11. July 2010 by John Schinnerer.

I just had my coaches meeting for the new soccer season starting up here in Danville CA for Mustang Soccer League. I’m excited for the season to begin. I’ll be head coach for one of my sons and asst. coach for the other son’s team.

In that context, I was thrilled to see the following article on ScienceDaily just now…

‘Mathematical Formula Predicts Clear Favorite for the FIFA World Cup

ScienceDaily (July 9, 2010) — A sophisticated new analysis of team tactics predicts a Spanish win in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final and also shows why England were beaten by Germany.

Mathematicians and football supporters Dr Javier López Peña and Dr Hugo Touchette from Queen Mary, University of London have collected ball passing data from all of the FIFA World Cup games and analysed it to reveal the nations’ different styles of play.

Using the mathematical technique called Graph Theory, they have revealed the gaping holes in England’s tactics against Germany game and made predictions about the Netherlands-Spain final that could rival the psychic octopus.

For each national side, Drs López Peña and Touchette have drawn up a ‘network’ of passes between players throughout the tournament and analysed how these networks compare between teams. Dr Touchette explains: “Each player in the network is given a score called centrality which measures how vital they are to the network. The higher the centrality score, the bigger the impact if that player wasn’t there. This method is most commonly used to make computer networks more robust, but it can also be used to plan football strategy.”
Graph Theory is used to analyse different types of networks, most commonly to investigate computer networks — such as the internet — and to model what would happen if different parts of the networks were suddenly removed. This type of research, which takes place in Queen Mary’s School of Mathematical Sciences, can make for example computer networks more robust and less susceptible to disruption.

The Netherlands-Spain prediction

The networks reveal Spanish players have made a strikingly high number of passes this tournament, almost 40 per cent more than Germany and twice as many as the Dutch. “The team relies on swift passes that are well distributed among all players, especially between those playing mid-field,” said Dr López Peña.

David Villa, the tournament’s highest goal scorer, has received an average of 37 passes per game, more than any other forward from all the teams. Dr López Peña said: “Villa’s performance has been impressive compared with Fernando Torres, who has not scored any goals this tournament. This was reflected in the successful Spanish tactics, with Torres only receiving an average of 13 passes per match, and 37 to Villa.”

Conversely, the Dutch gameplay is clearly offensive, involving a very low number of passes between players, most of which are aimed at the strikers. Dr López Peña said: “The low number of passes shows the Dutch prefer quick attacks and counterstrikes rather than intricate playing. Their goals are often scored from set pieces such as free kicks and they use their physical presence to beat their opponents.”
The England-Germany match

The analysis shows the English squad to have a balanced line-up with no single player more important than the team as a whole. Dr López Peña said: “The good midfield work of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry doesn’t appear to transfer very well to the forwards, with Wayne Rooney receiving on average three times more passes than Jermain Defoe. This makes the English attack very predictable and easily stoppable by blocking Rooney, who is usually forced to give the ball back to Gerrard.”

The German network appears even more balanced than the English one, with a higher number of passes, suggesting more circulation of the ball. “Particularly relevant are the passes between Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger and most of the German attacks are built up from the defenders. Mesut Oezil makes good work connecting both sides of the field on the attack, making the German offensive game very effective and hard to defend against. The key player in the German strategy remains Schweinsteiger, who was effectively blocked by the Spanish midfielders’ characteristic fast circulation in their semi-final defeat,” said Dr López Peña.’

For full article, click here.

Enjoy the game (and the upcoming youth season)!

Cheers,

John Schinnerer PhD

PS Check out my new free video series on Anger Management for Fed Up Fathers on YouTube or at http://drjohnsblog.wordpress.com.

Posted in Optimal Human Functioning, Executive coach, Emotion & productivity, Soccer psychology, Emotion & Athletics, Real Men Real Emotion, De-escalating anger, Alamo CA, Danville CA, Men's emotions, Psychology & soccer, Life coach, Dr. John Schinnerer, Depression, Parenting, Anger Management, Emotional management, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

25. March 2010 by John Schinnerer.

I woke up to check email this morning and received a note saying that this blog has been named one of the top 50 sports psychology blogs on the web. What a nice way to wake up!

http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2010/03/50-best-sports-psychology-blogs/

A few weeks ago, my blog was named one of the top 3 positive psychology blogs on the net.

https://analytics.postrank.com/2009/feed/7499624a994f52c3679878f294478fd5

Thank you very much for the honors. I’m flattered and humbled.

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coach

And I still think the formatting could be improved and I need to add some widgets which I have yet to find time to do.

Posted in San Ramon CA, Emotion & productivity, Danville CA, National speakers, Optimal Human Functioning, Soccer psychology, San Francisco Bay Area, Alamo CA, Emotion & Athletics, Managing Anxiety, Emotional management, Managing stress, Positive Psychology, Swim coaches, Dr. John Schinnerer, Life coach, Emotional mind, Psychology & soccer, Guide to Self, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

18. February 2010 by John Schinnerer.

Soccer practice two times per week for 3 months found to dramatically lower blood pressure, percentage of body fat & resting pulse rate in previously nonactive adults.

Also, it increased oxygen uptake, improved heart function and elasticity of the vascular system.

Not bad for two workouts per week! I wonder if it reduces chronic anger as well?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100202101249.htm

I’m still recovering from the bruised ribs I received in the last game of indoor soccer I played. Ouch, it hurts to breathe!

Cheers,

John Schinnerer Ph.D.

Posted in San Ramon CA, Danville CA, Optimal Human Functioning, Soccer psychology, Alamo CA, Emotion & Athletics, National speakers, Anger Management, Dr. John Schinnerer, Managing stress, Life coach, Psychology & soccer, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

14. December 2009 by John Schinnerer.

‘ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2009) — A new study may explain why the England soccer team keeps losing in penalty shootouts — and could help the team address the problem in time for the World Cup 2010. Research by the University of Exeter shows for the first time the effect of anxiety on a footballer’s eye movements while taking a penalty.

The study shows that when penalty takers are anxious they are more likely to look at and focus on the centrally positioned goalkeeper. Due to the tight coordination between gaze control and motor control, shots also tend to centralize, making them easier to save. The research is now published in the December 2009 edition of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

The researchers attribute this change in eye movements and focus to anxiety. Author Greg Wood of the University of Exeter’s School of Sport and Health Sciences said: ‘During a highly stressful situation, we are more likely to be distracted by any threatening stimuli and focus on them, rather than the task in hand. Therefore, in a stressful penalty shootout, a footballer’s attention is likely to be directed towards the goalkeeper as opposed to the optimal scoring zones (just inside the post). This disrupts the aiming of the shot and increases the likelihood of subsequently hitting the shot towards the goalkeeper, making it easier to save.’

Remind your players to breathe deeply in order to relax and dial down the pressure after the referee has blown the whistle to proceed with their shot from the mark.

Have an enjoyable Saturday night!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coaching

www.GuideToSelf.com

Author of ‘Guide To Self: The Beginner’s Guide To Managing Emotion and Thought’<–>

Posted in Positive expectations, Emotion & productivity, Danville CA, Emotion & learning, Mindfulness, Awareness, San Ramon CA, Visual Attention, Penalty Kick Success, Emotion & Athletics, Soccer psychology, Optimal Human Functioning, Brain plasticity, Visual perception, Men's emotions, Managing Anxiety, Staying calm, Social anxiety disorder, Anxiety, Dr. John Schinnerer, Positive Psychology, Managing stress, Nervousness, Social phobia, Emotional mind, Emotional management, Guide To Self Beginners Guide To Managing Emotion, Psychology & soccer, Tips to help anxiety, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »

14. December 2009 by John Schinnerer.

From ScienceDaily News…

‘ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2009) — A study shows that knowing the anticipatory movements of a goalkeeper before kicking the penalty reduces the decision time and increases the success rate when choosing the direction of the shot in football (soccer). The results, extracted from the second paper by researcher F. Javier Núñez Sánchez from the University Pablo Olavide (UPO), which he wrote for his thesis, have recently been published in the scientific journal Perceptual and Motor Skills.

This research, developed by the group for Analysis of Human Movement, lead by Professor Antonio Oña of the University of Granada, has analysed the elements that interact during a penalty shootouts, including the movements and the response and reaction of the goalkeeper and the speed of the decision of the kicker when deciding the direction of the shot. According to their results, by studying the position of the goalkeeper in the instant immediately before the shot may significantly increase the probabilities of selecting a successful direction for the shot and reduces, in turn, the time of this decision process.

In the first phase, the researcher studied the movements of the goalkeeper during a penalty shootout. Among the findings, published in the International Journal of Sport Psychology in 2005, he stresses that all the goalkeepers begin their final movement instants before the player kicks that ball because, otherwise, they would not manage to reach it. These signals were named “movement pre-indexes,” and help us know, in the exact moment when the player takes his last step before shooting, if the goalkeeper will jump towards his right or left before hitting the ball.

Once the aspects regarding the goalkeeper have been detected, a second phase of the study analysed the ability of the football player to decide if to hit the ball towards the right or left, in this short space of time. They also observed if it was effective or not to show the movement pre-indexes to increase success. They used a sample of 20 individuals for this study. These were later divided into four sub-groups (two control groups and two experimental groups), depending on whether the players were experts or inexperienced, i.e. those who occasionally play football and for leisure. The participants underwent two tests using a life-size projection of the goalkeepers and where the players had to simulate their penalty shot.

The professionals and the inexperienced

In the results obtained in the first test they did not find significant results between the experienced players and the inexperienced ones. However, different results were obtained after the test. After the initial test, the experimental groups watched a video that clearly explained the goalkeeper’s movement pre-indexes. “During the informative film we explained where to focus, noting that when the kicker takes the last step before the penalty, he should direct the shot towards the area where the goalkeeper has the most extended knee, since he will shift towards the opposite side,” states Javier Núñez.

In this sense, the decision time of the expert players in the experimental group passed from 275 to 189 milliseconds.’

For full article at Science Daily, please click here.

Hope you enjoyed this info!

Have a calm, cool and collected holidays!

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Guide To Self, Inc.

Positive Psychology Coaching

http://www.GuideToSelf.com

Posted in Brain plasticity, Visual perception, Soccer psychology, Penalty Kick Success, Visual Attention, Awareness, Dr. John Schinnerer, Guide to Self, Psychology & soccer, The human brain, Sports Psychology | Print | No Comments »