This paper highlights the importance of examining interpersonal interactions in performance analysis of team sports, predicated on the relationship between perception and action, compared to the traditional cataloguing of actions by individual performers. We discuss how ecological dynamics may provide a potential unifying theoretical and empirical framework to achieve this re-emphasis in resear...

683 Br J Sports Med July 2011 Vol 45 No 9 ones who performed best in youth competitions.2 3 The reason for this is that many factors play a role; factors related to both the athlete (ie, rate of learning, training and maturation of anthropometric, physiological, technical, tactical and psychological skills) and the environment (ie, opportunities created by parents, trainers, coaches, talent dev...

There is little research investigating relationships between the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and athletic performance in female athletes. This study analyzed the relationships between FMS (deep squat; hurdle step [HS]; in-line lunge [ILL]; shoulder mobility; active straight-leg raise [ASLR]; trunk stability push-up; rotary stability) scores, and performance tests (bilateral and unilateral ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of caffeine on reaction time during a specific taekwondo task and athletic performance during a simulated taekwondo contest. Ten taekwondo athletes ingested either 5 mg·kg⁻¹ body mass caffeine or placebo and performed two combats (spaced apart by 20 min). The reaction-time test (five kicks "Bandal Tchagui") was performed immediately prior to ...

This brief review summarizes translational and intervention research in the area of sports performance. We describe studies with youth, collegiate, and elite athletes; identify recent trends; and propose recommendations for future research.

The human body involves the complex interaction between many feedback systems. This is certainly indicative that we are basically a nonlinear organism. Recent developments in the understanding of nonlinear systems suggest that fractal (power law) relationships may be the rule, not the exception. In this article it is shown that the performance of male and female superior athletes exhibits a fra...

Asymmetrical hand function was examined in the context of expert sports performance: hitting in professional baseball. An archival study was conducted to examine the batting performance of all Major League Baseball players from 1871 to 1992, focusing on those who batted left (n = 1,059) to neutralize the game asymmetry. Among them, left-handers (n = 421) were more likely to hit with power and t...

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of two different training programmes - change of direction (COD) vs. agility (AG) - on straight sprint (SS), COD and AG test performances in young elite soccer players. Thirty-two soccer players (age: 14.5±0.9 years; height: 171.2±5.1 cm; body mass: 56.4±7.1 kg, body fat: 10.3±2.3%) participated in a short-term (6 weeks) training study. Players we...

INTRODUCTION Pivotal to athletic performance is the ability to more maintain desired athletic performance levels during particularly critical periods of competition [1], such as during pressurised situations that typically evoke elevated levels of anxiety (e.g., penalty kicks) or when exposed to unexpected adversities (e.g., unfavourable umpire calls on crucial points) [2, 3]. These kinds of si...

These reflections aim to increase awareness of the contradictions inherent in the definition of sport and its relation to health and education. Taking the doping issue as a point of departure, we seek to open a general debate regarding the impact of the sports performance industry on public health. Illegal doping practices lead to the health insecurity of many professional and aspiring athletes...