Blog
Our latest news and insights
SSA Blog: Federer's dark secret
Even the most disciplined athlete might be forgiven for reaching for a chocolate egg or two at this time of year. Whatever your preference, it is hard to avoid the plethora of treats available over Easter. But is this such a bad thing? Could athletes actually see some benefit from indulging in a little chocolate over the Easter holiday?
SSA Blog: The diet of a champion
Midway through last season, a different spotlight was shone on Hamilton after he announced his decision to follow a vegan diet. Many questioned the wisdom of this lifestyle change at such a time, but any criticism was soon overshadowed by his imperious form following the mid-season break, which saw him storm to the driver’s crown with two races remaining.
SSA Blog: The performance benefits of beer
Beer companies have a long history of sports sponsorship. Beer remains a fixture within the top ten spending categories across the sponsorship industry. Major deals exist across high profile sporting properties such as the Football, Basketball and Rugby World Cups, which are synonymous with hospitality and fan engagement programmes.
SSA Blog: What it takes to win a Grand Tour - or two...
Riders performances, like in any sport, consist of a number of interdependent factors. Cycling at its professional level contains some of the most elite endurance athletes in the world. To achieve this level takes enormous dedication, going through years of training to develop the endurance adaptations needed to compete within the professional peloton.
SSA Blog: The value of talent
Talent identification is the Holy Grail of sport science. Being able to apply scientific understanding to spot and develop young athletes and turn them into future champions is the goal of every major sporting organisation. But it is not only sport science that cares about talent development. With the huge transfer fees now being applied across European and particularly Premier League football, fans, agents and owners are now very aware of the value of talent identification. Yet the number of home grown players taking to a Premier League field each week is falling, so what can be done to arrest the decline?
SSA Blog: Who's to say it was a dive?
Last week, as part of a number of reforms regarding the game in England, The FA agreed to a new offence of “successful deception of a match official”. This will allow a panel to administer a retrospective ban for up to two games, if they find unanimously, that a player has deceived the referee by diving.
SSA Blog: To captain The Pride
Lions selection is always a hot topic. This year’s entire RBS 6 Nations was played under the shadow of the Lions tour to New Zealand. Every game (involving the home nations) was analysed within the context of who had done enough or otherwise to earn a place on the aeroplane to Auckland.
SSA Blog: Does Joe Marler have a miracle milkman?
With Mako Vunipola injured, Marler had been the obvious choice to start at Loosehead. However, after picking up what he thought was a calf strain against Worcester in a game at the start of the year and subsequently being unable to recover, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture.
SSA Blog: How does he still do it?
The ageing process begins to induce a decline in male physical ability around the early 30’s. Borgest and a team of researchers in Australia highlighted the naturally occurring declines in metabolic, cardiovascular and hormonal systems as the precursors for performance decrements in their review study of 2015. These genetic factors cannot be escaped. And while, in well-trained populations, the performance effects often do not become significant until their early 40’s, In the tiny margins of elite sport any decline can become evident very quickly.
SSA Blog: Festive Football - Not just an injury concern
As English football enters the most congested period of the season all the usual debates about player fatigue and injury prevention have started. Managers talk about player welfare and the need for ample recovery time. Add to this the increasing tactical maturity of the Premier League and it is not surprising that managers, coaches and players often voice disapproval regarding the short turnaround times between games at this time of year.
SSA Blog: Is missing out on European Football really beneficial?
European competition has returned this week, after another hectic weekend in the Premier League. Chelsea have now opened up a three-point gap at the top of the table. So as teams prepare for the busy December and January playing schedule, it is no surprise that the ‘benefits of not being in Europe’ theories have begun to take shape.
SSA Blog: Life after sport - how athletes handle the transition to retirement
Retirement happens to every athlete in every sport. At the end of each season or Olympic cycle, countless athletes are faced with the most difficult decision of their careers. And those in a position to make that decision for themselves are the lucky ones.