Performance and healthcare analysis in elite sports teams using artificial intelligence: a scoping review.

Introduction: In competitive sports, teams are increasingly relying on advanced systems for improved performance and results. This study reviews the literature on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in managing these complexities and encouraging a system thinking shift. It found various AI applications, including performance enhancement, healthcare, technical and tactical support, talent identification, game prediction, business growth, and AI testing innovations. The main goal of the study was to assess research supporting performance and healthcare. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted on databases such as Pubmed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus to find articles using AI to understand or improve sports team performance. Thirty-two studies were selected for review. Results: The analysis shows that, of the thirty-two articles reviewed, fifteen focused on performance and seventeen on healthcare. Football (Soccer) was the most researched sport, making up 67% of studies. The revised studies comprised 2,823 professional athletes, with a gender split of 65.36% male and 34.64% female. Identified AI and non-AI methods mainly included Tree-based techniques (36%), Ada/XGBoost (19%), Neural Networks (9%), K-Nearest Neighbours (9%), Classical Regression Techniques (9%), and Support Vector Machines (6%). Conclusions: This study highlights the increasing use of AI in managing sports-related healthcare and performance complexities. These findings aim to assist researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in developing practical applications and exploring future complex systems dynamics.

Incidencia de la cultura organizacional, en el rendimiento deportivo de los equipos de eSport

Los eSports o deportes electrónicos han ganado relevancia mundial, pero en Latinoamérica hay una brecha de desarrollo respecto a otras regiones. El objetivo de esta investigación consistió en analizar la influencia de la cultura organizacional, en el rendimiento de los equipos de eSports de Valorant que participaron en el torneo denominado 88 CUP. El torneo se desarrolló del 19 de febrero al 30 de abril de 2023, con la participación de 35 equipos pertenecientes a Ecuador, Colombia, México, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Panamá, Perú y República Dominicana. Se empleó el instrumento de Cameron y Quinn, adaptado por Ibarra (2019) para evaluar la cultura organizacional, y para el rendimiento deportivo se recopilaron datos de la puntuación media de combate en el torneo 88 CUP; través de esta puntuación, se calculó el índice de rendimiento deportivo en una escala de 0 a 100. El estudio de datos se realizó con el análisis de componentes principales no lineales y ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados mostraron un promedio de rendimiento deportivo de 25 sobre 100 puntos y apenas el 10 % de los equipos alcanzaron un rendimiento superior a 70. Además, la cultura adhocrática y clan prevalecen en los equipos estudiados. Se estableció un modelo de relación causal de la cultura organizacional en el rendimiento deportivo, donde las dimensiones adhocráticas, jerárquica y de mercado tuvieron un impacto significativo y positivo; en tanto, la dimensión clan tuvo una influencia significativa y negativa en el rendimiento deportivo.

Os eSports ou esportes eletrônicos ganharam relevância global, mas na América Latina existe uma lacuna de desenvolvimento em comparação com outras regiões. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a influência da cultura organizacional no desempenho das equipes de Valorant eSports que participaram do torneio denominado 88 CUP. O torneio aconteceu de 19 de fevereiro a 30 de abril de 2023, com a participação de 35 seleções do Equador, Colômbia, México, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Panamá, Peru e República Dominicana. Para avaliar a cultura organizacional foi utilizado o instrumento Cameron e Quinn, adaptado por Ibarra (2019), e para o desempenho esportivo foram coletados dados sobre a pontuação média de combate no torneio 88 CUP; por meio dessa pontuação, foi calculado o índice de desempenho esportivo em uma escala de 0 a 100. O estudo dos dados foi realizado com análise de componentes principais não lineares e equações estruturais. Os resultados mostraram um desempenho esportivo médio de 25 em 100 pontos e apenas 10% das equipes obtiveram desempenho superior a 70. Além disso, a cultura adocrática e de clã prevalece nas equipes estudadas. Foi estabelecido um modelo de relação causal da cultura organizacional sobre o desempenho desportivo, onde as dimensões adocrática, hierárquica e mercadológica tiveram um impacto significativo e positivo; entretanto, a dimensão do clã teve uma influência significativa e negativa no desempenho desportivo.

eSports or electronic sports have gained global relevance, but in Latin America there is a development gap compared to other regions. The objective of this research was to analyze the influence of organizational culture on the performance of Valorant eSports teams that participated in the tournament called 88 CUP. The tournament took place from February 19 to April 30, 2023, with the participation of 35 teams from Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and the Dominican Republic. The Cameron and Quinn instrument, adapted by Ibarra (2019), was used to evaluate organizational culture, and for sports performance, data was collected on the average combat score in the 88 CUP tournament; through this score, the sports performance index was calculated on a scale from 0 to 100. The data study was carried out with the analysis of non-linear principal components and structural equations. The results showed an average sports performance of 25 out of 100 points and only 10% of the teams achieved a performance greater than 70. In addition, the adhocratic and clan culture prevail in the teams studied. A causal relationship model of organizational culture on sports performance was established, where the adhocratic, hierarchical and market dimensions had a significant and positive impact; meanwhile, the clan dimension had a significant and negative influence on sports performance.

Developing the Healthy and Competitive Organization in the Sports Environment: Focused on the Relationships between Organizational Justice, Empowerment and Job Performance.

As improving the job performance of employees is becoming increasingly significant for organizational growth, a major challenge for organizational development managers is to understand and explore the important antecedents of job performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships between organizational justice, empowerment, and job performance in the South Korean professional sports industry. Recently, many professional sports teams in South Korea have attempted to improve employees' job performance for the future survival of the teams. The research participants were 371 employees affiliated with 40 male professional sports teams. The validity and reliability of the measures involved were investigated by carrying out confirmatory factor, Cronbach's alpha, and correlation analyses. A structural equation-modeling test with a maximum likelihood estimation was performed to evaluate the structural relationships between distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice, empowerment and job performance, and the mediating effects of empowerment. The findings revealed the positive impacts of (a) distributive justice on empowerment, (b) procedural justice on empowerment, (c) interactional justice on empowerment, (d) procedural justice on job performance, and (e) interactional justice on job performance. Furthermore, empowerment fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and job performance. These findings highlight the importance of increasing organizational justice and empowering employees when managing professional sports organizations.

Global Positioning System Analysis of Physical Demands in Elite Women's Beach Handball Players in an Official Spanish Championship.

This cross-sectional study aims to analyze the physical demands of elite beach handball players during an official competition. Nine elite female (mean age: 24.6 ± 4.0 years; body weight: 62.4 ± 4.6 kg; body height: 1.68 ± 0.059 m; training experience: 5 years; training: 6 h/week) beach handball players of the Spanish National Team were recruited for this study. A Global Positioning System was incorporated on each player's back to analyze their movement patterns. Speed and distance were recorded at a sampling frequency of 15 Hz, whereas acceleration was recorded at 100 Hz by means of a built-in triaxial accelerometer. The main finding of the study is that 53% of the distance travelled is done at speeds between 1.5 and 5 km/h and 30% of the distance is between 9 and 13 km/h (83% of the total distance covered), which shows the intermittent efforts that beach handball involves at high intensity, as reflected in the analysis of the internal load with 62.82 ± 14.73% of the game time above 80% of the maximum heart rate. These data help to orientate training objectives to the physical demands required by the competition in order to optimize the players' performance.

Prevalence of sleep disorders and sleep problems in an elite super rugby union team.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sleep disorders in an elite rugby union team using in-laboratory polysomnography (PSG) and sleep questionnaires. Twenty-five elite rugby union players underwent a night of PSG during the "off-season" of the Super Rugby competition to assess their sleep. Of interest were measurements that detected the presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA; apnea-hypopnea index ≥5 events/hr) and the presence of moderate-severe periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMs; ≥15 events/hr). Players completed sleep-related questionnaires to assess daytime sleepiness, perception of insomnia, risk of OSA, and the presence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and underwent basic anthropometric assessments including body mass index and neck circumference. OSA was present in 24% (n=6) of players and PLMs ≥15 events/hr in 12% (n=3). Questionnaire responses showed that all players had insomnia defined subthreshold insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness, two players were identified as being at risk for OSA and none were classified as having RLS. In conclusion, sleep disorders and excessive sleepiness are common in elite rugby union players. A process to identify and manage sleep disorders should be considered by teams to optimise their physical recovery, athletic performance and to safeguard their health.

Team-level identification predicts perceived and actual team performance: Longitudinal multilevel analyses with sports teams.

Social identification and team performance literatures typically focus on the relationship between individual differences in identification and individual-level performance. By using a longitudinal multilevel approach, involving 369 members of 45 sports teams across England and Italy, we compared how team-level and individual-level variance in social identification together predicted team and individual performance outcomes. As hypothesized, team-level variance in identification significantly predicted subsequent levels of both perceived and actual team performance in cross-lagged analyses. Conversely, individual-level variance in identification did not significantly predict subsequent levels of perceived individual performance. These findings support recent calls for social identity to be considered a multilevel construct and highlight the influence of group-level social identification on group-level processes and outcomes, over and above its individual-level effects.

Coaching is teamwork! the role of need-supportive coaching and the motivational climate in stimulating proactivity in volleyball teams.

Team sports settings are challenging, dynamic environments in which coaches often benefit from proactive players who take initiative in providing valuable suggestions and feedback. Based on self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, this study examined the mediating role of a mastery and performance motivational climate in the positive relation between coaches' psychological need-supportive behavior and team athletes' proactivity. The study sample consisted of 75 male and 105 female volleyball players (Mage =21.92, SDage =4.92), whose level ranged from the highest national level in Belgium to the regional levels. They completed a questionnaire assessing coach need support, motivational climate and three primary types of proactivity (voice, taking charge, and upward communication). Multilevel structural equation modeling yielded a good fit for the hypothesized model. Consistent with our hypotheses, need support related positively to a mastery climate (ß=0.74, P<.001), which, in turn, positively predicted proactivity (ß=0.72, P<.001). Need-supportive coaching behavior negatively predicted a performance climate (ß=-0.39, P<.001). Rejecting our hypothesis, a performance climate positively predicted proactivity, albeit to a smaller extent than a mastery climate (ß=0.21, P<.001). These findings suggest that a need-supportive coaching style enables coaches to create a mastery climate. Such a climate seems to encourage athletes to be proactive, which enables teams to effectively tackle encountered challenges. The weaker but significant positive relation between a performance climate and proactivity will be discussed within the framework of social interdependence theory.

Social Identification in Sports Teams: The Role of Personal, Social, and Collective Identity Motives.

Based on motivated identity construction theory (MICT; Vignoles, 2011), we offer an integrative approach examining the combined roles of six identity motives (self-esteem, distinctiveness, belonging, meaning, continuity, and efficacy) instantiated at three different motivational levels (personal, social, and collective identity) as predictors of group identification. These identity processes were investigated among 369 members of 45 sports teams from England and Italy in a longitudinal study over 6 months with four time points. Multilevel change modeling and cross-lagged analyses showed that satisfaction of four personal identity motives (individuals' personal feelings of self-esteem, distinctiveness, meaning, and efficacy derived from team membership), three social identity motives (individuals' feelings that the team identity carries a sense of belonging, meaning, and continuity), and one collective identity motive (a shared belief in group distinctiveness) significantly predicted group identification. Motivational processes underlying group identification are complex, multilayered, and not reducible to personal needs.

Competing together: Assessing the dynamics of team-team and player-team synchrony in professional association football.

This study investigated movement synchronization of players within and between teams during competitive association football performance. Cluster phase analysis was introduced as a method to assess synchronies between whole teams and between individual players with their team as a function of time, ball possession and field direction. Measures of dispersion (SD) and regularity (sample entropy - SampEn - and cross sample entropy - Cross-SampEn) were used to quantify the magnitude and structure of synchrony. Large synergistic relations within each professional team sport collective were observed, particularly in the longitudinal direction of the field (0.89±0.12) compared to the lateral direction (0.73±0.16, p<.01). The coupling between the group measures of the two teams also revealed that changes in the synchrony of each team were intimately related (Cross-SampEn values of 0.02±0.01). Interestingly, ball possession did not influence team synchronization levels. In player-team synchronization, individuals tended to be coordinated under near in-phase modes with team behavior (mean ranges between -7 and 5° of relative phase). The magnitudes of variations were low, but more irregular in time, for the longitudinal (SD: 18±3°; SampEn: 0.07±0.01), compared to the lateral direction (SD: 28±5°; SampEn: 0.06±0.01, p<.05) on-field. Increases in regularity were also observed between the first (SampEn: 0.07±0.01) and second half (SampEn: 0.06±0.01, p<.05) of the observed competitive game. Findings suggest that the method of analysis introduced in the current study may offer a suitable tool for examining team's synchronization behaviors and the mutual influence of each team's cohesiveness in competing social collectives.