Three Principles of Force in Sports Analytics

To be able to analyze sports performance you have to focus. Here, we focus on the three principles of force and how they can serve as an easy foundation to get you started in qualitative analytics for sports.

Biomechanics analysis requires a system. To quantify something that is inherently qualitative you have to have a method.

The way I quantify human biomechanics is by quantifying everything I see based on 1. the law of action-reaction which is covered in another post, and 2. the three principles of force application that we'll go over here.

What are the three principles of force and what they mean to you?

In brief, they are:

1. What.

2. Where.

3. How much.

In a little more depth,

1.What

• Structure - joint(s).

2.Where

• Direction that joint(s) move.

3.How much

• Magnitude of force joint motion causes.

This is where you start your qualitative analysis by identifying which joints are moving, the direction they are moving, and with how much force muscle are producing to move the joint or rotate the bone about the joint. Once you do that, you have a start point, and any deviation gives insight into player performance that could impact performance and/or game outcomes.

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Author Biography

Amy Ashmore, Ph.D. holds a doctorate in Kinesiology from the University of Texas at Austin. She is an educator focused on resistance training and performance analytics located in Las Vegas, NV.

To explore the latest RT methods, earn CEUs for physical therapy, AND explore performance analytics for sports, click here.