Research – Page 11 – The Sport Journal

You play like a girl? Gender and image in high school yearbooks

Author: Heather Van Mullem¹

¹Division of Movement and Sport Sciences, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID, USA

Corresponding Author:
Heather Van Mullem, PhD
500 8^th Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
hivanmullem@lcsc.edu
208-792-2781

Heather Van Mullem, PhD is a Professor of Kinesiology and Health at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, ID. Her research interests focus on gender issues in sport, specifically representations of female athletes in the media.

You play like a girl? Gender and image in high school yearbooks

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore how male and female student-athletes were portrayed in images included in two high school’s yearbooks published between 1920-2020. Photos in yearbooks, gathered from the high schools and a community library, were analyzed for their presentation of athletic competence, using presence on court, in uniform, and in action shots as indicators (2). In images of one person, males (M = 3.750, SD = 7.776) were statistically portrayed in passive shots more often than females (M = 2.030, SD = 3.724); t (2,913) = 6.335, p = .000. In comparison, females (M = 5.260, SD = 10.412) were statistically portrayed in active shots more often than males (M = 4.440, SD = 8.646); t (4,722) = -2.946, p = .003. Males (M = 7.550, SD = 11.094) were also statistically portrayed in uniform more often than females (M = 6.810, SD = 10.974); t (7,083) = 2.791, p = .005. Finally, males (M = 1.720, SD = 5.029) were statistically portrayed more often off court than females (M = 1.100, SD = 2.729); t (1,417) = 2.512, p = .012. In comparison, in images of two or more people, males (M = 6.400, SD = 9.589) were statistically portrayed in active shots more often than females (M = 4.640, SD = 7.852); t (6,190) = 7.544, p = .000. Males (M = 8.800, SD = 11.807) and were also statistically portrayed on court more often than females (M = 6.960, SD = 10.704); t (8,818) = 7.478, p = .000. In contrast, females (M = 1.350, SD = 1.989) were statistically portrayed off court more often than males (M = 1.070, SD = 1.763); t (1,329) = -2.705, p = .007. Finally, males (M = 9.570, SD = 12.410) were statistically more likely to be portrayed in uniform when compared to females (M = 8.000, SD = 11.516); t (9,814) = 6.385, p = .000. This study’s findings are, overall, consistent with previous research which indicates that male athletes, when compared to female athletes, are more commonly presented as competent athletes. Athletic and yearbook administrators should ensure the quantity, quality, and type of yearbook photos reflect both the season of competition but also the true athletic competence of the competitors.

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-03-09T08:22:33-06:00March 12th, 2021|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off

The Effect of Muscle Energy Techniques on Latent Trigger Points of the Gastrocnemius Muscle

Authors: Jack Clarke, Lynn Allen
Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Athlone Institute of Technology, Westmeath, Ireland

Corresponding Author:
Jack Clarke
An Luslann, Kylebroughlan, Moycullen,
Co. Galway, H91 TXV5, Ireland.
Email: jackclarke199@gmail.com

Mr. Jack Clarke is a recent graduate of Athletic and Rehabilitation Therapy at Athlone Institute of Technology, Ireland. He is currently furthering his studies at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. His professional interests circulate around athletic performance development, strength and conditioning, and musculoskeletal therapeutic interventions particularly in track and field events.

Ms. Lynn Allen is a Certified Athletic Therapist currently in the role of lecturer and course coordinator of Athletic and Rehabilitation Therapy at Athlone Institute of Technology, Ireland. Her professional interests include athletic therapy clinical education, biopsychosocial framework for chronic pain and athletic injuries, clinical education curriculums, and musculoskeletal therapeutic interventions.

The effects of muscle energy techniques on latent trigger points of the gastrocnemius muscle

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation as a treatment method for latent trigger points within the gastrocnemius muscle. This study also compares the muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation to ischemic compression to determine the most effective latent trigger point treatment. The outcome aim is to understand the acute and mid-term effects of the treatment and how the results may apply to an athletic therapy population.

Methods: 40 participants (24 male and 16 female) were randomly assigned to two treatment groups that took part in three treatment sessions over the course of 10 days. Group A took part in a muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation protocol and Group B took part in an ischemic compression protocol.

Results: There was a statistically significant treatment effect in both groups for both the reduction of latent trigger point numbers (p<.0005) and increasing ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (p<.0005). The muscle energy technique treatment was more effective than the ischemic compression treatment in latent trigger point reduction and increasing range of motion (p=0.26, p=0.58 respectively).

Conclusions: This study concludes that both muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation and ischemic compression effectively treat latent trigger points in the gastrocnemius following acute and mid-term treatment. Muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation is more effective than ischemic compression indicating that muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation is the most effective form of treatment for latent trigger points found in the gastrocnemius.

Applications in Sport: Athletic therapists and sport related clinicians are recommended to use muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation in situations where latent trigger points are found within the gastrocnemius.Muscle energy technique post isometric relaxation is a suitable treatment method to use in a variety of settings that an athletic therapist or clinician may be in, such as pre-game and post-game therapy, on-field therapy, and clinical therapy

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-01-28T08:20:45-06:00February 12th, 2021|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

An Investigation to Determine if Sport Video Games Helps Community College Students Become Interested in Real-life Sports

Authors: Dr. Daniel Kane

Affiliations: CUNY Kingsborough Community College and United States Sports Academy

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Daniel Kane
Danielskane@gmail.com
917-545-9179

Dr. Daniel Kane is an Assistant Professor of Tourism and Hospitality at CUNY Kingsborough Community College. Dr. Kane is also an alumnus of the United States Sports Academy.

An Investigation to Determine if Sport Video Games Helps Community College Students Become Interested in Real-life Sports.

ABSTRACT

This study attempted to determine if community college students learned, became interested in, or play a real-life sport by playing sport video games. The study was Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved and conducted at the City University of New York Kingsborough Community College. A new questionnaire was developed called the Sports Video Games Questionnaire. The researcher worked with a panel of experts and ran two pilot studies to develop the Sports Video Games Questionnaire. A total of 101 students that have played or are currently playing sport video games participated in the study.

The results were positive and reveled that community college students felt that playing sport video games helped build a connection to real-life sports. The majority of the subjects felt that playing sport video games taught them about the rules, real-life players or teams (in a league), and enhanced their knowledge of real-life sports. Also, the majority of the subjects felt that sport video games helped them become a fan of a real-life sport team, a real-life sport, a real-life athlete, and increased their interest in playing a real-life sport. Sport video games can be a tool that helps connect people to real-life sports.

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-01-07T09:58:50-06:00January 22nd, 2021|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off

Calculating the Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio in a Female Olympic Weightlifter: A Case Study

Authors: Jacqueline Serrano¹, Ryan Belsito³, and Brian Serrano^1,2

¹HPI Sports Medicine
²The University of Medical Sciences Arizona
³Left Coast Weightlifting Club, Director and Head Coach

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Brian Serrano
25162 Forbes Road Unit D, Laguna Niguel, CA 92866
Brianserrano171@gmail.com
818-926-7269

Dr. Jacqueline Serrano is the Clinic Director of HPI Sports Medicine. She is a practicing Sports Chiropractor and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Her field of expertise is in Sports Medicine and Functional Medicine.

Ryan Belsito currently serves as the director and head coach for Left Coast Weightlifting Club.

Dr. Brian Serrano is the Director of Rehabilitation and Performance at HPI Sports Medicine. He serves as an Assistant Professor at The University of Medical Sciences in Arizona in the Human Movement department. His current research interest include shoulder injuries in overhead athletes.

Calculating the Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio in a Female Olympic Weightlifter: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The idea of workload monitoring has become popular for athletes of all levels within the last 5 years with the advent of wearable technology. The purpose of this case study was to track the workload of a female Olympic weightlifter using a commercial fitness tracker..

Methods: A competitive, female Olympic Weightlifter wore a commercial fitness tracker (WHOOP) for 1 month and specifically during training session. Metrics like strain, average heart rate (HR), max HR, and duration of session were tracked. The acute: chronic workload ratio was also calculated based off her programming. Two sample t-tests were calculated between continuous variables and an ANOVA was performed between multiple continuous variables. Statistical significance was set as a p-value of (<0.05) using a confidence interval of 95%.

Results: The WHOOP fitness tracker was able to calculate differences between strain and HR average (p<.001), between HR average and HR max (p<.001), HR average and Workload (p<.001), and HR max and Workload (p<.003). ANOVA analysis showed a p-value of (<.001) between all continuous variables. The acute: chronic workload ratio over the 4 weeks ranged from (0.85-1.10).

Conclusion: Using wearable technology has become a cost-effective and efficient technique to track athlete workload even in the recreational population. This information can then be supplemented by acute: chronic workload ratios for more information. This can lead to clinicians, coaches, and athletes having higher quality information to improve sports performance and recovery while mitigating the risk of injury.

Applications in Sport: The WHOOP fitness tracker serves as a valid way to track internal workload in Olympic Weightlifters while the ACWR serves as a valid way to track external workload in Olympic Weightlifters.

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-01-07T10:14:49-06:00January 1st, 2021|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

A longitudinal analysis of the differential performances of seeded male and female Grand Slam tennis players

Author: Raymond Stefani
California State University, Long Beach

Corresponding Author:
Raymond Stefani
25032 Via Del Rio
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Raystefani@aol.com
949-586-1823

Dr. Raymond Stefani is a professor emeritus at the California State University, Long Beach with 170 publications covering rating systems, individual Olympic sports, team sports, home advantage, and sports history

A longitudinal analysis of the differential performances of seeded male and female Grand Slam tennis players

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This paper evaluates Grand Slam tennis at the most fundamental level, the match-by-match competition between established players and their challengers. The competitive balance of men and women therefore is evaluated in this paper, as measured by the success of lower-seeded or un-seeded competitors at winning matches. Methods: A 14-season database was tabulated, covering 56 Grand Slams for men and 56 for women contested from 2006 through 2019, including nearly 5,000 matches for men and 5000 for women, each involving at least one seeded player. Results and Discussion: Overall, higher seeded players were upset in 25% of women’s matches and in 21% of men’s matches. As an average season progressed, women were involved in more upset matches than men by 28% at the season opening Australian open on hard court, by 15% on red clay at the French Open, by 14% on grass at Wimbledon (where the most upsets happened for both men and women) ending with 11% on hard court at the US Open. Lower-seeded or un-seeded men became consistently more competitive as each season progressed, while women remained at the same highly competitive level. On a year-by-year basis, competitive balance (upsets) have increased somewhat, that is, the predictability of higher-seeded players has decreased over time. Conclusions: The cumulative effect of the upset differential is that spectators watched the progress of the strongest men’s seeds, wondering how they would do against the three dominant men’s players, Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer, who won 48 of the men’s 56 Grand Slams over the 14-year period. In contrast, dynamic new young female players emerged, winning by upset until some became higher seeds and even Grand Slam champions themselves, only to be upset and replaced as champion by a new wave of enthusiastic and compelling competitors, exemplified by the fact that 24 women won their 56 Grand Slams. Applications to Sport: The marketing, advertising, and psychological/physical player preparation should consider the fundamental spectator’s eye views that differentially define men and women’s Grand Slam tennis.

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-01-07T09:57:31-06:00December 25th, 2020|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off