Playing at the World cup is undoubtedly a huge highlight within a footballer’s career. With the title being one of the most prestigious within international football, it is every player’s dream to be part of the winning team- so what are the contributing factors of sport science working toward a win at the 2014 World […]
Pain is inevitable in sport. The ability to push through pain can lead to championship titles, whilst persisting pain can be career destroying. As a physiotherapist it is essential to understand the complex phenomenon of pain in order to facilitate rehabilitation. The standard model and diagnostic dilemma The ‘standard model’ of the brain, on which […]
With the 2014 World Cup in Rio rapidly approaching, it is of great interest to reflect of the 2010 World Cup winners, Spain, and what may have helped them achieve victory over the Dutch. Throughout the World Cup, many teams reported difficulty with the playing conditions, particularly at altitude. The stadium in Pretoria (South Africa) […]
In the recent decade there has been a fair amount of quality information regarding long-term planning of athletic development. To note, two of the most popular conceptual models to date are the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model (Bayli) and the Youth Development Model (YDM) (Lloyd). The LTAD model originally illustrated qualities of development that should […]
According to the American Dietetic Association, Dieticians of Canada and the American College of Sports Medicine (2000), only people who severely restrict their energy intake, use severe weight-loss practices, eliminate one or more food groups from their diet, consume high carbohydrate diets and low micronutrient density should require a form of dietary supplement. In addition […]
Exercising in exceedingly high temperatures puts significant physiological strain on the body and can markedly impair prolonged physical performance and accelerate time to fatigue (Cheuvront, Kenefick, Montain, & Sawka, 2010). The opening games of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil are imminent with expected temperatures of 30°C and humidity levels reaching 75%. Furthermore, these high […]
It is not uncommon in team sports to repeatedly hear the quote “There is no I in Team” and, analytically, this is both literally and figuratively true. However, I believe it is important to compare and reason that famous statement with the phrase “you can only control the controllables” and, consequently, somewhat adopt that mentality […]
I’d just like to start by saying: If you think you’ll come straight out of uni and get a placement at a premier league football club, keep dreaming. Over what will hopefully be a series of articles, I’ll be writing about the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Stage 2 Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology (QSEP), […]
The Marathon is a 26 mile 385 yard long-distance running event and one of the ultimate challenges in sport. Endurance events that require extreme volumes of training, such as the Marathon, have seen an ever-increasing reliance on nutritional strategy. Stellingwerff (2013) suggested that this explosion of marathon performance may be due to a “perfect storm” […]
Competitive Will has been fortunate to work with some organizations in the last few months on leadership development. Through team building exercises and workshops we have diligently discussed the concept of leadership. Key aspects we have approached include trying to view leadership as a task orientated approach. In the team building sessions, our focus was […]