Quantifying Soccer Players' Coordinated Behaviours: Insights from Accelerometer Data and Network Analysis for Performance and Injury Prevention

Quantifying Soccer Players' Coordinated Behaviours: Insights from Accelerometer Data and Network Analysis for Performance and Injury Prevention | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Quantifying Soccer Players' Coordinated Behaviours: Insights from Accelerometer Data and Network Analysis for Performance and Injury Prevention Norikazu Hirose, Norio Gouda, Takeshi Tanaka This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6272777/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective: This study aimed to quantify soccer players’ coordinated behaviour during matches using triaxial accelerometer data and directed network analysis. It compared dyadic and triadic coordination patterns between professional and amateur women’s soccer teams, exploring their implications for performance and injury risk. Methods: Accelerometer data from 42 players were analysed to identify dyads and triads, assess their diversity, and calculate the Interaction Dynamics Network (IDN) index, which distinguishes between proactive and reactive coordination. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA and post hoc tests, were conducted to compare the coordination metrics across teams, positions, and injury histories. Results: Professional teams exhibited significantly higher numbers and diversity of dyads and triads than amateur teams (p<0.001), with both metrics declining during the second half of matches. Reactive coordination was more prevalent among players with a history of noncontact knee injuries, particularly defenders and forwards, whereas midfielders predominantly demonstrated proactive patterns. Conclusion: This study highlights the tactical sophistication of professional teams and suggests a potential link between reactive coordination and injury risk. Directed network analysis is a valuable tool for assessing team dynamics and offers practical insights for developing position-specific training and injury prevention strategies. Future studies should validate these findings using larger datasets and examine the long-term impacts of reactive coordination on injury risk. Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6272777","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":446654402,"identity":"9e8773b3-1d02-4422-8300-b506ee173ead","order_by":0,"name":"Norikazu Hirose","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgYQmcAG5lSASQMGBh7cGngYGBsbEFrOEKUFYk0CxMY2mBY8wJ69uf3hzzaGPD7pw4c/fJx3WF6+vXnjBwaZO7ht4TnY2MzbxlDMxpeWJjlz22HDDWeOFUsw8DzDrUUisbEZ6J7ENh4eM2bebbcZN0jkGAC1HMarpfEnRIvx579zbtvPn//G+AchLQ28EC0G0owNtxMbbvCY4bflzMHG2TznQFrY0iR7jv1P3nAmrcwiAY9f2NvbH3z8UcaQOL+H+fCHHzVptvPbD2++8bEHd4hBwX80fmLPAUJaMMAP0rWMglEwCkbBsAUA17lW2mzMiwsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7212-6057","institution":"Waseda Daigaku","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Norikazu","middleName":"","lastName":"Hirose","suffix":""},{"id":446654403,"identity":"1298163f-c10e-4572-a825-1606dc0cfd95","order_by":1,"name":"Norio Gouda","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hitachi Ltd. 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It compared dyadic and triadic coordination patterns between professional and amateur women’s soccer teams, exploring their implications for performance and injury risk.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccelerometer data from 42 players were analysed to identify dyads and triads, assess their diversity, and calculate the Interaction Dynamics Network (IDN) index, which distinguishes between proactive and reactive coordination. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA and post hoc tests, were conducted to compare the coordination metrics across teams, positions, and injury histories.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProfessional teams exhibited significantly higher numbers and diversity of dyads and triads than amateur teams (p\u0026lt;0.001), with both metrics declining during the second half of matches. Reactive coordination was more prevalent among players with a history of noncontact knee injuries, particularly defenders and forwards, whereas midfielders predominantly demonstrated proactive patterns.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study highlights the tactical sophistication of professional teams and suggests a potential link between reactive coordination and injury risk. Directed network analysis is a valuable tool for assessing team dynamics and offers practical insights for developing position-specific training and injury prevention strategies. Future studies should validate these findings using larger datasets and examine the long-term impacts of reactive coordination on injury risk.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Quantifying Soccer Players' Coordinated Behaviours: Insights from Accelerometer Data and Network Analysis for Performance and Injury Prevention","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-28 04:32:35","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6272777/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"07533922-2020-460f-8ea4-b94a629e2ac0","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 28th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-06-18T03:54:06+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-28 04:32:35","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6272777","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6272777","identity":"rs-6272777","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}