Training or Synergizing? Complex Systems Principles Change the Understanding of Sport Processes

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Complex Systems Science
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Current scientific assumptions in sport require updating to foster critical thinking and improve methodological decisions among scientists, coaches, and practitioners.
• Classical sports training models primarily focus on skill and fitness acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematize and update theoretical and methodological principles of sports training.
• To transform the understanding of sports training by integrating complex systems science and evolutionary biology.
• To shift the focus from individual skill acquisition to developing team synergies and unpredictability.

Main Methods:

• Application of complex systems science and theories of biological evolution.
• Systematization of theoretical and methodological principles.
• Analysis of hierarchical organization and circular causality of constraints.

Main Results:

• A paradigm shift from skill/fitness acquisition to enhancing diversity and unpredictability through synergy development.
• Integration of bottom-up and top-down performance dimensions (social to genetic) via nested constraints.
• Demonstration of applicability across all sports, ages, and expertise levels.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework, based on synergy development, offers a novel approach to sports training.
• Key practical consequences include viewing the team as the primary intervention unit and adopting a dynamic concept of task representativeness.
• The principles are transferable to other fields such as education, health, and management.