ABSTRACT
This chapter defines dynamic systems, its relevance to sports performance analysis, and explains the inter-personal coordination and perturbations during sport competition. It is concerned with outlining a dominant motor control theory that can aid the explanation and interpretation of performance analysis data dynamic systems theory. The chapter has three central principles of dynamic systems theory: synergies, self-organisation and constraints. It is built upon the existing research using dynamic systems theory to study attacker-defender interactions in rugby union, it could be argued that the practical implications were limited. Future research using dynamic systems theory will be a theoretical framework for analysing inter-personal coordination, ensuring the analysis can be more effectively linked to the attacking/defending principles of play, and be useful and informative for sports coach and performance analysts. There are clear links between the theory and the principles of play of the sport, i.e. the attacking principles of soccer: width, mobility, support, facilitating the exploration of the available playing space.
