A Comprehensive Mapping of High-Level Men’s Volleyball Gameplay through Social Network Analysis: Analysing Serve, Side-Out, Side-Out Transition and Transition
Journal Title: Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine - Year 2017, Vol 6, Issue 2
Abstract
A deeper understanding of the factors behind performance and their interactions is essential to promote better training practices. Notwithstanding, the focus often relies on the outcomes of players’ actions (e.g., efficacy rates), whereas the nature and variations of particular classes of actions remain largely unexplored. Our purpose was to conduct a systemic analysis of categorical game variables and their interactions using Social Network Analysis. Game actions were counted as nodes and their interactions as edges. Eigenvector centrality values were calculated for each node. Eight matches of the Men’s World Cup 2015 were analysed, composing a total of 27 sets (1,209 rallies). Four game complexes were considered: Complex 0 (Serve), Complex I (Side-out), Complex II (Side-out transition) and Complex III (Transition). Results showed that teams frequently play in-system when in Complex I (i.e. under ideal conditions), but present reduced variation with regard to attack zones and tempos, whereas in Complex II teams most often play out-of-system. Based on these findings, it was concluded that practicing with non-ideal conditions is paramount for good performance in Complex II. Furthermore, most literature combines Complex II and Complex III as a single unit (counter-attack); however, our results reinforce the notion that these two game complexes differ and should be analysed separately.
Authors and Affiliations
Manuel Loureiro, Marta Hurst, Beatriz Valongo, Pantelis Nikolaidis, Lorenzo Laporta, José Afonso
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP207118
- DOI 10.26773/mjssm.2017.09.005
- Views 112
- Downloads 0
A Physical Activity Learning Module Improves Medical Students’ Skills and Confidence for Advising Patients about Physical Activity
Physicians’ knowledge, confidence, and prior training will influence physical activity (PA) counselling in general practice. This study evaluated the effects of a PA learning module on knowledge, skills, and attitudes to...
Burnout and Paths to Turnover Intentions among South African Sport Coaches
Th is study investigated burnout and turnover intentions among 119 South African sport coaches (78 males and 38 females) aged 18 to 64 years (M = 30.28, SD = 9.83 years), who were recruited to participate in the study. D...
Pulmonary Function in Prepubescent Boys: The Influence of Passive Smoking and Sports Training
In this paper, we studied prepubescent boys (N = 75; 11.3 years ± 2 months) divided into three groups: two experimental groups and age-paired, non-systematically physically engaged controls (N = 25). The experimental gro...
Presence of the relative age effect and its effect on playing time among under-20 players in the Norwegian premier league Tippeligaen – a four-year follow up
European top-level soccer clubs are continually looking for talented players. Few clubs, however, are willing to let youth players play at the highest senior level. Perhaps as a consequence, the search for talented playe...
Effect of the FIFA 11+ Programme on Vertical Jump Performance in Elite Male Youth Soccer Players
Despite the success of the FIFA 11+ programme in preventing injury, convincing coaches and players to do these exercises is diffi cult only in order to prevent injury, unless the programme can be shown to have a positive...