Issues in training the female player
TL;DR: Although it is unrealistic to expect the women’s game to approach the work output of the men’S game, specific training of skills and fitness will influence the tactical approach to the game.
Abstract: On the surface, the women's game appears to be similar to the men's game. On closer examination, there are subtle differences in the nature of how each gender plays the game, which are evident in the disparity between skills, tactics and fitness. The technical weaknesses of women include the first touch, dribbling, long passing and goal keeping. These skill limitations have dictated specific tactical approaches towards both attack and defence. Specific biological limitations inherent in the female player affect the pace and total work output in the women's game. Although it is unrealistic to expect the women's game to approach the work output of the men's game, specific training of skills and fitness will influence the tactical approach to the game.
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TL;DR: This review critically appraises various motion analysis methods currently employed in elite soccer and explores research conducted using these methods, identifying areas that require further exploration and identifying practical implications of the established body of knowledge.
Abstract: The optimal physical preparation of elite soccer (association football) players has become an indispensable part of the professional game, especially due to the increased physical demands of match-play. The monitoring of players' work rate profiles during competition is now feasible through computer-aided motion analysis. Traditional methods of motion analysis were extremely labour intensive and were largely restricted to university-based research projects. Recent technological developments have meant that sophisticated systems, capable of quickly recording and processing the data of all players' physical contributions throughout an entire match, are now being used in elite club environments. In recognition of the important role that motion analysis now plays as a tool for measuring the physical performance of soccer players, this review critically appraises various motion analysis methods currently employed in elite soccer and explores research conducted using these methods. This review therefore aims to increase the awareness of both practitioners and researchers of the various motion analysis systems available, and identify practical implications of the established body of knowledge, while highlighting areas that require further exploration.
503 citations
Cites background from "Issues in training the female playe..."
...or lost on successful attempts at scoring carried out at high speed.([71]) The high-intensity category of...
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...Research on female performance has shown that these players spend more time in lower intensity activities compared with males, which may be explained by biological differences such as endurance capacity.([71]) In soccer, activities at lower levels of intensity...
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01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of motion analysis methods for measuring the physical performance of elite soccer players is presented, with a focus on the analysis of the work rate of a player during a match.
Abstract: The optimal physical preparation of elite soccer (association football) players has become an indispensable part of the professional game, especially due to the increased physical demands of match-play. The monitoring of players’ work rate profiles during competition is now feasible through computer-aided motion analysis. Traditional methods of motion analysis were extremely labour intensive and were largely restricted to university-based research projects. Recent technological developments have meant that sophisticated systems, capable of quickly recording and processing the data of all players’ physical contributions throughout an entire match, are now being used in elite club environments. In recognition of the important role that motion analysis now plays as a tool for measuring the physical performance of soccer players, this review critically appraises various motion analysis methods currently employed in elite soccer and explores research REVIEW ARTICLE
255 citations
TL;DR: This program significantly improved lower limb alignment on a drop-jump test and estimated maximal aerobic power and may be implemented preseason or off-season in high school female basketball players.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine if a sports-specific anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention training program could improve neuromuscular and performance indices in female high school soccer players. We combined components from a published knee ligament intervention program for jump and strength training with other exercises and drills to improve speed, agility, overall strength, and aerobic fitness. We hypothesized that this program would significantly improve neuromuscular and athletic performance indices in high school female soccer players. The supervised 6-week program was done 3 d·wk(-1) for 90-120 minutes per session on the soccer fields and weight room facilities in area high schools. In phase 1, 62 athletes underwent a video drop-jump test, t-test, 2 vertical jump tests, and a 37-m sprint test before and upon completion of the training program. In phase 2, 62 other athletes underwent a multistage fitness test before and after training. There were significant improvements in the mean absolute knee separation distance (p < 0.0001), mean absolute ankle separation distance (p < 0.0001), and mean normalized knee separation distance (p < 0.0001) on the drop-jump, indicating a more neutral lower limb alignment on landing. Significant improvements were found in the t-test (p < 0.0001), estimated maximal aerobic power (p < 0.0001), 37-m sprint test (p = 0.02), and in the 2-step approach vertical jump test (p = 0.04). This is the first study we are aware of that demonstrated the effectiveness of a knee ligament injury prevention training program in improving athletic performance indices in high school female soccer players. Future studies will determine if these findings improve athlete compliance and team participation in knee ligament injury intervention training.
114 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the efficacy of three physical conditioning programmes provided over a 12 week period (24 h in total) on selected anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in female soccer players.
Abstract: We compared the efficacy of three physical conditioning programmes provided over a 12 week period (24 h in total) on selected anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in female soccer players. Two of the groups received physical conditioning training in accordance with speed, agility and quickness (SAQ); one group used specialized resistance and speed development SAQ equipment (equipment group; n = 12), while the other group used traditional soccer coaching equipment (non-equipment group; n = 12). A third group received their regular fitness sessions (active control group; n = 12). All three interventions decreased (P <0.001) the participants' body mass index (−3.7%) and fat percentage (−1.7%), and increased their flexibility (+14.7%) and maximal aerobic capacity ([Vdot]O2max) (+18.4%). The participants in the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups showed significantly (P <0.005) greater benefits from their training programme than those in the active control group by performing significantly better on the sprint to fatigue (−11.6% for both the equipment and non-equipment groups versus −6.2% for the active control group), 25 m sprint (−4.4% vs −0.7%), left (−4.5% vs −1.0%) and right (−4.0% vs −1.4%) side agility, and vertical (+18.5% vs +4.8%) and horizontal (+7.7% vs +1.6%) power tests. Some of these differences in improvements in physical fitness between the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups on the one hand and the active control group on the other hand were probably due to the specificity of the training programmes. It was concluded that SAQ training principles appear to be effective in the physical conditioning of female soccer players. Moreover, these principles can be implemented during whole team training sessions without the need for specialized SAQ equipment. Finally, more research is required to establish the relationship between physical fitness and soccer performance as well as the principles underlying the improvements seen through the implementation of SAQ training programmes.
111 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide an overview of a series of studies that have been published so far on the specific characteristics of female football players and the demands of match-play, which can help coaches and sport scientists to design more effective training programs and science-based strategies for the further improvement of players' football performance.
81 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the question of whether the investor consciously structures his response to the issues to maximize his chances of success or whether he is being molded by the process itself in how he plays the game.
Abstract: T here are characteristics of professional investing that make it challenging but also frustrating. This paper will deal with how an investor chooses to respond to two of these characteristics: how the investor processes information and how his ego relates to the specific nature of the investment environment. The paper will address the question of whether the investor consciously structures his response to the issues to maximize his chances of success or whether he is being molded by the process itself in how he plays the game.
9 citations
TL;DR: Patients in the primary prevention group had nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy and no history of sustained VT or syncope and, therefore, did not meet existing guidelines for ICD therapy during the time period the study was conducted, and has a lower event rate.
Abstract: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) reduce mortality among appropriately selected patients who have survived an episode of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia (secondary prevention) or are at risk for ventricular arrhythmia (primary prevention).1-7 Attention has increasingly focused on primary prevention since survival from out-ofhospital cardiac arrest remains abysmal. The remarkably reproducible success of ICDs to prevent sudden cardiac death in high-risk populations has resulted in modest clinical acceptance of device therapy for mortality benefit. However, large-scale “indications” trials in increasingly unrefined patient populations have nurtured a peculiar intellectual dissatisfaction among astute observers that relates to the troubling matter of optimal patient selection. At the center is an unsubstantiated, but commonly held clinical bias (hunch), which presupposes that primary prevention patients have less absolute need for life-saving therapies and, therefore, are potentially “overtreated” on a population basis. “Overtreatment” in this situation means not only did the patients receive an expensive therapy that they never really needed, but they were also placed at risk for painful shocks due to inappropriate therapies for supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). This issue is important because one of the principal limitations of ICD therapy is the physical and psychological discomfort associated with high-voltage shocks. A direct correlation between poor quality-of-life scores and shocks has been described in ICD trials of primary8 and secondary9,10 prevention. Relatively little is known regarding the incidence and characteristics of appropriate and inappropriate therapies between primary and secondary prevention patients. Wilkoff et al.11 reported primary prevention patients had a significantly higher percentage of device-classified ventricular fibrillation (VF, 40%) versus secondary (14%) prevention patients in MIRACLE ICD. Further, the median cycle lengths (CL) of true ventricular rhythms was significantly shorter in primary versus secondary prevention patients (303 ± 53 vs 367 ± 54 msec). However, because a fast ventricular tachycardia (VT) zone was not used in MIRACLE ICD, it is likely that many episodes of potentially pace-terminable rapid monomorphic VT were detected as VF. Additionally, 44% of patients in the primary prevention group had nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NDCMP) and no history of sustained VT or syncope, and, therefore, did not meet existing guidelines for ICD therapy during the time period the study was conducted. This patient population has a lower event rate
7 citations