Team sport is any sporting activity that requires the collaboration of a group of individuals and is not possible or highly impractical to execute as a single-player endeavor. In addition to their inherent physical nature, the success of a team sport also necessitates a social context in which competitors are organized and motivated to achieve a shared goal through a structured competitive process.
As a result of the space-time dynamics that characterize team sports, they present challenges for movement analysis due to their unique spatiotemporal properties (e.g., movements are restricted to a certain field or arena and are influenced by the movement of both own and opposing teams). The recent development of advanced tracking devices for human and animal movement has led to an increase in data volume and complexity for team sport analysis. Hence, novel approaches for change and deviation detection (e.g., Grubbs’ test for outliers), movement pattern identification, couplings and invasion profiles as well as the integration of collective movement models are important topics to advance the research in this area.
In addition to the mental and social benefits mentioned above, participation in a team sport also has positive impacts on your physical health. Specifically, team sports develop your cardio-respiratory capacity, tone your body (through repetitive movements), and improve your coordination, endurance and flexibility. They also require constant communication, dedication to practice and learning new plays, which can help you learn how to work with others—a skill that will benefit you throughout your lifetime.