dumpo2

Dump el numero 2 -

Was reading the local papers the other day about how a certain foreign football (soccer) player once again failed his 'beep' test for the 11th time and as a result might not be able to remain in Singapore, or might look for another club.

FYI, the S league - Singapore's only forray into professional sports so far, stipulates that all professional players in the league have to pass a beep test before they can play. The level they must pass is 12.10. So this foreign player has not been able to achieve that, and might move on. Good for him right? Lest we want overpaid foreign talent loafing around and not being fit right?

Well, there are several things here to consider - The player's age (36) and the feasiblity of really using the beep test as a compulsory benchmark.

The 'beep' test, for the un informed, is a test that measures the max oxygen intake a person is able to achieve, and his stamina. In formal sports science terms, the beep test is a tool to guage VO2max - Maximum volume of Oxygen. It consists of a 20m straight distance measured out. A athlete starts on one end. A recording of various beeps indicates when the athelete must leave his end, and rech the other end. The beeps get progressively faster and faster as the levels increase.

Anyways, as mentioned, the beep test is only meant to be a tool, a function of measuring stamina. In the early days of professional sport up to early 2005, the beep test was all the rage - every sport was doing it as a sole measure of athlete's stamina. Late in 2005 though, reserach found that the beep test was not meant to be the sole measure, rather it had to be fiting in with other tests.

What it does seem to me though, that with all sports innovations, Singapore has once again decided tocut and paste a system, without even thinking of the implication.

Here is my question to you S league - why are you doing the beep test? In addition to the beep, are you conducting other tests, such as vertical leap, and other strength tests? The beep is not a measure of stamina, in fact most sports have started to use the beep less and less in their testing functions.

What about a 3km run test instead? Measure your testing to the climate and to the demands of the sport in general. Think about it - the beep test for s league is conducted indoors for a controlled environment, which is a good thing. But, is soccer played indoors? How much sprinting does a soccer player do in a game, and relative to that, how much does he cover distance wise in a game?

I understand that a framework has to be put in place to prevent overpaid loafers on the field, but there must be a more relalistic and practical way of doing it, rather than subjecting these athletes to an outdated, and in this case seemingly mis used, form of testing.

One has to wonder what the sport science people at the SSC are advising, or are they even involoved in consultation?

Dump 1

Having a rather slow day in the office, so decided to do the usual 'dump'

Have been rather tied up, but just a few thoughts from the last couple of weeks to ponder, and as usual fume about.

Dump thought #1

Watched the Schools B rugby finals 2 Mondays ago. How times have changed, Raffles playing in the plate - 2 years running? A lot of educated men would say that in their day raffles was always in the finals and always winning it! The Cup final was between SAS and ACS (i). Alot at stake, SAS trying to rub dirt in the face of ACs by attempting to win a 4th straight final, and
ACS trying to show that they are still alive and kicking, and can still churn out champions.

Well, at the end of the day, ACS showed that they are still champions. A little bit overly dramatic if you ask me, but at the end of the day it looked like the yellow and blue guys had control and knew what to do in the game. The Saints on the other hand, while on paper had the exact same side that won the trophy 12 months ago seemed lost, indecisive and with their big playmaker lasting all 7 minutes, you had to wonder what the coaches and management were thinking.

Which, in a long winded manner, comes to my point – Why put in a player who can only play 7 minutes? Investigations found out that the player has not even played one whole game the entire season, but yet due to his past credentials, was put in the starting line up. Shades of Wayne Rooney and any other failed champion’s bid for glory, gambling on that ‘might have been’ star.

There lies the question though – for all coaches concerned. Just when is it not feasible to put an unhealthy/not full fit star into the team, in the hope that despite not being fit all season, he might shine for that crucial game? Is winning that important? In professional sports, it seems so, and for good reason. Winning on that stage means extra money and there are ways and means to ensure some form of performance through medication from the athlete. But at school level?