The forest through the trees:Making sense of an ecological dynamics approach to measuring and developing collective behaviour in football

In this book, we interpret the literature that has analysed football performance from a tactical standpoint using an ecological dynamics perspective. This approach focuses on the performer–environment relationship and provides a basis for understanding the dynamic nature of performance in collective team sports (1) and will be explained in detail throughout. The first section of this text will provide a brief description of association football as well as commonly used methods to analyse football performance. The next section will briefly introduce common theories and practices used to measure team behaviour, decision-making, and performance enhancement in team sport, which are then used to introduce the ecological dynamics framework. This framework will then be used to aid the application of these findings for tactical analysis in team sports such as football. Finally, we will introduce some of the scientific literature on improving team performance, particularly in reference to team coordination and decision-making. The following sections of this book will deal specifically with how small-sided games can be used to develop tactical behaviour in football. A small-sided games approach was chosen as these modified games allow for the simultaneous development of players’ technical skills, conditioning, and ability to solve and overcome tactical challenges through coordinative behaviour and effective decision-making (2-5). Small-sided games provide an environment that mimics the perception–action couplings of in situ performance, which should, in theory, improve the transferability of learned behaviours to in-game performance (4, 6). As a result, small-sided games are often used by coaches and form an integral part of this text. Finally, we conclude with some recommendations for future research, and some practical considerations for coaches interested in applying the research discussed in this book

Cooperative networks in team invasion games:A systematic mapping review

Team invasion games are sports in which individual team members interact and exchange information to coordinate their behaviours and actions in pursuit of the common goal of winning matches. Researchers have used social network analysis to quantify the cooperative behaviours of sports teams (cooperative network analysis), yet this research exists across an array of disciplines and uses various methods. Therefore, accessibility for practitioners and researchers interested in using it to quantify team cooperation in team invasion games may be limited. This systematic mapping review aimed to identify, report and discuss research in this emerging research area. Articles were systematically searched in electronic databases and reference list scans resulting in 112 papers included. Football was the most studied sport (n = 91), and passing was the most observed interaction between players within a sports team (n = 107). This review further revealed a lack of consistency in reporting between the included studies with respect to nomenclature and network measures. A comprehensive map of the current literature on the use of cooperative network analysis in team invasion games is provided which can be used by practitioners and researchers tasked with or interested in analysing team performance.</p

Cooperative networks in team invasion games:A systematic mapping review

Team invasion games are sports in which individual team members interact and exchange information to coordinate their behaviours and actions in pursuit of the common goal of winning matches. Researchers have used social network analysis to quantify the cooperative behaviours of sports teams (cooperative network analysis), yet this research exists across an array of disciplines and uses various methods. Therefore, accessibility for practitioners and researchers interested in using it to quantify team cooperation in team invasion games may be limited. This systematic mapping review aimed to identify, report and discuss research in this emerging research area. Articles were systematically searched in electronic databases and reference list scans resulting in 112 papers included. Football was the most studied sport (n = 91), and passing was the most observed interaction between players within a sports team (n = 107). This review further revealed a lack of consistency in reporting between the included studies with respect to nomenclature and network measures. A comprehensive map of the current literature on the use of cooperative network analysis in team invasion games is provided which can be used by practitioners and researchers tasked with or interested in analysing team performance.</p

sj-xlsx-1-spo-10.1177_17479541231177133 - Supplemental material for Cooperative networks in team invasion games: A systematic mapping review

Supplemental material, sj-xlsx-1-spo-10.1177_17479541231177133 for Cooperative networks in team invasion games: A systematic mapping review by Sam Palmer, Andrew R. Novak, Rhys Tribolet and Mark L. Watsford, Job Fransen in International Journal of Sports Science &amp; Coachin

sj-xlsx-1-spo-10.1177_17479541231177133 - Supplemental material for Cooperative networks in team invasion games: A systematic mapping review

Supplemental material, sj-xlsx-1-spo-10.1177_17479541231177133 for Cooperative networks in team invasion games: A systematic mapping review by Sam Palmer, Andrew R. Novak, Rhys Tribolet and Mark L. Watsford, Job Fransen in International Journal of Sports Science &amp; Coachin