Structuring athletic performance

definition

The structuring of athletic performance is a very important sub-area of ​​training science. The aim is to find out which features (Partial services, skills, etc.) Have an influence on the achievement of athletic performance.
E.g. 100 meter sprint: What abilities / skills must an athlete have in order to achieve optimal performance in the 100 meter sprint.
In addition to structuring, there are 2 other areas of responsibility for training science:

1. Provision of meaningful / authentic control procedures (Which measuring methods can features be checked?)
2. Determination of comparative standards (What abilities / skills should athletes in a certain group, e.g. 5th grade students, have?)

introduction

The structuring of athletic performance is understood as a type of modeling.
A model sees itself as a scaled-down image of reality that relates to the essential aspects of the original.
3 types of models:

1. Deterministic models
2. Indeterministic models
3. Combined models

1. Deterministic models enable a complete explanation of the athletic performance. Thus, differences in competition performance can be explained 100%. (E.g. 400 meter sprint: breakdown of the total time into 4 100 meter times)

t400 = f (t1, t2, t3, t4)

Complete explanations of variance are also possible in biomechanics. Thus, the exact distance in the shot put results from the Take-off speed (V0), of the Departure altitude (h0) and des Departure angle (? 0)

2. Indeterministic models do not provide 100% clarification of athletic performance. Thus, the shot put range results from the ability of (Maximum strength, Jump power, sprint power, explosive power etc.), an exact determination of the competition performance is not possible.

wball = f (MK, SK, EK etc)

3. Combined models provide an exact explanation / explanation of variance at the highest level, only incomplete explanation of variance at lower levels.

Structuring procedure

The structuring of athletic performance is built up in three irreversible steps:

1. Hierarchy according to feature groups
2. Relationships of internal order
3. Prioritization of the influencing factors

1. Hierarchy according to feature groups

The hierarchization of athletic performance is understood to mean the classification of partial performances / influencing variables in different levels of explanation that are irreversibly built on one another. (Which characteristics are important for the performance)
The hierarchy is the first step in the training science performance diagnostics and takes place in a vertical direction. The higher, the more complex. The hierarchy is based on scientific-theoretical Considerations.
2 Suitable models for hierarchization are:

1. Chains of deduction (BALLREICH)
2. Service pyramids (LAST ELDER)

2. Relationships of internal order

This step relates to the relationship between the individual influencing variables within a level and the relationship between the influencing variables between the levels:

• level-immanent: Relationships of the characteristics within a level
• across levels: Relationships between features of different levels of explanation

When analyzing the relationships will be Correlation analysis and Factor analysis used.

short: If the correlation of the individual features is high, this results in an economy of trainability for training practice. (positive transfer effects, e.g. with the training of maximum strength, the explosive strength also improves)
Example 10 fight: Which disciplines in the 10 fight have a high correlation? - 100 meter sprint and long jump improve similarly with the same training. 100 meters and javelin throw correlate very poorly.

• positive internal relationships (Training feature A improves feature B, see above)
• negative internal relationship (Training characteristic A worsens characteristic B, aerobic endurance and sprint strength)
• independent characteristics (By training characteristic A, there is neither improvement nor deterioration)

3. Prioritization of the influencing factors

The priorities of the training goals are created. It is about determining the leading characteristics of a service.
Examples of leading characteristics are:

• The run-up speed in the long jump makes up about 2/3 of the competition performance --> Long jumpers must therefore have a high sprint ability
• The maximum force is 3/5 of the shot put power --> Shot putters must therefore attach great importance to training their maximum strength.

The aim is to create a priority catalog that determines the trainability, but note: the order of the training goals and the order of the individual influencing variables do not have to match in the priority catalog. An influencing factor only makes sense if it can be trained.

Four steps to prioritize influencing variables (not reversible):

1. Determination of all hypothetical performance-relevant characteristics. (What could be important? Not scientifically proven!)
2. Determination of all logically performance-relevant characteristics. (Are obvious)
3. Determination of all empirical and statistical performance-relevant characteristics. (Significance was proven by analysis of variance or analysis of correlation)
4. Determination of the sequence of the empirically-statistically relevant characteristics. (This is the catalog of priorities: determined by correlation coefficients, mean differences between performance groups expressed in standard values, regression coefficients from multiple correlation and regression analyzes)

Two more steps to prioritize training goals:

5. Determine the features that will only be optimized and those that will be maximized. (The more relationships. Example of maximum strength: it must be maximum for weightlifters, only optimal for sprinters)
6. Determination of the trainability of the characteristics. (For example, body size is particularly important in basketball, but trainability is 0. Only influencing variables that can be trained are useful. Differentiation between: ability-specific, age-specific, gender-specific and qualification-specific)

Summary

The structuring of athletic performance is indispensable for optimal training in training practice. Only those who understand how performance comes about can improve competition performance through proper training. First of all, the individual influencing variables are determined in the hierarchy, in order to analyze the relationships between the characteristics in the further step of the internal order in order to be able to create the catalog of priorities in the last step.