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Tuesday June 27 2006                                                                         

Media Alert: The Science of Soccer

The World Cup may be over for the Socceroos but the football juggernaut for the last eight rolls on. The question is how long will the interest in the game be sustained in Australia now? If you're looking for some scientific analysis of any aspect of science and football contact the AusSMC on 08 8207 7415 and we'll put you in touch with a scientist who is happy to talk to you.   Meanwhile here's some suggestions:

Professor Kevin Norton, Professor of Exercise Science University of South Australia and Director of Research for Sport Knowledge Australia

Kevin has reviewed the game speed and structure of the last 10 soccer world cup finals, 5 rugby world cup finals and over 45 years of AFL finals. He researches how sport is evolving and why. He also uses this research to predict where sport is headed. He knows how fast the game is getting, why players take longer to play set pieces, and how the player density, game speed, number of touches per minute, player fitness levels, length of stop periods, among other things, are all increasing. Why does this matter? It can help us see what the game will ‘look’ like in the future and give us a guide for selecting and developing talent that will be better suited to the future game.

Associate Professor Derek Leinweber, Department of Physics, University of Adelaide.

Derek is a researcher in subatomic physics as well as an expert in ball dynamics. He helped make the soccer science DVD "Veer it like Viduka" that aims to uncover the secrets of the perfect free kick.

He can comment on how the new Teamgeist ball, made especially for the World Cup, could dramatically change the game. David Beckham is said to be ‘drooling’ over it, and it could be the answer to improving the international goal average of that Australian bender of balls, Mark Viduka. It is lighter, has less air resistance making it smoother and faster. It could prove a challenge for Mark Schwarzer though, as goalkeepers report some unusual effects. Fascinating stuff!

Peter Brukner, Associate Professor in sports medicine, Centre for Sports Medicine Research and Education, University of Melbourne

Peter is a world-renowned sports medicine doctor and appears weekly on Fox Footy and is part of the ABC Radio football commentary team. He also writes a weekly injury column and regular feature articles for The Age. His particular expertise is in overuse injuries particularly stress fractures, but he has also published widely in areas such as groin pain, exercise-related lower leg pain, and fatigue. So any issues to do with the team's fitness, give Peter a call.

Kenneth Graham, Head of Sport Science, NSW Institute of Sport. Also on the Science and Medicine panel for the Football Federation of Australia.

Kenneth has overseen the provision of sports science support to elite athletes such as Brad McGee and Ian Thorpe and his football credentials include providing advice to the team during that famous Socceroos flight back from Uruguay last year. (Who can forget what followed? That dramatic 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over the South Americans at Sydney's Olympic stadium that lead to the berth in the World Cup) The chartered plane included some interesting enhancements to help the team recover and prepare for the Sydney game.

Kenneth is currently researching hydration programs for elite athletes. This includes the science behind drinks to target different circumstances. The Socceroos have been training hard but have to be in peak condition to take on the world. The right drink helps maintain the sweat processes, leading to optimum recovery.

Dr Jeff Steinweg, Head of Medical Services for Football Federation Australia and the PGA Tour of Australasia. Visiting Lecturer at UNSW (Sports Medicine Programs).

Jeff is a sports physician who has been a team doctor for all the football codes. He appoints the medical staff for Football Australia’s teams including the Socceroos. He has all the inside info on Tim Cahill’s knee and Harry Kewell’s groin as well as on injuries and injury management in general. So if any of the boys fall over and limp off, he’s your man! Incidentally, Jeff was also on that Uruguay charter flight overseeing the Socceroos post match recovery

Justin Kemp, Exercise Physiologist at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne.

Justin is the author of “It's True: Sports Stinks” and co-author of "Run Like You Stole Something" and "Why Dick Fosbury Flopped". He writes regular columns in The Age and AFR. He also hosts a sports science radio show called "Run Like You Stole Something" on 3RRR-FM, now in its 10th year.

If you want to talk to someone about strategy, tactics, penalty shoot-outs, or even the characteristics of a winning team versus a bunch of also rans, Justin is across the latest research. He’s also an all round interesting person on most aspects of the game.

Damian Farrow, Skill Acquisition Specialist, Science Medicine Education & Technology, Australian Institute of Sport.

Damian is responsible for providing evidence-based sports science support to coaches and athletes and is the other half of the co-authored general interest sports science books “Run Like You Stole Something” and “Why Dick Fosbury Flopped”. He is also an expert on the penalty kick. He can talk about the demands on goalkeepers when trying to anticipate a penalty kick (what they look at etc), as well as what are the characteristics of an expert decision maker – how do they read the play so well, and general skill related issues."

Kate Vrljic, Community Football Programs Coordinator for Football Australia and Sport Psychologist.

Kate is running “Telstra Football Anytime”, a national program to encourage more kids to play the game so that they develop ball skills from an earlier age. She can talk about the enormous boost the Socceroos are giving the game at grassroots level and why Australia has fallen into line with the rest of the world so it’s now officially called “football”, not soccer.

On the psychology side though, Kate can talk about the importance of routine to the Socceroos as well as overcoming anxiety, team dynamics and peaking at the right time. She’s also a huge footy fan and is leaving for Germany tomorrow and has tickets for all three first round matches. However you can still talk to her on her mobile.

Adam Hewitt, Sport Scientist specialising in football in the Department of Biomechanics & Performance Analysis at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

With 13 of the current squad having come through the AIS, Adam can talk about the developing science of football and how it’s has been applied to the Socceroos. He can comment on the systematic approach to scouting the opposition and the emerging holistic technologies involved in every aspect of performance that’s currently being tried out on the Matilda’s and the young Socceroos. For instance GPS is used to track distances covered by any player during the game, including the percentage at sprint pace. The data can be analysed to discover whether the player was running because they had possession or because they tended to lose the ball.

Dr June Senyard, Department of History, University of Melbourne

June is an expert in Australian sporting culture and in particular, football spectators. She says it will be interesting to see how the Australian fans behave overseas. Will the hooligan element prevail and how will they use the Australian flag? Will it be a reflection of the Cronulla riots or waved aloft to celebrate our unique Australian character? June will also be using the World Cup to reflect on some fundamental issues for the game such as how far it will develop into a global sport and will it supersede cricket and the other footy codes.