SOCCER
Sprinting ‘like a jet’ will produce Premier League strikers of tomorrow
Sprinting “like a jet plane taking off” will help produce Premier League star strikers of tomorrow, new research has revealed.
A University of Essex study of Tottenham Hotspur’s academy has shown that just a few words can instantly boost sprinting speed by 3 per cent over 20 metres.
It would normally take weeks of targeted training to achieve such a large increase.
These short bursts of acceleration are largely seen in goal-scoring situations and could be the difference in beating a defender and finding the net.
Dr Jason Moran, from the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, discovered simple analogies increased performance in this key area.
The study showed elite young players ran faster when focusing on their environment rather than their body.
Dr Moran said: “The words we speak to athletes have a demonstrable and instant effect on their performance.
“It’s long been known that it’s better to direct an athlete’s attention to the environment around them rather than focusing on their body positions which seems to interfere with the fluidity of movement.
“This could be enhanced even further by using certain analogies, for example, asking a player to ‘accelerate like a Ferrari’ may create a more evocative image in their mind instead of simply telling them to run fast.”
The research used 20 members of the North London side’s academy, all between 14-15-years-old.
Before taking part in sprint drills the promising players were given different directions before running.
External analogies telling them to “push the ground away’ achieved better results than “driving their legs into the ground”.
And top performances were encouraged by players being urged to “sprint as if you are a jet taking off into the sky ahead”.
In coaching, analogies can make it easier for someone to learn how to move their body in the right way by hiding complicated instructions within in simple spoken words.
For example, by using analogies, a coach can tell an athlete how fast and in what position their body needs to be, without using hard-to-understand technical terms.
It is thought that this could be particularly advantageous in young learners who may show relatively lower levels of focus.
Away from elite sport it is thought these cues and coaching tactics could be used in PE lessons and at the grassroots.
Dr Moran added: “Although these findings focus on the highest level of youth football, it could easily be used in schools or on a Saturday morning.
“By using a simple analogy teachers and parents might be able to get the most out of their kids whatever the sport.”
JOURNAL
Journal of Sports Science
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Experimental study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
How effective are external cues and analogies in enhancing sprint and jump performance in academy soccer players?
Running performance helped by mathematical research
IMAGE:
SIMULATED RUNNING SPEED FOR JAKOB INGEBRIGTSEN: DURING HIS RACE IN MUNICH (BLUE LINE), WITH THE MAXIMAL VALUE OF VO2 INCREASED BY 5% (GREEN LINE), WITH ANAEROBIC ENERGY E0 INCREASED BY 5% (RED LINE), WITH THE MAXIMAL PROPULSIVE FORCE FM INCREASED BY 10% (BLACK LINE), AND WITH KINETICS INCREASED BY 5% (PURPLE LINE).
view moreCREDIT: © AMANDINE AFTALION
How to optimise running? A new mathematical model1 has shown, with great precision, the impact that physiological and psychological parameters have on running performance and provides tips for optimised training. The model grew out of research conducted by a French-British team including two CNRS researchers2, the results of which will appear on March 5th 2024 in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.
This innovative model was developed thanks to extremely precise data3 from the performances of Matthew Hudson-Smith (400m), Femke Bol (400m), and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (1500m) at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich, and for Gaia Sabbatini (1500m) at the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallinn. It led to an optimal control problem for finishing time, effort, and energy expenditure. This is the first time that such a model has also considered the variability of motor control, i.e., the role of the brain in the process of producing movement. The simulations allow the researchers to have access to the physiological parameters of the runners—especially oxygen consumption (or VO2)4, and energy expenditure during the race—as well as compute their variations. Quantifying costs and benefits in the model provides immediate access to the best strategy for achieving the runner’s optimal performance.
The study details multiple criteria, such as the importance of a quick start in the first 50 metres (due to the need for fast oxygen kinetics), or reducing the decrease in velocity in a 400m race. The scientists also demonstrated that improving the aerobic metabolism (oxygen uptake) and the ability to maintain VO2 are crucial elements to 1500m race performance.
The development of this model represents considerable progress in studying variations in physiological parameters during championship races, for which in vivo measurements are not possible.
1 For more details on the model, “Be a champion, 40 facts you didn't know about sports and science”, Amandine Aftalion, Springer, to appear May 14th 2024.
2 From the Centre for Analysis and Social Mathematics (CNRS/EHESS), in collaboration with the Jacques-Louis Lions Laboratory (CNRS/Sorbonne Université/Université Paris Cité) and the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University.
3 Values measured every 100 milliseconds.
4 Rate at which oxygen is transformed into energy.
Modeling the optimization of World-class 400m and 1500m running performances using high-resolution data. Antoine Le Hyaric, Amandine Aftalion, Brian Hanley. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, March 5th 2024.
JOURNAL
Frontiers
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Case study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Running performance helped by mathematical research
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
5-Mar-2024
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