Effects of manipulating player numbers on technical and physical performances participating in an Australian football small-sided game.

In Australian Football (AF), small-sided games (SSGs) are used extensively to replicate particular technical, tactical or physiological responses. Whilst research on SSGs has been extensive in soccer, in AF it has been limited to agility demands and exploring the effect of field dimensions on technical skill (i.e.

Validity and reliability of an Australian football small-sided game to assess kicking proficiency.

In Australian Football (AF), small sided games have been used extensively as an alternative training method for technical and physical adaptations. Considering their application to AF, it is surprising a valid and reliable small-sided game kicking assessment remains absent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable 5v6 Australian football small-sided game kicking proficiency assessment.

The Development of a Field-Based Kicking Assessment to Evaluate Australian Football Kicking Proficiency.

 In Australian Football (AF), the ability to proficiently kick the ball is a critical skill and has been shown to be advantageous to a team's successful performance; however, a valid and reliable match referenced kicking assessment remains absent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable AF kicking proficiency assessment comparative to match play kicking performance. Youth male Australian Football players ( = 251) from different stages within the AF talent pathway were recruited.

Australian Football Skill-Based Assessments: A Proposed Model for Future Research.

Identifying sporting talent remains a difficult task due to the complex nature of sport. Technical skill assessments are used throughout the talent pathway to monitor athletes in an attempt to more effectively predict future performance. These assessments, however, largely focus on the isolated execution of key skills devoid of any game context.

Validity of the days supply field in pharmacy administrative claims data for the identification of blister packaging of medications.

Purpose: Pharmacy claims data is often used in pharmacoepidemiology studies, but no studies to date have examined whether it was possible to identify the use of blister packs in these databases. We aimed to determine whether medications dispensed in days divisible by 7 are more likely to be blister packed than medications dispensed in other quantities.

Methods: Community pharmacies in Manitoba were invited to participate in a mail-out survey to identify the use of blister packaging for up to 25 patients who had a solid oral medication dispensed from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2014.

Video-based training to improve perceptual-cognitive decision-making performance of Australian football umpires.

Decision-making is a central component of the in-game performance of Australian football umpires; however, current umpire training focuses largely on physiological development with decision-making skills development conducted via explicit lecture-style meetings with limited practice devoted to making actual decisions. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of a video-based training programme, aimed to provide a greater amount of contextualised visual experiences without explicit instruction, to improve decision-making skills of umpires. Australian football umpires (n = 52) were recruited from metropolitan and regional Division 1 competitions.

Effectiveness of a 16 week gymnastics curriculum at developing movement competence in children.

Objectives: Internationally, children's movement competence levels are low. This study's aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 16 week gymnastics curriculum on stability, locomotive and object control skills and general body coordination. It was hypothesised that the gymnastics intervention group would demonstrate significant improvements beyond a PE comparison group.

Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: The Role of Stability Skills.

Introduction: In motor development literature fundamental movement skills are divided into three constructs: locomotive, object control and stability skills. Most fundamental movement skills research has focused on children's competency in locomotor and object control skills. The first aim of this study was to validate a test battery to assess the construct of stability skills, in children aged 6 to 10 (M age = 8.

Shorter time to first injury in first year professional football players: A cross-club comparison in the Australian Football League.

Objectives: Australian Football League (AFL) players have a high risk of injury. Anecdotally, this injury risk is greater in emerging players (i.e.

Assessment of decision-making performance and in-game physical exertion of Australian football umpires.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of in-game physical exertion on decision-making performance of Australian football umpires. Fifteen Australian football umpires (Mage = 36, s = 13.5 years; Mgames umpired = 235.

Development of a valid and reliable video-based decision-making test for Australian football umpires.

Objectives: To develop a valid and reliable video-based decision-making test to examine and monitor the decision-making performance of Australian football umpires.

Design: Validation assessments with test re-test reliability.

Methods: A video-based decision-making test was developed from a pool of 156 video-based decision-making situations.

The relationship between physical capacity and match performance in elite Australian football: a mediation approach.

The aim of this study was to verify if yo-yo intermittent recovery test (level 2) (yo-yo IR2) score is linked to Australian football (AF) performance through match exercise intensity. Six week prospective study design. Twenty-one data sets were recorded from nine individual players that completed the yo-yo IR2, and played an Australian Football League match in the first five rounds of the 2010 season wearing a global positioning system (GPS) unit.

Repeated sprint training improves intermittent peak running speed in team-sport athletes.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of 2 repeated sprint training interventions on an intermittent peak running speed (IPRS) test designed for Australian Rules football. The test required participants to perform 10 × 10-m maximal efforts on an 80-m course every 25 seconds, for each of which the mean peak speed (kilometers per hour) was recorded to determine IPRS. The training interventions were performed twice weekly for 4 weeks immediately before regular football training.

Reliability and validity of a novel intermittent peak running speed test for Australian football.

Australian football requires frequent intermittent sprinting close to peak running speed. However, tests assessing the capability to maintain intermittent peak running speed are not reported in scientific literature. Therefore, our objective is to report the reliability and validity of a novel intermittent peak running speed test.

The contribution of structured activity and deliberate play to the development of expert perceptual and decision-making skill.

The developmental histories of 32 players in the Australian Football League (AFL), independently classified as either expert or less skilled in their perceptual and decision-making skills, were collected through a structured interview process and their year-on-year involvement in structured and deliberate play activities retrospectively determined. Despite being drawn from the same elite level of competition, the expert decision-makers differed from the less skilled in having accrued, during their developing years, more hours of experience in structured activities of all types, in structured activities in invasion-type sports, in invasion-type deliberate play, and in invasion activities from sports other than Australian football. Accumulated hours invested in invasion-type activities differentiated between the groups, suggesting that it is the amount of invasion-type activity that is experienced and not necessarily intent (skill development or fun) or specificity that facilitates the development of perceptual and decision-making expertise in this team sport.

Skill acquisition in tennis: research and current practice.

Common to most tennis players is the desire to improve performance. Equipped with the necessary motivation, these players can spend countless hours rehearsing tennis' skills under the guidance of a coach. Often, these practices feature repetitious hitting, with little consideration given to the actual context in which the game's skills are expressed.