The home team advantage gives football referees something to ruminate about

Observation suggests that referees significantly contribute to the home team advantage in football. The atmosphere created by the home team fans is thought to be the major contributing factor, but the extent of this influence is dependent on the referee. The Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale was developed to identify those individuals susceptible to disrupted decision making under pressure as a result of their tendency to overinvolve consciousness in decision making (Decision Reinvestment) or as a result of their tendency to ruminate upon poor decisions made in the past (Decision Rumination). We asked qualified referees to make a series of video-based decisions to examine whether the home team advantage effect was associated with a high or low tendency for Decision Reinvestment or Decision Rumination. We showed that referees categorized as high Decision Ruminators disproportionately made decisions in favour of the home team. The tendency to ruminate upon poor decisions may help explain some of the variance in the home team advantage effect shown by different referees. We conclude that aspects of personality should be considered in the development of training programs designed to improve and standardise football refereeing.published_or_final_versio

The impact of physiological load on anticipation skills in badminton : From testing to training

Research remains unclear on the impact of physiological load on perceptual-cognitive skills in sport. Moreover, no study has examined the training of perceptual-cognitive skills under physiological load. The current study comprised two phases. Firstly, we examined the impact of badminton-specific physiological load on anticipatory skills in expert badminton players (n = 13), including key underlying mechanisms, such as gaze behaviour. Under high physiological load, participants displayed less efficient visual search behaviour and showed a reduction in response accuracy. Secondly, we examined the effects of combining perceptual-cognitive simulation training with high physiological load. Ten of the expert badminton players were assigned to a combined training group, where the simulation training and the physiological load intervention occurred simultaneously, or an independent training group, whereby the two components were completed independently. The combined training group showed a positive change in the efficiency of their visual search behaviours compared to the independent training group, but no significant performance improvements were found. Overall, findings demonstrate that high physiological load is detrimental to experts’ anticipatory skills. However, combining perceptual-cognitive simulation training with high physiological load can potentially negate these debilitating effects

The role of pre-performance and in-game emotions on cognitive interference during sport performance: The moderating role of self-confidence and reappraisal

In this research we examined whether prevalent pre-performance (Study 1) and in-game (Study 2) emotions were associated with cognitive interference (i.e., thoughts of escape, task irrelevant thoughts and performance worries), and whether any effects were moderated by reappraisal and self-confidence. In Study 1, we found team sport players’ pre-performance anxiety positively, and excitement negatively, predicted cognitive interference during a competitive match. However, no moderating effects for reappraisal or confidence were revealed. In Study 2, we found that badminton players’ in-game anxiety, dejection and happiness positively predicted, whereas excitement negatively predicted, cognitive interference during a competitive match. Moreover, reappraisal and confidence moderated the relationships for excitement and happiness with task irrelevant thoughts. Our findings underscore the role that pre-performance and in-game emotions can play on athletes thought processing during sport performance, as well as highlight the importance of considering self-confidence and reappraisal on the role of in-game emotions on cognitive interference

The effect of goalkeepers adopting Muller-Lyer postures

Poster 5 - Motor Control: Neural Correlates/Sensorimotor/Motor Practice and Observation: no. 57The posture that a goalkeeper assumes can influence perceptions of his or her size and the motor behavior of an opponent. Van der Kamp & Masters (2008) showed that postures that mimicked an amputated Muller-Lyer illusion in a wings-out/arms-up configuration resulted in larger estimates of goalkeeper height than a wings-in/arms-down configuration. Furthermore, when participants threw to score in a handball goal, the shots were placed further from the arms-up goalkeeper, presumably because he was thought capable of covering a greater area of the goal. We aimed to verify that throwing behaviour was related to (mis-)perceptions of goalkeeper height and, by association, goalkeeper reach. A 1.9 m animated representation of a goalkeeper was projected onto a blank screen. The goalkeeper was shown in an arms-up (45 degrees above horizontal), arms-out (horizontal), or arms-down (45 degrees below horizontal) posture. The 3 postures were each shown 10 times in a random order. For each presentation 34 participants made two estimates of the goalkeeper’s maximum static reach, which was defined as the position of middle finger of the goalkeeper in the arms-out posture. Estimates were made by aiming a laser pointer and throwing a ball. The horizontal displacements of the aiming and throwing estimates from the actual position of middle finger (75 cm from the midline of the body) were measured. For the horizontal displacement measure, there was no significant difference between aiming and throwing estimates (p > .05), but a significant effect of posture, F(2, 66) = 10.1, p <.01. Participants perceived the hand closer to the midline of the body in the arms-down posture (67.4 cm) than the arms-up posture (75.2 cm). The findings corroborate previous work in suggesting that the goalkeeper can influence perceptions of his maximum reach and the motor behaviour of an opponent by adopting illusory postures. Further investigations need to address whether the effects are also mediated by hand position or perceptions of arm length rather than body height.published_or_final_versionThe 2010 Conference of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA 2010), Tucson, AZ., 10-12 June 2010. In Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2010, v. 32 suppl., p. S12

Muscle damage response in female collegiate athletes following repeated sprint activity

Exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) is a well-investigated area, however there is a paucity of data surrounding the damage response in females. The aim of this study was to examine the damage responses from a sport-specific bout of repeated sprints in female athletes. Eleven well-trained females (mean ± SD; age 22 ± 3 y, height 166.6 ± 5.7 cm, mass 62.7 ± 4.5 kg) in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle completed a repeated sprint protocol designed to induce EIMD (15 × 30 m sprints). Creatine kinase (CK), countermovement jump height (CMJ), knee extensor maximum voluntary contraction force (MVIC), muscle soreness (DOMS), 30 m sprint time and limb girth were recorded pre, post, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post exercise. CK was elevated at 24, 48 and 72 h (p < 0.05), peaking at 24 h (+418%) and returning towards baseline at 72 h. CMJ height was reduced immediately post, 24 and 48 h (p < 0.05). Sprint performance was also negatively affected immediately post, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post exercise. Muscle soreness peaked at 48 h (p<0.01) and remained significantly elevated at 72 h post exercise (p<0.01). Limb girth and MVIC did not alter over time. The current study provides new information on the EIMD response in trained females following a sport specific bout of repeated sprints. Importantly, this damage response has the potential to negatively affect performance for several days post-exercise

Suppressing verbal working memory with cathodal tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to promote implicit motor learning

Introduction Compared to explicit motor learning, implicit motor learning has been shown to produce performance that is more stable in conditions of psychological stress, multitasking and even physiological fatigue. Therefore, researchers have deliberately attempted to devise implicit motor learning paradigms that bypass working memory during motor learning and thus reduce explicit verbal-analytical involvement in performance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is widely used as a noninvasive brain stimulation technique to modulate cortical excitability. Previous research has shown that tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) can be used to modulate working memory. We hypothesized that ...published_or_final_versio

Golf swing technician Jim Christine: Bridging the gap between the science of the golf swing and the art of golf coaching: A Commentary

The stimulus article, “Golf swing technician Jim Christine: Bridging the gap between the science of the golf swing and the art of golf coaching”, and the accompanying commentaries present some key issues in golf coaching, especially coach development, technology, coaching methods, and critical thinking. The first two commentaries provide insight about Jim Christine’s development as a coach. International golf coach Peter Green discusses the legendary John Jacobs, who Jim accepted an invitation from to shadow him at one of his golf schools; and John Stirling, who Jim had coaching from on his own golf game. PGA Master Professional Luther Blacklock discusses Alex Hay, who also coached Jim. Both Stirling and Hay were pioneers in the training programme of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of Great Britain and Ireland in which Jim became highly influential as an author of training resources and as a tutor. There are commentaries from three distinguished members of the PGA of America, the world’s largest working sports organisation: David Wright, John Callahan and Eric Alpenfels. John Callahan shares how he took up opportunities to shadow leading golf coaches such as TJ Tomasi, Craig Shankland and Paul Runyan during his PGA apprenticeship under Frank Cardi. Callahan advocates the use of launch monitors as a technological aid, more staunchly so than Jim Christine who is aware of the limitations in the algorithms involved in providing the output from a radar device like TrackMan for measuring impact factors. Chris Bertram refers to his own empirical research on the use of another technological aid, video feedback, to indicate that “just because technical information is readily available, it does not mean that more information is necessarily serving the interests of the student” (p. 37). Drawing on his doctoral research on operant conditioning, David Wright discusses backward chaining, which is one of the coaching methods used by Jim Christine. Eric Alpenfels discusses Jim’s use of coaching methods in terms of “focus of attention – internal/external swing cues” (p. 33). Researchers Thomas Hawkins et al., suggest that “[the clock analogy], one of Christine’s favoured coaching tools may result in performance and learning benefits [through external focus of attention] because it allows the body to organise movement better than it would if conscious control was either requested or triggered by an internally focused coaching instruction” (p. 35). In a similar vein, Nicky Lumb, a PGA coach “who specialises in golf practice management, skill development and peak performance” (p. 40), indicates that several of Jim’s coaching tools give the golfer an external focus of attention. There is overlap in what Nicky does with Edward Coughlan, a sports scientist whose “main job for players involves asking questions about how they practice, what they practice and inevitably, whether their practice transfers to the competition arena” (p. 42). While two PGA of Great Britain and Ireland professionals, Will Shaw and Gordon Morrison discuss some of Jim’s coaching methods from an Information-Processing perspective, a third one – Noel Rousseau – advocates an Ecological Dynamics/Constraints-led Approach. Rousseau presents the case that “Jim’s coaching methods are staunchly embedded in the Information Processing camp yet he simultaneously highlights some of the shortcoming of coaching this way” (p. 50), especially on the matter of sloping lies (p. 51). Jim describes himself as a “swing technician” (p. 17). Researchers Liam Thomas et al. discuss the notion of a ‘model golf swing’ or ‘technical blue print’ and highlight the challenge of distinguishing between ‘technical faults’ and “the inherent variability both within and between individuals in response to changes in constraints” (p. 54). Tour pro coach, Hugh Marr argues, “Every coach has a picture in their head of what a great swing looks like. It’s not the model that makes coaches great, it’s the understanding of what George Gankas calls ‘match-ups’ – if a player displays one particular swing characteristic, they need to match it with another swing characteristic that complements it” (p. 57). The final two commentaries, by research professor David Grecic and performance coach Jon Roy, both emphasize the development of critical thinking in coaches, with the latter arguing that “Jim’s critical faculties comprise dialectics, scepticism, and innovation” (p. 63)

Golf swing technician Jim Christine: Bridging the gap between the science of the golf swing and the art of golf coaching: A Commentary

The stimulus article, “Golf swing technician Jim Christine: Bridging the gap between the science of the golf swing and the art of golf coaching”, and the accompanying commentaries present some key issues in golf coaching, especially coach development, technology, coaching methods, and critical thinking. The first two commentaries provide insight about Jim Christine’s development as a coach. International golf coach Peter Green discusses the legendary John Jacobs, who Jim accepted an invitation from to shadow him at one of his golf schools; and John Stirling, who Jim had coaching from on his own golf game. PGA Master Professional Luther Blacklock discusses Alex Hay, who also coached Jim. Both Stirling and Hay were pioneers in the training programme of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of Great Britain and Ireland in which Jim became highly influential as an author of training resources and as a tutor. There are commentaries from three distinguished members of the PGA of America, the world’s largest working sports organisation: David Wright, John Callahan and Eric Alpenfels. John Callahan shares how he took up opportunities to shadow leading golf coaches such as TJ Tomasi, Craig Shankland and Paul Runyan during his PGA apprenticeship under Frank Cardi. Callahan advocates the use of launch monitors as a technological aid, more staunchly so than Jim Christine who is aware of the limitations in the algorithms involved in providing the output from a radar device like TrackMan for measuring impact factors. Chris Bertram refers to his own empirical research on the use of another technological aid, video feedback, to indicate that “just because technical information is readily available, it does not mean that more information is necessarily serving the interests of the student” (p. 37). Drawing on his doctoral research on operant conditioning, David Wright discusses backward chaining, which is one of the coaching methods used by Jim Christine. Eric Alpenfels discusses Jim’s use of coaching methods in terms of “focus of attention – internal/external swing cues” (p. 33). Researchers Thomas Hawkins et al., suggest that “[the clock analogy], one of Christine’s favoured coaching tools may result in performance and learning benefits [through external focus of attention] because it allows the body to organise movement better than it would if conscious control was either requested or triggered by an internally focused coaching instruction” (p. 35). In a similar vein, Nicky Lumb, a PGA coach “who specialises in golf practice management, skill development and peak performance” (p. 40), indicates that several of Jim’s coaching tools give the golfer an external focus of attention. There is overlap in what Nicky does with Edward Coughlan, a sports scientist whose “main job for players involves asking questions about how they practice, what they practice and inevitably, whether their practice transfers to the competition arena” (p. 42). While two PGA of Great Britain and Ireland professionals, Will Shaw and Gordon Morrison discuss some of Jim’s coaching methods from an Information-Processing perspective, a third one – Noel Rousseau – advocates an Ecological Dynamics/Constraints-led Approach. Rousseau presents the case that “Jim’s coaching methods are staunchly embedded in the Information Processing camp yet he simultaneously highlights some of the shortcoming of coaching this way” (p. 50), especially on the matter of sloping lies (p. 51). Jim describes himself as a “swing technician” (p. 17). Researchers Liam Thomas et al. discuss the notion of a ‘model golf swing’ or ‘technical blue print’ and highlight the challenge of distinguishing between ‘technical faults’ and “the inherent variability both within and between individuals in response to changes in constraints” (p. 54). Tour pro coach, Hugh Marr argues, “Every coach has a picture in their head of what a great swing looks like. It’s not the model that makes coaches great, it’s the understanding of what George Gankas calls ‘match-ups’ – if a player displays one particular swing characteristic, they need to match it with another swing characteristic that complements it” (p. 57). The final two commentaries, by research professor David Grecic and performance coach Jon Roy, both emphasize the development of critical thinking in coaches, with the latter arguing that “Jim’s critical faculties comprise dialectics, scepticism, and innovation” (p. 63)