Athletic Environment Research Articles

Strategy quantification using body worn inertial sensors in a reactive agility task

Agility performance is often evaluated using time-based metrics, which provide little information about which factors aid or limit success. The objective of this study was to better understand agility strategy by identifying biomechanical metrics that were sensitive to performance speed, which were calculated with data from an array of body-worn inertial sensors. Five metrics were defined (normalized number of foot contacts, stride length variance, arm swing variance, mean normalized stride frequency, and number of body rotations) that corresponded to agility terms defined by experts working in athletic, clinical, and military environments. Eighteen participants donned 13 sensors to complete a reactive agility task, which involved navigating a set of cones in response to a vocal cue. Participants were grouped into fast, medium, and slow performance based on their completion time. Participants in the fast group had the smallest number of foot contacts (normalizing by height), highest stride length variance (normalizing by height), highest forearm angular velocity variance, and highest stride frequency (normalizing by height). The number of body rotations was not sensitive to speed and may have been determined by hand and foot dominance while completing the agility task. The results of this study have the potential to inform the development of a composite agility score constructed from the list of significant metrics. By quantifying the agility terms previously defined by expert evaluators through an agility score, this study can assist in strategy development for training and rehabilitation across athletic, clinical, and military domains.

Role of the Coach in Encouraging Parent–Adolescent Interaction in Sports: The Experiences of Youth Sport Parent

Phenomenological analysis revealed the importance of the coaches’ – as a sport educators – sport psychologists – sport professional specialist’s role in encouraging parent–child interaction in youth sport. In order to create a positive motivational environment for young athletes there is a need of a positive training and education strategy used by the coach, the coach’s ability to create parental interest in the child’s sport, to build and maintain positive relationships between sport participants, solve ethical and social problems arising in the sporting environment. The effectiveness of the coach’s influence on parent–child interaction in the sporting environment largely depends on the coach’s basic professional skills and intrapersonal competencies acquired in higher sport education institutions, through growing work experience and various professional development programmes.

The Feasibility and Effects of Acupuncture in an Adolescent Nordic Ski Population

BackgroundStudies investigating the use and effectiveness of acupuncture in adults after exercise have been well documented. Fewer studies involving acupuncture have been completed in the adolescent athlete population. To our knowledge, there are no published studies that investigate the use of acupuncture in adolescent athletes within their field of play. ObjectiveTo primarily assess the feasibility of performing acupuncture in adolescent Nordic skiers within their athletic environment, and secondarily to measure the effect of acupuncture on muscle soreness and sense of well-being. DesignProspective feasibility study. SettingLocal outdoor cross country ski trails and indoor lodge. ParticipantsFifteen healthy participants (80% female, 20% male; age 14-17 years) were involved on at least 1 of 5 treatment days. InterventionFifteen-minute treatments were administered using traditional needle acupuncture following the first 5 consecutive Nordic Ski Team practices of the season in an attempt to capture the effect of acupuncture on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Acupuncture points specific to muscle groups in the lower limbs that are commonly reported as painful during Nordic skiing were chosen. Pre- and posttreatment surveys included visual analogue scales (VAS) to track participant responses. Outcome MeasuresTime, cost, side effects, and participant to provider ratio was observed to determine feasibility. Effect on muscle soreness and sense of well-being was measured via pre- and posttreatment VAS (0-10) rating analyses. ResultsTotal time required by research staff on treatment days was 90 minutes; total cost, $1500; temperature range, −13.9°C to −2.8°C, and largest participant to acupuncturist ratio, 7:1. No major side effects occurred. The majority (73%) of participants reported minimal side effects; most common was treatment site pain. The overall pre- to posttreatment effect on muscle soreness (average over 5 days) demonstrated significantly improved posttreatment scores (P = .04). The effect of the day (average over pre- and posttreatment values) demonstrated significantly higher muscle soreness scores on day 3 versus day 1 (P = .03). At study completion, all participants indicated that they would consider acupuncture in the future and would recommend treatments to friends or teammates. ConclusionProviding acupuncture to adolescent Nordic ski athletes in the practice field under extreme temperatures is feasible with the appropriate resources. Despite mild side effects, acupuncture was well received by the athletes. Lessons learned from this trial can provide a framework for delivering acupuncture to other athletes in their training environment. Level of EvidenceIV

Evidence-Based Considerations and Recommendations for Athletic Trainers Caring for Patients With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be noncompliant, impulsive, and disruptive in an athletic training or physical rehabilitation facility. Athletic trainers (ATs) are valuable and essential health care providers for active patients with ADHD. However, for a patient with ADHD to have a successful outcome in a busy athletic training environment, the AT or health care provider must tailor the treatment setting to the patient's needs. To educate and raise awareness among ATs about patients with ADHD and to provide ATs with strategies and tools that will allow them to treat patients with ADHD more effectively. We retrieved and reviewed articles from PubMed, PsychINFO, and Ovid without date restrictions. Search words were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder plus 1 of the following topics or search words: athletic training, athletics, coaching, sport, or sport psychology. Any ADHD articles that were not applicable or translatable in good faith to athletic training, physical rehabilitation, or sport and exercise were excluded. Nonpharmacologic interventions were reviewed and amassed into categories from which the recommendations were created. No statistical analyses were conducted for this review. We identified 1241 articles, and 86 met the inclusion criteria. Five groups of evidence were observed: (1) goal setting and coaching, (2) reinforcements and outcomes, (3) routines and treatment timing, (4) simplified feedback and instructions, and (5) environmental control. Reliable evidence suggests that these techniques can be translated and applied within an athletic training and physical rehabilitation setting. Athletic trainers are a vital component in providing health care for patients with ADHD. Using goal contagion creates a structured environment and positive reinforcements that accommodate patients with ADHD. Furthermore, ATs may use the evidence-based recommendations in this review to create a treatment and physical rehabilitation program and space that are tailored to the needs of the ADHD patient to increase the chance of a successful outcome.

The Talent Development Environment in a Norwegian top-level football club

Abstract Because international elite football is concerned with talent identification, this has generated a great deal of knowledge about what it takes to become a professional footballer. This research has however primarily focused on individual development and how external factors affect athletic performance. In this article we sought to describe the characteristics of the developmental environment in the youth department of the Norwegian elite club Rosenborg BK. Our case study, using a holistic and ecological development perspective as a framework, we followed the club’s under-19 team for a total of 21 days, during 3 separate weeks in the 2014 season. The results showed that Rosenborg seems to offer an environment focusing on aspects highlighted by the ecological model athletic talent development environment (ATDE). The club seems to focus on giving players tools and resources both on and off the field, using a holistic and systematic methodology. Yet it appears that the club has a weak relationship between the youth department and its own senior team, even indicating a competitive relationship, also found in other elite academies. Furthermore, it may seem that the importance of developing players with local ties is downgraded because of the club’s need for short-term success.

Talent development recommendations for coaches to consider

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to discuss critical issues surrounding talent development, specifically sport specialization, and the implications for coaches to consider. Talent and talent development are defined, as well as factors associated with the merits of sport specialization or diversification. While there is not a one-size-fits-all approach for all athletes in weighing the multitude of personal, environmental, and contextual factors that facilitate athletic development, previous research does provide several guiding principles for coaches. Based on this literature, four recommendations for coaches (evaluate your beliefs, discuss motives with athletes, strive for balance, and create a culture) are proposed to help coaches create a more effective environment for athletes.

“You’re Underestimating Me and You Shouldn’t”

Using qualitative data, this article investigates women’s experiences in fantasy sports, a context that offers the potential for transformations in the gendered order of traditionally masculinized athletic environments by blurring the distinctions between real and virtual, combining active production and passive consumption, and allowing men and women to play side-by-side. We find, however, women often describe fantasy sports as a male/masculine space in which they are highly visible and have their ability to compete like men questioned, largely because of gendered assumptions regarding sports knowledge. Women’s attitudes and behaviors frequently reproduce traditional gender dynamics, although women also engage in behaviors and assert definitions of themselves that are potentially transformative—implicitly and explicitly pushing the boundaries of what females are expected to be and accomplish in sport. Often, however, they simultaneously reproduce and resist men’s dominance and women’s marginalization, exercising (1) “mediated agency” by using men to improve their fantasy sports experience and play or (2) “conflicted agency” by reinforcing or accepting gender stereotypes about women while using those stereotypes to their advantage or positioning themselves as atypical women to whom the stereotypes do not apply.

Exposure in and Out of School: A Black Bermudian Male's Successful Educational Journey

Background/Context The influence of non-school based venues has been historically significant for people of African descent who have often had to buttress their schoolhouse experiences with support from community-based influences. For example, Black churches, barbershops and athletic environments like basketball courts, and soccer and cricket clubs are particularly relevant for Black males in spaces like Bermuda and urban communities in the United States. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Drawing on a larger oral history project, this paper reports the findings of a secondary narrative analysis of a Black Bermudian male to provide an in-depth understanding of his in-school and out-ofschool educational experiences, identity construction and success. The authors seek to answer the following research question: How does a Black Bermudian male describe the impact of his ethnic community for shaping his successful educational journey? Research Design While the larger oral history study includes data collected from 12 Black Bermudian males, the scope of this article specifically focuses on the secondary narrative analysis of the experiences of one of the participants, Brandon Smith. As a published author, high-ranking civil servant, and prominent community leader, Brandon is arguably one of the most successful Black Bermudian males of his generation. Findings/Results The results of the study reveal that the participant's educational success was undergirded by his exposure to varying constructs related to his personal and cultural identity; exposure to engaged educators, mentors, spaces, and opportunities in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary settings; and exposure to mechanisms of identity and success in the geographical spaces of Bermuda, the Caribbean, and the United States. Conclusions/Recommendations Three subsections of the participant's exposure are discussed in the manuscript: nondeficit community and school-based exposure, multigenerational academically legitimizing support, and border crossing exposure. This study suggests that a Black Bermudian male can experience educational success when his educational journey inside and outside of school provides balance between his knowledge and acceptance of his identity. The authors contend that the schoolhouse is not the only space or variable that defines or prepares Black males for academic (or personal) success. Furthermore, many students who identify as African American in school may also have familial connections to the Caribbean, Africa, South America, Europe, Bermuda, and other jurisdictions. As such, educators should consider the significance of regional differences on Black male identities (e.g., North, South, East, West, Midwestern), and find ways to help students see relevance between their personal identities and larger causes and contexts.

Determining sensitivity/specificity of virtual reality-based neuropsychological tool for detecting residual abnormalities following sport-related concussion.

Computer-based neuropsychological (NP) evaluation is an effective clinical tool used to assess cognitive function which complements the clinical diagnosis of a concussion. However, some researchers and clinicians argue its lack of ecological validity places limitations on externalizing results to a sensory rich athletic environment. Virtual reality-based NP assessment offers clinical advantages using an immersive environment and evaluating domains not typically assessed by traditional NP assessments. The sensitivity and specificity of detecting lingering cognitive abnormalities was examined on components of a virtual reality-based NP assessment battery to cohort affiliation (concussed vs. controls). Data were retrospectively gathered on 128 controls (no concussion) and 24 concussed college-age athletes on measures of spatial navigation, whole body reaction, attention, and balance in a virtual environment. Concussed athletes were tested within 10 days (M = 8.33, SD = 1.06) of concussion and were clinically asymptomatic at the time of testing. A priori alpha level was set at 0.05 for all tests. Spatial navigation (sensitivity 95.8%/specificity 91.4%, d = 1.89), whole body reaction time (sensitivity 95.2%/specificity 89.1%, d = 1.50) and combined virtual reality modules (sensitivity 95.8%,/specificity 96.1%, d = 3.59) produced high sensitivity/specificity values when determining performance-based variability between groups. Use of a virtual reality-based NP platform can detect lingering cognitive abnormalities resulting from concussion in clinically asymptomatic participants. Virtual reality NP platforms may compliment the traditional concussion assessment battery by providing novel information. (PsycINFO Database Record

COACH’S ROLE IN ENCOURAGING PARENT–CHILD EDUCATIONAL INTERACTION IN SPORTS

The research into the educational effect of sport for youths aims at finding the ways for the coaches and parents to create a positive motivational environment for young athletes. Participation of family members in youth sports has a great effect on young athlete’s development and continuation of sports activities. In this background coaches have ample opportunities to influence parent–child relations and positive development of these relations. The coach can unite parents and children through sport, encourage their collaboration, act as a moderator, mediator, and counsellor. The article analyses the coaches’ influence on parent–child interaction in sports activities, as well as prerequisites for the effectiveness of such influence.The aim of the article is to reveal the coach’s role in encouraging parent–child interaction in sport activities. Objectives of literature review: 1) Analyse the factors of coaches’ role in encouraging parent–child interaction in sport activities; 2) reveal the importance of the coach’s competence for the stimulation of parent–child interaction in sport activities. Applied research methods: scientific literature analysis and generalization. Scientific literature analysis revealed the importance of the coaches’ role in encouraging parent–child interaction in sport activities in order to create a positive motivational environment for young athletes. A more or less positive training and education strategy used by the coach, the coach’s ability to create parental interest in the child’s sport, to build and maintain positive relationships between sport participants, solve ethical and social problems arising in the sporting environment have a significant influence on parent–child interaction. The effectiveness of the coach’s influence on parent–child interaction in the sporting environment largely depends on the coach’s basic professional skills and intrapersonal competencies acquired in higher sport education institutions, through growing work experience and various professional development programmes. In terms of methodological skills and intellectual proficiencies, the importance of metacognitive competency involving a coach’s reflection and the need for self–study is highlighted along with the importance and benefit of long–term educational programmes. Key–words: sports activities, educational interactions, parents, children, coaches, competences, sports coaching degree and certificate programmes.

International Olympic Committee consensus statement: harassment and abuse (non-accidental violence) in sport

Despite the well-recognised benefits of sport, there are also negative influences on athlete health, well-being and integrity caused by non-accidental violence through harassment and abuse. All athletes have a right...

Intercollegiate coaches’ experiences and strategies for coaching first-year athletes

University student-athletes have reported difficulties balancing the rigours of academic study, athletics, and their personal lives. These challenges may be exacerbated for first-year athletes who are transitioning from secondary school into university. Given that coaches significantly influence their athletes’ experiences, their coaching styles and support may ease this transition process. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to investigate university coaches’ experiences and strategies used with first-year student-athletes. Eight highly successful and experienced university coaches of men’s team sports participated in individual semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis revealed that coaches created a supportive team environment for first-year athletes by building trusting relationships with them, showing patience with their development, and encouraging leadership from senior athletes. To further facilitate first-year athletes’ success in and out of sport, coaches helped them accept their role on the team and improve their physical conditioning. Coaches also monitored their academic progress and advocated the use of available university resources such as tutors and support programmes. The current results benefit both coaches and athletes by highlighting the common challenges of a first-year university athlete, as well as by offering useful coaching strategies that can help this transition.

민군상생을 위한 지속가능한 군사시설 공유방안 연구

Abstract : This paper shows procedure and strategies to improve military facilities and local residents’ welfare through a civil-military sustainable cooperation project. Military installations tend to impede urban developments, so that a few civil compliant have been often filed. Meanwhile, it is sometimes impossible to relocate military units due to their own unique purpose, even though they belong to core sites of civil developments, which are generally indispensible due to urban expansion, magnified road networks and so on. The solution to offset these conflicts between civil and military demands, which are associated with military units and urbanization surrounding them, is to establish sustainable strategies which enable both civil and military be beneficial. In this study, it is described, decision making procedure to make some facilities of a military unit be better as well as promote local residents’ welfare through securing high-quality sports facilities. Delphi-technique and Paired Comparison Method are used to collect civil and military opinions regarding sustainable agreements. As a case study, a civil military cooperation project between a military unit and a local government is introduced. With successful projects, it is expected that the better installations could lead positive images of a military unit, provide advanced athletic environments for both local residents and military personnels, and lessen defense cost to maintain them. Moreover, this project will go down as a paragon of civil military sustainable cooperation.

Measurement of Perceived Parental Success Standards in Sport and Relations with Athletes’ Self-Esteem, Performance Anxiety, and Achievement Goal Orientation: Comparing Parental and Coach Influences

The Perceived Parent Success Standards Scale (PPSSS), adapted from the Perception of Success Questionnaire constructed by Roberts et al. (1998) to measure athletes’ achievement goal orientation, provides a measure of athletes’ perceptions of mastery- and ego-oriented parental success criteria, a central component of parental motivational climate. This study focused on 543 young athletes (ages 9–16) on 82 teams in recreational basketball leagues. The PPSSS exhibited strong factorial validity, construct validity, and orthogonality between ego and mastery factors that allow for different combinations of these factors to be tested. We also compared the impact of the motivational climates created by coaches and success standards conveyed by parents on postseason athlete outcome measures of anxiety, self-esteem, and achievement goal orientation. Correlational and multilevel regression analyses revealed that both coach and parent variables were significantly related to the athlete variables. However, mediational analyses indicated that parental success standards mediated relations between coach-initiated climate and all of the outcome variables, reflecting the power of parental socialization processes. We discuss potential reasons for the greater parental influence shown in this and a previous study, and we suggest directions for further research as well as possible interventions that can help both coaches and parents create a more positive athletic environment for young athletes.

Editorial: Post-Exercise Recovery: Fundamental and Interventional Physiology.

Editorial: Post-Exercise Recovery: Fundamental and Interventional Physiology.

Track and field athletes’ experiences and perceived effects of flotation-REST : An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Research has highlighted flotation-REST as a promising method for relaxation and performance enhancement in sport; however, to further evaluate the use of flotation-REST in an athletic environment, ...

Eligibility and Disqualification Recommendations for Competitive Athletes With Cardiovascular Abnormalities: Task Force 12: Emergency Action Plans, Resuscitation, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, and Automated External Defibrillators: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.

Eligibility and Disqualification Recommendations for Competitive Athletes With Cardiovascular Abnormalities: Task Force 12: Emergency Action Plans, Resuscitation, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, and Automated External Defibrillators: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.

Adaptation of the Scale of Coaching Performance (SCP) to the Greek Athletic System

The scope of this study was to re-evaluate the Scale of Coaching Performance (SCP) in the Greek athletic system, re-assess its factor structure and items included and investigate club level participants. A questionnaire was constructed and distributed to a purposive sample of 340 club basketball coaches. Participants assessed the importance of the criteria included for the evaluation of basketball coaches. Three items initially included at the SCP were removed and seven new where added. Exploratory factor analysis supported the pre-determined four factor structure named: “Direct Task Behaviours”, “Indirect Task Bahaviours”, “Personal Products” and “Team Products”. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed adequate fit between the model and the 25 items. Results supported the conceptual theory that a model should be adapted to the specific athletic environment and its dimensions and criteria should be re-examined at times. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p232

Knowledge Level and Incidence of Sexual Harassment in Sports: Views of Ghanaian Female University Athletes

This paper is the first part of a study that investigated the issue of sexual harassment in university sports in Ghana. Specifically this paper sought to find out female university athletes’ views on knowledge of sexual harassment and their experiences of it. Descriptive survey research design was used to conduct the study. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select One Hundred and Sixty-Seven (167) female respondents for the study. The instrument used in gathering data was a questionnaire titled “Questionnaire on Sexual Harassment Against Female University Athletes in Ghana (QSHAFUAGH)” structured and developed by the researchers. The QSHAFUAGH was validated by two jurors in the field of physical education and sport, from Ghana and Nigeria and was tested for reliability using Split-half method. A reliability correlation coefficient of .91r was obtained from the reliability testing. In all, one research question and two research hypotheses were formulated, answered and tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. Data collected were analyzed using percentages and chi-square (x2) statistical method. The findings from the study showed that; sexual harassment against female university athletes is relatively high in Ghana; female university athletes are highly knowledgeable on what constitutes sexual harassment; and the mass media is the leading source of information on sexual harassment among female athletes. Based on these findings, the study recommends that: the focus of sexual harassment education should shift from knowledge to empowerment; management of the various universities should provide the right environment, avenues or channels for female athletes to report acts of harassment perpetrated against them in the course of their participation in sports on campus without fear of victimization; and some sanctions should be instituted by management of the various universities and GUSA on perpetrators of sexual harassment against female university athletes. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2015.v5n3p121

Pressure on Sports Medicine Clinicians to Prematurely Return Collegiate Athletes to Play After Concussion.

Anecdotal and qualitative evidence has suggested that some clinicians face pressure from coaches and other personnel in the athletic environment to prematurely return athletes to participation after a concussion. This type of pressure potentially can result in compromised patient care. To quantify the extent to which clinicians in the collegiate sports medicine environment experience pressure when caring for concussed athletes and whether this pressure varies by the supervisory structure of the institution's sports medicine department, the clinician's sex, and other factors. Cross-sectional study. Web-based survey of National College Athletic Association member institutions. A total of 789 athletic trainers and 111 team physicians from 530 institutions. We asked participants whether they had experienced pressure from 3 stakeholder populations (other clinicians, coaches, athletes) to prematurely return athletes to participation after a concussion. Modifying variables that we assessed were the position (athletic trainer, physician) and sex of the clinicians, the supervisory structure of their institutions' sports medicine departments, and the division of competition in which their institutions participate. We observed that 64.4% (n = 580) of responding clinicians reported having experienced pressure from athletes to prematurely clear them to return to participation after a concussion, and 53.7% (n = 483) reported having experienced this pressure from coaches. Only 6.6% (n = 59) reported having experienced pressure from other clinicians to prematurely clear an athlete to return to participation after a concussion. Clinicians reported greater pressure from coaches when their departments were under the supervisory purview of the athletic department rather than a medical institution. Female clinicians reported greater pressure from coaches than male clinicians did. Most clinicians reported experiencing pressure to prematurely return athletes to participation after a concussion. Identifying factors that are associated with variability in pressure on clinicians during concussion recovery can inform potential future strategies to reduce these pressures.