Sports Health & Fitness – Page 9

Student-Athletes: An exploration of subjective wellbeing

Authors: Laura M. Morris¹, Danny Twilley², Cara L. Sidman³, Hannah Adamczyk¹, Zoe Gasell¹, and Karly Plemmons¹

¹School of Health & Applied Human Sciences, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
²Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
³College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Corresponding Author:
Laura M. Morris, EdD
601 S. College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403
spiveyl@uncw.edu
910-962-2451

Laura M. Morris, EdD is an Assistant Professor of Recreation, Sport Leadership & Tourism Management at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her research interests include leisure behavior, recreation/leisure in relation to lifelong health and wellbeing, happiness/positive psychology, and recreational sport and college student development.

Danny Twilley, PhD is the Assistant Dean of Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative at West Virginia University. Research interests include outdoor recreation’s role in community development, leisure as a catalyst for change, and subjective wellbeing.

Cara L. Sidman, PhD is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Population Health in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University. Her research interests focus on wellbeing, online teaching, and college students.

Hannah Adamczyk is a recent graduate of the Recreation, Sport Leadership & Tourism Management program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Zoe Gasell is a recent graduate of the Recreation, Sport Leadership & Tourism Management program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Karly Plemmons is an undergraduate student in Recreation, Sport Leadership & Tourism Management at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Student-athletes: An exploration of subjective wellbeing

ABSTRACT

This research examined the subjective wellbeing scores of student-athletes at a mid-sized National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Southeastern university. Understanding student-athlete mental health is a growing concern among the NCAA and intercollegiate athletics programs. Much of the literature examines the issue from a clinical perspective related to depression. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective wellbeing of student-athletes at a NCAA Division I university by examining gender, in-season v. out-of-season, and team sport v. individual sports. Methods: A survey methodology was adopted to measure participant (N=109) perceptions of subjective wellbeing utilizing a valid subjective happiness scale. Results: Overall, participants indicated high levels of perceived happiness. In-season athletes, men, and team sport athletes scored highest. Conclusions: Research on student-athlete mental health has been inconsistent. Findings from this study were encouraging as student-athletes reported a high level of reported happiness. Application in Sports: This study provides insight into student-athletes’ wellbeing and mental health. Findings suggest additional programs and services focused on out-of-season student-athletes, women, and those in individual sports be considered.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-10-06T08:28:00-05:00September 2nd, 2020|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

An evaluation of professional regional soccer goalkeepers using three different choice reaction times and vertical jumps

Authors: Rıdvan Çolak¹, Eda Ağaşcıoğlu²

¹ Department of Physical Education and Sports, Ardahan University, Ardahan, Turkey.
²Department of Sports Training, Galata University, İstanbul, Turkey.

Corresponding Author:
Rıdvan Çolak, Ph. D., Assistant Professor
E-mail: colak.ridvan@gmail.com
GSM: +905556229421, Fax: +904782117514
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002 -7998-5847

Rıdvan Çolak, Ph. D., is an Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Sports at Ardahan University in Ardahan, Turkey. His research interests focus on free radicals and protein oxidation markers associated with exercise, exercise at altitude, physical activity and performance related measurements.

Eda Ağaşcıoğlu, Ph. D., is an Assistant Professor of Training at Galata University in İstanbul, Turkey. Her research interests focus on free radicals and protein oxidation markers associated with exercise, exercise and ageing, hypoxia, physical activity and performance related measurements.

An evaluation of professional regional soccer goalkeepers using three different choice reaction times and vertical jumps

ABSTRACT

Soccer goalkeepers’ (GKs) role in a team is important, but they are either disregarded or considered like fielders in current literature. This study aims to evaluate 1) soccer GKs’ reaction times with tree different decision making visual reaction time tests (shapes, directions and number), 2) relationship between reaction times and vertical jumps (Countermovement Jump (CMJ) and Squad Jump (SJ)). Turkish professional male soccer players were classified into four groups: GKs, defenders (DFs), midfielders (MFs) and attackers (ATs) (n = 10 for each). Reaction times and vertical jumps tests were done using Sport Expert TM-MPS-501. One-way ANOVA and Pearson Correlation of SPSS V.22 were used for data analysis. GKs were taller and heavier than fielders. GKs were fast in number reaction time (NumRT) and shape reaction time (ShaRT) than fielders, but they had no difference in direction reaction time (DirRT). GKs had higher scores in both vertical jumps than MFs and DFs, but not ATs. In general, the high negative correlations were observed between vertical jumps, and ShaRT and NumRT in GKs. The results illustrate that professional GKs are as talented as ATs; however, considering their height and body mass, they may be the best in motor abilities.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-10-06T08:27:52-05:00August 28th, 2020|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

General health orientation based psychological motivations for masters athletes, a consideration of clustering utilizing t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding

Authors: Joe Walsh, Ian Timothy Heazlewood, Mark DeBeliso, Mike Climstein

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Mike Climstein (FASMF, FACSM, FAAESS)
Clinical Exercise Physiology
Southern Cross University
School of Health and Human Sciences
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Michael.Climstein@scu.edu.au

Dr. Joe Walsh is with Sport Science Institute www.sportscienceinstitute.com

Ian Timothy Heazlewood is Associate Professor and Theme Leader Exercise and Sport Science in The School of Psychological and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and the Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Mark DeBeliso is Professor, Department of Physical Education and Human Performance, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, USA

Dr. Mike Climstein (FASMF, FACSM, FAAESS) is with Clinical Exercise Physiology, Southern Cross University, School of Health and Human Sciences, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia; Physical Activity, Lifestyle, Ageing and Wellbeing Faculty Research Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2006.

General health orientation based psychological motivations for masters athletes, a consideration of clustering utilizing t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding.

ABSTRACT

An exploration of clustering of general health orientation psychological motivations for participation in sport was conducted using t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE). The aim of this research was to assess the suitability of applying t-SNE to creating two-dimensional scatter plots to visualise the relationship between different general health orientation motivators. The data source used for this investigation was survey data gathered on World Masters Games competitors using the Motivations of Marathoners Scales (MOMS). Application of t-SNE plots could assist in visually mapping general health orientation psychological constructs and gaining greater understanding of the underlying patterns in the MOMS tool. Some clustering patterns were observed, with some items in the MOMS connected in a logical manner that complied with those originally proposed by the developers of the MOMS. On tuning the t-SNE model hyperparameters, it became apparent that the t-SNE graphs were able to provide an appropriate representation of clustering with learning rates outside the ranges often recommended (at the time of writing). As t-SNE is a relatively modern approach to visualizing high dimensional data, this was a finding worth reporting. Two-dimensional scatter plots produced using t-SNE may assist in creating hypotheses about the relationships present between psychological constructs in such high-dimensional data.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-07-15T10:26:05-05:00August 21st, 2020|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Improvements in Acute Explosive Power without a Subsequent Decrease in the Range of Motion of Passive Hip-Flexion Muscles in Taekwondo Players Using Foam Rollers

Authors: Ani AGOPYAN^1*, Tugce KAHRAMAN², Meral KUCUK YETGIN¹ and Demet TEKIN³

Affiliations: ¹Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey; ² National Education Foundation, Secondary School, Istanbul, Turkey; ³ Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, School of Health Sciences, Fenerbahce University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Corresponding Author:
Ani AGOPYAN, Assoc.Prof.
Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Marmara University,
Marmara Universitesi Anadoluhisarı Yerleşkesi Spor
Bilimleri Fakultesi Goksu Mah. Cuma Yolu Cad. No:1PK.
34815 – Beykoz / Istanbul – TURKEY
+90 216 308 56 61; Mobile +90 532 714 17 51; Fax: +90 216 332 16 20
Email: aniagopyan@marmara.edu.tr

Ani Agopyan is an associate professor at Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences in Marmara University, Istanbul-Turkey.

Improvements in Acute Explosive Power without a Subsequent Decrease in the Range of Motion of Passive Hip-Flexion Muscles in Taekwondo Players Using Foam Rollers

ABSTRACT

Background: Foam rolling (FR) has been developed as a popular intervention, however the acute effect of muscular and range of motion (ROM) function using a FR is unknown in young taekwondo players.

Objective: This study examined the acute effects of multiple (lower extremity and back part of the body) FR exercises on joint ROM and vertical jump performance in taekwondo athletes.

Methods: Nineteen (age: 13.21 ± 0.85 years) black-belt taekwondo athletes (n_male= 13; n_female = 6), volunteered to participate of this study. Anthropometric measurements, Passive Straight-Leg Raise Test (PSLR) on each limb and vertical jump tests were performed on the first measurement day. In the second day, following a common warm-up model, participants performed FR exercises on five areas (erector spinae, iliotibial band, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves) for three minutes (30 seconds/1 set for each area). The tests were administered to all participants again by swapping over on the third day. A Two-Way and Three-Way ANOVA Repeated Measures tests were performed.

Results: It was not observed any significant interaction between the three factors (time, side, or gender) and PSLR-ROM degrees of dominant and non-dominant legs (p>0.05). There were observed significant differences between the pre-and post-test measurements in the vertical jump height (+13.02%) and jump power (+5.23%) performance after FR exercises. Conclusion: Multiple FR exercises did not acute affect PSLR-ROM in taekwondo athletes. FR exercises may be effective within warm-up protocols and seems to be an efficient strategy to promote acute improvements in vertical jump performance in a short time period.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-01T11:30:14-05:00July 31st, 2020|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

The Effect of Resisted Sprinting on the Production of Horizontal Strength

Authors: Jacqueline Serrano, Brian Serrano

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Brian Serrano
Director of HPI Sports Medicine
HPI Sports Medicine
28062 Forbes Road Unit D
Laguna Niguel, CA 92691
Brianserrano171@gmail.com
818-926-7269

Jacqueline Serrano is the Clinic Director of HPI Sports Medicine. She is a Chiropractor with a passion for Sports Medicine and Nutrigenomics. She uses her master’s degree in Molecular Pharmacology to practice functional medicine and seeks to help patients starting from their internal physiology.

Brian Serrano is the Director of Rehabilitation and Performance at HPI Sports Medicine and currently performs research in the field of Sports Medicine as it relates to overhead athletes. He is a Chiropractor and Athletic Trainer who seeks to bridge between research, rehabilitation, and performance.

The Effect of Resisted Sprinting on the Production of Horizontal Strength

ABSTRACT

Strength is a crucial aspect of sport performance and increasing strength is an important aspect of strength and conditioning programs for athletics. Strength and conditioning professionals are constantly innovating programming methods to increase attributes that accurately translate onto the field of play. PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCO were searched for systematic reviews from 2000-2020 which used resisted sprinting, either pushing or pulling and their effect on horizontal strength for include in this literature review. Resisted sprinting results in a horizontal impulse that is sport specific to horizontal strength (p<.05). The most effective loading for resisted sprinting seems to be 10-30% of BW (p<0.05). Resisted sprinting in the form of sled pulling seems to be more sport specific because of its use of the upper extremities (CI 95%). Resisted sprinting seems to be a cost-efficient and technically effective form of increase horizontal strength, which can be incorporated into training and seems to have a superior effect to vertical based training modalities.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-01T10:12:19-05:00July 24th, 2020|Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off