Sprinting to the top: comparing quality of distance variety and specialization between swimmers and runners.

Objectives: To compare performance progression and variety in race distances of comparable lengths (timewise) between pool swimming and track running. Quality of within-sport variety was determined as the performance differences between individual athletes' main and secondary race distances across (top-) elite and (highly-) trained swimmers and runners. Methods: A total of 3,827,947 race times were used to calculate performance points (race times relative to the world record) for freestyle swimmers (n = 12,588 males and n = 7,561 females) and track runners (n = 9,230 males and n = 5,841 females). Athletes were ranked based on their personal best at peak performance age, then annual best times were retrospectively traced throughout adolescence. Results: Performance of world-class swimmers differentiates at an earlier age from their lower ranked peers (15-16 vs. 17-20 year age categories, P < 0.05), but also plateaus earlier towards senior age compared to runners (19-20 vs. 23 + year age category, P < 0.05), respectively. Performance development of swimmers shows a logarithmic pattern, while runners develop linearly. While swimmers compete in more secondary race distances (larger within-sport variety), runners specialize in either sprint, middle- or long-distance early in their career and compete in only 2, 4 or 3 other race distances, respectively. In both sports, sprinters specialize the most (P < 0.05). Distance-variety of middle-distance swimmers covers more longer rather than sprint race distances. Therefore, at peak performance age, (top-) elite female 200 m swimmers show significantly slower sprint performances, i.e., 50 m (P < 0.001) and 100 m (P < 0.001), but not long-distance performances, i.e., 800 m (P = 0.99) and 1,500 m (P = 0.99). In contrast, (top-) elite female 800 m middle-distance runners show significantly slower performances in all their secondary race distances (P < 0.001). (Top-) elite female athletes specialize more than (highly-) trained athletes in both sports (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The comparison to track running and lower ranked swimmers, the early performance plateau towards senior age, and the maintenance of a large within-sport distance variety indicates that (top-) elite sprint swimmers benefit from greater within-sport specialization.

Career trajectories, transition rates, and birthdate distributions: the rocky road from youth to senior level in men's European football.

This study aimed to assess youth-to-senior transition rates, quantify the magnitude of relative age effect (RAEs), and evaluate how RAEs affect these transitions in 9,527 men's national football players of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Regardless of national team, only -15%, 25%, and 40% of U17, U19, and U21 players successfully transitioned to the senior team, respectively, whilst -14%-24% progressed to senior level without being selected during youth. Data suggested a skewed birthdate distribution favouring relatively older players at U17, U19, and U21 levels across all countries, whereas RAEs were also present in England, Italy, and Spain at senior level. Youth-to-senior transition rates were modulated by birthdate at U17 and U19, whereby Q4 players were -2 and 1.5 times more likely to successfully transition at senior level than Q1 players, respectively. Selection at youth international level does not guarantee selection at senior level, but does make it more likely. Moreover, relatively younger athletes are disadvantaged in youth categories, although are more likely to transition to senior level once they have entered the pathway.

Performance pathways in elite middle- and long-distance track and field athletes: The influence of a successful youth.

OBJECTIVES: There is limited information on the performance progression of athletics endurance athletes from junior-to-senior status and the determinants of success in adulthood. This study aimed to quantify the youth-to-senior transition rate, the likelihood of success and the relationship between youth and senior performance amongst world-class athletes competing in middle- and long-distance disciplines. DESIGN: Retrospective design examining public data between 2000 and 2019. METHODS: The performances of 4678 international athletes (45.3 % female) were analysed. World's all-time top 50 athletes were identified for U18 and Senior categories (age ≥ 20 years). Youth-to-senior transition rate and transition probabilities were calculated. Correlations between best U18 and Senior performances were determined to assess the stability of the performance. RESULTS: The youth-to-senior transition rate for top U18 athletes was low for males and females (~19 % and 21 %). Nevertheless, the probability of transition to a top senior was ~7 times higher for top U18 athletes than for non-top U18 athletes. The correlations between youth and senior best performances were low-to-high. CONCLUSIONS: Few top U18 athletes maintained top world ranking status during their senior careers. Still, they are more likely to become top senior athletes than those who did not perform at the top level in U18. The association between youth and senior performance is stronger when comparing the same discipline or when athletes competed over longer distances in their senior compared to U18 career. Being a successful youth athlete may represent a small advantage for future success, however, it does not guarantee advancement to the senior top level.

Disentangling Gender and Relative Age Effects in Women's and Girls' Rugby Union.

Relative age effects (RAEs) within sports refer to the overrepresentation of athletes born earlier in the selection year and the underrepresentation of those born later in the selection year. Research examining RAEs in women's and girls' rugby union remains limited in comparison to the male literature, whilst the impacts of RAEs on the youth-senior transition are yet to be explored in a female sport context. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine RAEs during entry into the women's and girls' premiership and international rugby union pathways in England, as well as to compare them to their respective senior cohort (n = 1367): (a) U18 England Rugby Centre of Excellence Player (n = 325) vs. Senior Premiership Player (n = 868), and (b) U18 England Player (n = 49) vs. Senior England Player (n = 125). Chi-square (χ2) analyses compared birth quarter (BQ) distributions against expected distributions. The findings revealed no significant difference in BQ distributions at either youth or senior levels, as well as no significant differences in the BQ distributions of those who were likely to transition from youth to senior levels (all p > 0.05). Importantly, though, descriptive statistics showed a skewed birthdate distribution in both U18 England Rugby Centre of Excellence Player (BQ1 = 30% vs. BQ4 = 20%) and U18 England Player cohorts (BQ1 = 33% vs. BQ4 = 18%). We highlight the gender-specific mechanisms that potentially explain the variations between male and female RAEs in rugby union, including developmental differences, sport popularity, and sociocultural norms. We also warn against a 'copy and paste' template from the male provision to ensure the recent growth of female rugby union does not fall victim to the same RAEs in the future.

Meios tático-técnicos e sistemas defensivos do handebol na categoria sub-14: preferências de ensino por treinadores e reflexões para a formação de jogadores / Tactical-technical aspects and defensive systems in handball for the u-14 teams: teaching preferences of coaches and reflections for player development / Medios táctico-técnicos y sistemas defensivos en balonmano en la categoría sub-14: preferencias de enseñanza de los entrenadores y reflexiones para la formación de jugadores

Meios tático-técnicos e sistemas defensivos no hande-bol constituem-se como conhecimentos específicos da modalida-de que precisam ser organizados e terem seu ensino planejado pelo treinador. Este estudo identificou os conteúdos defensivos e as preferências para seu ensino por treinadores da categoria sub-14. Foram entrevistados 13 treinadores de equipes participantes de campeonatos da Federação Paulista de Handebol, cujos de-poimentos foram analisados pelo método do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo. Os resultados mostraram preferências dos sistemas de-fensivos (individuais, 3:3 e 5:1), meios tático-técnicos (marcação, flutuação, cobertura e trocas) e pelo ensino por meio de jogos e situações de jogo. Espera-se que os resultados contribuam para ampliar as discussões sobre a temática.

Tactical-technical aspects and defensive systems in han-dball constitute specific knowledge which needs to be organized and planned for teaching by the coach. This study identified defen-sive content and preferences for its teaching among U-14 teams' coaches. Thirteen coaches of teams participating in the cham-pionships of the São Paulo Handball Federation were interviewed, and their statements were analyzed using the Collective Subject Discourse method. The results indicated preferences for defensi-ve systems (man-to-man, 3:3, and 5:1), tactical-technical aspects (marking, floating, coverage, and position exchange), and teaching through games and game situations. It is expected that the results will contribute to expanding discussions on this topic.

Los medios táctico-técnicos y los sistemas defensivos en el balonmano son conocimientos específicos que necesitan ser organizados y planificados para su enseñanza por parte del entre-nador. Este estudio identificó el contenido defensivo y las preferencias de enseñanza de entrenadores en la categoría sub-14. Se entrevistaron a 13 entrenadores de equipos que participan en los campeonatos de la Federación Paulista de Balonmano, cuyos tes-timonios fueron analizados utilizando el método del Discurso del Sujeto Colectivo. Los resultados mostraron preferencias por sis-temas defensivos (individuales, 3:3 y 5:1), medios táctico-técnicos (marcación, flotación, cobertura y cambios) y la enseñanza a través de juegos y situaciones de juego. Se espera que los resultados con-tribuyan a ampliar las discusiones sobre este tema.

Physiological, anthropometric and athletic performance adaptations from completing a 1-month pre-season period. A two-year longitudinal study in female collegiate soccer players.

Introduction: Collegiate coaches and integrative support staff often utilize pre-season as a brief and intense training period to prepare athletes technically, tactically, and physiologically, to meet the demands of competition during a soccer season. This study sought to examine the dose-response from performing on-field soccer activities during a four-week pre-season period in female collegiate soccer players, and if the magnitude in response was associated with accumulated exercise stress. Methods: A total of twenty-seven healthy female soccer players training as part of a collegiate soccer program volunteered to participate in this two-year longitudinal study. Data collection commenced prior to the start of each pre-season period, at the beginning of August, and was completed at the beginning of September, when pre-season ended. Data collection periods were separated by a 31-day period. Indices of cardiovascular function, anthropometry, and athletic performance were examined during each data collection period. Internal and external measures of accumulated exercise stress were recorded using the Polar Team Pro® system. Results: When comparing the beginning to the end of pre-season, significant improvements were observed in body fat (%) [24.2 ± 6.0 "vs." 23.3 ± 5.6, p = 0.001], heart rate variability (rMSSD) [51.8 ± 25.1 "vs." 67.9 ± 34.6 ms, p = 0.002], resting heart (bpm) [73.8 ± 12.1 "vs." 64.3 ± 8.8, p = 0.001] and cardiorespiratory performance (YoYo IRTL-1) [925.8 ± 272.8 "vs." 1,062.6 ± 223.3 m, p = 0.001]. Significant reductions in musculoskeletal performance were observed through vertical jump height (cm) [24.9 ± 23.7, p = 0.04]. Change in the end of pre-season body weight (kg) was significantly associated with accumulated accelerations and decelerations [r ≥ 0.49, p = 0.01]. End of pre-season change in cardiorespiratory performance was significantly associated with both accumulated training load (au) and TRIMP (au) [r ≥ 0.63, p = 0.01]. Discussion: In conclusion, performing a four-week pre-season period, involving only on-field training, can promote positive and significant adaptations in anthropometry, cardiovascular function, and athletic performance measures in female collegiate soccer players. The magnitudes of these adaptations were associated with both internal and external measures of accumulated exercise stress.

Variation vs. specialization: the dose-time-effect of technical and physiological variety in the development of elite swimmers.

OBJECTIVE: It is heavily discussed whether larger variety or specialization benefit elite performance at peak age. Therefore, this study aimed to determine technical (number of different swimming strokes) and physiological (number of different race distances) variety required to become an international-class swimmer (> 750 swimming points) based on 1'522'803 race results. RESULTS: Correlation analyses showed lower technical variety in higher ranked swimmers (P < 0.001), yet with small effects (0.11-0.30). However, Poisson distribution revealed dose-time-effects and specified number of swimming strokes required during each age group. Specifically, freestyle swimmers showed highest chances when starting to compete in three to four swimming strokes but reduced their variety to three swimming strokes at the ages of 12/13yrs with another transition to two swimming strokes at the ages of 19/21yrs (female/male swimmers, respectively). Although both sexes showed similar specialization pattern throughout their career, earlier specialization was generally evident in female compared to male swimmers. At peak performance age, freestyle was most frequently combined with butterfly. Swimmers who either kept competing in all five swimming strokes or focused on only one at the beginning of their careers showed lowest probability of becoming an international-class swimmer. Physiological variety increased during junior age but declined again to three race distances towards elite age.

Proposals and effects of training using small-sided games for young soccer players: a narrative review

Abstract Aim: This review article aimed to search for studies that used SSG as an intervention in order to verify the effects of physical and tactical performance in young soccer players and to make a critical analysis in the literature of how small games are proposed, how they are controlled and how they affect the performance of soccer players in the short and medium term. Methods: In this narrative review, we searched four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus), in total, 242 studies were found. In the end, only eight studies were used in this review. Results: Four studies were comparisons between SSG and traditional methods; one study compared different types of SSG; one study compared the intensity of small-sided games with official games and another two made comparisons of physical performance between different categories. All the studies had as a central point to make comparisons in relation to the physical performance and none of them, longitudinally, evaluated the tactical performance using the SSG as an intervention. Conclusions: The use of SSG, mainly in 3×3 (dimensions between 20×25 m and 27×36 m) and 4×4 (30×35 m to 30×40 m) between 3 and 5 sessions per week for at least one month, seems to have beneficial effects concerning physical performance for young athletes. It was verified the scarcity of studies that approach the tactical performance with the use of SSG, in addition, some studies were unclear about the frequency of SSG types during the intervention time.

Developmental pathway routes to achieve expert performance in portuguese track and field athletes

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to characterize the developmental pathway undertaken by Portuguese expert track and field athletes considering the quantity and type of structured and unstructured activities. Methods: The sample was composed of 24 experts and 35 non-expert athletes who completed a questionnaire designed to gather information about their previous experiences in sports. Results: Results reveal key factors which distinguished expert from non-expert athletes' developmental pathway were related to a greater commitment within track and field in relation to years (U = 251.000, p < 0.01) and hours (U = 212.500, p < .01), as well as with the number of years spent in unstructured activities (U = 284.500, p < .05). Furthermore, a significant association (χ2 = 27.131, p < 0.01) was found between the number of unstructured activities practiced and an expert performance attainment. Conclusions: These findings revealed that more successfully track and field athletes had an early diversified pathway with greater involvement in structured and unstructured activities. Overall, the study provides an insight into the developmental pathway of Portuguese track and field athletes.