#UCSIA15 Gate B Ticket Discussions: Informatics and Analytics
- Jason Lear
- Mar 1, 2015
- 3 min read
I have been participating in the #UCSIA15 course over the past week and very much enjoying the content created by Keith Lyons, Darrell Cobner and Colleagues. Simon Gleave posted a link to David Epstein: Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger? with a question in the Gate B Ticket Discussions: Informatics and Analytics.
The video and question got me thinking about some content I developed for a module I deliver in Performance Analysis on the parallel between business and sport. I have posted part of the content to share my thoughts along with an interactive PDF to enable you to share your thoughts on the role of a performance analyst in supporting athletes become faster, better, stronger?
While Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 1943 and Tuckman’s theory on group development are used as very effective knowledge tools in management and leadership, the parallel between business and sport becomes evident by studying how these theories may apply to sport.
Abraham Maslow developed a theory (link to alternative perspective on theory) that concluded, for an individual to realise ones potential and meet self-fulfilment (peak) they must have their needs met in order. He developed a visual aid to explain the theory called the hierarchy of needs. In the context of sport the meaning behind Maslow’s theory is, that if all these needs are met then there is an increased chance of realising ones potential? See diagram below.
While you review the diagram you will undoubtedly be able to identify that in the wider world of sport there are many athletes who have no way of fulfilling some of the needs due to circumstances out of the athletes control, for example basic life needs for athletes in developing countries may be difficult to fulfil, yet many achieve at the highest level of sport, or do they? Think of athletes from ‘third world’ developing nations where nutrition, rest, equipment, safety are all very difficult if not impossible to meet, yet many of these countries produce outstanding athletes.
In most ‘developed’ countries it would be culturally unacceptable to expect or even allow athletes to practice football bare foot in the street, play cricket without safety equipment, play contact sports on hard or concrete surfaces etc. So why do these athletes from developing countries realise their potential? Well, we may be able to attribute this to their needs at the higher level overriding their needs at the lower order of the hierarchy. Their motivation for a better life through sport may override the lower order in the early stages of development. Once these athletes show potential and have been singled out as a special talent then their needs at the lower order are normally fulfilled before they actually realise their full potential.
As a performance analyst we can support this process by enhancing the education process between coaches and athletes. A performance analyst works to provide consistent accurate data that will develop profiles over a period of time, this can support the identification of issues at the lower order in areas such as diet, rest, safety etc. We can look at techniques that may be causing injuries, we can evaluate rule changes and analyse how to adapt so we can implement new techniques at a far greater speed, we can build confidence by identifying the positives while at the same time working on areas of improvement. And ultimately once an athlete realises their potential we can continue to analyse performance to maintain the high standards.
This try and put this into context of take a typical modern day professional. While the majority of professional athletes are examples of outstanding role models, we often have a few that may not behave as expected. Can we attribute this to a stage of the hierarchy not being fulfilled, family support may have been missing that result in behaviour issues, esteem needs such as reputation may have a negative impact, in essence these athletes perform at a high standard but a burning question remains. Do these elite athletes that often display occasional or frequent poor behaviour actually realise their full potential?
Here you can download an interactive PDF version of the model above with boxes at each level left blank. Consider the role of the performance analyst and what impact, information can we facilitate at each level?
You can send any responses by clicking here and attaching to email. I will contact Keith Lyons to see if we can aggregate any response on #UCSIA15 course.
References:
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96.
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