How do scouts, coaches, and trainers alike decide which players deserve to get their further attention and which don’t? This is a very pertinent question when you consider that it is often on the basis of the ‘expert’ eye that…
How do scouts, coaches, and trainers alike decide which players deserve to get their further attention and which don’t? This is a very pertinent question when you consider that it is often on the basis of the ‘expert’ eye that…
Elite youth footballers are at risk of burnout before they leave school because of the perfectionist standards some feel coaches, parents and team members demand of them. Dr Hill Dr Andrew Hill, lecturer in sports and exercise science in the University of Leeds’ School…
It is well documented that competition can affect performance and emotion in sport. However, our understanding of the comparative effects of individual and team competitions on performance and emotion is limited. We also know little about emotion-based mechanisms underlying the…
If you think that you can judge by examining someone’s facial expressions if he has just hit the jackpot in the lottery or lost everything in the stock market — think again. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and…
Is playing football like falling in love? That question, which would perhaps not occur to most of us watching hours of the bruising game this holiday season, is the focus of a provocative and growing body of new science examining…
When you need to perform, emotions either help you, or they throw a spanner in the works. Just ask Arjen Robben who missed a penalty in the final of the Champions League in May. Dr. Gert-Jan Pepping, a researcher at the…
For the 6th time since 1990, the British football team has been knocked out of a major tournament by losing the decisive penalty shootout. In the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 against Italy last Sunday, England seemed to finally put an…
[voor een Nederlandse vertaling van dit bericht klik hier] In sports, long the idea has prevailed that sexual abstinence, that is, no sex before competition, is good for sports performance. Recent research however shows that healthier people have more sex.…
Imagine you’re coaching a big football game, against an undefeated team that has beaten your team in all your previous matches. Your 11-year-olds are playing well and are ahead. Then, in the closing minutes, the official makes a bad call…
Dr. Paul Zak explains how morality (read: important decisions when we work together with other people, such as in team sports), is linked to the neuro-peptide oxytocin. Taken from the BBC documentary Horizon: Are you Good or Evil.
Perception, Action, and Emotions in Performance 