Competing together: assessing the dynamics of team–team and player–team synchrony in professional association football

DUARTE, R, ARAÚJO, D, CORREIA, V, DAVIDS, Keith, MARQUES, P and RICHARDSON, M J (2013). Competing together: assessing the dynamics of team–team and player–team synchrony in professional association football. Human Movement Science, 32 (4), 555-566.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2013.01.011
Link to published version:: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2013.01.011

Abstract

This study investigated movement synchronization of players within and between teams during competitive association football performance. Cluster phase analysis was introduced as a method to assess synchronies between whole teams and between individual players with their team as a function of time, ball possession and field direction. Measures of dispersion (SD) and regularity (sample entropy – SampEn – and cross sample entropy – Cross-SampEn) were used to quantify the magnitude and structure of synchrony. Large synergistic relations within each professional team sport collective were observed, particularly in the longitudinal direction of the field (0.89 ± 0.12) compared to the lateral direction (0.73 ± 0.16, p < .01). The coupling between the group measures of the two teams also revealed that changes in the synchrony of each team were intimately related (Cross-SampEn values of 0.02 ± 0.01). Interestingly, ball possession did not influence team synchronization levels. In player–team synchronization, individuals tended to be coordinated under near in-phase modes with team behavior (mean ranges between −7 and 5° of relative phase). The magnitudes of variations were low, but more irregular in time, for the longitudinal (SD: 18 ± 3°; SampEn: 0.07 ± 0.01), compared to the lateral direction (SD: 28 ± 5°; SampEn: 0.06 ± 0.01, p < .05) on-field. Increases in regularity were also observed between the first (SampEn: 0.07 ± 0.01) and second half (SampEn: 0.06 ± 0.01, p < .05) of the observed competitive game. Findings suggest that the method of analysis introduced in the current study may offer a suitable tool for examining team’s synchronization behaviors and the mutual influence of each team’s cohesiveness in competing social collectives.

Item Type: Article
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018: Centre for Sports Engineering Research
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2013.01.011
Page Range: 555-566
Depositing User: Carole Harris
Date Deposited: 09 Dec 2013 16:20
Last Modified: 18 Mar 2021 19:30
URI: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7481

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