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| Book review - (2009)08, 152 |
| PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR FIELD SPORTS |
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Editors: Christopher Carling, Thomas Reilly and A. Mark Williams
Bibliographic: ISBN: 978-0-415-42785-5; Routledge, Oxon, UK, 2009; $45.95, £24.99 222 pages, soft cover
Subjects: Physiological testing procedures
Reviewed by: Jonathan Bloomfield. Sport Science Officer, Sports Institute of Northern Ireland, University of Ulster, BT37 0QB
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| DESCRIPTION |
| The book covers the various sport science assessment procedures for sports such as soccer, rugby, field hockey and lacrosse. It provides detailed and clear information about laboratory and field-based methods that can be used to assess and improve both individual and team performance |
| PURPOSE |
| The book aims to provide a contemporary reference tool for selection of appropriate testing procedures for sports across a range of scientific disciplines |
| AUDIENCE |
| This book can be considered as an excellent source for sport science students, educators and practitioners |
| FEATURES |
| The text begins with a chapter on the rationales for performance assessments, the use of technology and the necessity for procedures to conform to scientific rigor, explaining the importance of test criteria. This chapter ends by emphasizing the importance of the feedback process and vital considerations for the practitioner when interpreting the data, selecting which information is most important and how to deliver this back to the athlete or coach in order to deliver a positive performance outcome. The next two chapters focus on psychological assessments with respect to skill acquisition, retention and execution providing a variety of qualitative and quantitative options, underpinned with scientific theory and contextualized in order to improve the understanding of the application of these methods to improve anticipation and decision-making to enhance game intelligence.Chapter 4 provides coverage of match analysis techniques in order to make assessments of technical, tactical and physical performances. Readers learn about a series of methodologies ranging from simplistic pen and paper options through to sophisticated technological systems with some exemplar data also provided. Chapters 5 through 7 cover the physiological based assessments, including aerobic, anaerobic and anthropometric procedures. Each chapter delivers a theoretical opening section before progressing to various assessment options and the authors make great efforts to relate to sport-specific settings. The final chapter explores some of the emerging and innovative technologies that have been recently introduced into elite sport and provides an indication as to the future developments for performance assessments |
| ASSESSMENT |
| This is a useful reference tool written by subject specialists in relation to sport-specific assessments for performance. It fully covers essential information across a range of sport science fields and offers a contextual style of writing to assist the application of these practices into real sport settings. The main limitations are that sections are separated by assessment type, rather than by sport, so it requires some searching for information by practitioners working in a single sport and it does not provide rigid protocols for assessments unlike some other hard-back textbooks written in the same field. In summary, I feel this book draws information from various sport science fields neatly together and provides an up-to-date account of assessment options for field sports, fulfilling its aim of providing an interface between the academic and applied aspects of science and coaching |
