Sport Expertise Research Articles

The role of psychology and psychologists in sports

Sports psychology is a young scientific discipline that represents the application of psychology in sports and physical activity. Although the science of sports psychology has proven to significantly enhance sports performance and contribute to sports results, its role in practice is not always clearly defined. The aim of this paper is to look at how coaches and managers, being the people who work with athletes most closely and whose advice is respected most, perceive the role of psychologists and psychological science in sports. Obviously, the key issue is not the acceptance of psychic factors as significant for sports success, or their detection and defining. The main problem lies in practical application of this knowledge, and more precisely, in acceptance of psychological experts by sports managers and coaches. The role of psychological experts in sports is still influenced by the individual attitudes and perceptions of coaches and sports management. It has been shown hence, that football coaches do accept participation of psychologists in working with athletes, but they reserve the right to determine their area of work. Younger and higher educated coaches are more ready to engage psychologists in work with athletes. A survey amongst students of the Faculty of Sport showed that future coaches and sports managers, by studying the subject ?Psychology of Sports?, gained full understanding of the importance of psychological factors and the role of psychological science and psychologists in sports. The expectation is that education of experts in sports will influence change in existing attitudes, thereby improving, refining and humanizing work with athletes.

Risk recognition and identification of sports activities in colleges and universities

Recently, Intense training in specialized sport among colleges and universities has steadily improved. Although most sportspeople accept that some degree of expertise in sport is required to achieve the elite stage, there is controversy over risk recognition and identification of sports activities in colleges and universities to optimize future performance. There is concern that a young athlete can suffer from sports specialization before adolescence due to various risk factors such as injuries, social tension, and hypertension etc..,. Furthermore, PubMed and OVID are looking to discuss sports specialization and athlete experience-based consensus opinions and position statements based on Universities and Colleges. Risk recognition and identification tools are developed to identify the locations of athletes within the specialization spectrum using Linear Structural Modeling (LSM). Here, a degree of sports expertise is needed to create elite skill levels to overcome risk factors that have been suggested in the linear model. In most sports, though, such accelerated preparation should be deferred until late adolescence to reduce risk factors. The psychological burden has been analyzed for recognition, and classification based on the case study has been firmly researched in this paper.

Uloga fudbalskih skauta u procesu transformacije igrača - od talenta do vrhunskog sportiste

Revenues generated by football clubs belonging to one of the socalled "The Big Five" leagues (England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France) give a strong argument by claiming that modern football has become a very organized, but also profitable business. In the football clubs of the mentioned European countries, the most famous players of today are "super heroes" and they are the reason why massive numbers of football fans visit football stadiums. All players, who today identify themselves as elite athletes, were at the beginning of their sports careers merely talented individuals with more or less pronounced psycho-physical predispositions for playing sports. This paper will present the basic characteristics of the profession of professional scouts as one of the key persons in recognizing talents and their transformation into top athletes. Also, the paper emphasizes the necessary skills that these sports experts should possess, but also points out the importance of decisionmaking in terms of often difficult and complicated decisions in the process of identifying talented individuals in sports.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ ТАКТИЧНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ У СУЧАСНИХ СПОРТИВНИХ ЄДИНОБОРСТВАХ

The relevance of the research is that current trends in the development of Olympic combat sports require a constant search for ways to improve the tactical skills of athletes of different ages and qualifications. The purpose of the study is to identify and characterize the technologies of tactical training in modern combat sports. Research methods and material. Theoretical analysis, documentary method, generalization of literature data and the Internet allowed us to identify the problematic field of tactical training in martial arts and formulate a research hypothesis. Later, an expert assessment was conducted with the involvement of forty experts in modern Olympic combat sports to determine their attitude to the implementation of tactical training of athletes at various stages of long-term improvement. The generalization of the experts' answers allowed us to determine the tactical training technologies used in the training process of athletes of different experience. Research results. Technologies of tactical training of athletes that can be applied at different levels (general pedagogical, stage and local) have been identified. The most sought after in modern Olympic martial arts is pattern technology with elements of modification using a variety of tools – 55.00% of experts (n=40) supported its use. Other technologies are applied by a narrower circle of specialists: variant, with various tools – 30.00% of specialists; template with modification elements with limited range of tools – 7.50%; template, without modification, with limited range of tools – 2.50%; template-variant, with various tools – 5.00%. Conclusions. The universal technology of athletes’ tactical training, relevant for modern martial arts, is a template with modifying elements, which provides the use of various tools. Other technologies (variable, template without modification, template and variable) are in demand for a narrow circle of specialists. Keywords: combat sports, tactics, skills, stages, methods.

Analyzing the effect of selected micro nutrient supplementation on endurance running performance of trained athletes

Galore of sport experts think that athletes are born, others are of the view that they are the product of nature and nurture i.e. athletes are produced. So far my views and ideas are concerned athletes are the byproduct of a combination of both the factors mentioned above. Though athletes go through expert coaching and endowed with potentialities they often adopt unfair means for unnatural development of their performance. Despite all regulations and legislations they use substance of abuse for performance enhancement. The anti doping agencies are working hard in control and minimizing the issues and keeping athletes safe. Apart from coaching, training nutrition of athlete is also a crucial part which sometimes gets less priority especially in country like India. Though sport persons are guided with best training, provided atmosphere for their best grooming, they quite often lack in nutritional status. In this perspective supplementation with essential micro and macro nutrients can play a major role in development of athletic performance without being alleged by anti doping agencies. Considering the above fact the scholar premeditated to conduct a research directed towards analyzing the effect of selected micro nutrient supplementation on endurance running performance of trained athletes. For the study the scholar selected 31 boys who are categorically state level runners as volunteers. The scholar involved a Physician as expert for medical prescription and overall supervision who considering the nutrition status of the athletes and RDA prepared a course of supplementation. A supplementation protocol was designed with the micronutrients like Vit. C, Vit. E, Iron and calcium and employed on the athletes for 12 weeks and data with respect to their performance on endurance run i.e. 12 mins run and walk was recorded thrice pre test mid test and post test. The data were analyzed statistically and was observed that. Their performance developed cumulatively during the mid as well as the post tests. Thus the scholar arrived at the conclusion that micro nutrient supplementation can play a determining role in development of athletes performance.

The general differences of reliable motor swimming skills in assessing the achievements of men and women in prestigious competitions

The aim of the study is to find out the indicators of swimming skills formation among young people of different ages and genders for results at different distances of sports and marathon swimming on the facts of receiving awards by domestic and foreign swimmers - prize-winners at the current stage of development of prestigious sports swimming competitions.
 Results. The article discusses generalized facts of participation of domestic and foreign swimmers in modern prestigious competitions, starting with the championships of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and past Spartakiads of the peoples of the USSR, as well as past and modern world events Universidad, European, World and Olympic Championships.
 The criterion for the differences between swimmers are the indicators of changing the average speed of swimming in different ranges among men and women. Thus, the general difference between the formation of swimming skills among men and women according to the results of the pedagogical study according to past and modern data of average speed of swimming at all distances of the most prestigious competitions in past years and in modern conditions of sports and marathon swimming is over –0,18 m/s (male, x ± m = 1.75 ± 0,17; female, x ± m = 1,57 ± 0,12 t = 8,82, p < 0,05). Therefore, the objective criterion for the differentiation of swimmers of different sex is considered to be the dynamics of the average speed of swimming in different ranges between men and women. It carefully reflects the certain levels of swimming skills among the best domestic and foreign swimmers, which should be known to specialists at the current stage of development of sports and marathon swimming. Formation of motor skills of swimming of young people of all ages and sex is always under the common view of experts in physical education and sports.

Measuring Health Promotion in Sports Club Settings: A Modified Delphi Study.

Settings-based approaches have become an increasing health promotion focus since the World Health Organization's 1986 Ottawa Charter. While schools, cities, and prisons have implemented this approach, its development within sports environments is recent. Sports are a popular leisure-time activity, requiring validated tools to measure health promotion activity. This study's aim was to develop a measurement tool based on international consensus that measures perceptions of health promotion within sports clubs. It is grounded in the settings-based approach and builds on theory from previous works expanding their context and knowledge. An online, three-round international Delphi study was conducted, inviting experts in sports and health fields to participate in designing the tool. Round 1 created a collaborative list of items; Round 2 validated items based on relevance, importance, and feasibility; and the final round classified items into one determinant category-social, cultural, environmental, or economic. Panelists (69 experts) from 13 countries participated, creating a final list of 62 items at 3 organizational levels; the sports club level included 23 items, the officials level retained 20 items, and the coaching level contained 19 items. This study provides several innovations: (1) applying the settings-based approach to health promotion within sports clubs, (2) defining each club level (sports club, official, coaching) and determinants (social, cultural, environmental, economic) within 3-levels, (3) creating a tool that measures perceptions of health-promotion activities per level and determinant, and (4) obtaining expert consensus on included items. These advancements allow further research on promoting health within sports clubs.

Evolution of the system approach and ways to improve human physical wellbeing

The purpose of the study is to analyze evolution of the system approach as the fundamental methodological area of modern scientific knowledge and to discover the practical experience of physical education and sport experts. We studied the experience of implementation of the system approach principle in physical culture and sport activities aimed at the improvement of indicators of human physical wellbeing. Research methods and organization. Theoretical and methodological research background is based on the gener- al philosophical, general and individual levels of scientific knowledge. The paper contains outcomes of the study of theoretical and empirical system concepts, and it contains an overview of major educational technologies. Research results and discussion. Introduction of the system approach to scientific concepts affected various scientific areas. Objectification of a person as a complex functional system has a number of essential outcomes. We are able to obtain more reliable information about its functioning mechanisms, to identify and systematize external and internal relationships, to determine and assess body characteristics and properties. Conclusion. We can affirm that the comprehensive approach of experts to the issue of human rehabilitation and physical excellence shows its effectiveness, and the differentiation and integration of scientific knowledge enhance the expansion of the range of activities that contribute to the effective solution of applied problems in the field of physical education and sports.

The Effect of Virtual Training on Speed and Accuracy of Decision Making in Sport.

The concept of expertise is an appealing topic in numerous domains, including sport. Research suggests that the path leading to expertise in sport is significantly influenced by the development of specific components, such as knowledge, skill, and game-performance (Thomas and Thomas, 1994). A relatively new technique in the field of teaching and coaching is the use of video games as a mode of instruction (Swing and Anderson, 2008). The purpose of this study was to address the question of whether video games can improve declarative and procedural sport knowledge. Twenty-seven volunteers were recruited through flyers and word of mouth at a university in a Midwest community. Measurements included an American football knowledge (pre- and post) test, survey of experience, and six football practice sessions using a Microsoft X-box. The project was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Human Subjects Review Committee. Knowledge test scores increased significantly from pre- to post-test [t (26) =-4.997, p = 0.0001]; the improvements were moderate (effect size = 0.66). From practice one to practice six (time) the average speed of decisions improved significantly, but accuracy did not. Knowledge increased regardless of the experience level, but the largest improvements in decision accuracy took place at the lowest experience level. This research supports the idea that video games could be an effective tool to increase sport specific knowledge, particularly in novices.

Stimulating injury-preventive behaviour in sports: the systematic development of two interventions

BackgroundIn addition to the beneficial health effects of being active, sports are also associated with a risk of sustaining injuries. To avoid the occurrence of sports injuries, preventive measures can be applied. The aim of the current article is to provide insight into the systematic developmental process of two evidence-based interventions designed to stimulate injury-preventive behaviour in runners and skiers, in which Intervention Mapping (IM) and Knowledge Transfer Scheme (KTS) are used as developmental protocols. However, the ultimate steps in the process are adjusted to meet requirements of the intervention and the target group.MethodsUsing a three-step process, we developed two interventions to stimulate injury-preventive behaviour in runners and skiers. Sports participants, sports experts and behaviour experts contributed throughout steps two and three of the developmental process.ResultsIn step one we started with a problem statement in which we used information about the number and the burden of running-related and skiing-related injuries in the Netherlands. In step two, in-depth research was performed using four research strategies. During this step we tried to answer the following question: Which preventive measures or actions should be executed to prevent what injuries by whom, and how should we do that? A desk research/systematic review of the literature, expert meetings, target user surveys, and target user focus group meetings were conducted. In step three of product development, both interventions were developed. During the developmental process, co-creation sessions with target users were held. Before finalizing the interventions, pre-tests of the interventions were performed with target users.ConclusionsThrough a three-step approach, we developed two interventions to stimulate injury-preventive behaviour in runners and skiers. To develop an intervention that fits the needs of the target population, and will be used by them, it is necessary to involve this population as soon and as much as possible. Several steps in the IM and KTS protocols have thus been adjusted in order to establish an optimal fit between intervention and target group.

Learning to play badminton altered resting-state activity and functional connectivity of the cerebellar sub-regions in adults.

Previous studies have shown that sport experts are different from novices in functions and structures of the cerebellar sub-regions and the functional connectivity (FC) associated with the cerebellum, suggesting the role of the cerebellum on motor skill learning (MSL). However, the manipulation of individuals with different motor skills fails to exclude the effects of innate talents. In addition, individuals with higher motor skills often start with the MSL in their young ages. It is still unclear whether the effects regarding the cerebellum would be shown at one’s adult age. The present study was to directly alter individuals’ motor skills to investigate whether MSL (taking learning to play badminton as an example) in adulthood influences resting-state activity in the cerebellum. To this end, young adults without ball training experience were recruited as participants and were assigned randomly into the experimental group and the control group. Participants in the experimental group were asked to attend a badminton training course for 12 weeks, while the control group did not regularly attend any ball sports during this period. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was recorded before and after the training. Results showed that compared to the control group, the experimental group had smaller amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in right cerebellar hemispheric VI and left VIII after training. For the experimental group, right hemispheric VIII had a stronger FC with left hemispheric IV-V, cerebellar vermal IX, left middle cingulate gyrus and right hippocampus after training. Taken together, these findings suggested that MSL, at least learning to play badminton in adulthood, reduces resting-state activity in different sub-regions in the cerebellum but increases FC between sub-regions of the cerebellum as well as between sub-regions of the cerebellum and cerebral cortices (e.g., middle cingulate cortex and hippocampus).

Perceptual-cognitive expertise in combat sports: a narrative review and a model of perception-action. [Habilidades perceptivo-cognitivas en deportes de combate: una revisión narrativa y un modelo de percepción-acción

Despite the many studies on physical and physiological features of combat sport athletes, there has been considerably less consideration of psychological factors. Here, we present a narrative review of literature related to perceptual-cognitive skill in combat sports that require the athlete to score points by hitting or touching the opponent’s body with the hands, feet or weapon: boxing, French boxing, fencing, kung fu (wushu), karate, taekwondo and other martial arts. Based on a thorough search of literature, we synthesised findings from empirical studies on Reaction Time, Anticipation, Visual Search and Information Pick-up. Contrary to the belief of coaches, there was no clear consensus regarding Reaction Time being a good predictor of success in combat sports. However, consistent with findings from other sports, expert combat sport athletes better anticipate the opponent’s actions based on information perceived before and during the attack. This is likely facilitated by experts using a gaze fixation strategy (i.e., visual pivot) that facilitates information pick-up. In the final section, we present a model that describes how the evolving perception-action relationship between the attacking athlete and opponent depends on distance, attack progression and opponent reaction. Suggestions are provided for training and for future research in combat sports.

The Role of Time Constraints in Athletes' Egocentric Mental Rotation Performance.

A selective effect of motor expertise on mental rotation is revealed by a high correlation between the performance of sports experts and ability on a mental rotation task. Evidence is shown by studies involving a spatial factor, such as image interference or a movement constraint. Alternatively, the time constraint, as another performance factor, is considered critical in the effect of sport expertise on mental rotation. Three experiments were conducted to examine the role of time constraints in egocentric mental rotation and the stage performance of athletes (divers) and nonathletes. In Experiment 1, an egocentric mental rotation task in an untimed condition was conducted, and reaction times (RTs), error rates (ERs), RTs at 0 °, and mental rotation speed were assessed. The results indicated that divers outperformed nonathletes in terms of RT, as well as perceptual and decision stages and rotation stages. Experiments 2 and 3 added a relative time constraint (subtracting 1/2 SD of all the subjects’ RT from the M of each group’s RT) and an absolute time constraint (subtracting 1/2 SD of all the subjects’ RT from the M of all the subjects’ RT) to the task, respectively. Superior RT and lower ER were observed for the divers in the time constraint condition. Moreover, the results illustrated that divers were faster than nonathletes in both stages when facing time pressure. In general, the present study has, for the first time, confirmed the role of time in the relationship between sports expertise and mental rotation.

Understanding High Achievement: The Case for Eminence.

The development of the field of sport expertise over the past 20 years has been remarkable, and our understanding of the varying factors affecting athlete development and motor skill acquisition has expanded considerably. Recently, there has been a push toward more sophisticated research designs to continue the advancement of our understanding of sport expertise. Even in a population of performers at the highest levels of performance and competition (e.g., participants in professional sports or those who compete at Olympic Games), there are those with obvious superiority compared to others in the cohort, such as those who win “most valuable player” awards or who are elected to the Hall of Fame. This paper builds a case that athletes who reach this level of achievement possess a more advanced level of skill than those at the elite or expert stage and we refer to this stage of development as “eminence.” This paper explores the notion of eminence and provides converging forms of evidence for the division between expertise and eminence. Moreover, it explores the implications of this division for the further examination of skill acquisition across the lifespan.

A Brief Review of the Application of Neuroergonomics in Skilled Cognition During Expert Sports Performance.

The elite sports environment provides a unique setting for studying human performance, where both cognitive and physical demands are high. Successful performance in sport is contingent upon key cognitive skills such as attention, perception, working memory and decision-making. The demands of competitive sport also increase loading on the central nervous system (CNS). Neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) offer the potential to investigate the cognitive demands of sport, neuroplasticity of athletes, and biofeedback training. However, practical and technical limitations of these methods have generally limited their use to laboratory-based studies of athletes during simulated sporting tasks. This review article, provides a brief overview of research that has applied neuroimaging technology to study various aspects of cognitive function during sports performance in athletes, alternative methods for measuring CNS loading [e.g., direct current (DC) potential], possible solutions and avenues of focus for future neuroergonomics research in sport.

Representational Momentum in the Expertise Context: Support for the Theory of Event Coding as an Explanation for Action Anticipation

This study aimed to extend the notion of the theory of event coding as an explanation of action anticipation in expert sport performers. This was achieved by investigating the degree with which automatic anticipation depends on the ecological congruency between the perceived action and its distal effect. In a novel approach, the representational momentum paradigm was adopted to address this notion. Expert (N = 16) and novice (N = 20) rugby players observed a dynamic video of a short pass that was displayed as either toward or away from a receiver. Following an occlusion interval, participants were required to judge whether the video resumed at the same place, further forward or further backward than its original stopping place. Experts demonstrated stronger anticipatory tendencies when the action was directed toward the receiver. This relationship was modulated by a leftward directional bias that is discussed in the context of a bias in viewing behavior that is underpinned by attention. Novice anticipatory tendencies were independent of context. These findings show support for the extension of the theory of event coding.

Developing sport expertise in youth sport: a decision training program in basketball.

BackgroundThis study has analyzed the impact of applying a decision training program, in which video-feedback and questioning were used, on the development of decision-making, skill execution and procedural knowledge in basketball players.MethodsParticipants were eleven male players aged between 12 and 13 years old (Mage = 12.75, SDage = .65), who were assigned to an experimental or control group within a pre-test/intervention test/retention test quasi-experimental design. The decision training program was applied over 11 weeks. Throughout this intervention, players had to analyze the causes and reasons for the decision made, using video feedback and questioning to this end. Decision-making and skill execution variables were analyzed using the French & Thomas (1987) observation instrument, while a validated questionnaire was used to assess procedural knowledge in basketball.ResultsThe results reported that sport expertise improved in players from the experimental group, who had significantly higher intervention test scores for successful decisions and skill executions when compared to players in the control group. In the intra-group analysis, the experimental group significantly improved in the intervention test compared to the pre-test, in terms of some of the variables of decision-making, skill execution and procedural knowledge.DiscussionThese results reinforce the idea of including cognitive tools in training, such as video-feedback and questioning, to improve sport expertise in players’ formative stages, and presumably to improve their performance whilst maintaining decision training throughout time.

Off-Court Generic Perceptual-Cognitive Training in Elite Volleyball Athletes: Task-Specific Effects and Levels of Transfer.

Background: The nature of perceptual-cognitive expertise in interactive sports has gained more and more scientific interest over the last two decades. Research to understand how this expertise can be developed has not been addressed profoundly yet. In approaches to study this with interventional designs, only few studies have scrutinized several levels of transfer such as to the field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of a generic off-court perceptual-cognitive training in elite volleyball players on three different levels: task-specific, near-transfer, and far-transfer effects. Based on overlapping cognitive processes between training and testing, we hypothesized task-specific improvements as well as positive near- and far-transfer effects after a multiple-object tracking training intervention.Methods: Twenty-two volleyball experts completed a 8-week three-dimensional (3D) multiple-object tracking (3D-MOT) training intervention. A control group (n = 21; volleyball experts also) participated in regular ball practice only. Before and after training, both groups performed tests on the 3D-MOT, four near-transfer tests in cognitive domains, and a far-transfer, lab-based, and volleyball-specific blocking test.Results: The results of the 2 × 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) (group, time) showed significant interaction effects in the 3D-MOT task [F(1,40) = 93.10; p < 0.001; = 0.70] and in two near-transfer tests [sustained attention: F(1,40) = 15.45; p < 0.001; = 0.28; processing speed: F(1,40) = 12.15; p = 0.001; = 0.23]. No significant interaction effects were found in the far-transfer volleyball test. Conclusions: Our study suggests positive effects in task-specific and two near-transfer tests of a perceptual-cognitive intervention in elite volleyball athletes. This supports a partial overlap in cognitive processing between practice and tests with the result of positive near-transfer. However, there are no significant effects in far-transfer testing. Although these current results are promising, it is still unclear how far-transfer effects of a generic perceptual-cognitive training intervention can be assured.

Difficult training improves team performance: an empirical case study of US college basketball

AbstractOne major challenge facing policy-makers is to design education and workplace training programs that are appropriately challenging. We review previous research that suggests that difficult training is better than easy training. However, surveys we conducted of students and of expert sport coaches showed that many prescribed easy rather than difficult training for those they coached. We analyzed the performance of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball teams in postseason tournaments to see whether the existing research, largely on individuals in short-term situations, would generalize to teams in the long run. Indeed, playing difficult nonconference (training) games modestly improved performance for NCAA teams in the postseason. Difficult training particularly benefitted teams that lost many nonconference games, and the effect of difficulty was positive within the range of difficulty NCAA teams actually encounter, making it clear that difficult training is superior. We suggest that our results can be generalized beyond sports, although with careful consideration of differences between NCAA basketball teams and other teams that may limit generalizability. These results suggest that policy-makers might consider amplifying the difficulty of team training exercises under certain conditions.

Relationship Between Sport Expertise and Postural Skills.

The review addresses the relationship between sport expertise (i.e., sport competition level), postural performance (amount of motion of the center of mass/of pressure of foot or ability to preserve body balance), and postural strategy (geometric organization of different body segments as well as neurobiological involvement of organism). Since the conditions of postural evaluation are likely to influence results, the aim is to compare athletes at different competition levels in ecological postural conditions (specific postural conditions related to the sport practiced) and non-ecological postural conditions (decontextualized postural conditions in relation to the sport practiced). Evidence suggests that the most successful athletes in terms of sport competition level have the best postural performance both in ecological and non-ecological postural conditions. However, in non-ecological conditions, the postural tasks should be preferentially challenging or relatively close to the sport practice stance. Moreover, the most successful athletes also have more elaborate postural strategies compared with athletes at lower competition level. Mechanistic explanations as well as conceptual models are proposed to explain the role of different factors influencing the relationship between sport expertise and postural performance and strategy.