I know it sounds like the beginnings of a joke, but in 2010 an octopus hit the limelight through successfully “predicting” the results of the football World Cup. When the next World Cup rolled around in 2014 there were a plethora of other animals jostling for the honour of following the octopus’s metaphorical (and wet) footsteps. The success or otherwise of these animals’ ability to predict results shows that predicting football results, particularly in the football World Cup is rather tricky. Chance may do similarly well as experts. If anyone was able to predict football results with regularity the game...
Sporting heroes, people to be marked and remembered. Sometimes the athletes and sports people who are revered seem almost super human. It is likely that they are. The individuals who achieve the highest levels in sport clearly require certain characteristics, often extreme ones. One such essential characteristic is likely an intense inward focus, which may at times approach self-absorption. Two recent interviews provide a good example of the necessity of this characteristic. The England and Surrey cricketer Zafar Ansari recently retired from all cricket aged 25. Chris Froome just won his his 4th Tour De France. Their interviews give insight...
The illusion of meritocracy is all around, “work hard and you will achieve”, ”it doesn’t matter your background you can reach your goals”. This of course is partially true, but within most business, governments, and organisations there remains a dominance of white males. If the aim is the best results and meritocracy, surely the aim is to have the best people regardless of background. Sport may be ahead of the rest of society here. In sport the result really does count the most, for all of those involved. The sports club is orientated towards the result and its failure and...
It is a classic commentary line; they kept a cool head under pressure. Remaining cool headed is revered and lorded by many people in sport, but is it just an illusion seen from the outside. Is it actually helpful to keep a cool head. The impression is given that the person involved has completely calm, rational thoughts and a relaxed response. However, could it be more that the individual in question has learnt how to react appropriately by repeated exposure? Watching Virat Kohli’s intense fielding reactions and the wired look in his eyes when he is batting indicates that the...
The image of professional athletes being massaged is common. Many will have massage done daily in a bid to aid recovery and boost performance. So why has it become a key component of sporting life? Professional athletes utilise many methods in an attempt to gain performance boosts and help them make the most of training. This makes it difficult to measure which aspect is giving them improvements- training, nutrition, massage, hydration, sleep to name a few. These things contribute to percentage gains. The theory behind massage makes it a perfect fit for sports performance and for improving freedom of movement...
This year’s Wimbledon final was fought out between two players, both of whom have a former superstar player as their coach. It seems obvious to think any individual who has reached the pinnacle of their sport, like Lendl, must understand it to great depth. This may well be true in certain cases. But there are clear examples that contradict this. I will use Tennis and Football as two examples to make a case for why “super-coaches” can both succeed and fail. The premier leagues most successful clubs mostly have managers who were average players, think Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger,...
Does massage help with pain? Massage has been a part of treating ailments and pain for many years, numerous different types of massage have been coined over the years, including names like soft tissue manipulation, myofascial release techniques and sports massage, to name a few, but do they work? Why does it work? Considering massage can be painful to experience why do we utilise in for treating painful areas and restricted movement? The benefits of massage in physiotherapy practice appear to be numerous. If an area of the body is painful we believe it is due to the body trying...