erformance analysis, like many other areas of sports science, is a discipline where reliability of measurement is critically important. Researchers in Barcelona (Spain) carried out a study using the time and motion theory to an elite women’s hockey club. Using high resolution cameras from various angles they captured the movement of players in different high intensity games. They noticed several errors made at different positions by players. Two of these errors were found to be most detrimental to the team’s overall performance: one, failure to clear the ball off the scoring area by defenders; and second, failure by mid-fielders to pass on the ball quickly and accurately to forwards.Using extensive statistical data measured against players’ physique and optimum hand-eye coordination, they estimated the minimum time required by defenders and mid-fielders to perform their role requirements. The defenders’ task was broken down into the following steps: 1. Intercept attack 2. Control the ball, and 3. Clear it off scoring area. Similarly, mid-fielders’ task was broken down into: 1. Intercept 2. Control, 3. Pass. Optimum body movements to perform these tasks in the best possible time were measured, and an estimated time of 0.37 seconds/movement was allocated to the defenders, while 0.46 seconds/movement was given to mid-fielders (since their job was more demanding in terms of accuracy as it involved interception as well as marking/passing to forwards). It was concluded that most successful attacks by opponents were a result of vital delays on the part of defenders and mid-fielders to perform their fundamental motions in a timely manner.These findings were then shared with trainers and players, so that training programs could effectively be chalked out based on the findings. The researchers were surprised to learn that there was a good deal of resentment and resistance by both, coaches and players, to accept and implement the findings and suggestions laid out by the research study. The coaches disliked the idea of foregoing their traditional methods of training/coaching, while the players found the whole concept too mechanical and impractical. As Pauline, a star player of the club, commented: “they are trying to take away the whole beauty of this artistic game and convert it into a boring science. Besides she added, “haven’t we been getting some remarkably good results even without these methods? Arthur, leader of the research project, contests the issue by saying that the implication was never to question the performance of the players; the objective is only to further improve their performance and, with it, their winning ratio. “At the end of the day” he says, “everything is science – be it music, paintings, sculpturing, or sports. Nothing denies the basic laws of physics and motion.” Do you think it is a good idea to apply scientific management theories to sports? Why do you think the coaches and players resented the suggestions and findings of the research team? What do you think about Pauline’s comment that such ideas will take away the beauty of the game?
Performance analysis, like many other areas of sports science, is a discipline where reliability of measurement is critically important. Researchers in Barcelona (Spain) carried out a study using the time and motion theory to an elite women’s hockey club. Using high resolution cameras from various angles they captured the movement of players in different high intensity games. They noticed several errors made at different positions by players. Two of these errors were found to be most detrimental to the team’s overall performance: one, failure to clear the ball off the scoring area by defenders; and second, failure by mid-fielders to pass on the ball quickly and accurately to forwards.Using extensive statistical data measured against players’ physique and optimum hand-eye coordination, they estimated the minimum time required by defenders and mid-fielders to perform their role requirements. The defenders’ task was broken down into the following steps: 1. Intercept attack 2. Control the ball, and 3. Clear it off scoring area. Similarly, mid-fielders’ task was broken down into: 1. Intercept 2. Control, 3. Pass. Optimum body movements to perform these tasks in the best possible time were measured, and an estimated time of 0.37 seconds/movement was allocated to the defenders, while 0.46 seconds/movement was given to mid-fielders (since their job was more demanding in terms of accuracy as it involved interception as well as marking/passing to forwards). It was concluded that most successful attacks by opponents were a result of vital delays on the part of defenders and mid-fielders to perform their fundamental motions in a timely manner.These findings were then shared with trainers and players, so that training programs could effectively be chalked out based on the findings. The researchers were surprised to learn that there was a good deal of resentment and resistance by both, coaches and players, to accept and implement the findings and suggestions laid out by the research study. The coaches disliked the idea of foregoing their traditional methods of training/coaching, while the players found the whole concept too mechanical and impractical. As Pauline, a star player of the club, commented: “they are trying to take away the whole beauty of this artistic game and convert it into a boring science. Besides she added, “haven’t we been getting some remarkably good results even without these methods? Arthur, leader of the research project, contests the issue by saying that the implication was never to question the performance of the players; the objective is only to further improve their performance and, with it, their winning ratio. “At the end of the day” he says, “everything is science – be it music, paintings, sculpturing, or sports. Nothing denies the basic laws of physics and motion.”
- Do you think it is a good idea to apply scientific management theories to sports?
- Why do you think the coaches and players resented the suggestions and findings of the research team?
- What do you think about Pauline’s comment that such ideas will take away the beauty of the game?
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