Ross Sanders

• PhD University of Queensland 1991
• Honorary Professor at The University of Sydney

Background: While numerous studies have explored age and playing position effects on fitness levels in male adolescent soccer players, research on female players in this context is lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of age and playing position on field-based physical fitness measures in adolescent female soccer players,...

A ball-kicking motion requires a coordinated sequencing of all body segments for maximum ball release speed. Evidence of the role of upper body rotations and motor coordination during a ball-kicking motion is inconsistent among existing evidence. This study aimed to systematically review the role of upper body rotations on all modes of ball kicking...

This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of age and playing position, controlling for maturity, on physical fitness indicators in 303 adolescent female netball players aged 12.0 to 15.9 years. Assessments included estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) via the 20 m shuttle run test, 10 m and 20 m sprints, change of direction speed (CODS...

OBJECTIVE: Bone mineral density (BMD) and appendicular lean mass (ALM) deficits are common in people with cerebral palsy (CP), increasing sarcopenia and osteoporosis risk (1), while sport/exercise participation before age 16 improves adult peak bone mass accretion (2). This study investigated the effects of high-level sport/exercise participation c...

Objectives: Swimming intra-cycle velocity fluctuation has often been assessed using the coefficient of variation, which requires a mathematical assumption of a positive linear relationship between the velocity mean and standard deviation. As this assumption has never been tested, the current study aimed to investigate the within-participant relati...

Free-swimming performance depends strongly on the ability to develop propulsive force and minimise resistive drag. Therefore, estimating resistive drag (passive or active) may be important to understand how free-swimming performance can be improved. The purpose of this narrative overview was to describe and discuss experimental methods of measuring...

Purpose: The impact of physical impairment on Froude efficiency and intra-cyclic velocity fluctuation in Para swimmers is not well documented. Identification of differences in these variables between disabled and non-disabled swimmers could help develop a more objective system for assigning Para swimmers to classes for competition. This study quan...

BACKGROUND: The knee is one of the most common injuries in sports. However, the incidence of knee injuries can be decreased by enhancing balance and neuromuscular control. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate how injury prevention programs (IPPs) that include balance training influence knee injury rates...

Analysis of the countermovement jump (CMJ) force–time curve phases provides insight into athlete neuromuscular function and methods by which jump height improves in response to training. A CMJ phase analysis and the dynamic strength index (DSI) have yet to be explored in athletes with cerebral palsy (CP). This study aimed to address this knowledge...

Question: Do injury prevention programs that include plyometric exercises reduce the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in sport? Design: Systematic review of (cluster) randomised trials with meta-analysis. Participants: Sporting participants of any age, sex or competition level. Interventions: The experimental interventi...

Hackett, DA, He, W, Fleeton, JRM, Orr, R, and Sanders, RH. Effects of age and sex on aerobic fitness, sprint performance, and change of direction speed in high school athletes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2022-The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sex and age on aerobic fitness, sprinting performance, and change of directi...

Overarm throwing is an essential fundamental movement skill (FMS). Competency in throwing is critical to encourage physical activity throughout lifespan. However, the segmental sequencing characteristics of skilled throwing to achieve maximum ball release speed are unclear. Further, the standard instructions for segmental sequencing in coaching man...

Background: The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Kids is an exercise-based injury prevention program developed by an international group of experts to prevent injuries among child soccer players. Hypothesis: It was hypothesized that the FIFA 11+ Kids program would be more effective than performing a typical warm-up re...

Question: What is the effect of injury prevention programs that include balance training exercises on the incidence of ankle injuries among soccer players? Design: Systematic review of randomised trials with meta-analysis. Participants: Soccer players of any age, sex or competition level. Interventions: The experimental intervention was an i...

BACKGROUND The knee is one of the most common sites of injuries among soccer players. The incidence of knee injuries can be reduced by improving the neuromuscular control and core stability. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of injury prevention programs that include core stability exercises in reducing the incidence of knee...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of coaching the Australian recommended fundamental overarm throwing skill criteria for less-skilled adolescents on movement competency using three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis. Methods: Less-skilled non-sports-active and skilled sports-active pupils were assigned to FMS Group (n = 97...

The prominence of undulatory underwater swimming (UUS) has been clearly observed during recent international events. Improvement of this phase is important for overall performance. The aim of this systematic review was to identify the key factors that modulate UUS performance and provide coaches and sports science practitioners with valuable and pr...

Purpose. Soccer is one of the most popular sports worldwide. Soccer goalkeepers are more likely than outfield players to injure their upper extremities, particularly their shoulders. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Shoulder Injury Prevention Program (FIFA 11+S) was developed to prevent upper extremity injuries. The...

Purpose. Physiotherapists are trained to prevent, assess, and rehabilitate all kinds of injuries including sports injury. The goal of the physical therapist should be making sure that the athlete is in optimal shape to perform, with a minimal risk for developing an injury. This study aims to assess the physiotherapists’ awareness, implementation, a...

In this paper ways in which performance in 100 m front crawl might be improved are explored. Researchers were identified as ‘primary sources’ to provide a rationale for how swimmers might improve their performance and to estimate the potential magnitude of improvement. The researchers selected as the primary sources were identified from an initial...

Background Soccer referees and assistant referees have a significant risk of injury, particularly to the lower extremity. A growing body of research supports the use of injury prevention programs to prevent such injuries, yet participation rates in these programs by soccer referees and assistant referees remains largely unexplored. Objective To as...

Background Groin injuries are frequent injury commonly seen in any sport contain sudden changes in direction, rapid acceleration and deceleration, and kicking which are all available in soccer. The Copenhagen adduction exercise increases the eccentric hip adduction strength leads to reduce the incident of groin injury. Objective To assess the prof...

Background Soccer goalkeepers are more likely than outfield players to injure their upper extremity. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)11+ Shoulder injury prevention program (FIFA 11+S) was developed to prevent upper extremity injuries. Objective To assess soccer goalkeepers and goalkeepers’ coaches’ awareness, implementa...

Background The Nordic hamstring exercise is an effective program in reducing the hamstring injuries, which is one of the most common non-contact lower limb injuries, especially in sports requiring acceleration, maximal sprints, and sudden change in direction of running, as sprinting, soccer, and rugby. Objective To assess the awareness, implementa...

Background The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Referees injury prevention program is a structured warm-up program specially designed to prevent injuries among soccer referees and assistant referees and its efficacy is yet to be fully documented in the literature. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate th...

Background The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has promoted the FIFA 11+ injury prevention program worldwide. The FIFA 11+ injury prevention program for kids was developed and shown to be effective in reducing soccer-related injuries in numerous studies. Objective To assess the awareness, implementation, and opinion of wor...

Background Injury prevention programs have been shown to prevent and reduce injuries in different sports. Awareness for such programs is crucial , however, implementation and adoption of injury prevention programs in team sports is a multifaceted and complex process. Objective To assess physical therapists’ awareness, implementation, and opinion...

Background Soccer has high injury risk, especially for hamstring muscle injuries, and the Nordic hamstring exercise is a well-known intervention to prevent them. Objective To assess the professional and semi-professional soccer players and coaches’ awareness, implementation, and opinion of the Nordic hamstring exercise. Design A cross-sectional s...

Background The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Kids injury prevention program is an exercise-based program developed by an international group of experts to prevent injuries among children’s soccer players. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the FIFA 11+ Kids injury prevention program on...

Background Sport-related concussions (SRC) have gained more attention in the recent years due to its detrimental short-term and long-term effects on the players. Objective To assess the awareness and knowledge of SRC among sports physical therapists. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting An online survey. Patients (or Participants) A total of...

Background The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) has promoted and deployed the FIFA 11+ injury prevention program worldwide. Developed and studied by the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC), the program relied on international randomized controlled trial which significantly reduced injuries and healthcare cost...

Swimming coaches have prescribed dry-land training programs over the years to improve the overall swimming performance (starts, clean swimming, turns and finish). The main aim of the present systematic review was to examine the effects of dry-land strength and conditioning programs on swimming turns. Four online databases were scrutinised, data wer...

The aim of this study was to review the literature on front crawl swimming biomechanics, focusing on propulsive and resistive forces at different swimming velocities. Recent studies show that the resistive force increases in proportion to the cube of the velocity, which implies that a proficient technique to miminise the resistive (and maximise the...

Background: Soccer is one of the most popular sports worldwide. Goalkeepers are more likely to injure their upper limbs, particularly their shoulders, than outfield players. To reduce upper extremity injuries, the FIFA 11+ Shoulder Injury Prevention Program (FIFA 11+S) was developed. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectivenes...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences between front crawl and backstroke swimming in hydrodynamic (produced by swimmers) and buoyant torque around the transverse axis. Ten swimmers performed 50 m front crawl and backstroke at four selected velocities (same velocities for both techniques). All trials were recorded by four u...

Objective The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Referees Injury Prevention Program (FIFA 11+ Referees Program) is a structured warm‐up program specially designed to prevent injuries in soccer referees. However, its effectiveness has yet to be fully documented in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to...

The torso muscles play important roles in longitudinal rotation between the upper and lower torso on land but demands on these muscles at different swimming speeds and their role in torso twist in front crawl remains unclear. We aimed to compare torso muscle activity at different front crawl speeds and to assess the relationships between torso musc...

Objective: The Fédération International de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ Referees Injury Prevention Program (FIFA 11+ Referees Program) is a structured warm-up program specially designed to prevent injuries in soccer referees. However, its effectiveness has yet to be fully documented in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to...

Curvatures of the body can disrupt fluid flow and affect hydrodynamic resistance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a feedback intervention on glide performance and torso morphology. Eleven male and female national swimmers performed glides before and after augmented feedback. Feedback consisted of self-modelling visual feedba...

Ascertaining how racket orientation angle differences at ball-impact influence the accuracy of different squash strokes could assist player skill development and possibly reduce the number of unforced errors hit within a match. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in racket orientation angles of accurate and inaccurate forehand and...

Video analysis is used in sport to derive kinematic variables of interest but often relies on time-consuming tracking operations. The purpose of this study was to determine speed, accuracy and reliability of 2D body landmark digitisation by a neural network (NN), compared with manual digitisation, for the glide phase in swimming. Glide variables in...

Background: Copenhagen adduction exercise (CAE) and Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) reduce the incidence of groin and hamstring injuries. Efficient dynamic balance can improve motor performance and reduce the risk of injuries in athletes. However, the effects of these exercises on dynamic balance have not been investigated. Hypothesis: CAE and N...

The current study investigated body roll amplitude and timing of its peak in backstroke and compared them with front crawl swimming. Nineteen anatomical landmarks were digitised using 80 swimming trial videos (ten swimmers × two techniques × four intensities) recorded by two above-and four below-water cameras. One upper-limb cycle was analysed for...

For a short time this eprint link to the full article is now ready to use and is: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/MQZ3ZNVGD8RPECFZDE9V/full?target=10.1080/02640414.2020.1851926 Abstract Field-based tests including the medicine ball chest throw (MBCT) and vertical jump are used to assess muscle performance. To date no study has compared perform...

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in Froude efficiency (ηF) and active drag (DA) between front crawl and backstroke at the same speed. ηF was investigated by the three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis using 10 male swimmers. The swimmers performed 50 m swims at four swimming speeds in each technique, and their whole body moti...

The paddling stroke rate (SR) is one of the key determinants of flat water kayak performance. The aim of this study was to analyse the way in which the kayak paddler changes the duration of the water and aerial phases due to the increase in stroke rate. Ten elite kayak paddlers (five males and five females) were analysed performing 200 m on-water t...

Fleeton, JRM, Sanders, RH, and Fornusek, C. Strength training to improve performance in athletes with cerebral palsy: A systematic review of current evidence. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2019-Persons with cerebral palsy (CP) can partake in many different forms of organized sport including elite competition at state and international levels....

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of torso morphology on maximum instantaneous hydrodynamic resistance in front crawl swimming. Outlines of the torso in the frontal and anteroposterior planes were calculated from photographic images to determine continuous form gradients (m/m) for the anterior, posterior and lateral aspects of th...

Purpose: The aims of this study were to 1) compare active drag (Da) calculation between a single land-based measurement of frontal surface area (FSA) and in-water FSA measures obtained at key events of the arm pull (1, right upper-limb catch; 2, right upper-limb insweep; 3, right upper-limb exit and left upper-limb catch; 4, left upper-limb inswee...

Knowledge of the kinematic differences that separate highly skilled and less-skilled squash players could assist the progression of talent development. This study compared trunk, upper-limb and racket kinematics between two groups of nine highly skilled and less-skilled male athletes for forehand drive, volley and drop strokes. A 15-camera motion a...

How does the human neurophysiological system self-organize to achieve optimal phase relationships among joints and limbs, such as in the composite rhythms of butterfly and front crawl swimming, drumming, or dancing? We conducted a systematic review of literature relating to central nervous system (CNS) control of phase among joint/limbs in continuo...

To maintain the accuracy of squash shots under varying conditions, such as the oncoming ball’s velocity and trajectory, players must adjust their technique. Although differences in technique between skilled and less-skilled players have been studied, it is not yet understood how players vary their technique in a functional manner to maintain accura...

How does the human neurophysiological system self-organize to achieve optimal phase relationships among joints and limbs, such as in the composite rhythms of butterfly and front crawl swimming, drumming, or dancing? We conducted a systematic review of literature relating to CNS control of phase among joint/limbs in continuous rhythmic activities. S...

Dry-land strength training is a common component of swimming programs; however, its efficacy is contentious. A common criticism of dry-land strength training for swimming is a lack of specificity. An understanding of movement patterns in swimming can enable dry-land strength training programs to be developed to elicit adaptations that transfer to i...

The purpose of this study was to investigate why front crawl is faster than backstroke from a kinematic perspective. Three-dimensional kinematics were obtained from one upper-limb cycle of ten male competitive swimmers performing 50 m front crawl and backstroke trials at maximum speed. Swimmers achieved faster centre of mass velocity in front crawl...

The purpose of this study was to establish the asymmetry and body wave characteristics related to shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle roll in unilateral arm amputee swimmers. Three unilateral arm amputee swimmers, including one Paralympic medallist (swimmer A), volunteered in this study. They conducted two 10-15 s front crawl tests with sub-maximum and...

Before examining the effect of changing constraints on skill adaptation, it is useful to know the tolerable variability of a movement pattern for optimal performance. Tolerable variability may vary throughout the period of task performance as some parts of the movement pattern may be more important than others. The purpose of this study was to quan...

Torso shape characteristics such as cross-sectional area, curvatures and indentations influence the pressure distribution of fluid flow around the torso. The purpose of this study was to introduce a new method of quantifying torso shape using photographic imaging. The contours of the torso in the frontal and sagittal planes were obtained by tracing...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between torso muscle activity and torso twist. EMG data from five torso muscles and 3D motion capture data were recorded during 4x25m front crawl swimming trials at 400m and 50m pace (N=15). EMG data were integrated over 10ms intervals and normalized to the maximum value during each swimm...

Active drag force is the resistance encountered by a swimmer while swimming with the usual stroking and kicking actions. Active drag has been found to have a relationship with body shape characteristics such as the projected frontal area of a swimmer (1). However, commonly used methods of estimating active drag force impose changes to the regular s...

Human undulatory underwater swimming (UUS) is an underwater propelling technique in competitive swimming and its propulsive mechanism is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to visualize the three-dimensional (3D) flow field in the wake region during human UUS in a water flume. A national level male swimmer performed 41 UUS trials in a...

The aim of this study was to provide a fundamental understanding of how the hands create swim propulsion by applying Newton’s Laws to observations of the behaviour of water in simple demonstrations. Using a video recorder, we captured a series of straight and curved pulls made near and under the pool surface. The pulls were performed using a plasti...

This study examined whether a structured cycle-based SIT intervention could improve psychological (symptom severity) and physiological (aerobic/anaerobic performance) health outcomes in adolescents with serious mental illness. Participants were 30 age-matched adolescents (M = 16.00 ± 1.17 years) from Australia who completed an 8-week bicycle-based...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether swimmers follow the instructed speed (vtarget) accurately with the aid of a commercial visual light pacer during front crawl and backstroke swimming in a 25 m pool. Ten male swimmers performed 50 m front crawl and backstroke at different speeds (controlled by a visual light pacer) in a 25 m pool....

Background: Injury surveillance and workload monitoring are important aspects of professional sports, including cricket. However, at the community level, there is a dearth of accessible and intelligent surveillance tools. Mobile apps are an accessible tool for monitoring cricket-related injuries at all levels. Objective: The objective of this pa...

Background: At the turn of the century, a new format of cricket [Twenty20 (T20)] was introduced that has led to more matches being played. Since then, it has been debated whether T20 cricket has increased the risk of overuse injuries. Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to meta-analyse the cricket injury rates in the twenty-first centu...

To improve understanding of the demands on torso muscles in front crawl swimming, coaches would benefit from a quantification of the torque about the longitudinal axis between the upper and lower body produced by swimming motions and fluid forces; however, due to the inability of measuring external torque in a fluid environment, internal torque can...

Structured exercise has been utilised as complementary therapy for patients with psychotic disorders. This review aims to determine the efficacy of structured exercise on both psychological and physiological variables. Applying PRISMA guidelines and keyword search terms, studies were systematically searched in CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, PsychInfo, Sp...

The contribution of the flutter kick to front crawl performance from its influence on longitudinal body rotation has not been thoroughly investigated. Fourier analysis was used to examine the impact of the kick on segmental and whole body angular momentum about the body’s longitudinal axis in fourteen elite front crawl specialists swimming at sprin...

A swimmer moving through water is subject to a resistive force known as hydrodynamic resistance or ‘drag’. This resistance is due to friction between the swimmer and the water (frictional drag), resistance related to the body profile and position they project during forward motion (form drag) and the resistance due to wave making energy (wave drag)...

Background The grade cricket competition, also known as premier cricket, supplies players to the state and national teams in Australia. The players involved are generally high-performing amateur (subelite) club cricketers. However, to date, there is no study on the injury epidemiology of Australian grade cricket. Aim To conduct injury surveillance...

Fast bowlers have the highest injury rates in cricket; therefore, reducing these injuries is a priority for coaches and the support staff. Improving physical conditioning and monitoring bowling workload are primary preventative strategies to reduce overuse injuries. The objective of this study was to investigate practices of cricket coaches in Aust...

Body surface area (BSA) measurement is important in engineering and medicine fields to determine parameters for various applications. Three-dimensional scanning techniques may be used to acquire the BSA directly. Nevertheless, the raw data obtained from 3D scanning usually requires some manual post-processing which is time-consuming and requires te...

Whole-body volumes and segmental volumes are highly related to the health and medical condition of individuals. However, the traditional manual post-processing of raw 3D scanned data is time-consuming and needs technical expertise. The purpose of this study was to develop bespoke software for obtaining whole-body volumes and segmental volumes from...

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine kinematic and energetic differences between front crawl and backstroke performed at the same aerobic speeds. Methods Ten male competitive swimmers performed front crawl and backstroke at a pre-determined sub-anaerobic threshold speed to assess energy cost (through oxygen uptake measurement) and ki...

BACKGROUND Injury surveillance and workload monitoring are important aspects of professional sports, including cricket. However, at the community level, there is a dearth of accessible and intelligent surveillance tools. Mobile apps are an accessible tool for monitoring cricket-related injuries at all levels. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper...

The Editorial Board of Journal of Physiotherapy is pleased to announce the 2017 Paper of the Year Award. The winning paper is judged by a panel of members of the International Advisory Board who do not have a conflict of interest with any of the papers under consideration. They vote for the paper published in the 2017 calendar year that, in their o...

Propulsion, one of the most important factors in front crawl swimming performance, is generated from both the upper and lower limbs, yet little is known about the mechanisms of propulsion from the alternating movements of the lower limbs in the flutter kick (FK). The purpose of this systematic review was to review the literature relating to the mec...

Task-specific auditory training can improve sensorimotor processing times of the auditory reaction time (RT). The majority of competitive swimmers do not conduct habitual start training with the electronic horn used to commence a race. We examined the effect of four week dive training interventions on RT and block time (BT) of 10 male adolescent sw...

Background: The FIFA 11+ program was designed to be a pre-training ‘warm-up’ before soccer training sessions, to ensure proper technique and improved neuromuscular coordination are achieved. However, it could be hypothesized that training in a fatigued state (post- training) might help players learn to control their movements while in this fatigued...

Using theoretical principles, the components of drag (friction DF, pressure DPR and wave DW) of a single-seat kayak were analysed. The purpose was to examine the effect of changes in wetted surface area due to changes in kayaker’s weight and the relative contribution of DF, DPR and DW to the total passive drag as function of velocity. The total pas...

Magnetic-inertial measurement units (MIMUs) are becoming more prevalent in sports biomechanics and may be a viable tool to evaluate kinematic parameters. This study examined the accuracy of a MIMU to estimate orientation angles under static conditions and dynamically from a squash racket during a forehand drive shot. A MIMU was mounted onto a gonio...

This study examined the predictive ability of the medicine ball chest throw and vertical jump for muscular strength and power in adolescents. One hundred and ninety adolescents participated in this study. Participants performed trials of the medicine ball chest throw and vertical jump, with vertical jump peak power calculated via an estimation equa...

Background: Injury prevention programmes (IPPs) are effective in reducing injuries among adolescent team sports. However, there is no validated cricket-specific IPP despite the high incidence of musculoskeletal injuries among amateur cricketers. Objectives: To evaluate whether a cricket injury prevention programme (CIPP) as a pretraining warm-up...

Question: Does adding a post-training Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ exercise program to the pre-training FIFA 11+ injury prevention program reduce injury rates among male amateur soccer players? Design: Cluster-randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation. Participants: Twenty-one teams of male amateur...

Background Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are assumed to be the basic prerequisite motor movements underpinning coordination of more integrated and advanced movement capabilities. FMS development and interventions have been associated with several beneficial health outcomes in individual studies. Objective The primary aim of this review was to i...

Objectives: Childhood obesity is negatively associated with fundamental movement skill and motor coordination, which in turn constrains physical activity participation and adherence thereby forming a 'vicious cycle'. However, developing motor skill and coordination in childhood could help to break the vicious cycle to reduce childhood obesity. The...

This chapter explores the cooperative coordination of segmental motions that optimizes performance in front crawl swimming. The chapter reveals how understanding of swimming technique and performance has advanced through the application of technology. The mystery of how propulsion is achieved in human swimming is being unraveled through observation...

The purpose of this study was to identify the role of humeral elevation of the non-throwing arm in relation to maximum ball velocity (MBV) in unconstrained overarm throws in children aged 12-14. 3D motion analysis was used to investigate the throwing technique of 144 students. The group was classified as ‘skilled’ or ‘less skilled’ based on MBV at...

Background Hamstring injuries are among the most common non-contact injuries in sports. The Nordic hamstring (NH) exercise has been shown to decrease risk by increasing eccentric hamstring strength. Objective The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of the injury prevention programs that included...