Pre-Season Training Camp

Here is a short article I featured in, describing some of the duties I undertook whilst on a seven day pre-season training camp in Vale Do Lobo, Portugal with Ebbsfleet United FC.

Click here to read.

BASES Student Conference 2017

I was lucky enough to be accepted to present a poster at the BASES Student Conference 2017.  The topic of the poster was that of my final year dissertation project for my undergraduate degree course.  It surrounded the use of GPS devices to identify position specific activity profiles in professional football, and whether the final match outcome had an effect on individual positional activity.  This blog is a reflection on the whole experience, and what I have taken from it.

My research project began during an internship at a professional football club competing in the Sky Bet English Football League Two.  The team had just invested in the use of GPS devices to measure game and training loads.  I thought that this would make quite an interesting project so I asked my supervisor if it would be possible to gain access to the data that was to be collected.  After getting clearance from the management team to release the data, I was granted permission to use it.  This made me feel validated as an intern because the staff had confidence in my ability to use and interpret the collected data.  As the use of GPS technology in sport is ever increasing, I also thought that this would be an ideal opportunity for me to gain a good understanding of this technology using real-life data and that this experience could really add to my skill set and experience. 

The lead sport scientist at the club was using GPS to collect both training and match data.  I thought, to make things a little easier for myself, I would use only data collected from competitive matches for my project.  My theory was that this would enable me to develop an understanding of the physical demands placed on the players during competition.  This could be useful in identifying the physical needs of these players based on their position which could further help optimize the individualisation of football player training. 

After carrying out my own research into the use of GPS in team sports, it became obvious to me that the total distance covered was not really representative of the actual demands of the game, and that more relevant information concerned high speed distance travelled and accelerations and decelerations performed.  This research process really helped me develop a good understanding of what data I could use to maximize the benefit of using the device, while also developing my confidence in identifying key areas of physical performance.  I therefore, decided to look at high speed distance, sprint distance and accelerations/decelerations performed by each position and to examine whether these metrics changed according to the final outcome of the match (win, lose or draw).

I inputted all collected data into a custom spreadsheet that I designed using Microsoft Excel.  Once the data were organized I then inputted into SPSS to run the relevant statistical tests.   I chose to perform a one way analysis of variance to compare the previous mention metrics with each position, then a two way analysis of variance to compare metrics against position and final match outcome.  A problem that I encountered here was that for nearly every test I ran, Lavene’s test of variance failed (indicating the high variance in values between the groups of data) which meant that my F-ratio (the statistic used to test if the means are significantly different from one another) would be invalid.  On researching an alternative method, it was established that there were two options; a Welch’s F or Brown-Forsythe.  A Welch’s F was the chosen method as this test has been shown to be more powerful in detecting an effect when it exists.  This initially left me feeling quite frustrated at the fact that the results were not panning out the way I hoped, but when the alternative was established I felt relieved and a sense of accomplishment, and also gave me an opportunity to revisit my statistics to help improve my knowledge in this area.

The key points that I was able to take from my research project were:

• Central Midfielders covered the greatest total distance while Centre Backs covered the least.
• Forwards are exposed to increased high intensity and sprint distance compared to other positions
• High intensity distance and sprint distance covered shows little variation between Full Backs, Central Midfielders and Wide Midfielders players
• Full Backs and Wide Midfield players performed the highest amounts of accelerations and decelerations although displayed a high variability.

After collecting and interpreting all my results I began to design my poster.  I enjoyed this process as it allowed me to be creative in displaying the most relevant information I had uncovered.  On completion of the poster I felt proud that I had condensed my whole project into a single poster, and tried hard to get as much information as I could on there without over crowding.  It was the accumulation of many months work.

The BASES Student Conference was held at the University of St Mark & St John, Plymouth.  It was a two day event with some very interesting key note speakers.  One of which I found particularly interesting was Professor Andy Jones who spoke about the role of dietary nitrate in enhancing nitric oxide production and in modulating blood pressure, blood flow, and muscle efficiency and performance.  I presented my poster on day two.  This allowed me to experience the first day and observe some of the other posters that students had produced.  I felt more relaxed after this as I knew what to expect when presenting my own.  This also gave me the opportunity to talk to other students about their work which I feel I gained a lot of benefit from.  For example there were two students presenting on the use of the acute chronic workload ratio to quantify training loads in football, and also one student presenting on Bio-Banding in football academies (a topic of one of my previous blog posts click here). 

When presenting my poster I had a lot of interest from other students taking the time out to ask about my project.  This filled me with a lot of confidence as the feedback that I was getting was very positive.  People were most interested in the break down of metrics for each position, and how this could be used to influence a host of areas such as individualised training, return to play measures or specific testing for individual positions.  The fact that I had worked on the project from so long gave me a lot of confidence in delivering the presentation, and this left me feeling very proud of my achievement  and the fact that I had used real life data made me feel relevant in that this could positively contribute to the professional sporting environment.

I was left feeling extremely proud of my self and of the hard work that I had put in.  This was further elevated when I was informed that my poster abstract is now going to be published in an online graduate journal.  I genuinely believe that this whole process has really developed me as a sport scientist and helped me acquire skills that can be really important in the professional sporting environment such as collecting data, interpreting data and presenting it in an understandable way.  My final poster presentation can be viewed here.  To read my published abstract in the Graduate Journal of Sport, Exercise & Physical Education Research, click here. (page 59).

Bio-Banding

I recently attended a student Sport Science workshop hosted by AFC Bournemouth.  The event was curated by lead academy Sport Scientist Ben Bradley.  Other speakers included James Bunce (Head of Sport Science at the Premier League) and Dan Hodges (AFC Bournemouth 1^st Team Head of Sport Science).  Although all presentations were extremely interesting, a topic that I found particularly interesting and was covered in both Ben, and James’ presentation was that of Bio-Banding.  Bio-Banding aims to group young players together according to their physical maturity rather than their age.  AFC Bournemouth along with a hand full of other clubs have been innovative in implementing this technique within their academies, in the attempt to allow an even playing field throughout the development of a young player.  This blog will explore the maturation process, what bio-banding is and why it is being used in football academies.

Peak Height Velocity (PHV)

PHV is a period a maturation in which an adolescent experiences their most rapid growth spurt (Lloyd, Oliver, 2012).  The PHV coincides with the onset of puberty, and occurs on average at age of 14 for boys (Balyi, Hamilton, 2004) and last for approximately 2 years.  However, although this is the average age, the actual age at which a boy will experience this phase of maturation is highly variable.  This is demonstrated in the study by Chuman, Hoshikawa, Iida & Nishijima (2014) where PHV was shown to vary from as young as 11 years, up to the age of 15 years.

Why is PHV Important?

Before during and after PHV appear to periods in which the athlete may be more sensitive to certain types of training (i.e., hypertrophy, strength, power).  These periods have been identified as periods of accelerated adaptation (Lloyd, Oliver, 2012) and may influence conditioning design.  Therefore, identifying an athletes PHV can assist in developing a training programme that is relevant to the athletes’ level of maturation.  For example, Rump, Cronin, Oliver & Hughes (2012) showed that preadolescents benefit from training that involves high levels of neural activation (sprint and plyometrics) whereas adolescents respond better to training that targets neural and muscular development.  Below is the Youth Physical Development Model from Lloyd and Oliver (2012).

(Lloyd & Oliver 2012)

Measuring PHV

The PHV may be estimated using a simple equation.  The variables requires are standing height (cm), sitting height (cm), date of birth and weight (kg).  It must be appreciated that this is only an estimation, and there can be an error of 6 month variance on each side.  The full equation is below:

Maturity Offset = -9.236 + (0.0002708 x leg length and sitting height interaction) + (-0.001663 x age and leg lenth interaction) + (0.007216 x age and sitting height interaction) + (0.02292 x weight by height ratio)

(Sherar et al., 2005)

The equation results in the number of years the athlete is from experiencing PHV.  A reference table can then be used to infer their predicted adult height.  It is recommended that these measurements are taken 2-3 times throughout the year as a childs growth rate has a tendency to fluctuate.  This may also improve accuracy of the estimation.

Bio-Banding

Too often players are rejected from academies on the premise of their physicality.  This is evident in players such as Harry Kane who was released from Arsenal at age 11 due to size, Jamie Vardy at Sheffield Wednesday and even Roy Keane at Bright and Hove Albion.  

There is a proven bias towards clubs selecting players based on whether they were born in the first quarter of the UK academic year (September-November) as they are generally bigger, therefore early developers.

A handful of academies are now introducing the concept of bio-banding, which groups players together in relation to their biological age rather than their chronological age in attempt to provide an even playing field for player development.   This attempts to identify early and late developers with a view to eliminating the problem of the early maturer relying on their physicality to get them through games, while helping the later maturers who may be at a risk of being overlooked.  It creates a platform for everyone to compete and a fresh opportunity to maximise the players technical development. 

Using the equation above, players are grouped together into three bands, 80-85%, 86-91% and 91-97% of predicted adult height (PAD).  At AFC Bournemeouth the players still play normal league matches within their own age group, but certain training sessions and in house tournaments are used to bio-band the players and offer a different perspective.

With the variation in age seen in the bio-banded groups, interesting outcomes have been noticed.  For example the players that were not so dominant, or natural leaders in their own age group, were seen to show more confidence and improved leadership skills.  Older players in the group were also able to pass on their wisdom, teach younger players and take more of leadership role.       

   

This concept can be taken even further with physiological testing carried out within bio-bands.  This could potentially give a more accurate representation of where the player actually is terms of physicality.

Biological age is an area that still requires further research to investigate the possible effects it may have on young developing footballers.  Nevertheless, it provides a high level of idividualisation within training programes which can only be a good thing as a one size fits all approach is not acceptable.  This is a really interesting area of study and essential for any practioner entering the academy system.  

References                   

1. Lloyd, R.S., and Oliver, J.L. (2012). The Youth Physical Development Model: A New Approach to Long-Term Athletic Development. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 34(3), pp.61-72
2. Balyi, I., and Hamilton, A. (2004). Long term athlete development: Trainability in children and adolescents; windows of opportunity.  National Coaching Institute: Canada
3. Chuman, K., Hoshikawa, Y., Iida, T., and Nishijima, T. (2014). Maturity and intermittent endurance in male soccer layers during the adolescent growth spurt: A longitudinal study.  Football Science, Vol.11, 39-47
4. Rumpf., MC, Cronin, JB., and Hughes, MG. (2012). Effect of different training methods on running sprint times in male youth. Paediatric Exercise Science.
5. Sherar, L.B., Mirwald, R.L., Baxter-Jones, A.D.G. and Thomis, M. (2005) ‘Prediction of adult height using maturity-based cumulative height velocity curves’, The Journal of Pediatrics, 147(4), pp. 508–514. 

Force Velocity Profile

After attending a sprint performance workshop hosted by West Bromwich Albion Football Club, I felt that it would be a good idea to document some of the key concepts that I personally took from the presentation.   I will focus on the presentation by Jean-Benoit Morin who is currently Full Professor at the Faculty of Sport Sciences of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis (France).  JB’s field of research is mainly human locomotion and performance, with special focus on running biomechanics and maximal power movements.  He has published over 50 peer reviewed articles and collaborations with French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre and the French National football team are among his many achievements.

Force-Velocity Profile

Establishing the force velocity profile of an athlete is essential for individualized and specific training. The force-velocity profile quantifies the horizontal net force output, velocity and mechanical power of athletes, and their effectiveness of ground force application; sometimes also know as 'sprint acceleration mechanical profile'.  The rate of force is highest during acceleration and will reduce as the amount of steps is increased.  This is due to the horizontal force generated at the take-off slowly dissipating as the sprint continues, due the shift in the torso to a more vertical position.  Therefore, the better sprinters are those that are more efficient at maintaining horizontal force.

In this respect two players could present with almost identical 40m sprint times, but could require totally different approaches in terms of performance improvement.  Fig.1 shows the force-velocity profile of two players identifying this exact scenario.  Both players performed a 40m sprint with almost identical times (player A – 6.21sec, player B – 6.37sec) at the same time displaying very different force-velocity profiles.    

   

Whereas player A displays a higher force output at take-off, their ability to maintain that velocity is not as efficient as player B indicating high strength ability but a low ratio of force.  In contrast player B displays a lower force output at take-off, but is able to maintain velocity a lot more efficiently showing good effectiveness but lower overall strength.  This will have implications as to how both of these athletes approach a conditioning program, with player A maybe looking to focus on velocity based training and improving rate of force development, while player B focuses on max strength development.   Without a force-velocity profile, it would be difficult to distinguish between these two players.

Quantifying The F∙V Profile

Unfortunately, it an arduous task actually obtaining the force-velocity profile.  In JB’s studies, he has had access to some of the most advanced biomechanics laboratories in the world, which feature multiple force plates stretching along a linear track.  This is completely inaccessible for the majority, although there may be a simpler solution.  There is now an application available on iPad and iPhone (MySprint) which seems allow the accurate measurement of split times and runs the entire set of computations.  There have been strong correlations between the results of the application and actual force-velocity profile tests – provided the app is used correctly; i.e. device must have a camera of at least 240 f/p/s.    

Is Training Effective in Changing the F∙V Profile?

The answer to this is yes!  The most effective approach seems to be resisted sled pulls.  A systematic review into resisted sled sprint training did not identify any protocol with a resistance of over 30% of body weight.  JB has been working on a non-published research project where participants sprint with a resisted weight of 80% their body weight performed over 20m two times a week over an 8 week period.  Results so far have shown an increase in maximum force output, maximum power and maximum ratio of force.

Conclusion

Interestingly, JB’s research has also uncovered important information on players returning from injury.  Studies have shown that on return from injury many players do not show a reduction in maximal velocity, although show a marked decrease in maximal force production and maximal power output.  This can be beneficial in identifying return to player markers.  Further research needs to be invested into developing a more functional way of measuring force output, which may be an interesting project if I was to pursue a MSc.

MBTI Profile Report

MBTI Profile Report

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory is a psychometric questionnaire that is considered to be the simplest and most reliable method of determining a person’s personality type (Myers & Myers, 1995).  It was originally created by Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, and later greatly developed by the Mother and Daughter collaboration of Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs-Myers.  It identifies sixteen distinctly different personality types into which we all fit.  Our personality type affects all aspect of our lives, from the way in which we play as children to the subjects or activities in school that interest or bore us to the occupations we find satisfying as adults (Tieger, Barron-Tieger, 2001).  This can be extremely useful to know as an employer because it not only reflects the type of information we notice and remember, but the way we make decisions and how much and what kind of structure we prefer.

People can determine their personality type through a series of questions that are answered through the individuals’ preferences regarding perception and judgement, resulting in a recognizable set of traits and potentialities.  There are four components (Extrovert/Introvert, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling and Judging/Perceiving) in which each person has one preference, resulting in sixteen possible combinations.  On completion of all four sections the individual is left with a four letter code, describing their dominant response from each component.  As a result of this test, the four letter code that describes my own personality is ISTJ (Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging).

This report will identify each of my own Type preferences, giving examples of events in which I feel I have displayed these characteristics, and how I feel these preferences relate to the role of a Sport Scientist.

Introvert (I)

The introverts’ main interests are in the inner world of concepts and ideas, while the extrovert is commonly refered to as being more sociable and outgoing (Funder, 2010).  This is reflective of me in that I believe I work effectively with ideas.  Evidence of this can be seen in my performance analysis work, where I have learned the basic skills required to operate Sportscode software and shown creativity in the statistics that I collect and how these are presented.  I have continually adapted and developed ideas in an attempt to improve myself and the quality of work that I then produce to coaching staff within the football club where I am participating in an internship.  This demonstrates a growth mindset in that I am constantly striving to improve myself, and my skill set in this area.  The work I have produced has been implicitly recognized at the club by awarding me with further responsibility.  This resulted in me offering ideas in relation to conditioning players, and consequently being asked to come into the club on an extra day to work with the players.  Having conversations with coaching staff, and being able to convey my knowledge and ideas in a particular subject was the reason behind this. Implicit recognition suits my introversion as I feel that I am not effected by the absence of encouragement.  In this regard, if I believe in what I am doing and have a real interest in it, I can work very hard without the need of reassurance.  As an introvert I am also very much interested in the insight that theory may provide and the importance of having a deep knowledge of the area I wish to work in.  This is another essential skill for a Sport Scientist in that there is a responsibility to apply knowledge that is peer reviewed and has a strong evidence base.

It is also important to recognize that there are many aspects of this job role that require extroversion dominance.  For example, when working with groups of players/athletes it may be necessary to carry out educational presentations to inform on key subjects such as nutrition, recovery and conditioning.  During my university career, I have myself been in the position where I have had to present to a group; and at first considered this quite a difficult task due to my introversion.  The strategy that I used to overcome my anxieties was to rehearse a well-structured script and research the topic thoroughly so that key knowledge was implicitly learned.  During the presentation the nerves promptly subsided and on completion of the presentation I was left with an enormous feeling of achievement and accomplishment.

Sensing (S)

Humans are equipped with two distinct but varying ways of perceiving.  One way is through the familiar process of sensing, which is where we become aware of things through the five senses.  The other is the process of intuition, which is indirect perception by way of the unconscious (Myers & Myers, 1995).  This can be illustrated by the masculine ‘hunch’, or ‘woman’s intuition’.  Having a more sensing perception, I like to have access the facts and have time to understand them.  Touch, sight and hearing are vital senses for the Sport Scientist in many situations such as testing athletes.  While undertaking a sport science internship at a professional football club one of my roles included measuring player body fat percentage using skin fold calipers.  At first this was a daunting prospect for me, although after many test days completed, and the high number of players tested on each test day, my confidence soon grew with senior members of staff satisfied with my results.  From this experience I believe that players confidence in me also grew, as I would often be asked for advice while testing the players, which seemed to be intently received.  On reflection of this I feel as though the players viewed me as a valuable member of staff.  They would always treat the test days with professionalism and be keen to find out their results.  For me as an intern, this was not only a valuable experience to improve my hard skills, but also an opportunity to build a rapport with players on a more personal level.  

This personality preference would also be pertinent in the gathering of other test data.  During the pre-season testing battery I was in supervision of two testing stations.  One station was vertical jump to measure power and the other was a functional movement screen.  I was able to apply knowledge learned at university into a professional sporting environment.  It was very important to visually ensure that the correct test protocol was followed which would provide reliable test data.  Using my vision to scrutinize the functional movement of each player through-out the movement screen was essential in order to highlight any mobility or stability issues.  My knowledge and professionalism during these tasks was rewarded with the club inviting me on their pre-season training camp to Portugal.

Thinking (T)

Thinking and feeling refer to the individuals’ judgement.  By thinking the individual uses logic to establish an impersonal finding, whereas feeling is a more subjective conclusion made on a more personal level.  As a thinker, I am more inclined to organize facts and ideas into a logical sequence and present them in a structured way.  I feel as though this is the reason for my interest in collecting data, which is another hard skill essential for the Sport Scientist.  During one of my internships, I have introduced wellness and training load monitoring.  This was accomplished by creating a wellness questionnaire which players completed every morning before training, and collecting session intensities at the end of training sessions.  All data collected was organized in Microsoft Excel, and using techniques that I have developed from my own self education, presented in easy to interpret manner.   Test data collected from the pre-season testing battery was also presented in this manner, and supplied to senior coaching staff.  Players were also given access to the data, which added to the competitive environment within the club, with players motivated not to be last.  I feel that giving players access to view test results is very important in terms of allowing them to establish were they rank within the team, and may possibly motivate them to work harder. 

When the wellness and training load data collection was started, the players were very receptive to it, but as the weeks progressed, there seemed to be a lack of engagement.  I assumed that this was as a result of lack of information given to the players in regards to the rationale behind this, which to some degree was my responsibility in that I may not have been clear in communicating why I was implementing this.  This could be as a result of my introversion.  As a result of my sensing preference I felt confident to address this directly by creating an informative poster, with important information in relation to why I was doing what I was doing. 

Judging/ (J) 

Judging types believe that life should be willed and decided, while the perceptive types regard life as something to be experienced and understood (Myers & Myers, 1995).  As having a more judging preference, I am more likely to decide the best way of carrying out a task, and then consistently doing it that way; when this is combined with my thinking preference, this encourages me to look for the most logical method.  This can be related to the live match analysis that I perform during one of my internships.  Firstly, with the help of the coaching staff, I had to identify key performance indictors’ that were deemed relevant to successful performance.  This was established through conversations with coaching staff, and also my own research into match analysis which I pursued through various books and research papers.  This process gave me a feeling of increasing confidence in this area, and helped me identify what was important and what was not.  I learned from my investigations that it was not as simple as just identifying certain instances every match, and that it was an ever evolving process resulting in me adjusting code windows and statistical reports on a weekly basis. 

Once the analysis was complete, I would always endeavor to have all clips and statistics available to players and coaches within a 24-hour period.  This required me to be efficient and methodical in my approach in order to be as time efficient as possible.  This experience has also allowed me to show that I can work to deadlines and that I can still maintain a high quality of work. 

Conclusion

Following the MBTI personality inventory, my personality preferences resulted in ISTJ, which on reflection I think I agree with.  This combination of preferences indicates that I have a systematic and thorough approach to tasks, with a practical respect for the facts and the ability to focus and develop ideas.  The experience I have gained through university life and work placements have further developed these traits, and on reflection of this task I have learned that these innate traits can be embraced and further developed.  Work placements and experience in the professional sporting environment have been as a result me finding and enabling these opportunities independently.  This has built my confidence and also facilitated my opportunity to further network and promote myself. 

I intend to reflect more on the tasks that I experience by documenting these events and developing my ability to express my feelings in regards to how these experiences affect me.  It is important for me to develop strategies to enable me to function in environments that do not obviously suit my personality type.  For me this will involve developing my public speaking, which I believe will improve with experience.  I have developed my own personal website in order to promote myself and to create a respectful online presence.  I believe that this would be an ideal platform to document my experiences and to track my development.   

References

1.Funder, D.C.C. (2010) The personality puzzle. 4^th edn. New York: Norton, W. W. & Company

2.Myers, I.B. and Myers, P.B. (1995) Gifts differing: Understanding personality type. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press

3.Tieger, P.D., Barron-Tieger, B. (2001) Nuture by nature: Understanding your childs personality type – and become a better parent. Boston, MA, United States: Little, Brown and Company