Search

Purpose: This study analyzed the sequences of actions in professional men and women padel players to identify common game patterns. Methods: The sample comprised 17,557 stroke-by-stroke actions (N = 1640 rallies) of the championship World Padel Tour. Multistep Markov chains were used to calculate the conditional probabilities of occurrence of actions during the rally. Results: Results revealed that men's and women's padel is mainly defined by 36 patterns constituting 55% and 63% of all actions in the game, respectively, with the 10 most common sequences accounting for 42% to 45% of the game. There were recurrent technical–tactical actions with specific offensive and defensive functions that were constantly reiterated during the rallies. In men, the use of smash, volley, bandeja, direct, back wall, back-wall lobs, and direct lobs followed a foreseeable pattern up to 8 lags, whereas women described predictable interactions for volley, bandeja, direct, lobs, and direct lobs up to 5 lags and for smash and back wall up to 4 lags. Conclusions: The ability of padel players to recall these patterns and enhance their anticipation skills may potentially improve their performance. These findings contribute to a better knowledge of professional padel game dynamics while providing coaches and players with useful information to optimize training and decision-making strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate how a physical activity education program based on the teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) model affected disruptive behaviors in teenagers. Method: A total of 338 students (13-15 years old) from the 672 recruited completed a 4-month TPSR-model-based program during their physical education lessons. Disruptive behavior was recorded through systematic observation. Results: The students from the TPSR-model-based group reduced their violent behaviors (physical aggressions, verbal aggressions, interrupting, and total behaviors) after the intervention, whereas the control group remained the same. Conclusions: The TPSR school-based intervention was efficient in improving coexistence in terms of decreasing violent behaviors (physical and verbal aggressions) and undisciplined behaviors (continual interruptions of lessons) in students. The novel approach used to objectively assess emerging behaviors enriched the quality and validity of the quantitative data. Future research should address the use of objective assessment when conducting TPSR-model-based programs.

This study aimed to carry out a systematic review of existing research on physiological, physical and anthropometric parameters in padel. After searching through PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, 33 articles were analyzed, covering physiological, physical, and anthropometric parameters. Physiologically, heart rate varies by sex and play level; men amateurs show a lower maximum heart rate compared to semi-professionals and professionals (154.75 vs 169.72 vs 188.6 beats per minute). Women players maintain consistent maximum heart rate across levels (∼178 beats per minute). Lactate levels during competition indicate effort within the aerobic transition zone, peaking at 2.40 millimole per liter in women and 3.38 millimole per liter in men. Regarding maximal oxygen consumption, padel players exhibit levels around 76.3%, increasing to 95.1% during peak exertion. Biochemical and hematological parameters vary by sex, with men players typically having higher basal levels, while competition reduces certain elements like copper and zinc. Physically, men players exhibit superior jump height, strength, and maximum speeds around 2.09 kilometers per hour, with significant lateral movements. The average distance covered per match is 3000 meters, with higher-level players traveling less. Anthropometrically, men players are taller with a mesomorphic-endomorphic profile, while women players have an endomorphic-mesomorphic somatotype. The study highlights the need for tailored training based on specific player characteristics and calls for further research to better individualize physical preparation in padel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence supports that early sport specialization in children and adolescents may compromise long-term athlete development and high-performance acquisition. This study aimed to determine the presence of specialised shooting roles in formative men’s basketball players compared to professionals. Data from shot charts of U14 and professional basketball players during the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons were retrieved. Shooting zones were classified by machine learning and clustering analyses. Shooting patterns were defined as extreme field goal attempts (FGA%) from a particular shooting zone. Players who exhibited an outlier shooting pattern were considered specialists. U14 basketball players described singular shooting patterns that largely differed from professionals’ requirements (p < 0.001, ES = 0.51). U14 players lacked shooting versatility (2.3% vs. 36.3%) and 3-point shooting ability (1.8 vs. 17.2%). In contrast, the professional competition was characterised by having either versatile players without specialisation (62.7%) or one-zone specialist shooters accumulating most of their %FGA in one court zone (38%). These findings suggested that increasing shooting versatility or becoming a one-zone specialist shooter could significantly impact the development and progression of young basketball players in the long term. Current formative basketball training approaches should be revised accordingly to enhance shooting skills and promote the development of polyvalent players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Plants, People, Planet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The emerging ecosystem of artificial intelligence (AI) ethics and governance auditing has grown rapidly in recent years in anticipation of impending regulatory efforts that encourage both internal and external auditing. Yet, there is limited understanding of this evolving landscape. We conduct an interview-based study of 34 individuals in the AI ethics auditing ecosystem across seven countries to examine the motivations, key auditing activities, and challenges associated with AI ethics auditing in the private sector. We find that AI ethics audits follow financial auditing stages, but tend to lack robust stakeholder involvement, measurement of success, and external reporting. Audits are hyper-focused on technically oriented AI ethics principles of bias, privacy, and explainability, to the exclusion of other principles and socio-technical approaches, reflecting a regulatory emphasis on technical risk management. Auditors face challenges, including competing demands across interdisciplinary functions, firm resource and staffing constraints, lack of technical and data infrastructure to enable auditing, and significant ambiguity in interpreting regulations and standards given limited (or absent) best practices and tractable regulatory guidance. Despite these roadblocks, AI ethics and governance auditors are playing a critical role in the early ecosystem: building auditing frameworks, interpreting regulations, curating practices, and sharing learnings with auditees, regulators, and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]