2017 – Page 9 – The Sport Journal

Tennis Anyone? A Content Analysis of the Written and Pictorial Coverage of Tennis Magazine

Authors:
Tywan G. Martin, University of Miami
Sanghak Lee, Korea Aerospace University
Erin L. McNary, Indiana University
Daniel Totani, University of Miami

Corresponding author:
Tywan G. Martin, Ph.D.
Department of Kinesiology & Sport Sciences
P.O. Box 248065
Coral Gables, FL 33124
Phone: (305) 284-1168
E-mail: t.martin@miami.edu

Tennis Anyone? A Content Analysis of the Written and Pictorial Coverage of Tennis Magazine

ABSTRACT
This investigation measured the coverage given to female and male athletes in a single sport focused print publication Tennis magazine from 2007 to 2012. The examined timeframe was selected based on the updated Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rules that required both female and male athletes to compete at many of the same high profile events during the professional tennis season. Given the restructured rules, the perceived femininity associated with female tennis players, and the media coverage female athletes in individual sports tended to generate, it was important to determine the amount of media attention female professional tennis players received on the pages of a tennis magazine. The study’s results revealed that female tennis players did receive some prominent coverage and their total amount of coverage was similar to the percentage of female readers of the magazine. However, enthusiasm over the progress should be tempered as female competitors’ total exposure was less than their male counterparts and more coverage was garnered to female athletes in poses not related to tennis.

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U.S. Sports Academy2017-03-15T08:52:34-05:00April 13th, 2017|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Social Support and Democratic Behavior Styles of Leadership Preferred by Female Athletes in Middle School Athletic Programs

Authors: Raymond Tucker

Corresponding Author:
Raymond Tucker, D.S.M, CSCS, FMSL1, USATFL1, USAWLP-1
Assistant Professor of Kinesiology
University of Houston at Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, Texas 77901
Phone: (361)-570-4381
rtbills2001@gmail.com

Raymond Tucker is an assistant professor of Kinesiology at the University of Houston at Victoria. He is a graduate of the United States Sports Academy with a Doctorate in Sports Management, and he is a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is also a certified coach by the United States Track and Field Association, United States Weightlifting Federation, and Functional Movement Systems. He is certified by the state board of educator certification in Texas in health grades (EC-12) and secondary physical education (6-12).

Co Authors: Willie J. Black, Jr.

Willie J. Black, Jr., Ed.D.
School Administrator
San Antonio
278 Iron Kettle
Universal City, Texas 78148
Phone: (512)-557-2905
drwillieblack@gmail.com

Willie J. Black, Jr. has a Masters of Education in Physical Education and a Bachelor’s in Exercise and Sports Science. He worked for ten years as a personal trainer, certified through the International Sports Science Association, and coached public school athletics at the secondary level for seven years. He also has a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, and serves as an adjunct professor for the department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas in San Antonio. He is currently an administrator for the Judson Independent School District, and previously served as Director of Human Resources.

Social Support and Democratic Behavior Styles of Leadership Preferred by Female Athletes in Middle School Athletic Programs

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine alleged behavior styles of leadership female student athletes in middle school athletic programs prefer coaches use in the treatment and interactions with their female athletes. This study compared female student athletes’ perception of their coach’s behavior style of leadership at three different middle schools to determine if the perceived behavior style of leadership is comparable amongst female coaches at the respective middle schools in this study.

Results of an earlier study entitled “Preferred Behaviors Used by Coaches in Female Middle School Athletic Programs”, detected a statistically significant difference in the behavior styles of leadership perceived by female student athletes at the respective middle schools in the following dimensions. 1) democratic and training instruction, (2) autocratic and training instruction, (3) social support and training instruction, (4) positive feedback and democratic, (5) positive feedback and autocratic, (6) positive feedback and social support. The results of this study did not detect a statistically significant difference between (1) positive feedback, training instruction, (2) autocratic and democratic, (3) social support and democratic, (4) social support and autocratic. Data composed from this study was based on female student athlete’s perception of the behavior style of leadership used by their coaches. The results revealed a high mean score for the social support behavior style of leadership compared to autocratic, democratic, positive feedback, training instruction. The results of the data in this study can conclude the social support behavior style of leadership is the behavior styles used by coaches at the respective middle schools in this study. However, the data also reveals a high mean score for the democratic behavior style of leadership used by coaches at the respective middle schools for this study. Based on the results of the data for this study, we can conclude the social support and democratic behavior style of leadership are the behavior styles of leadership used by coaches at the respective middle schools in this study. What follows is the basis for this study, procedures used to conduct the research, an analysis of the data, conclusions, application in sport, and finally, recommendations for further research on this topic.

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U.S. Sports Academy2017-06-26T07:40:16-05:00April 6th, 2017|Sports Coaching|Comments Off

Service Quality Perceptions’ Impact on Membership Renewal of Junior Executive Golf Memberships

Authors: Dr. Lorenda Prier

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Lorenda Prier
Consultant/Researcher, Prier Consulting
Online Sports Management Instructor, State University of New York at Canton
459 Juno Dunes Way
Juno Beach, FL 33408
Prierl@canton.edu

Dr. Lorenda Prier is a research consultant with sport industry, academic, and small business experience. Dr. Prier has conducted comprehensive research on age based marketing incentives and on the junior executive golf member segment.

Co-Author: Dr. Fred J. Cromartie

Fred J. Cromartie, Ed. D.
Director of Doctoral Studies
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, AL 36527
cromarti@ussa.edu

Dr. Fred J. Cromartie, is the Director of Doctoral Studies at the United States Sports Academy.

Co-Author: Dr. Stephen L. Butler

Stephen L. Butler, Ed. D.
Dean of Academic Affairs
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, AL 36527
sbutler@ussa.edu

Dr. Stephen L. Butler, is the Dean of Academic Affairs at the United States Sports Academy.

Service Quality Perceptions’ Impact on Membership Renewal of Junior Executive Golf Memberships

ABSTRACT
This research addresses age based price incentives in private golf courses in South Florida. These membership options are often termed junior executive memberships and provide initiation and annual membership dues discounting for members under a set age, often 45. The evaluation is a comparison of family and nonfamily subgroups within junior executive membership categories. Due to the newness of this marketing strategy, insight into member perceptions is desired for retention efforts.
A survey instrument developed by Prier (2016) was distributed to 25 golf courses with age based price incentives in the South Florida region. The components relating to service quality and behavior intentions are addressed in this research. The service quality components of the survey instrument were selected from the SERVQUAL scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988).

Survey respondents provided expectation levels and club evaluation levels on a 5 point Likert scale and a resultant gap was also utilized in analysis. Family respondents, those indicating a membership size of three or more, had higher expectations of service quality, lower club evaluations of service quality, and thus higher negative service quality gaps than nonfamily respondents (membership size of one or two).

Additionally, family respondents had a significantly lower proportion of likeliness to continue membership to the next membership tier, willingness to recommend, and intention to renew next year. The combination of more negative service quality evaluation and less favorable renewal intentions by family memberships provides an alert that managerial efforts to alleviate these perceptions is necessary. The significant differences between family and nonfamily membership perceptions supports the need for recognition of subgroups within the junior executive membership category. Service quality enhancement, specifically in employee behavior, provides an actionable strategy to enhance junior executive membership renewal.

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U.S. Sports Academy2017-03-15T09:44:29-05:00April 4th, 2017|Sports Marketing|Comments Off

Athlete Perceptions of a Monitoring and Strength and Conditioning Program

Authors: Jacob P Reed(1), Mauro Palmero(2), Kimitake Sato(3), Cheng-Tu Hsieh(4), Michael Stone(3)

(1)Kinesiology, Allied Health, and Human Services
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614

(2)Hospitality Management Department
University of Missouri Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211

(3)Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education
Department of Exercise and Sport Science
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN 37614

(4)Departmet of Kinesiology
California State University, Chico
Chico, CA 95929

Corresponding Author:
Jacob P. Reed
University of Northern Iowa
203 Wellness and Recreation Center
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Phone: (319)-271-8090
Email: Jacob.reed@uni.edu

Athlete Perceptions of a Monitoring and Strength and Conditioning Program

ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to assess athlete perceptions of a monitoring program.

Methods: Athletes currently participating in the monitoring program were invited to participate. Reliability for the questionnaire and principle components analysis (PCA) were completed in the spring of 2013. To analyze changes throughout the academic year, the questionnaire was administered six times throughout the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters.

Results: The questionnaire was considered reliable. PCA revealed a three-component model (KMO = .798, Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity = p < .001) with eigenvalues over one explaining 68.88% of total variance. Statistical differences between pre and later time points were noted for of overall performance, skill, strength, speed, power and understanding of the monitoring protocols. Conclusion: The questionnaire was shown reliable and can be considered for future use. The first component of the PCA revealed that perceptions of overall performance are influenced by perceptions of strength, skill, power, and agreement that testing data reflects performance. Second, aerobic and anaerobic endurance and speed are all highly correlated. Finally, athletes understanding of the program monitoring increased with the return of data. Overall, perceptions of the programs influence the questionnaire components were positive ranging from no different to much better.

Applications in Sport: The athlete monitoring program seems to be a beneficial model for enhancing athlete’s perceptions of certain aspects of performance.

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U.S. Sports Academy2017-02-27T10:06:13-06:00March 30th, 2017|Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Body Image in Division I Male Athletes: Why is Baseball High and Outside?

Authors: Lorraine Killion & Dean Culpepper

Corresponding Author:
Lorraine Killion, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
700 University Blvd.
Kingsville, TX 78363-8202
lorraine.killion@tamuk.edu
361.593.3095

Lorraine Killion is an Associate Professor in the Health & Kinesiology Department at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She is also the EC-12 Physical Education Program Coordinator.

Dean Culpepper is in the Health and Human Performance Department at Texas A&M University-Commerce and is a Certified Sports Psychology Consultant with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.
Body Image in Division I Male Athletes: Why is Baseball High and Outside?

ABSTRACT
Body image research has largely focused on females and a drive for thinness. Recent research has investigated males and a drive for muscularity indicating an increasing concern for males’ appearance of their body. A desire to enhance their physical image has increased pressure to meet a body ideal for their sport. The purpose of this study was to examine Division I male athletes’ body perceptions. Upon IRB approval, ninety four (N=94) athletes volunteered for the study. To determine body image differences, three sports were considered: football (n = 51), basketball (n = 14), and baseball (n = 29). Demographic and anthropometric measures were taken by the researchers. The Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ-AS) was administered and five subscales were examined. ANOVAs documented differences between Body Area Satisfaction [F(2, 92) = 20.61, p> .001], Appearance Evaluation [F(2,92) = 6.50, p =.002], and Appearance Orientation [F(2, 92) = 9.84, p <.001]. Bonferroni post hoc tests showed baseball players demonstrated a unique difference from their football and basketball cohorts: AE (p=.002), AO (p= .000), & BASS (p= .000). Findings shed additional light onto male body image. While Fitness Orientation showed no significant differences, Appearance Orientation yielded a more meaningful score for baseball players. Baseball has a history and infamous past concerning the need to “bulk up.” Regulations and legal efforts have diminished drug abuse in the sport, but the psychological need to obtain a larger upper body still exists. Researchers and coaches should further examine the baseball culture so the behavioral determinants can be better understood. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2017-02-14T09:22:22-06:00March 23rd, 2017|Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off