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.

Exploring the effects of deep-defending vs high-press on footballers' tactical behaviour, physical and physiological performance: A pilot study

Abstract AIMS The aim of this study was to explore the effects of a deep-defending vs high-press defending strategy on footballers' tactical behaviour, physical and physiological responses, when in numerical difference. METHODS Nineteen elite professional footballers (outfield players) participated in this study, playing an 11vs10 match (simulating an early dismissal) for two halves of 10 minutes on a full-sized regulation pitch. The 11-men team was instructed by the head coach to defend closer to goal in the first half (deep-defending) and then defend higher up the pitch in the second half (high-press). Players' positional data were used to calculate the distance between team centroids, players' distance to own and to opponent centroid, teams' effective playing space (EPS), teams' length per width ratio, distance covered and player velocity. Heart rate was measured via short-range radio telemetry. RESULTS Relative-phase analysis of teams' EPS showed 61.6% of anti-phase synchronisation pattern (i.e. the values change in opposite directions) in the deep-defending game. In the high-press game, teams' centroid distances were closer (% difference in means; ±90% CL, -21.0%; ±9.5%), while players' distances to own and opponent centroids were 20% more regular. Distance covered (-19.8%; ±2.5%), player velocity (-20.0%; ±2.5%) and heart rates also decreased in the high-press game. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that, adopting a high-press defending strategy can elicit closer centroid distances, more regular movement patterns, decreased synchronisation patterns of EPS, lower distance covered, lower player velocity, and lower heart rates. Coaches may also consider adopting a high-press strategy, when in numerical superiority, to decrease players' physical and physiological demands.

Incidência e fatores de risco de lesões em jogadores de futsal portugueses / Incidence and injury risk factors in Portuguese futsal players

INTRODUÇÃO: A reduzida expressão de estudos publicados sobre a incidência de lesões no Futsal em Portugal justificou a realização deste trabalho. OBJETIVO: Identificar as potenciais causas de lesões nesta modalidade, referência para o desenvolvimento de protocolos específicos de prevenção de lesões. MÉTODOS: A amostra foi constituída por 411 jogadores federados de Futsal em Portugal, masculinos e femininos, de diferentes níveis competitivos. Foram utilizados os dados coletados num questionário com informação retrospectiva. O tratamento estatístico consistiu na análise inferencial entre grupos através do teste de Kruskal-Wallis e do teste para dados não paramétricos de Mann-Whitney (nível de significância de 5%). RESULTADOS: Os resultados confirmaram a entorse da articulação tíbio-társica como a lesão de maior incidência (48,8% do total) no Futsal. As lesões com período de impedimento entre oito e 28 dias tiveram a maior expressão (52,7% do total). Este estudo não revelou diferenças significativas em relação ao gênero ou posição em que os jogadores ocupam na quadra sobre a incidência, o tipo ou a região anatômica das lesões. No entanto, verificou-se significativamente maior incidência de entorses e contraturas em situação de treino e maior incidência de roturas musculares e fraturas em jogo, sendo que essas últimas provocaram um período de impedimento maior para os atletas. Também se verificou significativamente maior incidência de lesões articulares ou ósseas, entorses e fraturas, em resultado do contato com adversários e maior incidência de lesões musculares ou ligamentares sem contato com adversários. Os resultados não evidenciaram diferenças significativas na lateralidade das lesões. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados realçam a importância de programas específicos de prevenção da entorse da tíbio-társica, especialmente nas crianças e jovens, independentemente da posição que ocupam na quadra, particularmente em situações de contato com adversários.

INTRODUCTION: The reduced number of studies published on the occurrence of injuries in futsal in Portugal motivated this study. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify potential causes for injuries in this sport, which can be a reference for the designing of specific protocols for injury prevention. METHODS: The sample was composed of 411 Portuguese male and female futsal players, of diverse competitive levels. All the participants filled out a previously validated questionnaire, based on retrospective information. Statistical inference consisted of inferential analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney test for nonparametric data (significance level of 5%). RESULTS: The results confirm the ankle sprain injury as the injury with the highest incidence (48.8% of total) in futsal. The injuries with recovery period between 8 and 28 days were the most frequent (52.7% of total). This study did not show gender or the position of the player on the field to cause significant differences on the frequency of the injuries, or on the type or anatomical region of the injury. However, there were significant differences between training and competition, with greater occurrence of sprains and contractures in the case of training and higher incidence of muscle tears and fractures in competition, with a longer recovery period resulting from injuries suffered during competition. Moroever, significant differences were found for the mechanism of injury, with higher incidence of bone or joint injuries, sprains and fractures as a result of contact with opponents and higher incidence of muscle or ligament injuries without contact with opponents. The results did not show any significant differences in the laterality of injuries. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the importance of specific programmes for ankle sprain injury prevention, specially in early stages, regardless of their position on the field of play, especially in situations of contact with opponents.

Iniciação desportiva, actividades prévias e especialização no treino de futsal em Portugal / Sport initiation, early sport involvement and specialization in futsal training in Portugal

O presente estudo pretende analisar e caracterizar a preparação desportiva em longo prazo dos melhores jogadores de futsal portugueses. Para alcançar este objetivo foram realizados dois estudos distintos. O estudo 1 permitiu averiguar o percurso desportivo de jogadores séniores proveniente de diferentes níveis competitivos, elite (n=60), intermédio (n=160) e regional (151). Por sua vez, o estudo 2 comparou o envolvimento desportivo inicial dos melhores jogadores portugueses (n=24), com aquele desenvolvido por jogadores mais jovens, selecionados para representar as equipas distritais (n=270) e contemplou, adicionalmente, uma análise entre sexos. Todos os participantes preencheram um questionário previamente validado, que fornece informações de carácter retrospectivo sobre as atividades desportivas experiências ao longo da sua carreira. Os resultados demonstraram que os melhores jogadores se distinguem dos jogadores de níveis competitivos inferiores pela dedicação mais precoce ao treino desportivo e especificamente ao futsal, facto que é reforçado tanto pelo acréscimo progressivo do volume de treino semanal como na duração das épocas desportivas. Estes aspectos emergem como fatores discriminantes neste processo, não deixando de referenciar o contributo da prática diversificada no percurso dos melhores jogadores portugueses de futsal.

The present study aimed to analyze and characterize the long-term athlete development in the elite Portuguese futsal players. There were performed two different studies to achieve this goal. The first one allowed to ascertain the route of seniors sports players from different competitive levels, elite (n=60), medium (N=160) and regional (n=151). The second study has compared the early involvement of the elite senior Portuguese players (n=24), with the study developed with young players, selected to represent the district teams (n=270) and also included a comparison between genders. All the participants completed a previous validated questionnaire, which provides retrospective information about the sport activities experienced throughout his career. The results showed that the elite players are distinguished from lower level competitive players for their earlier dedication to the sports training and specifically to futsal, which is reinforced by the progressive increase in volume of weekly training as in the durations of seasons. These aspects emerge as discriminating factors in this process, whilst the early practice diversifications contribution to the course of the elite Portuguese futsal players.