The relationship between training load and incidence of injury and illness over a pre-season at an Australian Football League Club

In any competitive sporting environment, it is crucial to a team\u27s success to have the maximum number of their players free from injury and illness and available for selection in as many games as possible throughout the season. The training programme of the club, and therefore training load, can have an impact on the incidence of injury and illness amongst the players. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the training load and the incidence of injury and illness over an entire pre-season at an Australian Football League (AFL) club. Sixteen players were subjects; all full time professional male AFL players (mean + or - standard deviation; age 23.8 + or - 5.1 years; height 188.9 + or - 7.4 m; weight 90.9 + or - 9.2 kg). A longitudinal research design was employed, where training load, injury and illness were monitored over a 15 week pre-season and Pearson Correlation Coefficients were used to examine relationships

Incorporating an Interdisciplinary Approach to Examine the Relationship Between Physical Capacity, Perceptual Motor Skill, Mental Toughness and Match Performance in Australian Football

Performance in sports involves a combination of components such as physiological, psychological and perceptual-cognitive-motor. Yet, despite a call in the literature dating back more than 20 years for an interdisciplinary approach, the majority of studies in sports science have used a monodisciplinary approach focusing on one component to understand sport performance. Accordingly, the primary aim of this thesis was to investigate the value of an interdisciplinary approach to understand match performance using Australian Football (AF) as the exemplar sport. The secondary aim of this thesis was to quantify individual differences in performance and representative task design (RTD) of tests used in the interdisciplinary approach. This aim relates to a more recent call in the literature to determine how individuals perform and whether tests used to measure performance represent match contexts. Therefore, through these aims, this thesis has theoretical and practical implications for athlete assessment and development in a variety of sports. This thesis is comprised of four studies and an overview of how these studies are related is shown in Figure A. The first study (chapter two) involved a systematic review to identify the extent of interdisciplinary research conducted within the field of sports science (i.e., within talent identification, talent selection and competition performance domains). Thirty-six studies met the selection criteria out of an initial search that yielded 23,806 articles. Twenty-five studies were categorised as interdisciplinary and eleven categorised as multidisciplinary. The secondary purpose of the review was to critique the level of performance analysis and RTD of performance tests in the studies. The review concluded that sports science research is beginning to fulfil the call for interdisciplinary research, however, there is a lack of interdisciplinary research in the competition performance domain, especially in team sports. Further, the review found that future interdisciplinary research needs to consider individual analyses and RTD of tests to progress sports science knowledge. Therefore, study two and three were aimed at developing performance tests in different sub-disciplines of sports science. These performance tests were incorporated into study four, which used an interdisciplinary approach and considered individual analyses, as well as RTD. Study two (chapter three) focused upon the sub-discipline of Motor Control to determine if small-sided games (SSG), which have a high level of RTD, could discriminate perceptual-cognitive-motor skill in AF players. Higher skilled and lesser skilled players participated in three SSG of three minutes duration. Each disposal (handball or kick) was scored for decision-making and motor skill execution and the scores were combined for a total score. Higher skilled players scored significantly higher than lower skilled players on total score and decision-making, however, the execution score was not significantly different between groups. In addition, mean total score of higher skilled players significantly predicted a component of match performance, that of disposal efficiency. This study demonstrated that coaches could easily implement SSG to discriminate perceptual-cognitive-motor skill performance in skilled players, which is a predictor of match performance. The third study (chapter four) focused on the Sports Psychology sub-discipline and extended research on mental toughness (MT) and sports performance. This study investigated whether skilled AF players would perform better under a high-pressure scenario within a SSG where the changed ratio of defenders to attackers increased the level of pressure. Higher and lower skilled players were recruited and coaches rated participants’ MT using the Mental Toughness Index (MTI); this was known as Mental Toughness Coach (MTC). Additionally, participants competed in SSG with varied attacker to defender ratios in the game in order to create low and high-pressure scenarios. Decision-making, motor skill execution and a combined total were measured. MTC rating was higher for the higher skilled players. Total scores obtained by the higher skilled players was significantly superior to lower skilled players in high and lowpressure scenarios. A ‘pressure differential score’ (calculated to determine whether participants maintained performance across increased challenge), indicated a significant decrease in performance (total score) from low to high pressure scenarios for lower skilled, but not for higher skilled players. Furthermore, MTC scores were predictive of players’ performance within the high-pressure scenario total scores. Findings suggest higher levels of MT may contribute to maintaining performance across increased challenge of pressure within SSG. The fourth study (chapter five) compared monodisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to predict match performance in AF. Semi-professional players’ disposal efficiency and number of coaches’ votes received across a competitive season were used as measures of match performance. Performance test measures relevant to AF from different sports science sub-disciplines were included; Exercise Physiology (3 x 1 km trial), Motor Control (SSG test, validated in study two) and Sports Psychology (MTC test, validated in study three). Univariate monodisciplinary models indicated that all tests predicted the match performance measure of disposal efficiency, but only the SSG predicted the match performance measure of coaches’ vote. A multivariate interdisciplinary model indicated that SSG and MTC tests predicted disposal efficiency with a better model fit than the corresponding univariate (monodisciplinary) model. The interdisciplinary model formulated an equation that could identify individual differences in disposal efficiency. In addition, the interdisciplinary model showed that the higher representative SSG test contributed a greater magnitude to the prediction of competition performance, than the lower representative MTC rating. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that an interdisciplinary approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding of sport performance, individual differences, and representative tasks in AF. The thesis also provides a template for future interdisciplinary competition performance, but also talent identification and training research in sport science

Movement economy in soccer: Current data and limitations

Soccer is an intermittent team-sport, where performance is determined by a myriad of psychological, technical, tactical, and physical factors. Among the physical factors, endurance appears to play a key role into counteracting the fatigue-related reduction in running performance observed during soccer matches. One physiological determinant of endurance is movement economy, which represents the aerobic energy cost to exercise at a given submaximal velocity. While the role of movement economy has been extensively examined in endurance athletes, it has received little attention in soccer players, but may be an important factor, given the prolonged demands of match play. For this reason, the current review discusses the nature, impact, and trainability of movement economy specific to soccer players. A summary of current knowledge and limitations of movement economy in soccer is provided, with an insight into future research directions, to make this important parameter more valuable when assessing and training soccer players’ running performance

Literature Review: Anthropometric, strength and physical capacities of senior and junior Australian footballers

This study demonstrates that senior Australian Football players are heavier and possess superior strength characteristics without any meaningful difference in aerobic capacities when compared to under 18 players. The aim of this study was to compare the anthropometric and physical characteristics of state based junior and senior Australian Football (AF) players. Thirty-One League (age 23.7 ± 2.6 years), 19 Development League (DL) (age 20.5 ± 1.9 years), and 34 Under 18 (U18) players (age 17.4 ± 0.7 years) were recruited from a single AF club. Assessments included height and mass, upper body (bench press and weighted pull-up) and lower body (squat) three repetition max strength, lower body power (vertical jump) and 3 x 1-kilometre time trial. Multivariate analysis with Bonferroni post hoc tests were used to examine the differences between grades and position. Cohen’s d statistic was used to assess the magnitude of difference. Significant age and body mass differences were evident between all three grades (p\u3c0.01) and large to moderate differences were evident between League and U18 players in the absolute and relative bench press and back squat characteristics. No significant difference between time trial performance was evident between grades. The results demonstrate a particular need to ensure programs develop both absolute and relative strength in younger players to prepare them to compete safely and successfully in senior competitions

Embedding of psycho-perceptual-motor skills can improve athlete assessment and training programs

Practitioners in a variety of sports seek unique ways to train athletes to better prepare them for competition. In this position paper, we argue that inclusion of psycho-perceptual-motor skills, from the fields of sport psychology and sport expertise, is crucial, but underutilized in the assessment and training of athletes. First, a brief introduction is provided as to why psycho-perceptual-motor skill is vital for training athletes. Second, examples are discussed relating to key concepts. These include the following: assessment of expertise discriminators such as visual anticipation under pressure contexts, incorporation of sports analytics and performance analysis to aid reflection upon previous experiences of good anticipation and coping with pressure, use of qualitative and quantitative measures to understand processes underlying performance and learning, as well as design of representative tasks for assessment and training anticipation under pressure contexts. Third, some recommendations are made to practitioners of sports teams to assist them in taking advantage of psycho-perceptual-motor skill to better prepare athletes for competition. Collectively, we hope this paper stimulates collaboration between practitioners of sports teams and scientists to create a greater focus upon integrated sport psychology and sport expertise in the training of athletes

Sprint acceleration characteristics across the Australian football participation pathway

The aim of this study was to compare the force, velocity and power profiles of a maximal sprint acceleration through different competition levels of the Australian Football (AF) participation pathway. One hundred and sixty-two junior AF athletes across five competition levels including State under 18’s (ST 18), State under 16’s (ST 16), local under 18’s (LOC 18), local under 15’s (LOC 15), and local under 14’s (LOC 14) participated in this cross-sectional study. Velocity-time data from maximal sprint accelerations were analysed to derive athlete’s sprint acceleration characteristics and split times. ST 18 showed a more force-orientated profile than the LOC 18 with moderate differences in relative theoretical maximal force (F0) (7.54%), absolute F0 (10.51%), and slope of the force–velocity relationship (Sf-v) (9.27%). Similarly, small differences were found between ST 18 and ST 16 in relative F0 (4.79%) and Sf-v (6.28%). Moderate to extremely large differences were observed between players competing in older (ST 18, LOC 18, ST 16) compared to younger (LOC 15, LOC 14) competition levels highlighting the potential influence of biological maturation. It is recommended that practitioners working with junior AF players to consider developing a force-orientated sprint acceleration profile to improve sprinting performance

Sprint acceleration force-velocity-power characteristics in drafted vs non-drafted junior Australian football players: Preliminary results

This investigation aimed to compare the maximal sprint acceleration profiles of drafted and non-drafted elite junior Australian football (AF) players. Nineteen players (10 drafted and 9 non-drafted) from an elite junior AF state team participated in this study. Instantaneous velocity was measured via radar gun during maximal 30 m sprints. The velocity-time data were analysed to derive individual force-velocity-power characteristics and sprint times. No significant differences existed between groups, however drafted players reached moderately faster maximum velocity (Hedges’ g = 0.70 [-0.08; 1.48] and theoretical maximum velocity (g = 0.65 [-0.13; 1.42]) than non-drafted players indicating a superior ability to apply higher amounts of force at increasing sprinting velocity. Further, drafted players produced moderately higher absolute theoretical maximum force (g = 0.72 [-0.06; 1.50]) and absolute maximum power (g = 0.83 [0.04; 1.62]) which reflects their moderately higher body mass (g = 0.61[-0.16;1.38]). Although not significant, in this sample of elite junior AF players, those drafted into the AFL displayed greater absolute sprint acceleration characteristics and maximal velocity capabilities than their non-drafted counterparts (moderate effect size). Whether force-velocity-power characteristics can be more beneficial in differentiating sprint performance of elite junior Australian footballers compared to the traditional sprint time approach warrants further investigation with a larger sample size

Monitoring and managing fatigue in basketball

The sport of basketball exposes athletes to frequent high intensity movements including sprinting, jumping, accelerations, decelerations and changes of direction during training and competition which can lead to acute and accumulated chronic fatigue. Fatigue may affect the ability of the athlete to perform over the course of a lengthy season. The ability of practitioners to quantify the workload and subsequent fatigue in basketball athletes in order to monitor and manage fatigue levels may be beneficial in maintaining high levels of performance and preventing unfavorable physical and physiological training adaptations. There is currently limited research quantifying training or competition workload outside of time motion analysis in basketball. In addition, systematic research investigating methods to monitor and manage athlete fatigue in basketball throughout a season is scarce. To effectively optimize and maintain peak training and playing performance throughout a basketball season, potential workload and fatigue monitoring strategies need to be discussed

Physical and energy demand of soccer: A brief review

Soccer is a complex and exhaustive team-sport requiring a high level of tactical, technical, and physical ability to succeed. During a competitive match, a random combination of explosive and powerful activities, together with technical and tactical gestures, is performed in an intermittent manner over a 90-minute game. This review presents a detailed analysis and up-to-date synthesis of the literature describing activities and energy system contribution during soccer to provide to strength and conditioning coaches a clear understanding of soccer players’ physical needs during competition

Embedding of psycho-perceptual-motor skills can improve athlete assessment and training programs

Practitioners in a variety of sports seek unique ways to train athletes to better prepare them for competition. In this position paper, we argue that inclusion of psycho-perceptual-motor skills, from the fields of sport psychology and sport expertise, is crucial, but underutilized in the assessment and training of athletes. First, a brief introduction is provided as to why psycho-perceptual-motor skill is vital for training athletes. Second, examples are discussed relating to key concepts. These include the following: assessment of expertise discriminators such as visual anticipation under pressure contexts, incorporation of sports analytics and performance analysis to aid reflection upon previous experiences of good anticipation and coping with pressure, use of qualitative and quantitative measures to understand processes underlying performance and learning, as well as design of representative tasks for assessment and training anticipation under pressure contexts. Third, some recommendations are made to practitioners of sports teams to assist them in taking advantage of psycho-perceptual-motor skill to better prepare athletes for competition. Collectively, we hope this paper stimulates collaboration between practitioners of sports teams and scientists to create a greater focus upon integrated sport psychology and sport expertise in the training of athletes