Background: Concerns for youth sports in the United States often focus on early sport specializat... more Background: Concerns for youth sports in the United States often focus on early sport specialization, overemphasis on competition, injuries, and burnout. Little research has addressed relationships among the preceding and other concerns, including time away from organized sport, sleep, and perceptions of physical and psychological well-being. Hypothesis: There is an association between reported competitive gameplay volume and specialization, injury, and fatigue among elite youth basketball players. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; convenience sample. Level of Evidence: Level 4. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of youth basketball players between 13 and 18 years of age from across the United States. Participants were queried about multiple factors, including the extent of their participation in organized basketball and other sports, time away from organized basketball, injury, sleep, and feelings of exhaustion related to basketball part...
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2021
The study investigated the extent of individualisation, readjustment and athlete codetermination ... more The study investigated the extent of individualisation, readjustment and athlete codetermination of high-performance training. Individualisation refers to the extent to which the training design is tailored to an athlete's individual wishes, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Readjustment refers to the adjustment of day-to-day training to an athlete's current physical, health-related and psychological constitution. Athlete codetermination refers to an athlete's involvement in decision-making on the training design. German national-squad members in athletics and volleyball ( n = 336) reported these variables in an online questionnaire. Analyses revealed four central findings: (1) Large parts of athletes’ training were characterised by high degrees of individualisation, readjustment and athlete codetermination. (2) These characteristics were more pronounced in athletics than in volleyball. (3) They explained large parts of the appropriateness of athletes’ training (whet...
Background Does early specialization facilitate later athletic excellence, or is early diversific... more Background Does early specialization facilitate later athletic excellence, or is early diversification better? This is a longstanding theoretical controversy in sports science and medicine. Evidence from studies investigating athletes’ starting age, childhood/adolescent progress, and amounts of coach-led practice and peer-led play in their main sport and in other sports has been mixed. Each participation variable was positively correlated with performance in some studies but uncorrelated or negatively correlated with performance in others. However, samples were heterogeneous in age, sports, and performance levels. Objective This study aimed to establish robust, generalizable findings through a systematic review and meta-analysis. We investigated three questions: (1) did higher- and lower-performing athletes differ in childhood/adolescent progress, starting age, or amounts of main-sport or other-sports practice or play; (2) do effects differ between junior and adult athletes, compare...
This multidisciplinary study used pattern recognition analyses to examine the developmental biogr... more This multidisciplinary study used pattern recognition analyses to examine the developmental biographies of 16 Great British Olympic and World Champions (‘Super-Elite’) and 16 matched international athletes who had not won major medals (‘Elite’). Athlete, coach and parent interviews (260 total interview hours) combined in-depth qualitative and quantitative methods. A combination of demographics, psychosocial characteristics, coach and family relationships, practice, competition, and performance development discriminated Super-Elite from Elite athletes with > 90% accuracy. Compared to Elite athletes, Super-Elite athletes were characterized by: (1) An early critical negative life experience in close proximity to significant positive sport-related events; (2) higher relative importance of sport over other aspects of life, stronger obsessiveness/perfectionism, and sport-related ruthlessness/selfishness; (3) conjoint outcome and mastery focus, and use of counterphobic and/or ‘total pre...
What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive special... more What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? We investigated this question in sports. Our meta-analysis involved 51 international study reports with 477 effect sizes from 6,096 athletes, including 772 of the world’s top performers. Predictor variables included starting age, age of reaching defined performance milestones, and amounts of coach-led practice and youth-led play (e.g., pickup games) in the athlete’s respective main sport and in other sports. Analyses revealed that (a) adult world-class athletes engaged in more childhood/adolescent multisport practice, started their main sport later, accumulated less main-sport practice, and initially progressed more slowly than did national-class athletes; (b) higher performing youth athletes started playing their main sport earlier, engaged in more main-sport practice but less other-sports practic...
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2020
The hypothesis that sport-specific skill learning is correlated with earlier childhood multi-spor... more The hypothesis that sport-specific skill learning is correlated with earlier childhood multi-sport practice experiences was empirically studied among youth soccer players. Fourteen youth soccer coaches (38.1 ± 12.0 years) evaluated 100 youth players (11.8 ± 0.7 years) regarding their progress in soccer-specific skill learning through the course of a one-year season. The players completed a questionnaire recording their earlier and current participation in coach-led practice and youth-led play in soccer and in other sports. Reliability of the coach rating and of players’ reported sport activities ranged 0.83 ≤ rtt≤ 1.00. Analyses revealed that the progress of the youth players in soccer-specific skill learning was not significantly correlated with their earlier or current amounts of coach-led soccer practice (–0.07 ≤ rs≤ 0.07), youth-led soccer play (0.01 ≤ rs≤ 0.08), or youth-led play in other sports (0.13 ≤ rs≤ 0.22). Progress in soccer-specific skill learning was significantly...
ABSTRACT The study investigated effects of in-season head-coach changes (HCC) on the subsequent t... more ABSTRACT The study investigated effects of in-season head-coach changes (HCC) on the subsequent team performance in men’s English, German, and Spanish premier soccer leagues. A pre-post matched-controls design involved 149 HCC-teams and 3,960 games in 2010–19. Analyses (paired t-test, repeated-measurement ANOVA) revealed five central findings. 1. An HCC was preceded by a spell of under-performance, with a particular performance collapse in the two last pre-HCC rounds. 2. Performance showed an instant, strong improvement in the first post-HCC game. 3. The performance remained increased up to 16 post-HCC rounds. 4. Post-HCC performance also exceeded teams’ initial baseline performance earlier before the HCC. Accordingly, the summed performance through 8, 12, and 16 post-HCC rounds exceeded the performance through 8, 12, and 16 pre-HCC rounds (0.92 < Cohen’s d < 1.17). 5. HCC-teams’ pre-post performance development differed from matched non-HCC control teams. In sum, the present evidence suggests positive short, medium, and long-term HCC effects at the highest professional soccer level. Theoretical hypotheses discussed in the literature – the “common-sense,” “ritual-scapegoating,” “vicious-circle,” and “mean-reversion” hypotheses – are partly inconsistent with the present evidence. However, the evidence is fully consistent with a new hypothesis introduced here: the hypothesis of relief from a coach’s performance-suppressing factor (RCPSF).
Sport und Bewegung sind seit jeher wesentliche Bestandteile des offentlichen Lebens. Der in den l... more Sport und Bewegung sind seit jeher wesentliche Bestandteile des offentlichen Lebens. Der in den letzten Jahren erkennbare und sich weiter verstarkende demographische und gesellschaftliche Wandel fuhrt allerdings zu einer Veranderung des Sport- und Bewegungsverhaltens und damit auch der Nachfrage nach Sportstatten und Bewegungsraumen. Die sich zunehmend verandernde Situation von Sport und Bewegung findet bislang weder auf der politischen Ebene noch auf der Ebene der kommunalen Planung ausreichend Berucksichtigung. Vor dem Hintergrund stetig steigender Bedarfe zur Sicherung der kommunalen Daseinsvorsorge mussen jedoch zeitnah Losungen gefunden werden, die den veranderten Rahmenbedingungen auch zukunftig gerecht werden. Ausgehend hiervon befasst sich das in den Jahren 2011 und 2012 durchgefuhrte Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt „Gesunde Kommune – Sport und Bewegung als Faktor der Stadt- und Raumentwicklung“ mit der Bedeutung von Sport und Bewegung fur die rheinland-pfalzischen Kommu...
Background: Concerns for youth sports in the United States often focus on early sport specializat... more Background: Concerns for youth sports in the United States often focus on early sport specialization, overemphasis on competition, injuries, and burnout. Little research has addressed relationships among the preceding and other concerns, including time away from organized sport, sleep, and perceptions of physical and psychological well-being. Hypothesis: There is an association between reported competitive gameplay volume and specialization, injury, and fatigue among elite youth basketball players. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; convenience sample. Level of Evidence: Level 4. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of youth basketball players between 13 and 18 years of age from across the United States. Participants were queried about multiple factors, including the extent of their participation in organized basketball and other sports, time away from organized basketball, injury, sleep, and feelings of exhaustion related to basketball part...
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2021
The study investigated the extent of individualisation, readjustment and athlete codetermination ... more The study investigated the extent of individualisation, readjustment and athlete codetermination of high-performance training. Individualisation refers to the extent to which the training design is tailored to an athlete's individual wishes, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Readjustment refers to the adjustment of day-to-day training to an athlete's current physical, health-related and psychological constitution. Athlete codetermination refers to an athlete's involvement in decision-making on the training design. German national-squad members in athletics and volleyball ( n = 336) reported these variables in an online questionnaire. Analyses revealed four central findings: (1) Large parts of athletes’ training were characterised by high degrees of individualisation, readjustment and athlete codetermination. (2) These characteristics were more pronounced in athletics than in volleyball. (3) They explained large parts of the appropriateness of athletes’ training (whet...
Background Does early specialization facilitate later athletic excellence, or is early diversific... more Background Does early specialization facilitate later athletic excellence, or is early diversification better? This is a longstanding theoretical controversy in sports science and medicine. Evidence from studies investigating athletes’ starting age, childhood/adolescent progress, and amounts of coach-led practice and peer-led play in their main sport and in other sports has been mixed. Each participation variable was positively correlated with performance in some studies but uncorrelated or negatively correlated with performance in others. However, samples were heterogeneous in age, sports, and performance levels. Objective This study aimed to establish robust, generalizable findings through a systematic review and meta-analysis. We investigated three questions: (1) did higher- and lower-performing athletes differ in childhood/adolescent progress, starting age, or amounts of main-sport or other-sports practice or play; (2) do effects differ between junior and adult athletes, compare...
This multidisciplinary study used pattern recognition analyses to examine the developmental biogr... more This multidisciplinary study used pattern recognition analyses to examine the developmental biographies of 16 Great British Olympic and World Champions (‘Super-Elite’) and 16 matched international athletes who had not won major medals (‘Elite’). Athlete, coach and parent interviews (260 total interview hours) combined in-depth qualitative and quantitative methods. A combination of demographics, psychosocial characteristics, coach and family relationships, practice, competition, and performance development discriminated Super-Elite from Elite athletes with > 90% accuracy. Compared to Elite athletes, Super-Elite athletes were characterized by: (1) An early critical negative life experience in close proximity to significant positive sport-related events; (2) higher relative importance of sport over other aspects of life, stronger obsessiveness/perfectionism, and sport-related ruthlessness/selfishness; (3) conjoint outcome and mastery focus, and use of counterphobic and/or ‘total pre...
What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive special... more What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? We investigated this question in sports. Our meta-analysis involved 51 international study reports with 477 effect sizes from 6,096 athletes, including 772 of the world’s top performers. Predictor variables included starting age, age of reaching defined performance milestones, and amounts of coach-led practice and youth-led play (e.g., pickup games) in the athlete’s respective main sport and in other sports. Analyses revealed that (a) adult world-class athletes engaged in more childhood/adolescent multisport practice, started their main sport later, accumulated less main-sport practice, and initially progressed more slowly than did national-class athletes; (b) higher performing youth athletes started playing their main sport earlier, engaged in more main-sport practice but less other-sports practic...
International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2020
The hypothesis that sport-specific skill learning is correlated with earlier childhood multi-spor... more The hypothesis that sport-specific skill learning is correlated with earlier childhood multi-sport practice experiences was empirically studied among youth soccer players. Fourteen youth soccer coaches (38.1 ± 12.0 years) evaluated 100 youth players (11.8 ± 0.7 years) regarding their progress in soccer-specific skill learning through the course of a one-year season. The players completed a questionnaire recording their earlier and current participation in coach-led practice and youth-led play in soccer and in other sports. Reliability of the coach rating and of players’ reported sport activities ranged 0.83 ≤ rtt≤ 1.00. Analyses revealed that the progress of the youth players in soccer-specific skill learning was not significantly correlated with their earlier or current amounts of coach-led soccer practice (–0.07 ≤ rs≤ 0.07), youth-led soccer play (0.01 ≤ rs≤ 0.08), or youth-led play in other sports (0.13 ≤ rs≤ 0.22). Progress in soccer-specific skill learning was significantly...
ABSTRACT The study investigated effects of in-season head-coach changes (HCC) on the subsequent t... more ABSTRACT The study investigated effects of in-season head-coach changes (HCC) on the subsequent team performance in men’s English, German, and Spanish premier soccer leagues. A pre-post matched-controls design involved 149 HCC-teams and 3,960 games in 2010–19. Analyses (paired t-test, repeated-measurement ANOVA) revealed five central findings. 1. An HCC was preceded by a spell of under-performance, with a particular performance collapse in the two last pre-HCC rounds. 2. Performance showed an instant, strong improvement in the first post-HCC game. 3. The performance remained increased up to 16 post-HCC rounds. 4. Post-HCC performance also exceeded teams’ initial baseline performance earlier before the HCC. Accordingly, the summed performance through 8, 12, and 16 post-HCC rounds exceeded the performance through 8, 12, and 16 pre-HCC rounds (0.92 < Cohen’s d < 1.17). 5. HCC-teams’ pre-post performance development differed from matched non-HCC control teams. In sum, the present evidence suggests positive short, medium, and long-term HCC effects at the highest professional soccer level. Theoretical hypotheses discussed in the literature – the “common-sense,” “ritual-scapegoating,” “vicious-circle,” and “mean-reversion” hypotheses – are partly inconsistent with the present evidence. However, the evidence is fully consistent with a new hypothesis introduced here: the hypothesis of relief from a coach’s performance-suppressing factor (RCPSF).
Sport und Bewegung sind seit jeher wesentliche Bestandteile des offentlichen Lebens. Der in den l... more Sport und Bewegung sind seit jeher wesentliche Bestandteile des offentlichen Lebens. Der in den letzten Jahren erkennbare und sich weiter verstarkende demographische und gesellschaftliche Wandel fuhrt allerdings zu einer Veranderung des Sport- und Bewegungsverhaltens und damit auch der Nachfrage nach Sportstatten und Bewegungsraumen. Die sich zunehmend verandernde Situation von Sport und Bewegung findet bislang weder auf der politischen Ebene noch auf der Ebene der kommunalen Planung ausreichend Berucksichtigung. Vor dem Hintergrund stetig steigender Bedarfe zur Sicherung der kommunalen Daseinsvorsorge mussen jedoch zeitnah Losungen gefunden werden, die den veranderten Rahmenbedingungen auch zukunftig gerecht werden. Ausgehend hiervon befasst sich das in den Jahren 2011 und 2012 durchgefuhrte Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt „Gesunde Kommune – Sport und Bewegung als Faktor der Stadt- und Raumentwicklung“ mit der Bedeutung von Sport und Bewegung fur die rheinland-pfalzischen Kommu...
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