Understanding 'impact' in sport and exercise.

Every year students approaching the end of their sport and exercise science degree sit down to a general exam.  This is an examination that requires students to assimilate the information they have learnt over their 3 year degree (or 4 for students in Scotland) and identify its usefulness and applicability within an applied setting.  This seems to be a task that many students struggle with; describing what they have learnt is familiar territory however the necessity to put this information to use in a practical setting is clearly not.  The fact that students struggle with this skill however should not be surprising; many sport scientists are caught in the vicious cycle of collecting data for data’s sake with no real avenue for this information to be utilised by the coach.  More worryingly however is that unless we provide students with the sort of modules that teach these skills, should the opportunity arise to utilise the data they have collected, will they know what to do?

In a recent conversation with a friend who works in the finance world he told me that when researching a new investment opportunity there really is no limit to the amount of information you can gather in order to fully understand the sector.  The trick of course (unless 100 hour working weeks are what you aspire to) is to know when you have enough information to make an informed decision.  The same is true in sport (and exercise) science.  Given recent advances in technology there are now very few physiological markers which cannot be tracked on an almost daily basis; these include metres covered via GPS, training heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, subjective responses, markers of neuromuscular fatigue and haematological markers.  What is worth remembering however is that it is not the numbers per se that are important, rather, their ability to enable us to make informed and accurate decisions about how athletes are responding to the training load and how their program should look moving forward.  This is the ‘application’ that so many students (and possibly practitioners struggle with).

So how do we redress this balance?  Firstly we need to move away from the current silo approach that separates the composite disciplines of sport and exercise science, a move that has already been made by BASES in the accreditation of its practitioners as sport and exercise scientists.  Students must understand how these disciplines interact and the capacity they have when utilised in unison to enhance the provision of support services to athletic groups.  Take for example the physiologist who undertakes an assessment with an athlete; how this information is reported can have as big an impact as the numbers themselves (probably more so) which requires an understanding of the client’s psychology and how they respond to this kind of information.  Thought should also be given to how best to communicate the findings to the coach.  This is in addition to considering aspects such as accuracy, real change and equipment reliability.  Conversely the psychologist must understand that no amount of mental skills training will enhance performance if the requisite physical qualities have not been developed to a sufficient standard.  Perhaps asking students to identify practical uses for the information presented to them would help, in addition to developing skills in producing coach and athlete focused synopsis’ for recent and relevant research articles. 

Clearly this is a complicated skill set and one which has to be developed over time through exposure to different situations, sports and client groups coupled with a commitment to reflective practise.  It is also something that practitioners will learn to a large extent ‘on the job’, a positive consequence of the proliferation of internships within the industry over recent years.  To accelerate this learning curve however University courses should develop modules that encourage students to identify the practical implications of any data they collect and how best the key messages might be delivered in d within different scenarios.  This is likely to be a difficult challenge however if the UK are to continue to excel on the world’ sporting stages it is paramount that each new generation of practitioners learn to work as ‘applied practitioners’ as early as possible in their careers.

Supplements and short cuts

A common question asked of applied sport scientists is the use and veracity of supplements to enhance performance.  I should stress here that we are not talking about illegal drugs, rather legitimate and tested products that are available on the open market, for example protein shakes and commercially available energy drinks.  There has been an innumerate amount of research conducted on these products, some good some bad, and it is beyond the scope of this blog to review the literature in detail.  Suffice to say however that there seems to be a strong evidence base for the use of supplements to fuel performance, especially in events lasting more than 60 minutes and in the recovery process following vigorous exercise.  Despite the supportive evidence I still would not recommend a supplement to anyone under the age of 18 – and this has nothing to do with their potential (or otherwise) effect on performance. 

There is nothing in commercially available supplements that cannot be delivered from freshly prepared meals; this is an important point and something worth noting especially if a young athlete you are responsible for wants to begin using them.  Given this it is worth asking the question why supplements are so popular and with this popularity generate a multi-million pound business.  Firstly supplements are a relatively cheap alternative to preparing a meal with the same nutritional value from natural produce.  Take for example a readily available protein supplement; each serving will provide 23g of protein, an amount shown to be optimal in encouraging protein synthesis following intense exercise.  Achieving these quantities of protein through a meal is slightly more difficult, although not impossible however and will almost certainly cost more in the long term.  Secondly, supplements are convenient and require little effort in terms of planning and preparation.  It is this aspect which I believe is most detrimental to young athletes.

The attainment of success in any discipline requires, without exception, hard work and commitment.  It necessitates undertaking tasks that others shy away from or do not have the fortitude and/or character to see through to completion.  In short it requires you to go the extra mile without being distracted by short cuts and quick fixes.  Unfortunately this is exactly what supplements promote; short cuts and quick fixes.  It is easier to take a recovery shake than it is to prepare a snack in the morning and take it with you to have after your afternoon training session.  However it is the willingness to engage in what may be considered tiresome activities that may distinguish great athletes from the rest.   Diligence and conscientiousness is not something we can switch on and off as and when we please; a predilection for taking the easy option will often manifest in other areas if allowed to do so.

Before then recommending supplements to young athletes think whether they could learn and benefit more from a process which requires them to take responsibility for ensuring they are able to adequately fuel exercise and recovery through their diet, with all the requirements for preparation and organisation that this brings with it.  Exposing young athletes to the requirement for ownership early in their career may pay greater dividends as they mature and genuinely do have less time surrounding their training.

The production line in sport

What Adam Smith can tell us about developing sporting talent?

Adam Smith had an idea, and that idea was to be the forerunner to the industrial revolution in Britain....efficiency.  The pursuit of efficiency led industry to adopt the production line approach to manufacturing where each employee had a specific job to do, which, when summed together resulted in the end product.  The ‘production line’ analogy has been used to describe the development of young athletes in a number of sports with academies being developed to nurture this talent during its formative years.  This is a laudable approach and one that if we look closely has yielded many success stories in a number of sports.  What effect however does this approach have on the coaches who guide the development of these young athletes?

When individuals have a specific role on the production line research has shown that they can become disenfranchised with the task.  This is as a result of them being unable to see the impact their role has on the finished product.  Again we can draw parallels with soccer academies; how do we ensure that a coach who works with a player for one season feels part of the long term process of player development and success if and when that player represents the club at first team level?  Below are some suggestions regarding how we can optimise engagement amongst coaches, especially those who are part time, within soccer academies. 

A clear vision

Many large organisations invest time and money in developing a vision and clear set of aims and objectives to assist in achieving this goal.  The intended impact of such practices is to develop a clear purpose amongst the workforce and the feeling that everyone is contributing to the success of the company.  The same benefits can be recognised in sport.  Providing a clear vision on how clubs want their teams to play (formation, style) and what attributes they would like their players to display (physical, technical, social) gives all coaches within the organisation a clear objective to work towards.  It also allows coaches to identify with and enjoy the later successes of players they coached earlier on in their playing career.  This of course is easier said than done, especially in a game like soccer where differing opinions predominate.  Including coaching staff from all levels within the process of designing that vision however may alleviate some of these problems and provide the catalyst for synergy and co-cooperation throughout the club’s structure.

Acknowledgement

We all like to feel valued in our jobs.  Alex Ferguson famously stated that there are no words we enjoy hearing more than ‘well done’, a statement with which it is hard to argue.  Research within the area of behavioural science has reinforced this observation.  Experiments have shown that when we receive positive feedback following the completion of a task we are much more likely to continue than when negative or no feedback is given.  In fact, the persistence with positive feedback has been shown to continue despite reductions in financial reward.  Providing positive feedback to part time coaches therefore is absolutely essential in ensuring that futility does not creep into their work.  The impact of this acknowledgement may be enhanced if it is provided by a senior coach and especially when it is linked to the success of the first team squad.  This could provide an opportunity to remind coaches of their contribution to the overall successes of the club through their work with younger age groups whilst increasing their sense of meaningfulness and value both ‘on the production line’ and to the club overall.

Transitions    

It is unrealistic to expect coaches within team sports to follow the same squad of players throughout their development journey, such as we see in athletics (see example above).  There are clearly skill sets which are more suited to working with younger children, as opposed to older adolescent players, which should be identified and apportioned accordingly.  What clubs may consider is moving coaches between age groups at various intervals throughout the season.  For example, one week each month coaches may swap squads and work with a group of players at an age grade and standard that they are not ordinarily familiar with.  Not only will this enhance the coaching skill set, it will enhance a feeling of collective responsibility for the club’s success.  This is often what happens with support staff, such as physiotherapists and sport scientists, who work with a number of different age groups.  In my experience of supervising young practitioners this approach aids in the understanding of developmental changes that occur in young athletes, enhancing their motivation to contribute to the success of the club, rather than a specific team.

Whilst the production line approach undoubtedly enhances efficiency, we must ensure that we do not remove the meaningfulness of work undertaken by each individual.  Especially in a setting where opinion predominates, such as soccer, there is a need for a clear vision to unify staff and bring them together in pursuit of a shared goal.  In doing this we can go some way to making sure that each coach within the academy understands the contribution they are making to the overall success of the club.  There are undoubtedly many more strategies which clubs can employ in addition to and besides those listed above; however the challenge is to implement them within the applied environment.  Within sport we have an obligation to develop the athletes in our care however we should also feel an obligation to develop the coaches with whom we entrust their care.

Emotive subjects - exercise caution

Promoting fitness, health and physical activity is a hot topic, especially at this time of year when many of us are battling to keep our New Year resolutions.  Such heightened awareness inevitably leads to greater media attention with numerous ‘fitness experts’ offering their opinion on the best ways to achieve your fitness goals in 2013.  Now for the adult population this is fine – we can read what we want to and make informed decisions regarding what is appropriate in the pursuit of health and happiness.  A recent article published in the Times newspaper (a link to the feature can be found here http://thetim.es/13PW3ll ) however chose to deal with the fitness levels, or lack of, amongst a younger population.  The article was entitled ‘How to test your child’s fitness’ and suggested to its readers that even in children as young as 6 years old, fitness levels are ‘woeful’.  Upon reading the article I was concerned enough with the content to contact the newspaper and request the contact details of the author.  Unfortunately at present I have received no reply.  In the following blog I will hopefully explain why some of the recommendations made in the article are grossly inappropriate and highlight the dangers of the publication of such guidelines.

        

The opening paragraph of the article asks concerned parents the question, ‘how fit is your child really?’  It goes on to suggest that although they may appear energetic, modern pursuits mean that most children are appallingly inactive.  This appears to be scare mongering at its best – even if you think that your child is fit and healthy....chances are they aren’t.  The findings are based on research conducted in Central London where the author witnessed a woeful lack of fitness amongst school children.  What may have been of greater use to the interested reader would have been introducing one of the many scientific studies investigating physical activity levels amongst children in the UK (the results from a longitudinal study conducted in Scotland can be viewed here http://1.usa.gov/WfzdP6 .  These are well designed, rigorous and often longitudinal in nature providing accurate information on the health status of children.  The main issue with proposing the ad hoc assessment of fitness within youngsters is that fitness, as a construct, is very difficult to measure.  This is perhaps why the research has focused predominantly on levels of physical activity.  We only need look at the London Olympics to see a myriad of athletes, all fit in their own rite with completely different physical qualities.  Physical activity on the other hand is something that we can measure with a little more accuracy and has fringe benefits of improving self efficacy and mental well being.  So rather than worrying about whether your child is fit, simply ensure that they engage in activities that get them moving and on a regular basis.

My second point is concerned with the contention that we should, as parents, be assessing our child’s fitness.  The aim for any child involved in sport or simply active play is first and foremost enjoyment with movement excellence coming a close second.  This means that they should be able to perform movements in all three planes and through full range of motion with poise, balance and control.  Developing skills in movement excellence ensure children develop a solid base of movement skills which allow them to train more vigorously and intensely as they get older.  The majority of these movement skills will be developed by allowing children to participate in playful activities which involve jumping, skipping, throwing, catching and running without any structured ‘training’ or requirement to test their ‘fitness’   

My final point concentrates on the appropriateness (or otherwise) of the recommended exercises to determine whether your child is in fact fit or not.  There are 10 exercises in total, each with guidelines as to what your child should be able to achieve at different ages – it is this which raises an important question.  How many children has the author assessed in order to generate norms for different ages and what is the variability in day to day performance?  This second point is critical and something which anyone who advocates assessments of physical capacity for children should be aware of.  Physical performance can change from day to day without any real changes in fitness – this is what we call variability.  Any test therefore of physical capacity has to take this into account and state how much change in performance should be apparent before it is accepted as a ‘real change’.  No such recognition of variability is made in the assessments recommended.  Perhaps the most worrying aspect however is the complete inappropriateness of the exercises for children.  In one exercise the author suggests that your child should be able to perform continuous shuttle runs over 20m for 60s, touching the floor at each end and taking between 3-4s to complete each 20m shuttle.  Now to put this into perspective, professional adult footballers with whom I have worked took around 2.5s to cover 15m in an all out sprint from a stationary start.  Take a moment to think about that.  The Times suggest that children should be able to sprint faster than professional adult footballers and not just once, but continually over the course of a minute.  I suspect that few children will score highly in that fitness assessment.  

The most important aspect of sport and/or physical activity, especially where children and adolescents are concerned, is that it be enjoyable.  It is this enjoyment which will foster long term adherence to a lifestyle that promotes healthy choices and the benefits that come with regular and sustained exercise.  It is also worth remembering that we do not necessarily need to be ‘fit’ in the sense promoted in the aforementioned article to reap the benefits of a lifestyle which includes regular physical activity.  In the age old anecdote, a little goes a long way.