Sports Studies and Sports Psychology – Page 16

Player and parent concussion knowledge and awareness in youth Australian Rules Football

Authors: Mark Hecimovich*(1), PhD, ATR; Doug King, PhD(2); Ida Marais, PhD (3)

(1) Division of Athletic Training, University of Northern Iowa, 003C Human Performance Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States of America, mark.hecimovich@uni.edu

(2) Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ) at AUT Millennium, Faculty of Health and Environmental Science, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand, doug.king@clear.net.nz

(3) University of Western Australia, Graduate School of Education, M428, 35 Stirling Highway, Mount Crawley, Western Australia, ida.marais@uwa.edu.au

*Corresponding Author:
Mark Hecimovich, PhD, ATC
Division of Athletic Training, University of Northern Iowa, 003C Human Performance Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States of America
mark.hecimovich@uni.edu
Phone: 1.319.273.6477

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure concussion knowledge and awareness of youth Australian Rules Football players and parents. Secondary aims were examining if player’s maturity in age, history of concussion and years played and parents who have undergone first aid and concussion training would increase knowledge.
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-10-03T08:05:37-05:00April 1st, 2016|Concussions, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Olympic Sports of the Future

Authors: Dr. Ray Stefani*(1)

(1) Dr. Ray Stefani is a Professor Emeritus, California State University, Long Beach

*Corresponding Author:
Dr. Ray Stefani
25032 Via Del Rio
Lake Forest, CA, 92630
Raymond.stefani@csulb.edu
949-586-1823

ABSTRACT
This paper explores possible future Olympic sports by examining the past. The ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BC with just one running event. Over the centuries, five more Track and Field (Athletics) events were added as well as four other sports with 22 events. These new sports kept the Olympics relevant to the times and interesting enough that the Games survived until 277 AD, At least two emperors competed and became Olympic champions. During the modern Olympic Games though 1992, organizers provided flair by adding non-medal demonstration sports, albeit in a rather haphazard manner, some of which became permanent sports. As the number of events rose to fill the available time period of both the Summer and Winter Olympics, a rather rigid system was used to limit the number of sports. That system had less-than-ideal success in adding new sports, which had to be at the expense of deleting older sports. The International Olympic Committee recently enacted Olympic Agenda 2020, which includes a much more flexible system for adding new sports. Under control of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, an organizing Committee may request to add medal sports for that Games and that same IOC Committee can add new sports permanently, by modifying the number of events, without necessarily dropping existing sports. This paper examines the recent request by the 2020 Tokyo Organizing Committee as well the complete list of recognized sports from which new sports must be drawn, to gauge the possible types of future Olympic sports.

Keywords: Olympics, Ancient Olympics, recreational sports, future Olympic sports, official Olympic sports, recognized Olympic sports
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-03-30T10:00:30-05:00March 30th, 2016|Contemporary Sports Issues, Olympics, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Examination of Gender Equity and Female Participation in Sport

Author: Joshua A. Senne*(1)

(1) Joshua A. Senne is a doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy located in Daphne, Alabama. His doctoral emphasis is sports fitness and health, with a specialization in sport marketing. He currently holds a master of science in recreation and sport management from Indiana State University, a business credential from the Harvard Business School, and is a Stanford Certified Project Manager.

*Corresponding Author:
Joshua Senne, MS, SCPM
5068 Argus Dr. Apt 1
Los Angeles, CA 90041
jasenne@students.ussa.edu
225-202-6787

ABSTRACT
This paper presents an overview of five topics related to gender equity and sports. These topics include (a) history of gender equity in sports and Title IX, (b) gender equity in sport governance, (c) gender equity issues in athletics, (d) gender equity, sports participation, and Title IX, (e) and gender equity in coed sports. For each topic, the author presents an overview as well as a reason for selecting the topic. Further, the author presents information about the importance of each topic to gender equity in sports, plus any relevant social, ethical, or legal concerns.

KEYWORDS:gender equity, sports, sports governance, Title IX, coed sports.
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-02-29T08:08:02-06:00February 26th, 2016|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Examining the impact of emotional intelligence and goal setting on basketball performance

Authors: Gobinder Singh Gill*(1)

Corresponding Author*: Gobinder Singh Gill

(1) Lecturer, Department of Sport, Travel & Uniformed Services, Birmingham Metropolitan College, UK (Email: psychologicaledge@outlook.com) Gobinder is a Lecturer in Sport Psychology and Research Methods. He is also a Teaching and Learning Coach who utilises emotional intelligence to improve performance levels in education and sport.

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the impact of emotional intelligence and goal setting in basketball. Having acknowledged the importance of emotional regulation in performance a suitable intervention to facilitate this process was tested. Using quantitative analysis to measure performance, participants completed a goal setting and emotional intelligence questionnaire during three periods of the regular season. Results revealed that participants who displayed high emotional intelligence levels set frequent goals. Participants also found that barriers to goals were overcome through specific action planning and related to individual requirements. Data for emotional intelligence demonstrated that participants also became self-aware of their own performance levels. In sum, this investigation advocates the use of goal setting to enhance emotional intelligence levels for performance outcomes in basketball. Future research should engage the use of emotional intelligence with packaged mental skills (e.g. imagery, self-talk and relaxation) to enhance performance levels. Further, using regression analysis would be useful in examining relationships more closely with the inclusion of more qualitative methodology.

KEYWORDS: Emotional Intelligence, Goal Setting, Strategy, Self-awareness, Intervention
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-02-19T15:15:00-06:00February 19th, 2016|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

The War Against Concussions

Authors: Marcos A. Abreu*(1), Wirt Edwards(2), Brandon D. Spradley(2)

(1) Doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy studying sports management.
(2) Professors at the United States Sports Academy

*Corresponding Author:
Marcos Abreu
Doctoral Student
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526
mabreu@students.ussa.edu
251-626-3303

ABSTRACT
The game of football, especially at the higher levels, is becoming increasingly dangerous as athletes keep getting bigger, faster, and stronger. The rate at which concussions are occurring is alarming and player safety has become the topic of conversation among sport the community. Since the symptoms and signs of a concussion don’t always appear immediately or appear to be mild at first, the sports community originally assumed that the head injuries weren’t serious. Besides the risk of suffering another concussion, a growing body of research has linked sports concussions with serious long-term effects like depression and memory problems.

To make matters worse, researchers documented that high school and collegiate athletes do not report concussions sustained during football play because they were not aware of the signs and symptoms of a concussion. Furthermore, although the National Football League (NFL) injury report has shown a decrease of head injuries since 2012, PBS FRONTLINE’s Concussion Watch project reported that one-third of all concussions sustained during that time were left off the injury report. As research continues to expose the serious nature of sports concussion, league officials are facing constant scrutiny to change the rules and regulations that govern the game of football.

Although the sport of football has a protocol to assess a player for a concussion, visual inspections could limit the amount of information a health care provider could gather. To address these certain limitations, manufacturers designed football helmets to decrease the forces of impact and engineered technological solutions to better detect head impacts that may cause injury. The purpose of this study is to examine the advancements in concussion detection and prevention, ultimately, providing league officials with recommendations that could help reduce a player’s risk of a concussion. In addition to increasing concussion awareness, this study will support the balance between the adjustment to new concussion research and the sharing of knowledge acquired through research.

Keywords: concussion, concussion evaluation, concussion management, return-to-play, concussion prevention technology, football helmet concussion reducing design.
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U.S. Sports Academy2016-02-12T08:48:55-06:00February 12th, 2016|Concussions, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off