Can cognitive training hone rugby decision making skills?
Posted
17/12/2016
Featuring
Harlequins FC
English Premiership Rugby Team
In most team sports, coaches and players never stop looking for ways to boost ‘on-field’ performance. Intense physical training builds strength, power and speed, but team players also need sharp cognitive skills to anticipate their opponent’s next move and make split-second decisions to ensure the best tactical response.
In dynamic, attacking sports like rugby, quick and accurate decision-making is vital because players and coaches can’t predict how the opposition will defend an attack, or how a counterattack might be launched. A player has to make the right decision and team mates must react quickly to support that decision. When the right decisions are made, players can complete planned sequences, improve their field position and create scoring opportunities. One wrong decision could be the difference between winning and losing a game.
At GSK Human Performance Lab (HPL), we asked ourselves: can rugby players train to make quicker, better decisions? Can that training affect performance during the game?
In attempt to answer these questions, we’re working with Axon Sports and Harlequins Football Club (Harlequins FC) and have designed a new study to investigate if cognitive training improves rugby players’ decision-making skills. As part of their training regime, the first team players watched a series of match videos on their iPads. At a critical point, the video footage was frozen and players had to make a tactical choice about what should happen next from a list of options. Coaches then gave their feedback to the players on the best choice.
Conor O’Shea, Director of Rugby at Harlequins FC, said that the team is never afraid to explore new ways of training.
In our study, we measured training success by testing and comparing players’ decision-making skills before and after training. We also tested players who didn’t receive training and compared their results to the trained players’. But these tests measure changes in players’ reactions to the simulated video environment – the real question is whether skills honed in training transfer to the field on game day. In our study, we tasked Harlequins coaches with evaluating game footage recorded before, during and after training for evidence of tangible improvements in the players’ performance.
Harlequins players have completed their training and assessments, and the results of the study are now being analysed at the GSK HPL for release in 2016.
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