Abstract des Autors

With contemporary levels of sports performance, the ability of any athlete and/or coach to independently plan, prepare for and achieve top performance is problematical. Techniques of sports diagnosis and monitoring, may be useful in optimizing performance. In the U.S. there are three different ways in which sports diagnosis and monitoring are widely used. 1) Pre-season physiological and/or performance evaluations. These studies, often conducted as part of a pre-season health/injury evaluation, are intended to focus pre-season conditioning. Unfortunately, there is relatively little structured advice or assistance given to athletes regarding pre-season training and little individually specific follow up regarding deficiencies detected during these evaluations. The primarly reasons for this deficiency are the economic cost of follow up and resistance from coaches who view sports scientists as a competitor for the leadership of the team, almost as frequently as they view them as integral members of their team. 2) Control of practice sessions. Although information regarding energy system capabilities is sometimes available, it is used in only the most basic way, even in endurance sports. Performance in 'index' training sessions is more commonly used. Diagnosis of failing performances is almost completely absent. In team sports, control of training has little objective basis. Interesting data are emerging relating performance to quantifiable factors in practice, both in team and endurance sports. Implementation of strategies to control practice has been slow, primarily because of resistance from coaches. Part of this resistance may be attributed to the lack of accepted models regarding the appropriate mixture of different components of training. 3) Tactical considerations within competitions. Particularly in team sports, which in the U.S. often have significant breaks in play allowing coaches to respond to information, strategies which help to visualize tactical considerations or player performance are widely employed. Much of the technological capacity of western society has been well employed in this area. This aspect of diagnosis and monitoring has probably been better accepted because coaches remain in a decision making role. In the U.S. successful models of cooperation between coaches and sports scientists almost always keep the coach in the decision making role and have sports scientists functioning in much the same role as assistant coaches. Verf.-Referat