Watching sports matches and competitions is an exhilarating experience, especially when you’ve been an admirer and follower of a certain team or athlete for a very long time. But what do you do when the competitions come to an end when the season is over? You switch to sports documentaries that mix athletics with valuable information that will help you understand and appreciate the sports even more. The documentary industry continues to grow as an ever-growing number of people are looking for the inside scoop into their interests without having to do the research and read several books and articles themselves.

If you’ve been searching for some documentaries that you can add to your watchlist, here are a few titles you can consider.

Head Games 

Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis is a 2012 documentary that showcases the effects of multiple and repeated concussions as well as subconcussive blows associated with sports. The sports included in the investigation include American football, boxing, professional wrestling, lacrosse, and hockey. The findings revealed that chronic traumatic brain injuries are also an issue in female sports and that teenage athletes can also be affected, sometimes irreversibly. Getting compensation with the help of specialist solicitors such as those from https://www.personalinjuryclaimsuk.org.uk/ can help, given the length of the treatment, with healing taking months in some cases.

There are also situations in which the damage is permanent, and the athletes need to adjust to a different lifestyle. The true frequency of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative illness that appears as a direct result of repeated head traumas, has been found to be around 30%, but it’s not clear if the data is entirely accurate. The majority of the cases have been recorded in athletes who engage in sports such as kickboxing, mixed martial arts, Australian rules football, rugby, American football, and ice hockey, while the symptoms can range from memory loss, speech impediments, vertigo, and tremors to paranoia, confusion, suicidal ideation, and dysphagia.

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 

Released in June 2024, America’s Sweethearts is a seven-episode docuseries following the daily lives of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders during the 2023-24 team selection. The documentary is unique for its portrayal of the cheerleaders, who, more often than not, don’t get any of the spotlight, especially when compared to the players. Some viewers were surprised to learn how demanding the job truly is, while others were incensed by the revelation that the wages are quite low and that most cheerleaders require multiple jobs in order to make ends meet.

Critics have also praised the kindness and support the cheerleaders have for each other, as well as the physical fitness, remarkable skills, strength and discipline needed to perform in the first place, especially given the often-stressful atmosphere. In November 2024 it was revealed that a second season is currently in the making and will focus on the training camp and auditions taking place for the 2024-25 NFL season.

Naomi Osaka 

Japanese professional tennis player Naomi Osaka was ranked No. 1 in women’s singles by the WTA for twenty-five weeks, being the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. She has long been regarded as one of the best-known athletes in the world and is also recognized as an activist for equal rights. The Naomi Osaka documentary miniseries directed by Garrett Bradley follows Osaka over the course of two years, between 2019 and 2021. The material shows Osaka’s rise to popularity following her victory over Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open, which was followed by the weight of fame, international attention, and popularity. Apart from tennis, the documentary deals with subjects such as mental health and social issues as well.

Black Ice 

This 2022 Canadian production is based on a 2004 non-fiction book by Darril and George Fosty, Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925. It presents the history of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, an all-black ice hockey league that was first founded in 1894 in Nova Scotia and which operated until 1930. LeBron James was one of the executive producers, with the documentary premiering at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award for Documentaries. Black Ice explores the issue of racism both on and off the ice, with incidents involving fans, fellow players, and coaches alike, but also the enduring love of the players for hockey in spite of the marginalisation.

Ballet 422 

Ballet 422 takes the viewers backstage at the New York City Ballet, one of the foremost dance companies in the world, with a history dating back to almost eight decades ago. The documentary follows Justin Peck, who was, back in 2014, an emerging choreographer at the NYCB. Since then, Peck has choreographed Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story and Bradley Cooper’s 2023 Maestro, and became a two-time Tony Award recipient for Best Choreography in 2018 for the revival of Carousel, and then again in 2024 for Sufjan Stevens’ dance musical Illinoise. But back in 2014, when the documentary was released, Peck was still a young, up-and-coming choreographer who had undertaken the seemingly gargantuan task of creating the Ballet’s 422nd original piece.

Ultimately, his efforts resulted in the creation of the contemporary ballet Paz de la Jolla. The music was the Sinfonietta la Jolla, a work of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.

Six Nations: Full Contact 

The first season of Six Nations covered the 2023 Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition in which men’s national teams from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy compete for the trophy. The episodes follow the anxieties, worries, and hopes of players, both those from teams who hope they’ll become winners and those who wish to defend their titles. Luckily for fans, this series has two seasons already released, so there is more content for you to delve into.

Sports documentaries might seem like a boring way to spend a relaxing evening at home for most, but for fans who are keen on learning more about their favourites as well as getting the opportunity to learn more about the intricacies that make up the universe of the athletes, they are nothing short of a gold mine.

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Tags: Documentary+, sports