Informational constraints shape emergent functional behaviours during performance of interceptive actions in team sports

Travassos, Bruno; Araújo, Duarte; Davids, Keith; Vilar, Luís; Esteves, Pedro; Vanda, C.

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.11.009

Cited by 117 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In dynamic situations, where on-going behaviour has to be continuously modified, action possibilities arise and vanish as a result of changing action capabilities and environmental demands. Because of the dynamic character of situations like these, and the according emergent nature of decisions, this approach has also been referred to as the ecological dynamics approach [98,[100][101][102].…”

Section: An Alternative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pacing and Decision Making in Sport and Exercise: The Roles of Perception and Action in the Regulation of Exercise Intensity

2014

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In pursuit of optimal performance, athletes and physical exercisers alike have to make decisions about how and when to invest their energy. The process of pacing has been associated with the goal-directed regulation of exercise intensity across an exercise bout. The current review explores divergent views on understanding underlying mechanisms of decision-making in pacing. Current pacing literature provides a wide range of aspects that might be involved in the determination of an athlete's pacing-strategy, but lack in explaining how perception and action are coupled in establishing behaviour. In contrast, decision-making literature rooted in the understanding that perception and action are coupled provides refreshing perspectives on explaining the mechanisms that underlie natural interactive behaviour. Contrary to the assumption of behaviour that is managed by a higher order governor that passively constructs internal representations of the world, an ecological approach is considered. According to this approach, knowledge is rooted in the direct experience of meaningful environmental objects and events in individual-environment processes. To assist a neuropsychological explanation of decision-making in exercise-regulation, the relevance of the affordance competition hypothesis is explored. By considering pacing as a behavioural expression of continuous decision-making, new insights on underlying mechanisms in pacing and optimal performance can be developed.3

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Section: An Alternative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pacing and Decision Making in Sport and Exercise: The Roles of Perception and Action in the Regulation of Exercise Intensity

2014

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“…To prevent this from happening and maintain ball possession, teammates use information of this closing gap in distance between ball carriers and defenders to move towards the ball carrier and afford him more passing opportunities 3 . Additionally, ball carriers have also been observed to regulate their passing and shooting actions according to the time available for the opponents to reach the trajectory path of the ball to intercept a shot at goal or a pass 4,5 . Importantly, the study of the emergence of different possibilities for ball carriers to maintain ball possession, pass to teammates and shoot at the goal may endue with significant implications for understanding the acquisition of movement and decision makings in team sports 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varying Numbers of Players in Small-Sided Soccer Games Modifies Action Opportunities during Training

Vilar

Esteves

Travassos

et al. 2014

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

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This study examined the effects of the numbers of players involved in small-sided team games (underloading and overloading) on opportunities for maintaining ball possession, shooting at goal and passing to teammates during training. These practice constraint manipulations were assumed to alter values of key performance variables identified in previous research, such as interpersonal distances between players and time to intercept shots and passes. Fifteen male soccer players (age: 19.60±1.99 years) were grouped into three teams and played against each other in different versions of small-sided soccer games, in which the number of players was manipulated in three different conditions: 5 vs. 5, 5 vs. 4 and 5 vs. 3. Dependent variables were the values of interpersonal distance between an outfield attacker and nearest defender (ID), and the relative distance of a defender needed to intercept the trajectory of a shot (RDi shot ) or pass (RDi pass ). Statistical analyses revealed that mean ID values were significantly lower in 5 vs. 5 than in 5 vs. 4 and 5 vs. 3 conditions, and significantly lower in 5 vs. 4 than 5 vs. 3. They also revealed that mean values of RDi shot were significantly higher in 5 vs. 3 than in 5 vs. 5 conditions. Finally, results showed that the mean values of RDi pass were significantly higher in 5 vs. 3 than in 5 vs. 5. Findings revealed how task constraints in SSGs can be manipulated to vary values of key spatial and temporal performance variables (interpersonal distance and time to intercept) to influence the nature of interpersonal interactions between competing players during practice. We observed that these manipulations tended to decrease opportunities for maintaining ball possession during training when equal numbers of attackers and defenders existed in SSGs, and led to more shots and passes emerging when the number of defenders was decreased relative to attackers.Key words: Affordances, Association Football, Ball Possession, Constraints-Based Approach, Interpersonal Distance, Small-Sided Games, Soccer INTRODUCTIONSuccessful performance in team sports like soccer is influenced by the ability of players to identify opportunities for actions from their spatial-temporal relationships with other players (both teammates and opponents) and key task constraints (such as the location of the sidelines, goal and ball) 1 . For example, an ecological dynamics analysis of performance has demonstrated how defenders decrease the values of interpersonal distance to ball carriers to dispossess them and recover ball possession 2 . To prevent this from happening and maintain ball possession, teammates use information of this closing gap in distance between ball carriers and defenders to move towards the ball carrier and afford him more passing opportunities 3 . Additionally, ball carriers have also been observed to regulate their passing and shooting actions according to the time available for the opponents to reach the trajectory path of the ball to intercept a shot at goal or a pass 4, 5 . Importa...

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“…By benefiting from these scientific fields, it is possible to analyze football players' variability in terms of dynamic trajectory [6]. Such variability was studied from a spatio-temporal point-of-view, by understanding the main factors and constraints that affect players' actions [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamical Stability and Predictability of Football Players: The Study of One Match

Couceiro

Clemente

Martins

et al. 2014

Entropy

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Abstract:The game of football demands new computational approaches to measure individual and collective performance. Understanding the phenomena involved in the game may foster the identification of strengths and weaknesses, not only of each player, but also of the whole team. The development of assertive quantitative methodologies constitutes a key element in sports training. In football, the predictability and stability inherent in the motion of a given player may be seen as one of the most important concepts to fully characterise the variability of the whole team. This paper characterises the predictability and stability levels of players during an official football match. A Fractional Calculus (FC) approach to define a player's trajectory. By applying FC, one can benefit from newly OPEN ACCESSEntropy 2014, 16 646 considered modeling perspectives, such as the fractional coefficient, to estimate a player's predictability and stability. This paper also formulates the concept of attraction domain, related to the tactical region of each player, inspired by stability theory principles. To compare the variability inherent in the player's process variables (e.g., distance covered) and to assess his predictability and stability, entropy measures are considered. Experimental results suggest that the most predictable player is the goalkeeper while, conversely, the most unpredictable players are the midfielders. We also conclude that, despite his predictability, the goalkeeper is the most unstable player, while lateral defenders are the most stable during the match.

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Informational constraints shape emergent functional behaviours during performance of interceptive actions in team sports

Cited by 117 publications

References 22 publications

Pacing and Decision Making in Sport and Exercise: The Roles of Perception and Action in the Regulation of Exercise Intensity

Pacing and Decision Making in Sport and Exercise: The Roles of Perception and Action in the Regulation of Exercise Intensity

Varying Numbers of Players in Small-Sided Soccer Games Modifies Action Opportunities during Training

Dynamical Stability and Predictability of Football Players: The Study of One Match

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