Elite-level Football Research Articles

University of Birmingham: an innovative Masters of Exercise and Sports Medicine in partnership with the Football Association (Continuing Professional Development series).

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. Master of Science (MSc) in Exercise and Sports Medicine (Football). Sports medicine within football in the UK and throughout the world remains a developing specialty. Although the medical team generally ranks poorly in the hierarchy of elite-level football teams, team success is highly influenced by injuries and player health.1 With a particular focus on football medicine, the MSc in Exercise and Sports Medicine at the University of Birmingham enables demonstration of advanced practice in football medicine and leadership within a multidisciplinary team providing clinical management in football, and enhancing employability in this, and the wider, sports medicine setting.2 Setting itself apart from other Sports and Exercise Medicine postgraduate programmes, the MSc in Exercise and Sports Medicine (Football) is delivered in partnership with the Football Association, English football’s governing body. The MSc programme has been developed for UK and international physiotherapists and medical doctors working within, or interested in moving into, football medicine. The MSc …

An Interdisciplinary Athlete Development Program Aimed at Improving Skills and Physical Attributes in Elite Athletes

While strength and conditioning training can improve athlete skills and physical attributes, little is known on how effective an interdisciplinary approach can be when focused on additional factors (medical, psychological, nutrition) shown to influence such variables. PURPOSE: to evaluate the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary athlete development program for improving skills and physical attributes related to the NFL combine. METHODS: Retrospective review (2008-2016) of 108 elite level football athletes that completed the St. Vincent Sports Performance NFL Pre-Draft Program. Sports health and fitness professionals created 6-week individualized training programs based on 4 disciplines: 1) Physical Training (strength, speed, position skills), 2) Medical (diagnostic, treatment, corrective exercises), 3) Nutrition (dietary analysis, meals), and 4) Psychological (mental preparation, composure). Anthropometric and skill measurements for strength, power, speed, and agility were obtained pre- and post-program. Paired t-test (p<0.05) was used to assess pre to post differences for all athletes and for subgroups of position demands (speed, hybrid, power). Independent t-test was used to compare both pre- and post-program to NFL combine averages. RESULTS: All variables significantly improved pre- to post-program (Table 1), which moved our athletes from worse than combine averages at pre-program, to the same or better at post. Subgroup outcomes showed the same general pattern of improvements, except for fat weight where hybrid (tight end, quarterback, linebacker) showed significant change (38.4 to 36.8 lbs, p=0.03). CONCLUSION: While our athletes were of elite status pre-program, thus little room for gains, all outcomes improved post-program and were the same or better than the NFL combine averages. This was likely due to the interdisciplinary approach focused on the total athlete. Future studies should assess how such gains translate to performance.Table: No title available.

What's in a game? A systems approach to enhancing performance analysis in football.

PurposePerformance analysis (PA) in football is considered to be an integral component of understanding the requirements for optimal performance. Despite vast amounts of research in this area key gaps remain, including what comprises PA in football, and methods to minimise research-practitioner gaps. The aim of this study was to develop a model of the football match system in order to better describe and understand the components of football performance. Such a model could inform the design of new PA methods.MethodEight elite level football Subject Method Experts (SME’s) participated in two workshops to develop a systems model of the football match system. The model was developed using a first-of-its-kind application of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) in football. CWA has been used in many other non-sporting domains to analyse and understand complex systems.ResultUsing CWA, a model of the football match ‘system’ was developed. The model enabled identification of several PA measures not currently utilised, including communication between team members, adaptability of teams, playing at the appropriate tempo, as well as attacking and defending related measures.ConclusionThe results indicate that football is characteristic of a complex sociotechnical system, and revealed potential new and unique PA measures regarded as important by SME’s, yet not currently measured. Importantly, these results have identified a gap between the current PA research and the information that is meaningful to football coaches and practitioners.

‘The influence of overseas coaching and management on the occupational subculture of English professional soccer: views from the dugout’

It is generally acknowledged that expatriate British players and coaches were instrumental in soccer’s radiant global diffusion and that different technical and tactical emphases developed according to particular geographical locations and cultural milieu. As the twentieth century unfolded, the trend reversed with increased inward flows of elite foreign playing and coaching labour challenging the distinctive and erstwhile dominant occupational culture of the English game. This paper explores the dynamics and tensions of subcultural modification and adaptation at the British: migrant coaching talent interface. Owing to issues associated with access, the occupational subculture of elite-level football is impenetrable to most researchers. Previous employment in professional soccer allowed this author to overcome such impediments, permitting access to a range of high-status national and international players and coaches (n = 25) affecting and affected by occupational subcultural change. This enabled a distinctive research platform combining insider knowledge and grounded experience with academic orthodoxy. The paper is built upon primary data collected in semi-structured interviews and critical analysis of emerging themes. In doing so, it offers a fresh dimension to understanding the impact of globalization on elite professional English soccer. Key findings indicated the opinion of British coaches on the impact of this foreign influx polarized. Although many demonstrated an enlightened standpoint, adopting innovative practices introduced by overseas coaching talent, these views were counter-balanced by evidence of a myopic arrogance bordering on xenophobic resistance to change in what now has to be considered the global rather than the ‘English’ game.

Preparation, structured deliberate practice and decision making in elite level football: The case study of Gary Neville (Manchester United FC and England)

Decision making in elite level sporting competition is often regarded as distinguishing success from failure. As an intricate brain-based process it is unlike other physical processes because it is invisible and is typically only evidenced after the event. This case study shows how an individual achieved great success in elite level professional football through consistent positive decision making on and off the field of play. Through prolonged interviewing, Gary Neville, a player from Manchester United Football Club, explored personal behaviours, the structure and activities of deliberate practice and his professional choices in match preparation. His career-long devotion to purposeful organised practice was focused on cognition, physical preparation, context-relative physical action and refined repetition to optimise his mental comfort while enhancing his match day performances. This approach was underpinned by diligent personal and collective organisation and by concerted action. Results provide an insight into the categorical nature of his deliberate practice, sport-specific information processing and match-based decision making. At the operational level, his process was mediated by a complex mental representation of ongoing and anticipated game situations; these representations were continuously updated during each match. Allowing for the limitations of the design, implications are provided for developmental and educational coaching, match preparation, deliberate practice activity and improved use of the performance analysis software packages in professional football.

Suck It Up: Opinions and Attitudes about Mental Illness Stigma and Help-Seeking Behaviour of Male Varsity Football Players

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the attitudes and opinions of varsity football players toward mental health and help-seeking. The insights gained from this study may contribute to a greater understanding of how stigma functions in a competitive, elite-level football team. The authors concluded that the competitive edge required for success in elite athletics conflicts with mental health issues and illnesses. Components of the stigma process (labelling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination), along with the impact of gender on stigma toward mental illness and help-seeking behaviours, are explored. Recommendations are made to broaden the scope of mental health initiatives for student athletes.

Return to play following muscle injuries in professional footballers

This prospective cohort study described return-to-play (RTP) data for different types of muscle injuries in male elite-level football players in Europe. Eighty-nine European professional teams were followed between 2001 and 2013. Team medical staff recorded individual player exposure and time-loss injuries. A total of 17,371 injuries occurred, including 5603 (32%) muscle injuries. From 2007, we received results from 386 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations, and radiological grading was performed. A negative MRI was associated with shorter recovery time (6 ± 7 days). Lay-off days were correlated with MRI grading of thigh muscle injuries (P < 0.001). Among hamstring injuries, 83% occurred to the biceps femoris, 12% affected the semimembranosus and 5% the semitendinosus. Recurrence rate was higher among biceps femoris injuries (18%) compared with semitendinosus and semimembranosus injuries (2% together). Groin muscle injuries caused shorter median absence (9 days) than hamstring (13 days; P < 0.001), quadriceps (12 days; P < 0.001) and calf muscle (13 days; P < 0.001) injuries. Overall, we found that MRI was valuable for prognosticating RTP, with radiological grading associated with lay-off times after injury. Re-injuries were common in biceps femoris injuries but rare in semitendinosus and semimembranosus injuries.

Illness and Injuries in Elite Football Players—A Prospective Cohort Study During the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009

The incidence of injury during elite-level football tournaments has been well documented, but the incidence of illness and medical conditions has not been well studied. The main objective was to analyze the incidence and nature of medical illnesses and injuries in football players. Prospective cohort study. 2009 Fédération Internationale de Football Association Confederations Cup soccer tournament. One hundred eighty-four soccer players (8 teams of 23 players). Incidence (per 1000 player days) of illnesses and injuries. Each team physician was requested to complete a daily report of injury (match and training) and medical illness of their players during the tournament (2070 player days). A total of 63 daily reports were obtained (70% response rate). A total of 56 injuries and 35 illness incidents were recorded, resulting in an overall rate of 16.9 illnesses per 1000 player days and 27.0 injuries (match and training) per 1000 player days. The overall injury rate was 64.4 per 1000 match hours or 2.1 per match. About 0.88 days were lost per injury, and 0.46 days were lost per illness. Thirteen (37%) illnesses were because of conditions of the ear, nose, and throat, and 7 (20%) illnesses were because of other respiratory tract symptoms. The lower limb was the most commonly injured body part, with thigh (20%) being the most frequent location, and contusion (44%) the most frequent type of injury. Illnesses are as common but less severe compared with match and training injuries during an international football tournament. Illnesses comprise an important component in the day-to-day medical care of a traveling football team. Medical illness therefore needs to be considered by the team physicians when planning for and managing the medical needs of elite football teams.

The role of performance analysts within the coaching process: Performance Analysts Survey ‘The role of performance analysts in elite football club settings.’

The aim of this study was to identify the role which performance analysts play within elite football clubs and identify how these roles differ within professional and academy settings. This study addressed the dearth of research regarding the role of match analysts, in relation to the provision of feedback via match and notational analysis techniques and systems. An exploratory study was conducted using an online questionnaire, formed using knowledge from current match analysts working in elite football, academic practitioners within the areas of performance analysis and from current literature. The questionnaire was completed by 48 match analyst practitioners working within elite football clubs. 32 of the analysts were predominantly working in a professional team setting, while 16 were predominantly working in an academy setting. When comparisons were made between the two groups of analysts a number of significant differences (P<0.05) were identified in relation to the provision of pre match feedback, post-match feedback and the value the analysts gave to certain performance analysis approaches. 4 of these factors related to pre match feedback, 1 factor related to post match feedback and the remaining 9 factors related to value associated with performance analysis approaches. Further insight has been provided into the importance of the role analysts play in enhancing the observation, analysis and feedback strategies which elite level football teams utilise.

Voice and vocal health in elite sports coaching: considerations for elite football coaching staff

BackgroundWhile voice is integral to sports coaching, currently there is a dearth of research considering coaches' occupational vocal health.ObjectiveTo investigate football coaches' occupational voice use and vocal health (including the...

A 94% return to elite level football after ACL surgery: a proof of possibilities with optimal caretaking or a sign of knee abuse?

A 94% return to elite level football after ACL surgery : a proof of possibilities with optimal caretaking or a sign of knee abuse? in KNEE SURGERY SPORTS TRAUMATOLOGY ARTHROSCOPY

Duodeno-jejunal adenocarcinoma and coeliac disease.

<h3>Background</h3> While voice is integral to sports coaching, currently there is a dearth of research considering coaches9 occupational vocal health. <h3>Objective</h3> To investigate football coaches9 occupational voice use and vocal...