Science

When the Danish FA gave us permission to play with the Sensational 1 in Denmark, they gave U18 girls and the senior/adult players a chance to play a faster and safer game. We have been testing the Sensational 1 in games and in laboratories since 2008.

Women’s football is growing rapidly around the world. Today, there are approximately 30 million female football players in over 180 countries. This project allows us to enter the debate about what significant part the physical fitness aspect and ball dimensions have on the players.

In other sports, such as basketball and European team handball, the size and weight of female balls are smaller. The basis for this is that the passing and scoring possibilities of players are influenced by the size and weight of the balls.

Sensational 1 was tested in a wind tunnel by Japanese scientist Doctor Takeshi Asai at the Institute of Health and Sports Science at University of Tsukuba, Japan. It tested just as wind strong as Adidas Jabulani and the Speedcell.

With our 2009-10 tests done on 10 youth, under-18 year teams, there were more than 50% higher incidents of wear & tear injuries among players using the standard 5 ball. Most injuries happen in the last part of the game, where players are tired. Using the size 5, players spent most of the time with 95% of heart rate max and less relative time in 80%-90% of heart rate max. These numbers show that there is too much time played at the high heart rate max, making players vulnerable to injuries. Best case with the teams playing with the Sensational 1. No knee injuries were reported. The worst case was with the test team that played with standard size 5. There were six  ACL tears and two waiting for operation out of a team of 22 players, age 16-17 years.

For more facts, see the attached presentation of the study done in 2008-2010 here:  Sensational 1 Test results

The Science Team:

Thomas Bull: Over the past 10 years Thomas Bull has worked with the biomechanics of soccer kicking and In the earliest work he derived an expression that describes the influence of foot velocity and mass on the ball velocity in soccer kicking. Part of this work provides the theoretical background for the development of the Sensational 1 ball. At the Department of Sport Science, at the University of Aarhus, Thomas will perform numerous experiments with the Sensational 1 ball.

Peter Krustrup: Peter is the Vice head of Dept. of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen and also a A-licence football coach with 12 years of experience. Peter is working with the Physical, technical and tactical effects of a smaller and lighter for women – Sensational 1.

Mette Zebis: Mette is the Post Doctoral Fellow at Hvidovre Hospital and University of Southern Denmark and is mapping the physical and motor development in young female football players. Who also investigates whether there is a correlation between girls’ development and the damage that we see in the same period.

NOTE: We are not the only ones who have been testing the difference between men and women’s kick in Soccer. See Hospital for Special Surgery test results right here. The increase in girls participating in sports and the increase of sports injuries, particularly tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee, now tells us that has an increased risk of osteoarthritis(slidgigt), even if it is surgically repaired. This injury is serious and it now shows that one of the more severe side effects of it and the surgeries, is that it heightens the risk of osteoarthritis. One study found that among female soccer players who had sustained ACL injuries, more than half developed x-ray signs of osteoarthritis in the following 12 years. Part of this article.

NEWS: In the summer of 2011, we started a one year intense study on heavy injuries, like ACL tears, on 3000 female players between 15-19 years. The study, which involves 110 clubs/teams, is performed by UEFA/FIFA recognized scientist Peter Krustrup and Mette Zebis.

Two articles about Sensational 1 following the Women’s World Cup 2011 in Germany:

Kleinerer Ball beschleunigt das spiel (GE Version) -Smaller and lighter ball speeds up the game (UK version)

Wesentlich mehr Kreutzbandrisse (GE version) – More ALC ligament injuries (UK version)

The following are results from a test performed by former German football player and scientist Silke Sinning at Landau University, and former national team coach Tina Theune. Arranged by the German FA testing on u16 elite players: The German test results (UK version) -  The German test results (GE version)