ABSTRACT
Many team sports implicitly share similarities in the collective movements of players during the ebb and flow of offensive and defensive phases of play (Dutt Mazumder, Button, Robins, & Bartlett, 2011). At elite levels, team sports demonstrate a high level of movement organization and coordination within and between players. As an example, one might think of the way in which players from top football clubs such as Barcelona and Manchester United (the 2011 European Football Champions’ League finalists) move and support team-mates, as well as fluidly co-adapt to actions of opponents. Whilst movements of novice players or early learners are less obviously structured, it is useful to know how these behavioural patterns are governed by the collective actions of the social and physical environment.
