Can off-field ‘brains’ provide a competitive advantage in professional football?

Developing Decision-Making Expertise in Professional Sports Staff: What We Can Learn from the Good Judgement Project

Success within performance sports is heavily dependent upon the quality of the decisions taken by educated and experienced staff. Multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) typically collate voluminous data, and staff typically undergo extensive and rigorous technical and domain-specific training. Although sports professionals operate in sometimes volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous decision-making environments, a common assumption seems to be that education and experience will automatically lead to enhanced and effective decision-making capabilities. Accordingly, there are few formal curriculums, in coaching or sports science contexts, focussed on translating the extensive research on judgement and decision-making expertise to professional sports staff. This article aims to draw on key research findings to offer insights and practical recommendations to support staff working within professional performance contexts. Through this distillation, we hope to enhance understanding of the factors underpinning effective decision-making in dynamic, high-stakes professional sporting environments. Broadly, the conclusions of this research demonstrate that decision-making efficacy is enhanced through application of three specific strategies: (i) Design of more engaging professional cultures harnessing the power of collectives encouraging diverse opinions and perspectives, and fostering and promoting collaborative teamwork, (ii) education specifically targeting debiasing training, designed to counter the most common cognitive pitfalls and biases and, (iii) the implementation of evaluation strategies integrating rigorous testing and real-time feedback.

A survey of organizational structure and operational practices of elite youth football academies and national federations from around the world: A performance and medical perspective

Aim

Medical and performance units are integral components of player development programmes in elite football academies. Nevertheless, the nature of the operational processes implemented by practitioners within clubs and national federations remains unexplored. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to survey elite youth professional football academies from around the world regarding the operational processes adopted by their medical and performance units.

Methods

Of the 50 organizations invited, 10 national federations and 25 clubs took part in the survey resulting in a response rate of 70% (95% confidence interval, 56%-81%). The respondents represented three groups: senior club and academy management, performance, and medical staff.

Results

The majority (60%-90%) of clubs and national federations reported strategic alignment between senior and academy medical and performance units as well as between academy medical and performance units. Survey responses indicated substantial heterogeneity in the composition and number of medical and performance professionals employed in academies. The majority of respondents agreed their medical and performance departments were effective in utilizing staff knowledge and external sources of knowledge to inform their practice (56%-80%). Performance staff (40%-50%) and physiotherapists (30%-32%) were deemed most influential in injury prevention programmes. During the return-to-play process, the influence of specific practitioners in the medical and performance units was dependent upon the phase of return-to-play. Shared decision-making was common practice amongst performance and medical staff in injury prevention and return-to-play processes. Medical and performance data were generally centralized across the first team and academy in majority (50%-72%) of clubs and national federations. Data were integrated within the same data management system to a higher degree in clubs (68%) vs. national federations (40%). Research and development activity were reported for most academies (50%-72%), and generally led by the head of performance (37%) or team doctor (21%). Research activities were largely undertaken via internal staff (~100%), academic collaborations (50%-88%) and/or external consultants and industry partnerships (77%-83%) in the national federation and clubs.

Conclusion

Collectively, these findings provide a detailed overview regarding key operational processes delivered by medical and performance practitioners working in elite football academies.

A Longitudinal Study on the Evolution of the Four Main Football Leagues Using Artificial Intelligence: Analysis of the Differences in English Premier League Teams

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the evolution of the four most important leagues and to identify if there are differences between the English Premier League and the rest of the European leagues. Methods: Each team was characterized according to a set of 52 variables including offensive, defensive, and buildup 10 variables that were computed from OPTA's on-ball event records of the matches for main national leagues between the 2014 and 2018 seasons. To test the evolution of leagues, the t-SNE dimensionality reduction technique was used. To better understand the differences between leagues and teams, the most discriminating variables were obtained as a set of rules discovered by RIPPER, a machine learning algorithm. Results: The evolution of playing styles has meant that teams in the major European leagues seem to 15 be approaching homogeneity of technical-tactical behavior. Despite this, a distinction can be seen between the English teams concerning the rest of the teams in the other leagues, determined by fewer free kicks, fewer long passes but more vertical, more errors in ball control but greater success in dribbling. Conclusions: These results provide important knowledge and practical applications because of the study of the different variables and performance indicators among the best football championships.

Optimising long-term athletic development: An investigation of practitioners' knowledge, adherence, practices and challenges

Long-term athletic development practices have been recommended for the past two decades. However, limited research exists exploring the knowledge and skills required by practitioners to optimise long-term athletic development. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, adherence, practices, and challenges of practitioners responsible for delivering long-term athletic development. A mixed methods survey was completed by 236 practitioners (e.g., sport coaches, physical education teachers) consisting of four parts; 1) demographics, 2) knowledge, 3) adherence, and 4) practices and challenges. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed by Friedman’s analysis of variance and thematic analyses, respectively. Quantitative findings showed practitioners 1) recognised their responsibility for delivering long-term athletic development, 2) have a familiarity with existing developmental models, and 3) had high adherence, focused upon health and wellbeing, to delivering long-term athletic development. However, practices associated with growth and maturity, monitoring and assessment, and the systematic progression and individualisation of training had lower adherence. Qualitative analysis indicated that practitioner’s perceived definitions of athleticism and long-term athletic development were inconsistent, especially according to the psychological components (i.e., confidence). Practitioners’ descriptions of their long-term athletic development practices identified two higher order themes; 1) goals, in which long-term athletic development “is for life” and the importance of “an individual centered journey” highlighted as sub-themes; and 2) realities of delivering long-term athletic development, whereby variety in programme delivery, monitoring development and practical challenges were noted as key priorities. Eight practical challenges were identified including governance and priorities, resources, education, early specialization, high training volumes, staff communication, parents and youth motivation. This mixed method survey highlighted a multitude of knowledge, adherence, practices and challenges towards long-term athletic development. These novel findings can help inform policy to optimise long-term athletic development and to support the complex problem of developing a healthier, fitter and more physically active youth population.

Load Monitoring Practice in European Elite Football and the Impact of Club Culture and Financial Resources

Load monitoring is considered important to manage the physical training process in team sports such as Association Football. Previous studies have described the load monitoring practices of elite English football clubs and clubs with an established sports-science department. An examination of a broader international sample is currently not available. In addition, previous research has suggested factors that may improve the implementation of load monitoring practices, such as a strong club belief on the benefit of evidence-based practice (EBP) and high club financial resources. However, no study has examined yet the actual impact of these factors on the monitoring practices. Therefore, this study aims (1) to provide an overview of load monitoring practices in European elite football and (2) to provide insight into the differences in implementation between clubs by examining the impact of the club beliefs on the benefit of EBP and the club financial resources. An online survey, consisting of multiple choice and Likert scale questions, was distributed among sports-science and sports-medicine staff (n = 99, 50% response rate). Information was asked about the types of data collected, collection purposes, analysis methods, and staff involvement. The results indicated that external load data (e.g., global navigation satellite system, accelerometer…) was collected the most whilst respondents also indicated to collect internal load (e.g., heart rate, rating of perceived exertion…) and training outcome data (e.g., aerobic fitness, neuromuscular fatigue…) for multiple purposes. Considerable diversity in data analysis was observed suggesting that analysis is often limited to reporting the gathered data. Sports-science staff were responsible for data collection and analysis. Other staff were involved in data discussion to share decision-making. These practices were positively impacted by a stronger club belief on the benefit of EBP and greater financial resources. Creating an organizational culture, characterized by a strong belief on the benefit of EBP, is important to increase the impact of load monitoring. However, the actual potential may still be largely determined by financial resources. High-level clubs could therefore play a leading role in generating and sharing knowledge to improve training practices and player health.

Practitioner, Coach, and Athlete Perceptions of Evidence-Based Practice in Professional Sport in Australia

PURPOSE

To examine practitioners', coaches', and athletes' perceptions of evidence-based practice (EBP) in professional sport in Australia.

METHODS

One hundred thirty-eight participants (practitioners n = 67, coaches n = 39, and athletes n = 32) in various professional sports in Australia each completed a group-specific online questionnaire. Questions focused on perceptions of research, the contribution of participants' own experience in implementing knowledge to practice, sources, and barriers for accessing and implementing EBP, preferred methods of feedback, and the required qualities of practitioners.

RESULTS

All practitioners reported using EBP, while most coaches and athletes believed that EBP contributes to individual performance and preparation (>85%). Practitioners' preferred EBP information sources were "peer-reviewed journals" and "other practitioners within their sport," while athlete sources were "practitioners within their sport" and "other athletes within their sport." As primary barriers to accessing and implementing research, practitioners highlighted "time constraints," "poor research translation," and "nonapplicable research." Practitioners ranked "informal conversation" as their most valued method of providing feedback; however, coaches prefer feedback from "scheduled meetings," "online reports," or "shared database." Both athletes and coaches value "excellent knowledge of the sport," "experience," and "communication skills" in practitioners disseminating EBP.

CONCLUSION

Practitioners, coaches, and athletes believe in the importance of EBP to their profession, although practitioners reported several barriers to accessing and implementing research as part of EBP. Athletes place a high value on experienced practitioners who have excellent knowledge of the sport and communication skills. Collectively, these findings can be used to further stakeholder understanding regarding EBP and the role of research to positively influence athlete health.

A framework for effective knowledge translation and performance delivery of Sport Scientists in professional sport

Sport Science is considered the study and application of scientific principles and techniques to improve sporting performance. Thus, a key role of the Sport Scientist is to translate complex information into usable and contextual performance solutions for a range of different stakeholders. These stakeholders consist of athletes, coaches, recruiting, performance support, medical, administration and operations staff and have varying interests and priorities meaning the information required can be vastly different. In addition to these different needs, sport is fast-moving, diverse and complex meaning there are a number of potential translational barriers. Sport Science training programmes entail the development of technical knowledge and practical skills; however, little is considered in view of interpersonal craft skill development and knowledge translation (KT). Given the reported barriers and challenges to effective KT in sport, this lack of specific training may render KT as ineffective and suboptimal. Accordingly, in this article, we propose a framework and work-based training model with the aim of developing the KT process and performance delivery of Sport Scientists operating in professional sport. Firstly, we define the current perspectives and challenges for Sport Scientists in the context of KT, before proposing a framework that focusses on Evidence-Based-Practice, Philosophy, Recipients and Facilitation, in which Sport Scientists can use to develop their interpersonal craft and subsequent KT approach. We finish by presenting a model of sport science practitioner training; the professional sport-doctoral training programme, that combined with the framework, can be effective in developing Sport Scientists.Highlights Knowledge translation is a key component of the sport scientist's role, however, there is a lack of defined training processes on how to develop and improve knowledge translation in the context and environment of professional sport.We propose a framework that focuses on the development of sport scientist's knowledge translation capacity by emphasizing and concentrating efforts towards the main constituents of Evidence-Based Practice, Philosophy, Recipients and Facilitation.Sport science research-practitioner professional sport training models are effective in developing knowledge translation strategies through simultaneously acquiring new technical knowledge, developing practical coaching skills and evolving interpersonal craft skills that collectively work together to improve knowledge translation and organizational decision making.

The Translation of Sport Science Research to the Field: A Current Opinion and Overview on the Perceptions of Practitioners, Researchers and Coaches

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the collated integration of practitioner expertise, athlete values and research evidence aimed to optimise the decision-making process surrounding sport performance. Despite the academic interest afforded to sport science research, our knowledge of how this research is applied in elite sport settings is limited. This current opinion examines the existing evidence of the translation of sport science research into the field, with a tailored focus on the current perceptions of practitioners, researchers and coaches. Recent studies show that practitioners and researchers report they ascertain sport science knowledge differently, with coaches preferring personal interactions compared with coaching courses or scientific journals. The limited peer-reviewed research shows that coaches perceive their knowledge is greater in fields such as tactical/technical areas, rather than physical fitness or general conditioning. This likely explains coaches' greater perceived value in research dedicated to technical and tactical expertise, as well as mental training and skill acquisition. Practitioners place a large emphasis on the need for research in physical fitness areas, which is likely due to their occupational focus. There are many perceived barriers of sport science research application, including funding, time, coach/player/staff 'buy in' and research questions that may not apply to the setting. We contend that researchers and practitioners may benefit in producing research, ascertaining knowledge and disseminating findings in alternative methods that better align with coaches' needs. In addition, educational strategies that focus on real-world context and promote social interaction between coaches, practitioners, organisational personnel and researchers would likely benefit all stakeholders.

Current Approaches to the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Injury Risk Assessment and Performance Prediction in Team Sports: a Systematic Review

Background

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) opens an interesting perspective for predicting injury risk and performance in team sports. A better understanding of the techniques of AI employed and of the sports that are using AI is clearly warranted. The purpose of this study is to identify which AI approaches have been applied to investigate sport performance and injury risk and to find out which AI techniques each sport has been using.

Methods

Systematic searches through the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science online databases were conducted for articles reporting AI techniques or methods applied to team sports athletes.

Results

Fifty-eight studies were included in the review with 11 AI techniques or methods being applied in 12 team sports. Pooled sample consisted of 6456 participants (97% male, 25 ± 8 years old; 3% female, 21 ± 10 years old) with 76% of them being professional athletes. The AI techniques or methods most frequently used were artificial neural networks, decision tree classifier, support vector machine, and Markov process with good performance metrics for all of them. Soccer, basketball, handball, and volleyball were the team sports with more applications of AI.

Conclusions

The results of this review suggest a prevalent application of AI methods in team sports based on the number of published studies. The current state of development in the area proposes a promising future with regard to AI use in team sports. Further evaluation research based on prospective methods is warranted to establish the predictive performance of specific AI techniques and methods.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s40798-019-0202-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.