The obligation to succeed when it matters the most-The influence of skill and pressure on the success in football penalty kicks.

In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of skill and pressure on the success in football penalty kicks, we analyzed 1711 penalties taken over a 15-year period in major international tournaments. We conducted a multiple correspondence analysis in order to reduce six variables that are associated with skill and pressure to two dimensions that reflect our target concepts. Then, we used these two factors as independent variables in a logistic regression and fit different models using three binary dependent variables.

Effects of body orientation and direction of movement on a knee joint angle reproduction test in healthy subjects: An experimental study.

Background: Joint position sense test assess patient mobility and proprioceptive ability. Yet, application used under different conditions may biases reproduction error resulting in different therapeutic consequences.

Objective: To investigate knee angle reproduction test under different test conditions.

Seam or swing? Identifying the most effective type of bowling variation for fast bowlers in men's international 50-over cricket.

In this study, 13,176 balls bowled by international level fast bowlers were analysed in order to investigate the relationship between the types of delivery and their effectiveness. The results of Chi-Squared analyses revealed significant associations between the type of delivery and runs conceded (p < 0.001) as well as wickets taken (p < 0.

English goalkeepers are not responsible for England's poor performance in penalty shootouts in the past.

Scrutinizing public opinion is one of the central goals of science as the divergence between public opinion and scientific evidence can have negative consequences. The present study aims to further investigate the alleged English 'penalty curse' and determine if it can be linked to the prevalent stereotype of the 'English goalkeeper problem'. We analyzed a large sample of 2379 penalty kicks that 629 different goalkeepers faced in World Cups and European Championships, as well as in the Champions and Europa League by comparing the goalkeeper success rates of different nations by fitting a generalized linear model (binomial regression) to the data.

In-play forecasting in football using event and positional data.

Two highly relevant aspects of football, namely forecasting of results and performance analysis by means of performance indicators, are combined in the present study by analysing the value of in-play information in terms of event and positional data in forecasting the further course of football matches. Event and positional data from 50 matches, including more than 300 million datapoints were used to extract a total of 18 performance indicators. Moreover, goals from more than 30,000 additional matches have been analysed.

Nonverbal pre-performance expressions of professional darts players distinguish between good and poor performance.

The present research attempted to extend prior research that showed that thin-slices of pre-performance nonverbal behavior (NVB) of professional darts players gives valid information to observers about subsequent performance tendencies. Specifically, we investigated what kind of nonverbal cues were associated with success and informed thin-slice ratings. Participants (N = 61) were first asked to estimate the performance of a random sample of videos showing the preparatory NVB of professional darts players (N = 47) either performing well (470 clips) or poorly (470 clips).

Understanding gender differences in professional European football through machine learning interpretability and match actions data.

After the great success of the Women's World Cup in 2019, several platforms have started identifying the reasons for gender inequality in European football. Even though these inequalities emerge from a variety of key aspects in the modern sport, we focused on the game and evaluated the main differential features of European male and female football players in match actions data under the assumption of finding significant differences and established patterns between genders. A methodology for unbiased feature extraction and objective analysis is presented based on data integration and machine learning explainability algorithms.

Acute whole-body vibration reduces post-activation depression in the triceps surae muscle.

Purpose: Acute whole-body vibration (WBV) is known to enhance neuromuscular activation. Especially mechanisms which act presynaptically are discussed to be involved in this modulation, but evidence is still limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate if 2 min of WBV might impact the premotoneuronal mechanism of post-activation depression (PAD).

Situational and Positional Effects on the Technical Variation of Players in the UEFA Champions League.

This study aimed to identify the situational and positional effects on the variation of players' technical performance in the UEFA Champions League from a long-term perspective. The technical performance of full match observations from outfield players in the UEFA Champions League from season 2009/2010 to 2016/2017 was analysed. The coefficient of variation of each variable of each player in each season was calculated to evaluate the match-to-match variation of technical performance.

English Football Players are not as Bad at Kicking Penalties as Commonly Assumed.

The previous performance of the English men's national football team in penalty shootouts has led to the widespread stereotype that English football players are particularly bad at scoring penalties. Research has proposed possible reasons behind this alleged "penalty curse". When looking at these reasons, the question arises if English football players per se have trouble scoring penalty kicks.

Agility-based exercise training compared to traditional strength and balance training in older adults: a pilot randomized trial.

Background: In addition to generally high levels of physical activity, multi-component exercise training is recommended for the maintenance of health and fitness in older adults, including the prevention of falls and frailty. This training often encompasses serial sequencing of balance, strength, endurance and other types of exercise. Exercise training featuring integrative training of these components (i.

Long rallies and next rally performances in elite men's and women's badminton.

The aim of the present study was twofold: (i) to identify contextual variables associated with the occurrence of long rallies while investigating time-related and technical parameters; and (ii) to identify performance differences between long rallies and the subsequent rally when accounting for match-context and the players' sex. The sample included 60 men's (n = 4,475 rallies) and 60 women's (n = 4,490 rallies) matches randomly selected from the 2015 World Badminton Super Series and World Championship (the final sample included long rallies that had an immediate next point played: n = 1,734 and n = 1,644 rallies for male and female players, respectively). The long rallies represented 19.

Evaluation of the Technical Performance of Football Players in the UEFA Champions League.

This study aimed to assess the technical match performance of top-class football players in a long-term perspective. Technical performance profiles of players according to five playing positions (central defender, full back, wide midfielder, central midfielder, forward) and five situational variables (competition stage, match location, quality of team, quality of opponent, match outcome) were established. Technical match data of players in the UEFA Champions League from season 2009-2010 to 2016-2017 were analyzed.

Look at that-the positive effect of video observation on physical stair climbing performance.

To examine the effect of short-term video presentation intervention (VPI) on stair self-efficacy and on stair-climbing ability, 90 participants age 65 and above were randomly assigned to 3 groups: The first intervention group watched role models descending the same staircase used for testing, the second intervention group watched role models descending an unfamiliar staircase, and the control group watched an irrelevant control video. This study found that stair-climbing duration was shortened compared with the pretest without affecting movement fluency as supported by the social-cognitive theory. We interpret this outcome as evidence for improved self-efficacy: the intervention strengthened our participants' belief that they can successfully complete the task.

What Modern Sports Competitions Can Tell Us About Human Nature.

To fully understand human behavior, it seems inevitable to approach it from an evolutionary perspective. However, much of human behavior has been overwritten by culture and society, thus allowing little insight into how it might have evolved amid natural and sexual selection. Here, I argue that sports competitions, although a cultural phenomenon in themselves, strip away many of the cultural layers and reveal more primary, rudimentary aspects of human behavior.

Neuromuscular and Kinematic Adaptation in Response to Reactive Balance Training - a Randomized Controlled Study Regarding Fall Prevention.

Slips and stumbles are main causes of falls and result in serious injuries. Balance training is widely applied for preventing falls across the lifespan. Subdivided into two main intervention types, biomechanical characteristics differ amongst balance interventions tailored to counteract falls: conventional balance training (CBT) referring to a balance task with a static ledger pivoting around the ankle joint versus reactive balance training (RBT) using externally applied perturbations to deteriorate body equilibrium.

Vibration therapy in patients with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.

The neurological disorder cerebral palsy (CP) is caused by unprogressive lesions of the immature brain and affects movement, posture, and the musculoskeletal system. Vibration therapy (VT) is increasingly used to reduce the signs and symptoms associated with this developmental disability. The purpose of this narrative review was systematically to appraise published research regarding acute and long-term effects of VT on functional, neuromuscular, and structural parameters.

The Betting Odds Rating System: Using soccer forecasts to forecast soccer.

Betting odds are frequently found to outperform mathematical models in sports related forecasting tasks, however the factors contributing to betting odds are not fully traceable and in contrast to rating-based forecasts no straightforward measure of team-specific quality is deducible from the betting odds. The present study investigates the approach of combining the methods of mathematical models and the information included in betting odds. A soccer forecasting model based on the well-known ELO rating system and taking advantage of betting odds as a source of information is presented.

Thin Slices of Athletes' Nonverbal Behavior Give Away Game Location: Testing the Territoriality Hypothesis of the Home Game Advantage.

The present research investigated whether perceivers could detect who is playing at home or away in soccer matches based on thin slices of professional (Experiment 1) and amateur (Experiment 3) athletes' nonverbal behavior prior to the match and whether perceivers rated athletes playing at home relatively higher on behavioral dimensions (Experiments 2 and 3) linked to territoriality. In Experiment 1 ( N = 80), participants watched short videos depicting soccer players prior to a UEFA Champions League match and rated whether athletes were more likely to be playing at home or away. In Experiment 2 (two groups N = 102 and N = 101), perceivers rated these videos in terms of assertiveness, dominance, and aggression.

"Good, better, creative": the influence of creativity on goal scoring in elite soccer.

This study investigated the level of creativity of goals scored in football. Therefore, all goals in the Football FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2014, as well as the Football UEFA Euro 2016 were qualitatively examined. Three Football experts evaluated the last eight actions before each goal using a creativity scale ranging from 0 to 10 (0 = not creative, 10 = highly creative) of all goals scored via open play (311 goals in 153 matches).

Can Driving-Simulator Training Enhance Visual Attention, Cognition, and Physical Functioning in Older Adults?

Virtual reality offers a good possibility for the implementation of real-life tasks in a laboratory-based training or testing scenario. Thus, a computerized training in a driving simulator offers an ecological valid training approach. Visual attention had an influence on driving performance, so we used the reverse approach to test the influence of a driving training on visual attention and executive functions.

Creative Motor Actions As Emerging from Movement Variability.

In cognitive science, creative ideas are defined as original and feasible solutions in response to problems. A common proposal is that creative ideas are generated across dedicated cognitive pathways. Only after creative ideas have emerged, they can be enacted to solve the problem.

In-Class Cycling to Augment College Student Academic Performance and Reduce Physical Inactivity: Results from an RCT.

Most college students sit 14 hours per week on average, excluding sedentary study time. Researchers observing workplace and elementary school settings with active workstations to combat sedentary behavior have shown enhanced cognition without distraction. Until now, incorporating active workstations in college classroom settings remained relatively unexplored.