Unlocking the potential of big data to support tactical performance analysis in professional soccer: A systematic review.

In professional soccer, increasing amounts of data are collected that harness great potential when it comes to analysing tactical behaviour. Unlocking this potential is difficult as big data challenges the data management and analytics methods commonly employed in sports. By joining forces with computer science, solutions to these challenges could be achieved, helping sports science to find new insights, as is happening in other scientific domains. We aim to bring multiple domains together in the context of analysing tactical behaviour in soccer using position tracking data. A systematic literature search for studies employing position tracking data to study tactical behaviour in soccer was conducted in seven electronic databases, resulting in 2338 identified studies and finally the inclusion of 73 papers. Each domain clearly contributes to the analysis of tactical behaviour, albeit in - sometimes radically - different ways. Accordingly, we present a multidisciplinary framework where each domain's contributions to feature construction, modelling and interpretation can be situated. We discuss a set of key challenges concerning the data analytics process, specifically feature construction, spatial and temporal aggregation. Moreover, we discuss how these challenges could be resolved through multidisciplinary collaboration, which is pivotal in unlocking the potential of position tracking data in sports analytics.

Corresponding Assessment Scenarios in Laboratory and on-Court Tests: Centrality Measurements by Complex Networks Analysis in Young Basketball Players.

Besides technical and tactical aspects, basketball matches involve high aerobic and anaerobic capacities, conferring the final performance of a team. Thus, the evaluation of physical and technical responses is an effective way to predict the performance of athletes. Field and laboratory tests have been used in sports. The first involving high ecological validity and low cost, and the second, greater control and accuracy but not easy application, considering the different preparation phases in a season. This study aimed, through complex networks analysis, to verify whether centrality parameters analysed from significant correlations behave similarly in distinct scenarios (laboratory and on-court), emphasizing aerobic and anaerobic physical parameters and technical performances. The results showed that, in a compelling  analysis involving basketball athletes, the studied centralities (degree, betweenness, eigenvector and pagerank) revealed similar responses in both scenarios, which is widely attractive considering the greater financial economy and lower time when applying tests in the field.

Alteração da velocidade em jovens futebolistas brasileiros no período competitivo e sua relação com o conteúdo de treinamento / / Alteraciones de la velocidad en jóvenes futbolistas brasileños en el periodo competitivo y su relación con el contenido del entrenamiento / Velocity changes in Brazilian young soccer players during the in-season competitive phase and its relationship to training

Objective. The aim of the present study was to determine the change in velocity in young soccer players during the competitive period and its relation to the training content. Method. Participants were 17 soccer players (16.3 ± 0.4 years old, 70.2 ± 6.1 kg, 176 ± 6.4 cm). The team was analyzed for 17 weeks during competitive period. Evaluations were made of the velocity at 10 m (V10 m) and 30 m (V30 m) in three distinct moments (M1= 1st, M2= 10th and M3= 17th week). Results. The main results show a significant decrease (p < 0.05) of M1 (7.25 ± 0.2 m/s) to M3 (7.05 ± 0.2 m/s) for variable V30 m and significant increase in V10 m. Conclusion. We conclude that the applied training in the competitive period analyzed for V10 m caused a significant improvement and a decrease in V30 m for young soccer players in the study (AU)

Objetivo. O presente estudo busca determinar a alteração da velocidade em jovens futebolistas no período competitivo e sua relação com o conteúdo de treinamento. Método. Participaram da pesquisa 17 jovens futebolistas (16.3 ± 0.4 anos, 70.2 ± 6.1 kg, 176 ± 6.4 cm). A equipe foi analisada durante 17 semanas no período competitivo de treinamento. Foram realizadas avaliações da velocidade em 10 m (V10 m) e 30 m (V30 m) em 3 momentos distintos (M1 = 1a, M2 = 10a e M3 = 17a semana do estudo). Resultados. Os principais resultados apontam decréscimo significativo (p < 0.05) de M1 (7.25 ± 0.20 m/s) para M3 (7.05 ± 0.20 m/s) para a variável V30 m e sensível aumento em V10 m. Conclusão. Conclui‐se que o treinamento aplicado no período competitivo analisado provocou melhoria sensível para V10 m e decréscimo para V30 m para os jovens futebolistas do estudo (AU)

Objetivo. El presente estudio pretendió determinar las alteraciones de la velocidad en jóvenes jugadores de fútbol durante periodo competitivo y su relación con el contenido del entrenamiento. Método. Participaron 17 jugadores (16.3 ± 0.4 años, el 70.2 ± 6.1 kg, 176.0 ± 6.4 cm). El equipo fue analizado durante 17 semanas en periodo competitivo. Se realizaron evaluaciones de la velocidad a 10 m (V10 m) y 30 m (V30 m) en 3 momentos distintos (M1 = 1a, M2 = 10a y M3 = 17a semana del estudio). Resultados. Los principales resultados muestran una disminución significativa (p < 0.05) de M1 (7.25 ± 0.20 m/s) en comparación con M3 (7.05 ± 0.20 m/s) para V30 m y un sensible aumento de V10 m. Conclusión. Se concluye que el entrenamiento aplicado en periodo competitivo analizado ha provocado una mejora significativa de V10 m y una disminución de V30 m en jóvenes futbolistas del estudio (AU)

Aerobic and anaerobic performances in tethered swimming.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the critical force (CritF) and anaerobic impulse capacity (AIC) - estimated by tethered swimming - reflect the aerobic and anaerobic performance of swimmers. 12 swimmers performed incremental test in tethered swimming to determine lactate anaerobic threshold (AnTLAC), maximal oxygen uptake ( ˙VO2MAX) and force associated with the ˙VO2MAX (i ˙VO2MAX). The swimmers performed 4 exhaustive (tlim) exercise bouts (100, 110, 120 and 130% i ˙VO2MAX) to compute the CritF and AIC (F vs. 1/tlim model); a 30-s all-out tethered swimming bout to determine their anaerobic fitness (ANF); 100, 200, and 400-m time-trials to determine the swimming performance. CritF (57.09±11.77 N) did not differ from AnTLAC (53.96±11.52 N, (P>0.05) but was significantly lower than i ˙VO2MAX (71.02±8.36 N). In addition, CritF presented significant correlation with AnTLAC (r=0.76; P<0.05) and i ˙VO2MAX (r=0.74; P<0.05). On the other hand, AIC (286.19±54.91 N.s) and ANF (116.10±13.66 N) were significantly correlated (r=0.81, p<0.05). In addition, CritF and AIC presented significant correlations with all time-trials. In summary, this study demonstrates that CritF and AIC can be used to evaluate AnTLAC and ANF and to predict 100, 200, and 400-m free swimming.

A semi-tethered test for power assessment in running.

We analyzed the usefulness of a semi-tethered field running test (STR) and the relationships between indices of anaerobic power, anaerobic capacity and running performance in 9 trained male sprinters (22.2 ± 2.9 yrs, 176 ± 1 cm, 68.0 ± 9.4 kg). STR involved an all out 120 m run attached to an apparatus that enabled power calculation from force and velocity measures. Subjects also carried out a cycloergometer Wingate Anaerobic Test (WT), an all out 300 m run and had accessed their maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) on a treadmill. Peak and mean powers attained in STR (1720 ± 221 and 1391 ± 201 W) were greater but significantly related (r = 0.82; P < 0.01) to those in the WT (808 ± 130 and 603 ± 87 W). In addition, power measures derived from the STR were stronger related to running performance compared to those from the WT (r = 0.81-0.94 vs. 0.68-0.84; P < 0.05). Relationships between MAOD and most power indices were only weak to moderate. These results support the usefulness of STR for specific power assessment in field running and suggest that anaerobic power and capacity are not related entities, irrespective of having been evaluated using similar or dissimilar exercise modes.

Hipertensão renovascular. Apresentação de três casos / Renovascular hypertension. Report of 3 cases

Os autores relatam tres casos de portadores de hipertensao renovascular estudados por metodos invasivos e nao invasivos e submetidos a intervencao cirurgica corretiva com excelentes resultados