Dr Sigrid Olthof
Sport and Exercise Sciences
Faculty of Science
Email: S.B.Olthof@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 231 2782
Dr. Sigrid Olthof is lecturer in Performance Analysis and Analytics in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Her research focuses on football performance of players and teams during practices and games. Sigrid is the Chair of the International Steering Committee on Science and Football.
Sigrid obtained a Bachelor and Master degree in Human Movement Science with a specialisation in Sport Science from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands). She obtained her PhD degree with her research in Small-Sided Games in Youth Soccer at the University of Groningen (the Netherlands). In her thesis, she investigated team tactical behaviour in small-sided games and compared this to the actual match. Sigrid has also worked as a postdoctoral researcher and sport scientist at the University of Michigan (USA). She analysed and monitored the player's load in American football, basketball, ice hockey, soccer (football), lacrosse, and field hockey. Further, she integrated data from GPS, heart rate, and other wearable technology into training programs, game reports, and return to play protocols.
At LJMU, Sigrid's research focus is on performance analysis and analytics in football and other team sports. Her main research topics are small-sided games, training methods, coach behaviour, and GPS. She has an interest in sport technology and data to optimise performance and works on the cutting edge of science and practice.
Degrees
2019, University of Groningen, Netherlands, PhD Small-sided games in elite soccer: performance and behavior compared to the official match
2012, University of Groningen, Netherlands, MSc Human Movement Science - Sport, learning, and performance
2010, University of Groningen, Netherlands, BSc Human Movement Science
Certifications
2019, University of Groningen, Netherlands, University Teaching Qualification in Higher Education
Academic appointments
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Performance Analysis and Analytics, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, 2020 - present
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Sport Data & Analysis, Exercise and Sport Science Initiative, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, 2019 - 2020
PhD candidate Small-sided games, Center for Human Movement Sciences, University of Groningen, 2013 - 2019
Postgraduate training
Postdoctoral Training, United States, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, 2019 - 2020
PhD education and training program, Netherlands, University of Groningen, 2013 - 2019
Journal article
Morgans R, Kweon D, Ryan B, Ju W, Zmijewski P, Oliveira R, Olthof S. 2023. Playing position and match location affect the number of highintensity efforts more than the quality of the opposition in elite football players Biology of Sport, 41 :29-37 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Olthof SBH, Tureen T, Tran L, Brennan B, Winograd B, Zernicke RF. 2021. Biomechanical Loads and Their Effects on Player Performance in NCAA D-I Male Basketball Games Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Mamon MA, Olthof SBH, Burns GT, Lepley AS, Kozloff KM, Zernicke RF. 2021. Position-Specific Physical Workload Intensities in American Collegiate Football Training Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36 :420-426 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Riboli A, Olthof S, Esposito F, Coratella G. 2021. Training elite youth soccer players: area per player in small-sided games to replicate the match demands Biology of Sport, 39 :579-598 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olthof SBH, Frencken WGP, Lemmink KAPM. 2019. A match-derived relative pitch area facilitates the tactical representativeness of small-sided games for the official soccer match Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33 :523-530 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olthof SBH, Frencken WGP, Lemmink KAPM. 2019. When Something Is at Stake: Differences in Soccer Performance in 11 vs. 11 during Official Matches and Training Games Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33 :167-173 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olthof SBH, Frencken WGP, Lemmink KAPM. 2018. Match-derived relative pitch area changes the physical and team tactical performance of elite soccer players in small-sided soccer games Journal of Sports Sciences, 36 :1557-1563 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olthof SBH, Frencken WGP, Lemmink KAPM. 2015. The older, the wider: On-field tactical behavior of elite-standard youth soccer players in small-sided games HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE, 41 :92-102 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Conference publication
Tureen TAHMEED, Olthof SBH. 2022. “Estimated Player Impact” (EPI): Quantifying the effects of individual players on football (soccer) actions using hierarchical statistical models StatsBomb Conference Proceedings, StatsBomb Conference 2022 Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Olthof SBH, Frencken WGP, Lemmink KAPM. 2016. Small-Sided Games: An Optimal Training Tool to Represent Tactical Match Demands in Elite-Standard Youth Soccer Players? RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT, 87 :S48-S48 Author Url
Other invited event:
Masterclass Football Data, Performance and Innovation, De Grolsch Veste, FC Twente stadium, Enschede, the Netherlands, https://www.pbh.nl/event/masterclass-voetbaldata-performance-innovatie/. 2024
Seminário Internacional de Tecnologia no Desporto (International seminar on technology in sport), Online / Universidade de Évora, A seminar to explore the importance of technology in high performance sport with workshops with multidisciplinary, differentiated approaches and concerned with providing applied answers to real problems.. 2023
Football DNA podcast, Online (https://footballdna.co.uk/features/different-pitch-sizes-shapes-for-your-football-sessions/), In this podcast video we explore Using Different Pitch Sizes & Shapes For Your Football Coaching Sessions.. 2022
Sportrail Football Science Conference 2021, Online, Top professionals and researchers presented their latest research works in the field of Football Science.. 2021
Football Innovation Summit: Sunday Session, Online, Speaker and panel member in the discussion on the topic "Small-Sided Games: Optimum Pitch Sizes for Technical and Physical Development". 2020
Research Grants Awarded:
Mersey School of Endoscopy, Investigating Psychological Safety in Colonoscopy training, Laura Swettenham, Joe Causer, Sigrid Olthof, Paul O'Toole, Mel Rankin, Grant value (£): 20,000, Duration of research project: 12 months. 2024
External committees:
International Steering Committee on Science and Football, World Congress on Science and Football, Chair. 2023
International Steering Committee on Science and Football, World Congress on Science and Football, Member. 2023
Conference presentation:
Team tactical behaviour in small-sided games, World Congress on Science and Football 2023, Groningen, the Netherlands, Invited session. 2023
Team tactical behaviour varies across phases of professional football match, World Congress on Science and Football 2023, Groningen, the Netherlands, Oral presentation. 2023
The effect of training objectives on the game format and physical demands in small-sided games, World Congress on Science and Football, Groningen, the Netherlands, Oral presentation. 2023
Small, medium and large-sided games: the effect of pitch dimensions and team size on acceleration demands in training, World Congress on Science and Soccer, Coimbra, Portugal, Oral presentation. 2022
Physical Workload Intensities of NCAA D-I American Football Players on Offense vs. Defense During Practical Drills, European College of Sport Science (ECSS) congress, Virtual, Oral presentation. 2021
Seasonal Variation of the Acceleration-Deceleration (AD) Ratio by Position in Basketball, 25th Conference of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Oral presentation. 2020
The effect of playing home or away on game demands in NCAA Division-I male basketball players, 25th Conference of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Oral presentation. 2020
Sport-specific and wearable technology to enhance training, recovery and sport performance, 47th Midwest Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (MWACSM), Oak Brook, IL, USA, Seminar. 2019
Physical performance in small-sided games and official matches, 3rd Science and Engineering Conference on Sports Innovations (SECSI), Groningen, the Netherlands, Oral presentation. 2018
Age-related team-tactical differences in full-sized matches, 5th World Conference on Science and Soccer (WCSS), Rennes, France, Poster presentation. 2017
The effect of match-derived relative pitch area in 5-a-side games on team tactical performance in under-19 talented soccer players, 5th World Conference on Science and Soccer (WCSS), Rennes, France, Oral presentation. 2017
Small-sided games: an optimal training tool to represent tactical match demands in elite-standard youth soccer players?, 6th International Teaching Games for Understanding Conference (TGfU), Cologne, Germany, Oral presentation. 2016
Tactical team performance in elite-standard youth soccer during small-sided games, 1st Science and Engineering Conference on Sports Innovations (SECSI), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Oral presentation. 2016
Attacking and defending team behaviour in 8v8 and 11v11, 8th World Conference on Science & Football (WCSF), Copenhagen, Denmark, Oral presentation. 2015
Team dynamics during transition moments in small-sided soccer games, 8th World Conference on Science & Football (WCSF), Copenhagen, Denmark, Oral presentation. 2015
Standardized small-sided games evoke different physiological responses in elite-standard youth soccer players, 19th Conference of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Oral presentation. 2014
Heart rate recovery during the Interval Shuttle Run Test in talented soccer players, 11th Groningen Sports Medicine Symposium, Groningen, the Netherlands, Poster presentation. 2013
Pass-options in elite soccer, 3rd World Conference on Science and Soccer (WCSS), Ghent, Belgium, Poster presentation. 2012
Teaching qualification:
University Teaching Qualification for Higher Education. 2019
Award:
Young Investigator Award, World Conference on Science and Soccer, https://wcss-rennes2017.sciencesconf.org/resource/page/id/26. 2017