warm-up program (39 people in the experimental group, 28 people in the control group - why are they not doing FIFA 11+?), and the backsquat ability of the experimental group was enhanced, so it may reduce the risk of sports injury.[Elena Isla Paredes, Spain]
Through a meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trial studies of impairment reduction strategies (such as FIFA 11+, etc.) for female football players, the rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury was reduced by 45% and the overall injury was reduced by 26%. [Benjamin Mentiplay, Australia]
"Our systematic review study shows that there is only limited scientific evidence to support exercise (exercise) as an effective strategy for preventing muscle injuries in elite football. I think researchers may have placed too much emphasis on risk of bias. They have found reasonable evidence in other ways that the benefits of centrifugal exercises, proprioceptive exercises and multidimensional factors for injury prevention programs." [Maurizio Fanchini, Italy]
In a one-season study of three professional Australian rugby teams, “there was no significant difference in Nordic strength before the season (p 0.05).” There were few players who had hamstring injuries, but all injured players had better hamstring strength than the cutoff values identified in previous studies. This finding emphasizes the need for caution when applying preventive intervention studies that determine the threshold value of one population to another. [Nigel Smith, Australia]
Through the injury analysis of the Australian Rugby Elite Youth Games in 2009-11 and 2015-17 (1334 injuries to 1,060 players), the risk of new injuries increased by a small percentage (1.2 times), but the concussion showed a very large increase (3.2 times), possibly due to the increase in case reports. The risk of recurrent injury and groin injury has been reduced. "The concussion needs to be further studied." [Samuel Chalmers, Australia]
cohort tracking of 12 young female football players for a season (3 months) showed that athletes did not head in training, with an average of 0.34 headers per athlete per game (between 0 and 6). Given the small sample size of the study, the range of repetitive effects of headers on the head, and the current concern about concussion, it remains to be seen whether this frequency is worth downplaying to "extremely low" by researchers. [Victoria Wahlquist, USA]
One way to alleviate the impact of heading on the head is to strengthen the neck strength. A systematic review of five observational studies showed that strengthening neck strength reduces the head's acceleration ability. [Kerry Peek, Australia]. Judging from the results of the controlled trials of two women’s youth soccer teams, the intervention part of a training program on the online coaching program (Get a HEAD Safely in Soccer) focusing on neck size and neck/trunk strength is a way to strengthen neck strength. [Thomas Kaminski, USA]
In an Australian football academy, a high proportion (about 40%) of players (ages 8-15 years old) show physical strength asymmetry, which is a risk factor for sports injury. [Kerry Peek, Australia]
study of 78 football players showed that limb asymmetry in functional tests 1 year after ACL reconstruction was associated with a large increase in the risk of osteoarthritis worsening after 5 years (2.1 to 3.7 times). “Improving limb symmetry after an ACL injury may be important to reduce the burden on athletes after ACL reconstruction.” [Brooke Patteson, Australia]. In another related abstract of the research team, the strength of the posterior eccentric knee flexor muscle in the anterior cruciate ligament surgery lasted for up to 10 years. [Andrea Bruder, Australia]
Researchers compiled 24 cases of gastrocnemius injury before the occurrence of a game from videos of football clubs or international competitions in Germany and the UK between 2011 and 18. “These data support the idea that gastrocnemius injury is caused by athletes’ exercise patterns as a result of a non-systematic game pattern variation.” [Ida Bo Steendahl, Germany]
During two seasons of training for 47 semi-professional football players, the high-speed running distance of “acute” or “chronic” (average over the previous 7 or 28 days) was associated to a small-medium (1.39-1.74 times) with an increased risk of non-contact lower limb injury.[Tim Massard, Australia] But does this mean that reducing high-speed running can be an option to reduce the risk of injury?
In two prospective cohort studies of elite adolescent Australian rugby players, dysfunctional exercise in functional exercise screening “is not related to exercise injury”. The correct interpretation is that this association remains unclear: both confidence intervals in both studies allow for moderate to large increase and reduced risk of injury. The association between asymmetric exercise and injury observed in the first study was not observed in the second study, highlighting the “importance of repeated studies in rugby research.” Well, yes, but more importantly, the final meta-analysis of multiple studies. [Joel Fuller, Australia]
In another study by the same research team, the sample size of 809 elite teenage Australian rugby players in four seasons was more reasonable. They believe that “there is no functional exercise screening score threshold that can effectively identify all-cause or non-contact injury risks”. [Emma Moore, Australia]
However, a meta-analysis of the effects of functional sports screening scores on injury risk showed that “scores are more useful in adult athletes than in predicted youth athletes. But the effect volume is often small except for rugby, hockey and American football.” [Emma Moore, Australia] So why is there almost no effect in American football?
2. Match and Sports Analysis
Several machine learning models used 152 variables to predict the results of elite Australian rugby in 2013-2017. Among them, the best-performing model predicted the accuracy of the 2018 season match results slightly better than that of bookmakers (74% vs 71%). "The measurement of team strength (based on team ratings and player ratings) are the two most important variables in the prediction. The second is the availability of the top ten players in the league. The three indicators are added to the model in the form of relative values of the match team and opponents. The effect of adding the model to the original value is better than the original value." [Jack Fahey Gilmour, Australia]
uses the analysis of game video to quantify how world-class football players use visual exploration behavior to scan the field environment: "Players are more successful in exploring (watching back and scan the surroundings) more often, and can complete more penetrating forward passes." Conclusion: "Football players should attach great importance to the development of visual exploration behavior in daily training." [Geir Jordet, Norway ]
in Geir In his thematic report by Jordet [Norway], he predicts changes in the relationship between applied psychology and the following areas of football: complex game indicators, cognitive training, simulation techniques, coaching as a psychologist, and all the above integration with other areas of athletic performance analysis. An example of a game metric is the athlete's sacrificing (visual exploration) surroundings within seconds before the ball catches: it is a predictor of a successful forward pass, but there are 10 measurable sacrificing behaviors that can take a long time to enter manually. He hopes to be automatically encoded in real time through vectors in the video to indicate where the athlete's head is turning. Virtual reality used for training, especially after an athlete is injured, is another development: athletes like it, but the extent to which it translates to actual performance remains unclear.
"Increasingly, there is a lot of evidence that the development of visual exploration should become the top priority in the application practice of team sports projects." In fact, this study of 48 male football players using inertial measurement units to quantify visual exploration behaviors, including match positions, court areas and game periods, have an impact on athletes' saccade behavior. [Thomas McGuckian, Australia]
In the future data analysis keynote on football’s “high technology”, Sam Robertson [Australia] proposed the following points: We now obtain a large amount of data from wearable technology and other technologies, and the analysis of it is necessary; there is currently a lack of high-skilled analysts capable of implementing on-site analysis (students, be aware); Data analytics and analysts can go beyond expert opinions in talent identification and injury prevention. In his opinion, the theoretical basis of analytics is still weak, and analytics requires big strides in team-level performance indicators.
analyzes the 6 European Champions League matches in the 2018-19 season. The relative position of each player is tracked through indicators such as space, number of people and position, showing that the Barcelona Football Club is clearly different from the opponent's team. But this is an ongoing work. [Angel Ric, Spain] Another promising study on
is to construct a one-on-one offensive and defensive model from a dynamic perspective that identifies seven different dribbling past scenarios for FC Barcelona. [Lukas Brink, Spain]
Analysis of team coordination patterns in game videos of different age groups of FC Barcelona found that an unusual parallel relationship between the "passion for width" of FC Barcelona and the "forgiveness shown by the Catalan Gothic architecture in the 17th century promotes the equal enthusiasm for co-creation and sharing of spaces". [James Vaughan, Sweden/Australia]
According to the area covered by the four closest players in the six matches of the German Youth Football League (indicators reflecting the "pressure" of the pass-and-received ball), "the stadium size of the 4v4 small field match in training should be set between 450-500 m2 to meet the game needs." [Andreas Prof. Hohmann, Germany]. Some factors that affect passing and receiving pressure at different match levels can be found in the relevant summary. [Micha Dr. Pietzonka, Germany]
"In the oppression scenario, the defense will coordinate their behavior to increase the likelihood of regaining the ball." Analysis of position data for 48 matches of the German Football League One shows that "the higher speed of the two closest defenders is associated with a more successful regaining of the ball (not specified level of correlation)." [Jan-Paul deJong, Netherlands]
Analysis of player tracking data in nine matches of a Dutch Football League One team showed that successful passes in offensive zone three were related to the destructiveness of the defenders' spatial organization, but the summary did not show "how tactics can destroy the opponent's spatial organization." I missed the speech. [Floris Goes, Netherlands]
The research team analyzed the tracking data of all 22 players and balls in 82 professional football games, and the results showed that the comprehensive spatio-temporal measure of the defense players can predict the number of shots on the goal. [Matthias Kempe, Netherlands]
"Perturbations (any action that disrupts game stability) are associated with success for both men and women's rugby teams...Doess footwork is the most common perturbation." [James Barkell, Australia]
I can't pretend I understand this summary, but it seems that this is a valuable machine learning practice that answers the question of the expected optimal number of passes through data from the Australian Rugby League athlete tracking system for two seasons. [Bartholomew Spencer, Australia]
In football matches, simulating collective behavior seems like a valuable job. [Mathieu Feigean, Switzerland]
It is difficult to understand this abstract, but it seems that the authors measure the athletic performance indicators in football and the research is underway. [Hiroshi Yamada, Japan]
attacks using the gap between opponent's defenders and midfielders are more likely to get a scoring chance. This summary details 64 matches between the German Football Youth League and the Adult League. [Kensuke Suzuki, Japan]
studied the position data of a semi-professional women's league rugby team in a three-day tournament through hierarchical clustering analysis, and the results showed that "greater synchronization may have a negative impact on defense, resulting in a lack of tactical flexibility in trying to adapt to opponents." [Kathleen Shorter, UK]
clustering analysis method defines three styles of matches in 360 games in a season in the English Premier League. The game style changes according to the strength of the opponent. [Stuart Gollan, Australia]
After analyzing 24,249 corner kicks and 6,772 crosses in the European high-level football league, the author believes that "the athlete's height and weight have a slight and meaningless to moderate impact on the relevant indicators of the high-altitude ball competition."The results can "help teams prepare better for winning high-altitude ball scrambles by players standing on the court at different moments of the game." [Rui Marcelino, Portugal]
Through an analysis of 461 shots in the 2018 World Cup, "The following may help the goalkeeper complete the task of defending the goal: When the shot comes from a long distance, the goalkeeper is better to take a stepping posture; when the shot starts from close range, the goalkeeper should take a convenient position to fall." [Keita Matsukura, Japan]
After analyzing 697 shots in the Australian Football League, the authors concluded: "Although it is more difficult to execute, for the striker, it is more likely to score a goal based on the goalkeeper rather than the goal position." [Scott Peterson, Australia]
I think it is no surprise, "In the 1106 shooting analysis of the World Cup football game, if there are fewer players in front of you (including opponents), then it may be easier to score". [Masao Nakayama, Japan]
researchers have proposed a football model that “matches the shooter with the goalkeeper to determine the best shooting strategy for a specific game situation.” The basis of this model is not explained in the summary. "Generally speaking, a quick shot close to the ground is most likely to succeed. For goalkeepers who tend to move ahead, aiming at the center of the goal is the best strategy. For a goalkeeper who prefers to move late, shooting to the 4 corners of the goal is the best strategy." [Andrew Hunter, Australia]
The factor that affects three levels of Australian rugby 29,153 field kicks is described in some doubt as "constraints" (e.g., physical stress causes a decrease in kick efficiency). "A multivariate analysis shows the 10 most confident rules in each level [?]" [Peter Browne]
's study of simulated match movements of 12 athletes in the Australian Rugby B Division showed that "the number of kicks can be accurately calculated under match-like conditions using inertial measurement devices." [S. Ellens, Australia]
"Our results demonstrate that there are significant differences in the hip mechanical characteristics of the support foot of the inaccurate and accurate rugby kickers", indicating that "hook movement may be important for accurate kicks." [Alexandra C. Atack, UK]
In an analysis of 11,800 kicks in professional British League rugby, “the winning teams played more, especially those completed by the scrimmage forwards, but their successful kicks were also relatively more frequent”. [Neil Bezodis, UK]
Conclusion after biomechanical analysis of rugby kicking movements: "The best hitting position for kicking a long distance ball is the closest to the abdomen of the ball." [Riccardo Michelini, Germany]
The side volley of the football is an aerial kicking technique that creates "stunning moments and precious memories for players and fans... Given the rareness of players mastering this skill, we only obtained 12 kicks from 3 subjects" to analyze the factors that affect the quality of this kicking technique. These factors include the flexibility of the hip, the efficiency of whip-like movement of the kick leg, and the damping mechanism when falling. [Gongbing Shan, Canada/China]
In a season of the Chinese Football Association Super League, the situational factors (home and away games, team and opponent's strength) mainly affect the team's technical performance, and only have a small meaningless impact on physical performance, while environmental factors (air humidity, temperature and air quality index) mainly affect the team's physical performance, and only have a small meaningless or small impact on technical performance. [Zhou Changjing, oral report was completed by Liu Hongyou, China]
In five women's elite Australian rugby games, multiple game situational factors had a substantial or slightly meaningless impact on the measurement indicators of the GPS. [Rhearne Ryan, Australia]
In a special talk, Grant Duthie [Australia/Japan], “a sports scientist who combines with coaching and sports” (his words, no abstract), talks about understanding the value of sports intensity distribution in rugby games, bringing training tasks closer to the game. And, “Players with poor physical fitness will drag down other players.”
Quantitative analysis of 30-subscription elite and elite professional rugby players during the maximum exercise intensity phase (duration 5s-10min) in the game through GPS equipment with built-in accelerometer. The data can be used to develop and monitor training plans for specific durations and locations beyond the maximum exercise intensity phase of the game. ”[Samuel Howe, Australia]. Similar data from 44 elite young women’s football players [Stacey Emmonds, UK] and 44 Australian Football League A players in three seasons [Bradley Thoseby, Ben Dascombe, Australia] have been shown.
Authors quantified “key performance indicators of technical needs for Australian rugby teams” through pre-season training, 5 weeks of pre-season games, and the first five weeks of competitive season. [Joshua Stein, Australia]
There are significant positional differences in the accelerometer and GPS indicators among male athletes in the elite Gaelic Football League and Championship. [Declan Gamble, Northern Ireland]
Read this summary [Jason Berry, USA] to learn about the differences in player running in three levels of American football. Here is a similar study [Bill Burghardt, United States]: In youth training colleges, college students' first-tier leagues and national-level American football, "the intensity of the game is higher than that of training."
III. Selection and youth training
18 elite youth football players of the national team. The cumulative scores of physical, technical and tactical tests are higher than those of the 24 elite youth football players of the provincial team. Are there any stronger talent identification variables at such a high level? Personal test scores are obviously valuable for talent development. Researchers only add all scores of each test, so the discriminant effectiveness of the cumulative score is not the illusion of the gradual superposition process of small sample sizes. [Brad Keller, Australia]
by Fabio Hosted by Serpiello [Australia], by Warren Gregson [UK], Jason Berry [United States] and Antonio An experienced expert group composed of Figeuiredo [Portugal] discusses football youth training. The following point of view emerges... Parental expectations have led to early specialization of youth training systems, but success stories of early specialization (such as Tiger Woods, Williams sisters) are rare. At the same time, there are many examples of top athletes from multiple sports or other sports backgrounds that can be used for educational advocacy. Early specialization has led to increased sports injury and exit rates. Because This keeps open to the specialty as long as possible. Participating in other sports throughout the career development can extend the athlete's career. Brazilian 's youth training system failed because it is too standardized and structured - it needs to become more "chaotic" (English messy, homophonic with the last name of Argentine star Messi ). In Portugal, football clubs are introducing other sports (in youth players training) in part to develop football technology. Kids love it, but parents and coaches need to be convinced. Maturity may be worthy of being measured to predict the child’s adult height and thus favors specialization of competition positions, but it is not clear how best to develop training for peak growth age (besides avoiding excessive loading). Bio-banding (Bio-banding, grouping children by maturity rather than by age for training and competition) may have unexpected consequences in reducing challenges, which will benefit the development of late-developed children.
The Hungarian researcher’s view on the elite football academy is that “a concentrated, scientifically-based, age- and position-based testing system helps players’ long-term performance development” and that you need “many legal qualifications” experts. Maybe, but don't forget Messi. [David Zalai, Hungary]
"Athletic Skills Model" is a talent development program for Dutch football, aiming to combine early and late specialization "by engaging young athletes in organized and diverse training programs." [GeertSavelsbergh, Netherlands]
A qualitative case study of British Football Academic College found that “joining a Academic College is neither good nor bad in itself, but has potential in both directions."The advantage is better health, stress and recovery levels compared to the European average; the disadvantage is higher sports injury rates. [Fieke Rongen, UK]
In another qualitative case study of the Australian Football Academic Training Academy, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the implementation of the player assessment system. "In order for the player assessment system to be effective, all stakeholders must ensure that the system is player-centric, with players setting, feedback and directing the [!]'Player-Coach-Parents' Meeting. "KaseyParadis, Australia]
Eight elite football coaches have proposed the skill requirements for six positions (goalkeeper, centre-back, full-back/front, defensive midfielder, offensive midfielder and forward). The researchers have combined these combinations into tools that are conducive to coaches and players' development through Work Domain Analysis (Work Domain Analysis, a method for human factor systems analysis). [Elise Berber, Australia]
divided 40 elite young female football players into two groups with the median psychological toughness score as the critical value, and the high-resilience group scored higher (small-large degree differences) in various football-specific physical fitness and skill tests. "Assessing the psychological toughness level of young female football players may provide more useful information for coaches during talent identification and selection. "[Wang Peilin, China]
"Structured the scouts program can reduce bias and lead to more accurate player recommendations" is the conclusion of this controlled trial consisting of 18 male scouts. These scouts were divided into structured group (n=9) and unstructured group (n=9). Watch three videos of three advanced players in the adult profession, and evaluate the three indicators considered essential by the club: forward pass ratio, interception success rate and confrontation success rate. Scouts in the unstructured group scored based on their impression of the players' overall performance, while scouts in the structured group performed each individual indicator. The overall score is obtained after the scout. Comparison of scout scores with the objective performance scores of each player obtained by the count analysis (i.e., reference criteria). The structured group ranked the player scores and the accuracy of identifying the best players were better than the unstructured group. [WouterFrencken, Netherlands] What is the development pathway for becoming Socceroo (a member of the Australian national football team) in the era of 2003-2014? This mixed method (qualitative-quantitative) study found that “the players started training at a young age (5 years old), supported by family members, and spent most of their time in unstructured training. There is strong connection with local clubs and many follow the common football route in Australia until they go overseas. ”[Paul Larkin, Australia]
Relevance study of 144 young female football players from 14 UK teams shows that there is a medium to large correlation between perceptions of talent development environment, career aspirations and career intentions. “Creating perceptions that focus more positively on long-term development may be beneficial.” ”[Adam Gledhill, UK]
If your youth football player may go to a professional club abroad, this comprehensive research project in Malta, consisting of three qualitative studies, shows that you can intervene to relieve the pressure on player transition. [Adele Muscat, Malta/UK]
A qualitative case study shows that new players (16 of 19 players participated in the study) when integrating into an Australian women’s professional football club, “determine several convenience conditions that affect players’ sense of integration (such as social activities outside the club, common goals, communication transparency) and barrier conditions (such as factions, disturbed preseason, role acceptance). The link between integration and team cohesion is prominent, demonstrating the impact on team performance. [Dianna Lepore, Australia]
Using grounded theory to analyze how to attract and retain women in Australian rugby will be shown soon. For more information, please contact the author. [Sam Elliott, Australia] Best Australian Football League Speech
"One of the main sources of athletes' pressure is the transition when exiting sports." Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted on 10 female athletes who quit from elite Australian football and chose to return to the Asian elite competition rather than retire completely.“Choose to continue playing at lower levels can provide some protective factors such as friendship, structure and financial support.” [Deb Agnew, Australia]
10,000 hours theory! Twenty-six league rugby players who have entered professional form spent 6100±4000 (mean±std) hours in rugby games and 3100±1600 hours in rugby training, almost twice as much as other players. [Matthew Andrew, UK]
The rest of this section compares the performance of athletes with different development and/or skill levels in various tests…
compares 102 Norwegian footballers under the age of 14 based on competitive levels: Elite (26), Subelite (53) and Nonelite (23). There were expected differences in the fitness test (p 0.05), but “no differences were found in bone maturity, actual age, leg strength, weight or height.” No significant differences may be caused by too small sample size, but it may also indicate that elite and sub-elite coaches are carefully avoiding selecting only early-developing players. [Halvard Grendstad, Norway]
Comparing the coach ratings, agility, tactical skills and psychology of 114 football players under the age of 12, it was found that there was a "significant" difference between the players selected for the youth training academy of the Dutch Professional Football Club (not specified) and the unselected players. [G. J.P. Savelsbergh, Netherlands]
25 Japanese female A-level adult football players ran and accelerated more quickly in practice than 31 players under the age of 18. [Kenichi Shibukawa, Japan]
conducted three computer-based cognitive function tests on 316 football players from U12 to first teams of a German Football League club. It was found that the cognitive function of the players reached the platform at around the age of 21, and there were small differences between players at different positions (not saying whether it was a meaningful difference). [Adam Beavan, Germany/Australia] "People's Choice" Award Winner (Postrum)
Compared with 137 low-level players of the same age, 41 high-level players in the English Rugby Academy have the following characteristics: higher height, weight, strength and momentum. [Padraic J. Phibbs, UK]
"The current study identified the difference between passes and holds (in the test program) between three development-level players (88 in total) in the rugby league talent path." [Leesa Pearce, Australia]
In this study of the two teams, "there is a clinically relevant difference in physical fitness levels between elite adult and young female Australian rugby players, with better balance in adult players and stronger trunk muscle endurance. Position differences are almost non-existent." [Jessica Farley, Australia]
In another study on differences in competitive levels, 51 state female Australian rugby players had significant "significantly higher endurance levels, speed and agility" than 50 local A players. [Jade Haycraft, Australia]
This summary introduces the characteristics of performance tests from 85 athletes from three elite women's Australian rugby clubs. [Benjamin Mentiplay, Australia]
When completing the athletic video decision task, the 15 "genius identification" young Australian rugby players performed better than the 15 non-genius players in the amateur club. [Andrew Sharp, Australia]
IV. Test and Technology
When there is a nonlinear impact on dependent variables, such as training load on damage risk or player performance, this researcher demonstrates that using a cutting-edge continuous variable analysis method (regressive restrictive cubic spline) is a better choice, rather than as we did before: discrete (analyzed) the modified variables into different groups (for example, divided into six groups by quintiles). (Translator's Note: If you fail to understand some highly specialized statistical terms here, it is purely because the translator's level is not enough, nothing else) [David Carey, Australia]
If you want to predict the peak growth age of adolescent athletes by measuring the height, let the athlete sit on a box (40 cm tall body measurement box, 40 cmanthropometric box), instead of sitting on the ground.[Tim Massard, Australia]
review research paper shows that the definitions of high-speed running and sprint running in different studies are "very different". "Coaches and researchers should be more specific when monitoring and planning high-speed and sprint runs for elite athletes in team sports." [Brock Freeman, Australia]
researchers claim that in her three-year, monthly measurement of 17 teenage elite football players, none of the four equations predicting peak growth age is accurate. I (Hopkins) suspect that at least part of the problem is noise in standard measurements at peak growth, which seems to show widespread and potentially unrealistic fluctuations. [Nikki Rommers, Belgium/Netherlands]
When it is published in the journal, it is worth reading this systematic review of football speed tests to see which players best distinguish between different levels. However, there seems to be no data on the most important question: to what extent can these tests track changes in player and team performance metrics? [Stefan Altmann, Germany]
A high-intensity field aerobic interval training test is a good predictor of maximum oxygen intake for 19 elite male football players. [Juan C. Mazza, Argentina]
"Our new closed-skill dribble assessment (involving a curved dribble line, over 1,000 test evaluations were conducted in a Brazilian football academy) which is an effective and reliable test scheme for predicting the success rate of offensive and defensive performance for football players in 1-on-1 situations and can be used to identify talented young players." [Nicholas Smith, Australia]
Unfortunately, I have not heard a speech on a novel approach to video analysis. The method was used to analyze a Danish Football League match, "a regional, animated success in presenting the game progress and completing it at three times faster than the real-time match, and enabling users to monitor all players and their reactions to their opponents or balls". If it lives up to the hype, you'll see more. [Scott Peterson, Australia]
For male teenage football players, the numbers from the subjective fatigue scale (RPE) are hidden, and the measured results do not produce any real differences, judged by the correlation with the regular scale (0.98). [Ric Lovell, Spain] Can
small field matches provide useful measures of player performance? The study allowed 16 U19 players and 18 U23 players from the Professional Football Youth Training Academy to participate in 11 7v7 games per person, and calculated the correlation between players' performance scores in small-field games and the season's comprehensive performance scores rated by coaches at the end of the season. This correlation is reasonable for U19 players, but it is a violation of common sense for U23 players (negative correlation). So I (Hopkins) think the answer is no. [Tom L. G. Bergkamp, Netherlands]
In seven studies analysis of the Brazilian elite football academy, technical skills indicators (dribbling, pass, control, balance) are better predictors of small-field game success, rather than physical performance indicators (speed, strength, agility, and endurance). [Robbie Wilson, Australia]
The author of this abstract has developed a kick test for Australian rugby, “to measure and monitor kick performance in talent development paths.” [Nathan Bonney, Australia]
analyzes the conclusions of two experienced Australian rugby players playing football: "The monitoring application of quantified athletes' kick skills variables should be software/hardware, and the recommended range of the accelerometer should exceed ±80 g." [Emily E.Cust, Australia]
This summary reports the design and development of a new system capable of testing all components of Australian rugby players' agility. [Reuben Smith, Australia]
360° virtual reality video is ideal for evaluating Australian rugby players and referee decisions. [Aden Kittel, Australia]
Schedule In the "Business Talk" of the keynote time, Alex Sakadjian of Melbourne's Australian Rugby Club praised the Edge10 athlete management system, providing more time for in-squad meetings to discuss individual training plans with athletes.
This summary contains the design and analysis details of small matches used in Australian rugby to evaluate kicking efficiency."The coach and the player agree that this test can evaluate kick efficiency and simulate the limitations of the game environment... The evaluation from this test can be used to measure and monitor kick performance in the Australian rugby talent development path." [Nathan Bonney, Australia]
Based on monitoring data from 28 male professional Australian rugby players for two seasons, the author advocates replacing intermittent running tests and maximum speed tests with GPS test results in the game and 3km running tests. [Pat Dillon, Australia] Judge's opinion: It's not clear how many games are needed to determine the maximum speed: monitoring two seasons to get a physical characteristic indicator is a bit impractical.
In all 1034 games of the Australian Rugby 2013-2017 season, the subjective score of player performance is calculated by the "few" of the 9 common game performance indicators, depending on the player's role. OK, but it is unclear how “Australian rugby league organizers should use these findings”, in addition to “better understanding of the differences associated with subjective performance assessments”. [Sam McIntosh, Australia]
researchers claim that the signal-to-noise ratio “calculated by dividing the weekly coefficient of variation by the test coefficient of variation” showed acceptable sensitivity in all conventional monitoring indicators for 42 professional Australian rugby players. [Samuel Ryan, Australia] Hopkins: Have the minimum meaningful change value been taken into account?
author describes a new model for quantifying the performance of league rugby players. This model can estimate the player's expected score based on the addition of a hold-up to a single ball possession. Validity and reliability have not been evaluated yet. [Robert Nguyen, Australia] Is
worth measuring the athlete's heart rate variability (HRV) and subjective feelings before the competition? In many games in the National League Rugby season, the correlation between individual HRV and subjective sensory measurements and multiple performance indicators reached 0.4. When the measurements were combined in multiple linear regression, the correlation only increased moderately (maybe due to sampling variation only). According to the speaker, HRV has nothing to do with overtraining, so I (Hopkins) think HRV is not worth the hassle. [Anthony Leicht, Australia]
V. Training intervention
I gained little from Jaime Sampaio's keynote speech because I had poor listening (he was a quiet speaker) and vision (can't see some slides clearly). There is only the "signal-noise ratio" in my notes: adding "noise" can enhance the learning of "signal". He showed several interesting videos, including adding noise to football training classes in ways to limit movement, train on slopes, play rugby, etc., all aimed at improving athletic performance. He also held a very popular workshop on this part on the last day of the meeting.
In a cross-controlled study of 12 football players (not stated levels), “short-time warm-up is as effective as long-time warm-ups for sprints, repeated sprints and intermittent running performance in football, but (short-time warm-ups) are less psychologically exhausted.” [Ro-landvan den Tillaar, Norway]. Yes, but what about the warm-up components designed to reduce the risk of injury?
32 male teenage football players with peak growth age (±) under 2 years of age showed a moderate-major increase in 3RM strength and single-leg elevation after 9 weeks of training, but their sprinting ability decreased to a moderate degree. After further randomly assigned 22 athletes to traditional or centrifugal training groups for another 12 weeks of training, the further changes caused were generally unclear, and the modification effect of relative differences in age at peak growth was also not clear. [Bhargava, A, Australia]
In a study that looked like a randomized controlled trial, 40 semi-professional male football players participated in routine training or additional enhanced centrifugal training once a week for 8 weeks. In addition to the expected adaptability of muscle structure and hamstring-quadriceps proportions, the centrifugal training group produced a moderate improvement in agility test and 20-meter retracement run relative to the conventional training group.[Giuseppe Coratella, Italy]
In a 3x8 controlled trial conducted by U17 football players who have no strength training experience (regular strength training group, rear half squat group, barbell hip push + rear half squat group, 8 people in each group), adding barbell hip push training once a week can improve lateral jumping and sprinting ability to a greater extent than doing only the rear half squat (no probability stated). [Eduardo Abade, Portugal]
can adjust the load of resistance training to the individual's adaptability rate through subjective rating or objective intensity (barbell speed). The two moderation methods were compared through two 6-week cross-study studies of 20 amateur league rugby players. It is not clear whether there is a flush effect between these modules, so the results are difficult to explain, but it seems that objective feedback may generate greater benefits. [Jason Tee, UK]
Although study design, sample size and athlete level are not mentioned, it is clearly a controlled trial of the acute effects of repeated sprint training for league rugby players. Four 5s repetitive sprint training were compared: two groups of 6 replies, four groups of 3 replies, 12 groups of 1 replies and one "speed loss" allocation method (the rest time is provided when the sprint speed is reduced by 5% compared to the average speed), with 20 seconds between the times and 40-240 seconds between the groups. Evidence supports that the 12x1 mode can maintain sprint speed. [Jonathon Weakley, UK/Australia]
Coping skills interventions in an U20 elite league rugby team for an 8-week coping skills intervention consisting of 6 educational courses. Compared with the control team, intervention teams increased the use of problem- and emotion-centric coping strategies and reduced the use of disengagement strategies. [Balin Cupples, Australia]
This is a time series rather than a controlled trial that tracks a professional league rugby team for 34 games over a season. The abbreviation makes the results difficult to explain, but it seems that "scheduling the main training schedule closer to the match day will not affect the physical and technical performance of the match." [Tahleya Eggers, Australia]
6. Other
When analyzing the results of 20 years of super rugby matches, the adverse effects of long-distance trips in the southern hemisphere were almost entirely due to the disadvantages of away games. Performance indicators in the past 10 years show that “although there will be a significant reduction after the rules and format of the competition, rugby games are moving towards higher physical needs.” [Michele Lo, Australia] Best rugby program speech.
cross-controlled study showed that compared with the control group, whole-body cryotherapy and high-calorie mattress produced a "significant" improvement in post-match sleep indicators (slow-wave sleep and wake-up after sleep) of 10 elite male rugby players. There were no data presented in the summary, and I missed the speech, so I was unable to assess whether the "no significant difference" in the recovery indicators of the next day (squat jump, creatine kinase, muscle soreness) proved that these treatments had "no effect on this (recovery)." [Anis Aloulou, France]
Case study of athletes from elite teams of the Australian Rugby Youth Training Academy shows that flying west across nine time zones has little impact on sleep quality. “These results may be due to the implementation of a team-wide sleep hygiene education and lighting program.” [Stella Veith, Australia] “Template the preseason schedule of elite Australian rugby teams…it can automatically generate effective training programs that maximize expected performance and meet the risk limits of injury.” It is not clear how to adapt them to individualized training programs. [David Carey, Australia]
Kevin Norton [Australia]'s memorial speech at Tom Reilly is high-level rugby. He made the following observations about the long-term development of the program: players are stronger now because stronger means better; training volume has been reduced in half in recent decades, but the intensity of the game has increased; scores have dropped as games become more defensive (especially in Australian rugby over the past 10 years); rule changes are intended to make it a free-flowing, less-intermittent game (what fans want), that doesn't work, and it's unclear what to try next.
On the issue of changes in rules, David Rath [Australia], head of the Australian Rugby League’s office, delivered a keynote speech, noting that they were used to convening expert committees before, and now they are more involved in data collection, especially with the fan community to gain “the wisdom of the masses”.
relative age advantage (older/first-born athletes in the same age echelon are more likely to improve) is evident in Australian rugby, as early as the 10- to 12-year-old age group and continue to adulthood. [Rhys Tribolet, Australia]. It also appeared among the 5336 athletes participating in the FIFA Women's Football World Cup. “Coaches and talent developers should…make sure talents are not missed, and it is not advisable to focus on older/first-born players (in the same group).” [Naomi Datson, UK]
In a short review of the current status of Australian women’s elite sports, the host called for support for female athletes through community participation, building strong development pathways and improving the elite athlete environment. She also hopes to do more research on female athletes. In asking a question, I (Hopkins) pointed out that studying pure female samples is better than mixed genders. [Anthea Clarke, Australia]
It is disappointing that within 72 hours of about 7 games of an Australian rugby team composed of 32 national level players, various game load indicators have no "meaningful impact" on the recovery of various performance test indicators. Among all preseasonal physical fitness indicators, only lower limb strength has a (obvious?) regulatory effect on recovery, and higher strength is beneficial. [Dean Norris, Australia]
The same author demonstrates the lack of adjustment for preseasonal fitness indicators for players of Australian rugby national level on an indicator that may represent a season of cumulative fatigue (reduced strength production rate in squat jumps and mid-thigh equidistant stretches). [Dean Norris, Australia]
"The purpose of this pilot study is to explore the impact of biobanding on the performance of adolescents in football matches." There were only 15 boys in the sample (5 early development, 6 normal development and 5 night development. Translator's note: The original text of the abstract is also 15, with 5+6+5 groupings, which should be the typo of the original author.), but the 35 state-level competitions (grouped by natural age) and 6 biological-level competitions (grouped by developmental degree) they participated in were followed. The differences indicate that biological severing competitions present greater physical challenges to early-developed people, and such competitions provide more opportunities for late-developed people to demonstrate their physical properties and try new learning skills. [John Brannan, Australia]. If there are more than 10 boys per group, this study would be very worthy of praise. Judges’ comments: Is it possible to balance or adjust the players’ position on the field?
During the two-season training monitoring of 18 youth training academy football players under 15 years old, the predicted peak growth age had a significant impact on various training intensity indicators. Late-developed people had moderate absolute intensity than early-developed people (somewhat is due to their thinner bodies) while their training relative intensity was higher (since their absolute maximum was lower). Higher intensity seems to explain the higher risk of injury in late-developed people found by previous studies. [Fabio Serpiello, Italy/Australia]. Judges’ opinion: The competition position may be very important.
If you are interested in what a backup player of the English Champions League football team does before (second warm-up match) and after playing, read this summary. [Samuel P.Hills, UK]
"The more players the club has been selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the lower the club's performance at the start of the new season" is obviously because the selected players have much shorter recovery and preparation time for the new season. "This begs the question whether FIFA's compensation for players participating: (incredible) $8,400 per player per day until the player exits the event." [Hannes Kulok, verbal report completed by Martin Lames, Germany]
interviews with nine Australian national football referees showed that they believe the referee's role is more than just judging fouls. There are obviously four decision-making priorities: safety, fairness, accuracy and entertainment.[Scott Russel, Australia] Best Football Speech.
In “Coacher Education”, the non-sports coaching literature was reviewed, and the speaker identified four keywords for coaches of education to improve their performance and career: skills, performance, development and transformation. “Sports coaches are encouraged to seek qualified management education to promote their learning and efficiency as coaches.” [Andrew Dawson, Australia]
Jay Ellis [Australia] gave an invited industry sponsored speech on promoting career development for young sports professionals. He described how SportsCode maker Hudl supports junior analysts (not calling them interns) from 200 institutions around the world, aiming to develop excellent analysts who can be good communicators. Commenter's comment: Yes, but with so many free junior analysts, the club doesn't provide enough work for full-time analysts.
Original document:
Will G Hopkins, The Ninth World Congress on Science and Football, Sportscience 23, 8-19, 2019 (sportsci.org/2019/WCSF.pdf).
