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Game analysis has an important role on the description of 'what happens' in competitions and should reach the ability to suggest new ways to enhance sport performances. In order to accomplish this goal is important that possible factors enables to influence these performances were considered. Quality of opposition is one of these factors. In this study, TwoStep Clusters analysis was used to classify group teams participated in FIVB Men's World Cup 2007 into competitive levels. The results show three different competitive levels ((1 st - 4 th ), (5 th - 7 th ), and (8 th - 12 th )). Chi-square tests were used to show the influence of quality of opposition, i.e. games against teams of different competitive levels, in the efficacy of some game actions (serve, attack and block). Results showed that the quality of the opposition influence the performance in some game actions.

The aim of this study was to compare the oxygen uptake (VO(2)) slow component (SC) during level and uphill running in endurance runners, and to identify associations between the SC and the following aerobic fitness indicators: peak VO(2), running speed associated with the peak VO(2) (Vpeak), running speed at the lactic threshold and the VO(2) fraction elicited at the lactic threshold.Fourteen male endurance-trained runners underwent several 6-min bouts of level (LTR) and 10.5% uphill treadmill running. VO(2) SC was calculated as the difference between mean VO(2) during the 6th and the 3rd minutes.The highest mean values for the SC were 181.9+/-240.2 mL x min(-1) for level running at approximately 94% peak VO(2)2 and 105.4+/-154.6 mL x min(-1) for uphill running at approximately 90% peak VO(2). The SC observed during the last bout of the LTR correlated with peak VO(2) and with Vpeak (-0.71 and -0.76, P0.05, respectively).The results show that for endurance-trained runners the magnitude of the SC is not affected by the treadmill gradient and that within a homogeneous sample of endurance-trained runners the SC does not correlate with indicators of aerobic fitness.

O presente estudo pretendeu identificar possíveis indicadores de rendimento, adstritos às ações de jogo, diferenciadores do resultado obtido no set em Voleibol. A amostra consistiu em 65.949 ações realizadas em 550 sets da Liga Mundial 2005, "adulto" masculinos. A coleta de dados teve como suporte instrumental o software "Volleyball Information System". Para testar as diferenças nos indicadores de rendimento, entre as equipes que vencem e perdem os sets, se utilizou o teste t de student de medidas independentes (p < 0,05). As observações cumpriram os requisitos de fidedignidade para serem utilizadas como ferramenta científica, tanto pela percentagem de acordos interobservador como pela estatística Kappa de Cohen. O presente estudo demonstrou que as equipes que vencem os sets obtêm melhores desempenhos em todas as ações de jogo (ataque, bloqueio, saque, defesa, levantamento e recepção), devido à maior frequência de ações ponto/excelente (com exceção do número de recepções excelentes) e à menor frequência de erros. As equipes que vencem os sets apresentam uma distribuição percentual dos pontos ganhos mais equilibrada entre as três ações terminais (ataque, bloqueio e saque) do que as equipes que perdem os sets. O ataque representa, para as equipes perdedoras, um maior peso no total de pontos ganhos através das ações terminais. The present study aimed to identify in which performance indicators are there differences between the teams that win and lose the sets in Volleyball matches. Archival data were obtained from 65.949 game actions in 550 sets from the men's 2005 World League. The "Volleyball Information System" was used for data gathering. Descriptive statistics were performed on all variables and the student t -test was used. Kappa of Cohen analysis and percentage of agreement demonstrated good inter-observer reliability which confirmed the accuracy of observations. This study showed that the teams that win their sets have best performance in all game actions (attack, block, serve, dig, set, reception) due to higher frequency of point/excellent actions (with the exception of the number of excellent receptions) and a lower frequency of errors. The teams that win those sets have a more balanced distribution of points earned between the three terminal actions (attack, block and service) than the teams that lose their sets. For the losing teams, the attack represents a greater weight in the total points earned through the terminal actions.

A Review on the Effects of Soccer Small-Sided Games Over the last years there has been a substantial growth in research related to specific training methods in soccer with a strong emphasis on the effects of small-sided games. The increase of research in this topic is coincident with the increase of popularity obtained by specific soccer conditioning, which involves training players to deal with soccer match situations. Given the limited time available for fitness training in soccer, the effectiveness of small-sided games as a conditioning stimulus needs to be optimized to allow players to compete at the highest level. Available studies indicate that physiological responses (e.g. heart rate, blood lactate concentration and rating of perceived exertion), tactical and technical skill requirements can be modified during small-sided games by altering factors such as the number of players, the size of the pitch, the rules of the game, and coach encouragement. However, because of the lack of consistency in small-sided games design, player fitness, age, ability, level of coach encouragement, and playing rules in each of these studies, it is difficult to make accurate conclusions on the influence of each of these factors separately.

Exploring the practical knowledge of expert basketball coaches, the present study aims to analyse the basketball game criticality through a grounded theory approach. Data from semi-structured interviews with 17 expert basketball coaches were used to explore the conceptual understanding of game critical moments. Results demonstrated that expert coaches identify different game occurrences as precipitating events. They can be characterized according the basketball game nature. Game tempo, point’s difference and balance/unbalance perception emerged as three situational variables that allowed us to define a preliminary coaching model to explain how expert coaches deal with the critical game situations. This preliminary model allows us to access a whole range of information about game development and to a better understanding of the coaching decision-making. Further studies are needed to investigate and generalize these results and to have a more valid explorative model of the sport games criticality.

During the competition, coach have a reduce number of occasions to affect directly to the game. Basketball rules let coaches to ask for time-outs to contact directly with his/her players, give them information, stop the match, etc. The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of the time-outs on the score and the type of defense use. A total of 80 time-outs of 14 matches from Spanish Championship under-20 were analyzed. The information of five phases before and after the time-out was analyzed. The variables studied were: a) total score point by attack phase; b) final action of each attack phase; and c) type of defense used by teams in each phase. A descriptive and inferential analysis (multivariate analysis of repeat measurement) was done. The results found show that: a) the principal situation that provokes to ask for a time-out was: no score in more of the three out of five previous actions; b) teams that ask the time-out improve their performance after it, teams that ask the time-out reduce their performance; and c) teams that ask the time-out change their type of defense after it. Key Words:match analyses, coaching, team sports, offence, defence

The present study aimed to identify the interactive effects of Starting Quarter Score and Game Location according to Quality of Opposition in final quarters score in elite women’s water polo. Data ...