Contemporary Sports Issues – Page 9

Experiences from Attention Training Techniques among Athletes

Submitted by Frode Moen1, Ph.D*, Kristian Firing2. Ph.D*

1* Department of Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway

2* Department of Leadership, The Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy, 7450 Trondheim, Norway

Dr. Frode Moen is currently the head manager of the Olympic Athlete program in central Norway, where he also has a position as a coach / mental trainer for elite athletes and coaches. He also is an associate professor at the Department of Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He previously has worked as a teacher in high school where sport was his major subject, and he has been a coach for the national team in Nordic combined in Norway for several years. Frode received his Ph.D. in coaching and performance psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research focuses mainly on coaching in business, coaching in sport, communication, performance psychology and relationship issues.

Dr. Kristian Firing is currently Associate Professor at The Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy, where he conducts teaching, coaching and research. Kristian received his Ph.D. in educational psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2011. His research focuses mainly on leadership development, experience based learning, debriefing, coaching, process oriented writing and academic writing.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how Attention Training Techniques (ATT) affects young athletes in sport. Six athletes who participated in a 12-week ATT training program participated in qualitative interviews that explored their experiences from the program. Our findings indicate that ATT training can influence junior athletes’ experiences of being able to switch from a mind wandering state to take executive control of their attention. Secondly, when the athletes experiences that they have executive control of their attention, they are also able to make an attention switch to key points that make the athletes mindful in context. Thirdly, when the athletes experience that they are mindful in context, they experience that they are able to understand themselves at a deeper level and thereby enhance their self-esteem.

Key words: attention, mindfulness, stress, burnout (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2015-04-16T16:16:42-05:00March 13th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Examination of agility performances of soccer players according to their playing positions

Submitted by Dr. Kemal Goral*

1* Department of Coaching Education , Mugla Sitki Kocman University, School of Physical Education and Sport, Mugla, Turkey, 48000

Dr. Kemal Goral is in the Department of Coaching Education at the Mugla Sitki Kocman University School of Physical Education and Sport, Turkey. He is also Mugla Sitki Kocman University Futsal Team coach.

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine of agility performances according to soccer players’ playing positions. Sixty-eight soccer players (age: 23.76±2.79 years; height: 178.09±4.80 cm; body weight: 74.15±4.39 kg; body mass index: 23.37±0.85) were tested for agility performance using the Illinois agility test and Agility-T test after warm up completion. The players were divided into 4 subgroups (goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers) according to their self-reported best position on the field. The analysis of the data obtained from the study was saved in SPSS version 16.0. First, the means and standard deviations were calculated for all variables. Then, the differences between soccer players from different groups were examined by One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The Tukey HSD test procedures were used to determine where differences existed. The level of significance was set at p0.05). The statistical analysis revealed that the Illinois agility test was significantly lower in the midfielders compared with the goalkeepers (p<0.05) and strikers (p<0.05). Also, there is no difference between goalkeepers and defenders (p>0.05). According to the results of The Agility T-test, midfielders were found to be significantly faster than the goalkeepers (p<0.05), but no difference were detected between other positions (p>0.05). In this study, the midfielders had the fastest agility values. Goalkeepers are slower than the other players’ positions. In regard to the conclusion of this study, to measure and report the agility performances of players at regular intervals can provide significant benefits in the process of training to improve the performance levels of athletes playing in different positions.
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U.S. Sports Academy2015-04-24T14:34:41-05:00March 6th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

The Coach’s Role in Sport Concussion Care: Developing High School and Youth Coaches through the Concepts of Deliberate Practice

Submitted by Brandon D. Spradley1, EdD*, Fred Cromartie2, EdD*

1* Acting Director of Continuing Education at the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, Alabama 36526

2* Director of Doctoral Studies at the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, Alabama, 36526

Dr. Brandon Spradley is the Acting Director of Continuing Education at the United States Sports Academy. Dr. Fred Cromartie is the Director of Doctoral Studies at the United States Sports Academy.

ABSTRACT

Sport coaches have a significant role in providing concussion care to young athletes. The foundations of expert coaching and elite performance that is so often cited in scholarly literature can be used to develop coaches in the area of sport-related concussion care. There are two essential components to providing optimal sports concussion care: understanding athletes and the sports they play and understanding the neurology of the injury (Kutcher, 2011). Research shows that detecting early signs of concussion can improve outcomes (Lovell, 2009); therefore, there is a need for a rapid screening test to assess athletes who may have a concussion (Galetta et al., 2011). The King-Devick Test is a concussion screening test that could meet this need and is based on measuring the speed participants complete rapid number naming test cards. The King-Devick Test has been consistently published in research as an accurate and reliable method of identifying athletes with head trauma. Using the concepts and applications of deliberate practice, high school and youth sport coaches can implement easy-to-use assessments such as the King-Devick Test into their sport programs to develop competency in protecting athletes from the effects of concussion.

Key Words: sport-related concussions, King-Devick Test, expertise, deliberate practice (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2015-04-24T15:01:17-05:00March 5th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Beer and Ball On Campus? The Issue of In-Stadium Alcohol Sales

Submitted by Mark Mitchell, Ph.D*, Robert D. Montgomery, Ph.D*

1* Department of Marketing and Resort Tourism, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina 29528

2* Department of Marketing, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana 47722

Mark Mitchell, DBA is Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Department of Marketing and Resort Tourism at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC.

Robert D. Montgomery, DBA is Professor of Marketing at the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN.

Abstract

This manuscript examines the issue of in-stadium alcohol sales for collegiate sporting events. In the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of Division I FBS football programs allowing alcohol sales in their stadiums. While it is currently not the norm (25% do allow it, 75% do not allow it), the number is increasing. And, others allow alcohol sales in premium seats as well other smaller venue sports (such as baseball and basketball). This manuscript examines: (1) the reasons collegiate athletic departments might consider allowing in-stadium alcohol sales, (2) the mitigating constraints that may cause them to not allow its availability, and (3) a look a current ‘best practices’ among institutions that currently allow in-stadium alcohol sales.

Key words: in-stadium alcohol sales, beer sales, fan experience, tailgating. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-02T11:25:00-05:00February 9th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off

Conflicts of Interest in the Intercollegiate Athletics Management Structure – The Impetus for Nullification of Presidential Authority

Submitted by Corey M. Turner, J.D., Assistant Professor of Business Law*

1* Department of Business, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York 11235

Corey M. Turner is an Assistant Professor of Business Law and a member of the campus-wide Athletics Committee at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough Community College.

ABSTRACT

In recent years there have been numerous athletics scandals at major universities. The scandals are the outgrowth of infractions of NCAA rules and regulations committed by coaches and student-athletes. In the wake of such scandals, university presidents have asserted that they are not in control of their athletics programs, despite the fact that the NCAA changed its management structure in 1997 giving presidents full authority for the governance of intercollegiate athletics nationally. Thus, there is a perception amongst university presidents that their presidential authority in areas of intercollegiate athletics governance has been nullified despite the existence of NCAA regulations to the contrary.

The root cause of nullification of presidential control and authority is the president’s own conflict of interest between professional responsibilities and personal interests. In the contemporary environment of large television contracts and the race to increase revenues on university campuses, there has been a fundamental change in mindset that places the importance of athletics over academics. In such an environment, conflicts of interest are both prevalent and unavoidable. Thus, the key issue is not the existence of conflicts of interest, but the management of conflicts of interest.

Although there is no easy answer or simple fix for conflict of interest induced nullification, process based decision making may be strategically deployed as a conflict of interest management tool when analyzing information, evaluating choices, making decisions, and establishing conditions that such decisions must meet in order to be ethically correct.

Key words: infractions, NCAA, university, president, management structure, control, authority, governance, intercollegiate, athletics, conflict of interest, nullification, decision making. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-02T11:19:13-05:00February 9th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off