Last week I
was lucky to spend some time in Melbourne contributing to the Masters degree in
high performance sport and summer seminar series at the Australian Catholic University
(ACU). The event included some fantastic
sessions, aided by the engagement and insightful questions of those in the
audience. Given the transit time back to
Edinburgh I thought I would collate some of the lessons I learnt at the
conference and share below for those who are interested.
Show your
workings…
Caution was
recommended (and rightly so) when dealing with technology that does not allow
you access to the raw data or to how it calculates reported values. This was especially pertinent in the
practical session on profiling strength and power; a range of devices were used
to assess the same countermovement jump with very different results. Technologies that allow you to assess how
values are calculated provide much more scope to assess their validity whilst
also giving you the best chance to spot errors before they lead to false
conclusions. The above also highlights
how important gaining experience in using different pieces of technology and
assessment protocols is when working with high performance athletes; firstly, even
if you are not able to assess validity you can check reliability through performing
repeated measures and calculating the magnitude required for a ‘real change’ (coefficient
of variation and the technical error of measurement are useful metrics to
consider – both detailed in Physiological Tests for Elite Athletes). Secondly, experience using the test and
method of assessment will help you identify aberrant data points prior to them
entering your database. This is
especially important for technologies such as GPS that produce large data sets;
even the smallest error relating to which cells are used to calculate your
metrics may impact dramatically on the results.
Experience of what ‘looks’ is a valuable skill to develop.
There was
also a useful session on how to calculate commonly used statistics by hand, a
skill that computer programmes such that Excel may have rendered obsolete. Data such as the mean, median and standard
deviation are all calculable by hand and there is genuine value in
understanding the underlying process. A
strong grasp of these data assessment tools will undoubtedly help when it comes
to working out Z scores and effect sizes, useful statistics when it comes to
comparing athletes against themselves and each other in a range of assessment
modalities.
What – How
– Why…
There are a
range of tools, tests and methods for sport scientists to collect data in the
field and lab setting; the skill of a good practitioner lies in selecting the most
appropriate protocol based on the performance question being posed, time
available and resources at their disposal.
The first question is, what do you want to measure? This may be related to jump performance, the
movement characteristics associated with match play or body composition,
amongst others. Secondly you need to
determine the most appropriate method for collecting reliable, useful and
useable data; it is likely that lots of options exist so spend some time
getting to know the literature and selecting the best available. Lastly, the why, or ‘so what?’ – how is the
data you have collected going to affect the way you assess or prepare the
athletes you work with. You may find
that after a rigorous approach to stages one and two that there is no real
impact on performance; although frustrating this is all part of the process and
ensures that when you do have a strong rationale at stage three you also have a
well-developed and accurate method at stages one and two. Remember, ‘think slow’.
Don’t get
too attached…
High
performance sport is a changeable environment in terms of the aims, objectives
and personnel associated with teams and athletes. With these changes are likely to come new
performance questions and challenges. Practitioner’s
need to embrace these changes and find the best possible way to use their
skills for the benefit of the team or individual with whom they are working. At times this may require subtle, or more
wholesale changes in the way you operate and the data you collect, analyse and
disseminate. Try not to become too
attached to what you do or presume a better way does not exist; avoid operating
according to dogma, critique your work and that of others without missing
opportunities to try something new.
Finally, read outside of the field in which you specialise whilst
reviewing the annals of sport science literature; there are some fantastic
articles which may not exist in online libraries yet are highly relevant today.
It was
clear from the conference programme and particularly round table discussions
that individuals with plenty of experience in their field differ in which data
they consider important and how the same information can be interpreted in
different ways. This is not an excuse
for anecdotal practise, rather a reminder to avoid becoming entrenched in what
you do without taking take to reflect and evaluate. High performance sport is not an industry
that seeks equilibrium; rarely will imitation achieve success, rather we need
to adapt and improve upon what others are doing to make it fit the objectives
and practicalities of the team or individuals we work with.
Responders
and non-responders
Choose your
parents carefully, the genetics you inherit will go a long way to determining the
sports you are likely to excel at. This
was the clear message from one of the sessions discussing the underlying
physiological systems concerned with adaptation to exercise. Few would argue with this and the point may
well have contributed to the popular debate surrounding responders and
non-responders. The family athlete’s
have around them however is likely to affect their success beyond the genetic
endowment it has graced them with. Young
athletes will benefit enormously from parents and family members who are
willing to take them to practise, purchase the relevant equipment and expose
them to a range of sports so that they can decide which one they enjoy the
most. As athlete’s progress, a
supportive family will underpin success in their chosen sport as much if not
more than their coach and formal support staff; few athletes have been so vocal
about this as Chris Hoy.
In this sense, there are multiple
factors that contribute to success, some more measurable than others. Sport scientists are by their very nature
concerned with data and the process of measuring however we should ignore
factors that matter yet cannot be measured so easily. A recent study suggested that when the dose
of exercise prescription is increased, all participants improved their cardio
respiratory function (https://goo.gl/VpXwRb) refuting perhaps the notion of non-responders. If you encounter an athlete who is not
improving despite adherence to your training programme, consider all the
factors (objective and subjective) that may be holding them back and how you
might go about assessing and then addressing them. There is a growing body of research within
sport science, especially psychology that deals with qualitative analysis and
may hold the key to improved performance in situations where numbers fail to
come up with the answers.
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