Talentförderung im Schweizer Sportspiel: Wer breit spezialisiert, der reüssiert!

Trainingsprozesse im Kindesalter werden kontrovers diskutiert: Soll auf eine Sportart spezialisiert oder polysportiv ausgebildet werden (Côte et al., 2007)? Im Schweizer Fussball ist hinsichtlich dieser Fragestellung mehrfach das Modell des Specialised Sampling als erfolgsversprechend identifiziert worden (breit angelegtes sportartspezifisches Training; Sieghartsleitner et al., 2018; Zibung & Conzelmann, 2013). Aufbauend interessiert die Frage, ob dieser Befund auf das Schweizer Eishockey übertragbar ist? 95 ehemalige U-Nationalspieler des Schweizer Eishockeyverbandes, von denen 51.6% eine überdauernde Profikarriere erreichten (>80 NLB-Spiele), wurden retrospektiv zum Sportverhalten bis zwölf Jahre befragt. Die Variablen Clubtraining, freies Eishockey, weiterer Sport (jeweils Trainingsumfänge) sowie das Club-Eintrittsalter wurden einer Clusteranalyse zugeführt. Im Anschluss wurde berechnet, welche Wahrscheinlichkeiten für Profikarrieren in den einzelnen Clustern vorliegen. Insgesamt konnten fünf Cluster identifiziert werden. Späteinsteiger (hohes Club-Eintrittsalter, 41.7%) und Hockeyabstinenzler (früher Einstieg mit geringem Trainingspensum, 48.0%) erreichten mit tendenziell unterdurchschnittlicher Wahrscheinlichkeit eine Profikarriere. Dagegen schafften Polysportive Spieler (umfangreiches Pensum im Eishockey, ergänzt durch Aktivitäten in weiteren Sportarten, 55.6%), Spezialisierte Clubspieler (höchstes Ausmass Clubtraining, 58.3%) und Hockeyenthusiasten (höchster Umfang freies Eishockey, 62.5%) tendenziell häufiger den Sprung in den Profibereich. Die Relevanz sportartspezifischer Trainingsgestaltung wird bestätigt. Selbst polysportive Spieler absolvieren lediglich ein Drittel der Trainingsstunden abseits des Eishockey. Zudem weisen Spezialisierte Clubspieler und Hockeyenthusiasten die höchsten Wahrscheinlichkeiten für Profikarrieren auf. Insbesondere ein Specialised Sampling-Ansatz mit Spezialisierung auf Eishockey und breitem Sammeln von Erfahrungen durch freie Sportausübung innerhalb dieser Domäne erscheint zielführend, zumal Hockeyenthusiasten am häufigsten eine Profikarriere realisieren. Im Sportsystem Schweiz führen somit in verschiedenen Sportspielen ähnliche sportartspezifische Trainingsprozesse im Kindesalter zum späteren Erfolg. Literatur: Côté, J., Baker, J. & Abernethy, B. (2007). Practice and play in the development of sport expertise. In G. Tenenbaum & R. C. Eklund (Hrsg.), Handbook of sport psychology (3. Aufl., S. 184-202). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Sieghartsleitner, R., Zuber, C., Zibung, M. & Conzelmann, A. (2018). “The Early Specialised Bird Catches the Worm!” – A Specialised Sampling Model in the Development of Football Talents. Frontiers in Psychology, 9:188. Zibung, M. & Conzelmann, A. (2013). The role of specialization in the promotion of young football talents: A person-oriented study. European Journal of Sport Science, 13(5), 452-460

Science or Coaches’ Eye? – Both! Beneficial Collaboration of Multidimensional Measurements and Coach Assessments for Efficient Talent Selection in Elite Youth Football

Due to the tremendous popularity of youth football, practitioners in this domain face the ongoing question of the most effective solutions in early talent selection. Although the scientific community has suggested multidimensional models for some time, coach assessments and motor performance tests remain common. Earlier research has determined the strengths and weaknesses within these different approaches. The current investigation directly compared the effectiveness of each approach in talent selection (coach assessment vs. motor performance tests vs. multidimensional data). A sample of 117 youth football players, their parents, and coaches participated in multidimensional measurements in the U14 age category (coach assessments, motor performance tests, psychological characteristics, familial support, training history, and biological maturation). The area under the curve (AUC [95% CI]) from receiver operating characteristic indicated the prognostic validity of each approach in predicting U19 player status five years after the assessments (professional vs. non-professional). Motor performance tests (0.71 [0.58; 0.84]) showed a lower AUC than the multidimensional data (0.85 [0.76; 0.94], p = 0.02), whilst coach assessments did not differ from the two others (.82 [.74; .90]). Further, combined talent selection approaches, especially the use of coach assessments and multidimensional data together, were significantly better at predicting U19 player status (0.93 [0.87; 0.98], p = 0.02 vs. multidimensional data only). Although certain limitations may impede further insights (summation of data, skipped use of non-linear statistics), scientific claims for using multidimensionality within talent selection were confirmed to be fruitful. In particular, the combination of the subjective coaches’ eye with scientific data may buffer the mutual weaknesses of these different approaches. Future research should focus on optimizing the output of promising multidimensional models. Knowledge of detailed values relating to specific dimensions within these models and the implementation of enhanced non-linear statistics may enable further improvements in the field of talent selection

Is there a difference in rhythm outcome between patients undergoing first line versus second line paroxysmal atrial fibrillation ablation?

BackgroundCatheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is an established second line therapy for patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF (PAF) and may be considered as a first line therapy in selected patients who are highly symptomatic, considering patient choice, benefit, and risk, according to recent guidelines. Our study investigated whether a first line vs. second line ablation approach may result in improved sinus rhythm maintenance after ablation.MethodsA total of 153 patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation for PAF were included in the study (age 55±12 years, 29% female). Seventy-nine patients underwent first line AF ablation and 74 patients underwent second line AF ablation after failed antiarrhythmic drug therapy. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics such as age, history of AF, left atrial size or LVEF between groups. Success was defined as atrial tachyarrhythmia free survival during a 12-month follow-up by means of serial ECG Holter monitoring.ResultsThere was no significant difference in cumulative arrhythmia-free survival between those patients who received AF ablation as a first or second line therapy. Single procedure success was 78% in the first line group vs. 81% in the second line group; multiple procedure success was 90 vs. 91%, (n.s.). Complication rate was 1.3% vs. 1.4% (n.s.).ConclusionSuccess of AF ablation did not differ between patients who receive ablation as first vs. second line therapy. Based on these data, a trial of AAD therapy before AF ablation may be justified in most patients with symptomatic PAF eligible for rhythm control

Indications and Outcome in Patients Undergoing Left Atrial Appendage Closure—The Austrian LAAC Registry

Background: Complete real-world data on the indications and outcomes of left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) outside of clinical trials are rare. In this study, we stratified patients undergoing LAAC by indication groups. Methods: This analysis of the national multicentre Austrian LAAC Registry comprised all patients that underwent LAAC up until 2018 at the currently active centres in Austria. The baseline characteristics, procedural details and outcomes between the following indication groups were compared: bleeding as an indication for LAAC (“bleeding” group) vs. thromboembolism despite oral anticoagulation (OAC; “thromboembolism” group) vs. an intolerance to OAC for reasons other than the above (“other” group). Results: The analysis included 186 patients, with 59.7% in the “bleeding” group, 8.1% in the “thromboembolism” group and 32.2% in the “other” group. The CHADS2 score was the highest in the “thromboembolism” group and the HAS-BLED score was the highest in the “bleeding” group. The procedural outcomes were similar between groups (implantation success, 97.3%), with major complications occurring in 7.0% of patients. One-year survival free from stroke, bleeding or LAAC-associated hospitalisation was 83.9%, 90.0% and 81.4% in the “bleeding”, “thromboembolism” and “other” groups, respectively (p = 0.891). Conclusions: In routine clinical practice, LAAC was used in a heterogeneous patient population with atrial fibrillation (AF) and contraindication, inefficacy or intolerance to OAC. The long-term outcome was favourable in all groups