Samuel P Hills

Bournemouth University | BU · Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

Aims: To assess test–retest reliability of both food photography and food diary methods and validity of these data against known values derived from food labels. Methods: Test–retest reliability analyses of food diary and food photography were compared using single foodstuffs using intra-class correlation coefficients, coefficients of variation, a...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of discrete passages of play on locomotor demands of international men’s and women’s rugby sevens matches and their relationship with winning or losing. Thirteen men’s and thirteen women’s international rugby sevens players wore 10 Hz Global Positioning Systems during twelve Tokyo Olympic games matches (966 o...

Objective: Drowning is a leading cause of death. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) emphasise the need for population-level data-driven approaches to examine risk factors to improve water safety policies. Weather conditions, have the potential to influence drowning risk behaviours as people are more likely to spend time aro...

Globally, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths. This study aimed to examine the spatial clustering in UK drowning incidents. Data were obtained from the Water Incident Database (WAID) (1/1/2012–31/12/19). We examined spatial clustering of intentional and unintentional drow...

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and...

This nationwide geospatial study from Aotearoa New Zealand describes the frequency and spatial patterning of residential mobility and examines the interplay between patterns of residential mobility and the environments in which adults reside. Data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (n = 4,781,268 adults) defined levels of residential mobility...

Aben, HGJ, Hills, SP, Higgins, D, Cooke, CB, Davis, D, Jones, B, and Russell, M. The efficacy of a multimodal recovery strategy implemented after a high-intensity rugby league training session. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2022-The efficacy of a multimodal recovery strategy implemented within 4 hours of rugby league (RL) training was investi...

McFadden, BA, Bozzini, BN, Cintineo, HP, Hills, SP, Walker, AJ, Chandler, AJ, Sanders, DJ, Russell, M, and Arent, SM. Power, endurance, and body composition changes over a collegiate career in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women soccer athletes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2022-The purpose of this study was to determin...

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and...

This study aimed to assess whether post-warm-up body mass only alternate leg bounding performed on grass or a hard surface acutely improves pre-planned change of direction performance in women's team sports players relative to a control condition and, if so, profile the time-course of such changes. On three occasions, 14 amateur women's team sports...

This study assessed the influence of environmental factors, air travel, and epoch estimation method on locomotor demands of international men's rugby sevens match‐play. Eighteen men's rugby sevens players wore 10 Hz Global Positioning Systems (STATsport) during 52 international matches over nine global tournaments (418 observations). Whole‐match av...

This study quantified the activities of interchange players during the 15 min before and 20 min after initial pitch-entry (INT entry ) or re-entry (INT re−entry ) for substitutes and starters, respectively, and identified relationships between pre- and post-pitch-entry responses. Fourteen semi-professional rugby league players wore Microelectromech...

Background Death by drowning is a leading cause of accidental death in the United Kingdom (UK) and worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that effective documentation of drowning is required to describe drowning frequency and to underpin effective drowning prevention intervention, thus improving the quality of data describing drownin...

Objectives To compare two modes (general and cricket-specific) of morning priming exercise on afternoon physical and cognitive performance, and subjective readiness to perform in professional male cricketers. Design Randomised, crossover, counterbalanced. Methods On three occasions, 16 professional men’s cricketers completed afternoon tests of co...

Background. Death by drowning is a leading cause of accidental death in the United Kingdom (UK) and worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that effective documentation of drowning is required to describe drowning frequency and to underpin effective drowning prevention intervention, thus improving the quality of data describing drowni...

Featured Application: An analysis of the external training loads associated to different training drills across 8 seasons, while examining the influence of the head coach. Abstract: Soccer players perform a variety of training drills to develop the physical, technical and tactical qualities required for match-play. The role of coaches in prescribin...

Objectives: To profile performance and physiological responses to typical patterns of match-day activity for second-half soccer substitutes. Design: Descriptive. Methods: Following a warm-up, 13 male team sports players underwent ∼85min of rest, punctuated with five min rewarm-ups at ∼25, ∼50, and ∼70min, before ∼30min of simulated soccer matc...

Purpose: To quantify the peak post-pitch-entry physical responses of soccer substitutes while assessing contextual influences. Peak responses may be important performance indicators for substitutes introduced to provide a physical impact. Method: Thirty-three professional substitutes wore Microelectromechanical Systems during 44 matches (4 ± 3 obse...

To minimize underperformance, injury, and illness, and to enhance readiness for training and match-play, post-match responses are commonly monitored within professional rugby. As no clear consensus exists regarding the magnitude and duration of post-match recovery, this review summarized the literature (17 studies yielded from literature searching/...

Hills, SP, Barrett, S, Busby, M, Kilduff, LP, Barwood, MJ, Radcliffe, JN, Cooke, CB, and Russell, M. Profiling the post-match top-up conditioning practices of professional soccer substitutes: An analysis of contextual influences. J Strength Cond Res 34(10): 2805-2814, 2020-Soccer practitioners implement "top-up" conditioning sessions to compensate...

In professional academy rugby league (RL) players, this two-part study examined; A) the within- and between-day reliability of isometric mid-thigh pulls (IMTP), countermovement jumps (CMJ), and a wellness questionnaire (n = 11), and B) profiled the responses with acceptable reliability (no between-trial differences and between-day coefficient of va...

Modifying a soccer substitute’s pre-pitch-entry activities may represent an opportunity to maximise physical performance and minimise injury-risk following match-introduction. Using a professional team that has previously participated in substitute profiling research, this follow-up case study investigated the effects of a modified match-day protoc...

The physical demands of English Premier League soccer goalkeepers were quantified during training and match-play in a two-part study. Goalkeeper-specific micromechanical electrical systems (MEMS) devices, profiled training and match-day activities throughout one competitive week (n=8; part A). Changes in MEMS-derived outputs were also profiled thro...

Despite empirical observations suggesting that practitioners value the use of substitutions during soccer match-play, limited research has sought to substantiate such claims. This study used online surveys to assess the perceptions of practitioners within professional soccer about the use and practices of substitutes. Thirty-three practitioners com...

Objectives: To compare fixed epochs (FIXED) and rolling averages (ROLL) for quantifying worst-case scenario ('peak') running demands during professional soccer match-play, whilst assessing contextual influences. Design: Descriptive, observational. Methods: Twenty-five outfield players from an English Championship soccer club wore 10-Hz microel...

Objectives: To profile the distances covered during international women's rugby union match-play and assess the duration-specific worst-case scenario locomotor demands over 60-s to 600-s epochs, whilst comparing the values determined by fixed epoch (FIXED) versus rolling average (ROLL) methods of worst-case scenario estimation and assessing positi...

Honey is a natural substance formed primarily of carbohydrates (~80%) which also contains a number of other compounds purported to confer health benefits when consumed. Due to its carbohydrate composition (low glycaemic index, mostly fructose and glucose), honey may theoretically exert positive effects when consumed before, during or after exercise...

Whilst the movement demands of players completing a whole soccer match have been well-documented, comparable information relating to substitutes is sparse. Therefore, this study profiled the match-day physical activities performed by soccer substitutes, focusing separately on the pre and post pitch-entry periods. Seventeen English Championship socc...

Goalkeepers are typically the last defensive line for soccer teams aiming to minimise goals being conceded, with match rules permitting ball handling within a specific area. Goalkeepers are also involved in initiating some offensive plays, and typically remain in close proximity to the goal line while covering ~ 50% of the match distances of outfie...

Depending upon competition regulations, the laws of soccer allow between three and an unlimited number of substitutions that can be made on either a permanent or rolling basis. Substitutes are typically introduced to minimise/offset the effects of fatigue, alter tactics, replace players deemed as underperforming or injured, and/or give playing time...

Self-reported wellness is often used to monitor fatigue responses to training and competition. Constraints within team sports mean short-form wellness questionnaires are typically preferred to literature-validated documents. This research aimed to assess the relationship between self-reported wellness and neuromuscular performance during a professi...

Carbohydrate consumption is synonymous with soccer performance due to the established effects on endogenous energy store preservation, and physical capacity maintenance. For performance-enhancement purposes, exogenous energy consumption (in the form of drinks, bars, gels and snacks) is recommended on match-day; specifically, before and during match...