Sports Studies and Sports Psychology – Page 32

Contemporary Issues of Heat Illnesses

Ms. Jennifer Parker

### Abstract
Heat illnesses are of major concern. More and more high school, college, and professional athletes are suffering from and/or dying from heat related illnesses. With all of the knowledge that medical professionals have in this day-in-age, there should be fewer instances of heat illnesses. Parents, coaches, and athletes also need to be aware of prevention and treatment procedures in case an emergency occurs. Heat stroke, the most serious heat illness, is a life threatening emergency and needs to be treated immediately. Ice water immersion is the best method for lowering the body temperature quickly and effectively.

**Key Words:** heat illness, heat stroke, heat index, prevention, treatment

### Introduction

After working on a sports medicine team for the last two years, exertional heat illnesses (EHI) were brought to my attention. I never knew how often they occurred or how life-threatening they could be. The purpose of this paper is to spread awareness to athletes, parents, and coaches, of the dangers of heat illnesses as well as how to prevent, treat, and return-to-play after an episode of heat illness. Heat illness-related deaths are on the rise, and I am curious to know why athletes are dying from heat injuries, such as heat stroke. In 2004, Coris et al. (4) stated, “the recent high-profile deaths of a collegiate athlete and a professional athlete in Florida and a professional athlete in Minnesota have the sports medicine and family medicine communities in a state of ‘high alert’ and searching for the most efficacious methods of preventing such tragedies.” In 2007, heat stroke was “the third leading cause of death in U.S. high school athletes.” (Coris, Walz, Konin, & Pescasio, 2007). Now, in 2010, “exertional heat stroke is the second leading cause of death among athletes, followed only by sudden cardiac death.” (Mazerolle, Scruggs, Casa, Burton, & McDermott, 2010). There are several different heat illnesses, ranging from mild to life threatening. Heat edema, heat rash, heat syncope, and heat cramps are the milder heat illnesses while heat exhaustion and heat stroke are more serious. Sunburns can also be considered a heat illness, ranging from mild to severe (1st degree to 3rd degree burns). Heat edema is swelling of the extremities, often found in people who are not used to activity, heat, or a combination of the two. Heat rash is a specific area of skin that has been irritated. It is often, red, inflamed, itchy, and tingly. Heat cramps are painful, involuntary muscle spasms, most often occurring in the abdomen or calf. Heat syncope is defined as an orthostatic dizziness which is a result of a sudden pooling of the blood in the extremities, commonly seen in marathon runners after they cross the finish line and abruptly stop running. Heat exhaustion occurs when an athlete has become dehydrated and has a core body temperature of approximately 102°F. This athlete will often feel dizzy, and present as pale, warm, and diaphoretic. They may also present with a rapid pulse and could be hyperventilating. Heat stroke is a life threatening emergency and care needs to be provided immediately. An athlete suffering from heat stroke will usually suddenly collapse. The athlete will have hot and dry skin, a rapid pulse, and a core body temperature above 104°F. Athletes, coaches, and medical staff will benefit the most from this paper as I provide information on how to prevent and treat heat illnesses, learn how to identify and modify risk factors, as well as considering communication and special circumstances. However, parents, family and friends of athletes can also benefit from this article in learning about ways to help if need be.

### Levels of Care
_Prevention_

One of the best methods for preventing heat illnesses, if done correctly, is the preparticipation physical exam (PPE). The PPE is used to find any intrinsic risk factors that an athlete may have. It could be anything from low blood pressure, to heart problems, from asthma to obesity, and everything in between. “Several intrinsic risk factors that increase susceptibility to EHI have been identified, but information about their relative contributions is limited. These risk factors include (a) previous history of EHI, (b) poor cardiovascular (CV) fitness, (c) obesity, (d) inadequate heat acclimatization, (e) dehydration or electrolyte imbalance, (f) recent febrile illness, (g) sleep deprivation, (h) a ‘never give up’ or ‘warrior’ mentality (high level of motivation or zealousness), and (i) use of questionable drugs, herbs, or supplements.” (Eberman, & Cleary, 2009). Each of these risk factors needs to be considered so that appropriate actions can be taken to provide the safest situation possible for the athlete at risk. An athlete with any of the previously mentioned risk factors is at a higher risk for experiencing a heat illness.

Not only do members of the sports medicine team need to be educated, but athletes, coaches, and parents should also be informed about the risks, signs and symptoms, and treatments of heat illnesses. If an athlete is suffering from heat stroke, it is essential to provide immediate treatment, and with more people being educated properly, faster treatment may be more readily accessible. Hydration is one of the most important factors in preventing heat illness. It is important to educate athletes and coaches on proper hydration techniques. In some instances, mostly seen in football, coaches have withheld water breaks as a form of punishment or as a motivation technique. The coaches may or may not have known that withholding water could be dangerous and life threatening in long durations. It seems that football players are more susceptible to heat illnesses because they have “double days” usually during the hottest part of the year. The double days often take place in the beginning of summer after a long summer break where athletes have not been practicing and have lost any acclimatization to exercise and heat that they had before. Therefore, the athletes are more likely to suffer from some form of heat illness during the first few weeks of practice. “During prolonged work periods in the heat, the maintenance of high sweat rates leads to progressive dehydration, which may be accompanied by impairment of mental and physical performance and of heat dissipation.” (Bates, & Miller, 2008). The combination of water and sports drinks seem to offer the best hydration. The sports drinks replenish sodium and other electrolytes that water does not have. However, only drinking sports drinks can provide too much salt and therefore, drinking water becomes necessary as well. “Ingestion of non-caffeinated sports drinks containing vital nutrients such as water, electrolytes and carbohydrates during exercise may help maintain physiological homeostasis, resulting in enhanced performance and/or reduced physiological stress on an athlete’s cardiovascular, central nervous and muscular systems. Both the volume of the rehydration fluid and its composition are critical in maintaining whole body fluid homeostasis.” (Snell, Ward, Kandaswami, & Stohs, 2010).

Proper clothing, equipment, and preparation are also key factors in preventing heat illness. “Heat production during exercise is 15 to 20 times greater than at rest, and is sufficient to raise a person’s core body temperature 1°C every five minutes, if there were no inherent regulatory mechanisms.” (Miners, 2010). It is important to drink fluids, monitor oneself and others and wear proper clothing. Players should be aware of how much fluid they drink and take note if they start to cramp or feel lightheaded. Players and coaches need to be sure to wear sunscreen and to reapply it accordingly. Lightweight, breathable clothing should be worn in order to allow air to flow and dissipate heat. Light-colored clothing should be worn when possible as the light colors reflect the sun’s rays where as darker colors such as black absorb the rays and thus intensifies the heat that the body is absorbing. Shorts and short-sleeved shirts should also be worn when possible to allow for as much breeze to flow to skin contact. This is the idea behind the recommendation of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to acclimatize to the heat. It is especially important for football players in the early summer months to follow this safety guideline. It can take up to 14 days to acclimatize the body to the heat. So, it is important to start off with shorter practices during the early morning or later evenings. The players should start practices in shorts and short-sleeved shirts and build up to pads, then full pads, and then finally full pads with full uniform. It is also important to slowly increase the length of time the players practice and to modify which part of the day they are practicing in. Not only do the athletes need their proper equipment to help prevent heat illness, but the coaches and sports medicine team need their proper equipment as well. Ice water immersion has been identified as the best way to cool a person’s body rapidly and so a small pool-like container is needed on the sidelines of every sporting event. Coolers of ice and others with water should be kept next to the pool with the intent to use it only for the need of an emergency. Other coolers should be provided for drinking water. In some cases where a small pool-like container is not available, ice water buckets and towels should be available to cool an athlete. The sports medicine team should also supply a few tents to allow a place for athletes to escape from the sun. Although it may be an uncomfortable situation for the athlete and/or the athletic trainer, rectal temperature is the best way to determine core body temperature. Oral, tympanic, or other methods of reading a temperature are just not sufficient enough. They do not read a true core body temperature. Ingestible pills that read the body’s temperature are a great way to find out the athlete’s temperature for a few days, however, they are costly. The pills can be used to track an athlete’s body temperature, which is especially important for those who are susceptible to heat illnesses.

_Modifiable Risks_

Some of the things listed above in prevention techniques are also found in the modifiable risks category. Acclimatization to heat, dehydration, humidity, and high heat are all risks that can be modified, and thus, prevented. With proper education and planning, a heat acclimatization process can be initiated, proper hydration methods can be provided, and practices and games can be modified accordingly whether high heat, humidity, or other environmental factors occur. As mentioned above, the ACSM has set recommendations for acclimatization to heat but they also include information on hydration, humidity, and heat. “These recommendations consist of guidelines that measure heat stress and define the severity of heat stress by a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Index. Based on the WBGT at the time of the event, the ACSM also has recommendations regarding the type, durations, and frequency of exercise regimes for a particular day, the frequency of hydration and rest breaks, and whether or not the activity should be moved to a different time of day or cancelled altogether.” (Cooper, Jr, Ferrara, & Broglio, 2006). Each sports medicine team should make their own policy based on these recommendations. Each employee should receive a copy and should sign a form acknowledging receipt and cooperation. The WBGT Index has become widely recognized and used as one of the best methods to determine whether it is safe to engage in physical activity outside or not. “WBGT is not air temperature, but is measuring the relative heat and humidity. It indicates web bulb globe temperature, an index of climatic heat stress that can be on the field by the use of a psychrometer…High WBGT indicates extreme risk of heat-related problems and appears to be one of the best predictors of heat illness.” (Cleary, 2007).

_Measuring Heat_

Another way to help determine whether it is safe to participate in physical exercise outside is by using one of the many heat index charts available to the public. A new one in particular, the Kleiner Exertional Heat Illness Scale (KEHIS), eliminates the many traditional categories of heat edema, heat cramps, heat, syncope, heat exhaustion and heat stroke and combines them to set three categories: mild, moderate, and severe. This scale is similar to the Glasgow Coma Scale in that it uses a points system to help determine which category the person falls into. Since not every person will have each sign or symptom found in the traditional categories, Kleiner felt this method of a point system would help identify the seriousness of the illness the athlete is suffering from. The points range from zero to 25. “A need exists for a universal scale that can objectively quantify the severity of heat-related illness. The KEHIS has been designed to fill that void. A KEHIS score of 12 is different than a KEHIS score of 15, and a score of 15 on one patient has the same level of urgency as a score of 15 in another. There is no disagreement about the level of severity.” (Kleiner, 2002). So, the WBGT and other heat index charts are used to determine whether it is safe to begin play and the KEHIS is used to determine which level of heat illness a person is experiencing. It is important to identify which level the athlete is experiencing because a severe, or heat stroke illness, is life threatening and needs to be treated immediately. It is also important to determine if an athlete is experiencing a mild or moderate heat illness. Heat illnesses are a continuum and one level can progress to the next very quickly.

### Considerations
_Communication_

Communication between medical team members is crucial when dealing with an emergency. The Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) is usually the only medical personnel on the sideline for athletic events. In some cases a physician, physical therapist, and/or Emergency Medical Services (EMS) may also be present. One of the best ways for a medical team to effectively communicate during a medical emergency is by having an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place. Practice of the EAP is essential so that every person knows exactly what their job is in order to help eliminate confusion and chaos during the actual emergency. The EAP should specifically list every member of the medical team, their title, and contact information. Each venue; baseball field, soccer field, gymnasium, tennis courts, pool, etc., will need their own specific EAP established. Things included should be where to locate the ATC and emergency equipment such as Automated External Defibrillator (AED), splints, crutches, spine board, and bandages, to name a few. Communication lines such as cell phone, land lines, or 2-way radio with frequency and channel information, should also be noted. Also included in the venue section are directions for EMS to reach the specific facility. Details on who will call 911 and who will meet the ambulance when it arrives should also be included. This section should also have a list of all the area hospitals and directions so that they may be given to family members of those being transported. Other things to consider are environmental concerns such as thunderstorms, lightening, hail, hurricane, tornados, etc. For each of these situations, there needs to be a specific “safe location” for people to evacuate. Instructions for athletes to drop any metal equipment (bats, rackets, clubs, etc.) and for anyone to avoid metal stadium seating or tall trees are of utmost importance. The ATC will be in direct communication with the head coaches and officials and can suspend the game for safety reasons at any point.

With specific regards to heat illness injury, communication is crucial between members of the medical team. From the time the athlete suffers an attack, the ATC must put the EAP into action. After the athlete is released from the hospital, communication needs to be present between the athlete, athletic trainer, physician, coach, and in the case of a minor, the parents or guardians. Communication is crucial in order to provide the best care possible for the athlete.

_Returning-to-play_

Currently, there is no one set of standards for returning-to-play (RTP) after suffering a heat illness attack. Some commonly found suggestions include: 1) athlete suffered from heat cramps can RTP after hydrating until the cramps are gone, 2) athlete who suffered heat exhaustion should not RTP for 24 hours or more, and 3) athlete who suffered from heat stroke should stay out of activity for at least one week and must be cleared by a physician. “Recovery from EHI is typically determined by normalization of serum electrolytes, CK, creatinine, liver function tests, and normal mental status. When EHI victims meet these conditions, they can resume light to moderate exercise for 15 minutes daily. Maximal efforts, such as competitive running, and competitive sports, such as football, should not be permitted until recovery is complete. . . If the victim does not exhibit heat tolerance after three months post EHI episode, recommendations can be modified to an unrestricted exercise/workload, but maximal exertion, particularly during significant heat load conditions, should avoided.” (Muldoon, Deuster, Voelkel, Capacchione, & Bunger, 2008). Even though there are no set standards of returning an athlete to play, it seems wise to assure proper hydration and clear mental status as well as being cleared by a physician before allowing the athlete to compete. The timeline of RTP widely varies depending on the type of heat illness suffered and varies from athlete-to-athlete. As far as I, a medical professional, am concerned, we need to establish a professional standard for returning athletes back to practice and competition.

_Special circumstances_

There are many special circumstances to consider when dealing with heat illnesses. Amateur athletes, older athletes, and “weekend warriors” are of major concern themselves. These athletes tend to be out of shape or far less active than the collegiate or professional athlete, and yet many expect to go out and perform just as well. They push themselves too far and often experience a myriad of injuries and illnesses as a result. “Amateur participants may not have a complete understanding of recommended strategies for handling outdoor extreme conditions like heat and humidity. Thus, heat-related illnesses like heat stress and eventually heat stroke become increasingly possible, with susceptibility increasing with age, vulnerability factors like co-morbidity (e.g., chronic diseases), and various health-related behaviors (e.g., nutrition, hydrations, and sleep or rest).” (Shendell, Alexander, Lorentzon, & McCarty, 2010).

When thinking of athletes, many think of sports that take place on land. However, athletes who compete in or on the water are also of concern. Just because the athlete is in or on the water does not mean that they should be treated any differently than the land athlete. With regards to those athletes on the water, “paddlers should be encouraged to drink to thirst and replace electrolytes during long distance races and frequently be assessed for signs and symptoms of heat illness to prevent life threatening increases in body temperature and heat stroke. Paddlers should aggressively seek sun protection and have lacerations and skin injuries properly cleaned and evaluated by medical personnel if there are signs of infection.” (Haley, & Nichols, 2009).

On the other end of the spectrum are those who may have other health issues, thus, making them even more susceptible to exertional heat illnesses. Some researchers believe that there may be a link between exertional heat illness with those who have exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER), malignant hyperthermia (MH), and/or menstrual cycles. While exertional heat illness can be described as someone who has extreme high core body temperature, impaired mental status, and possible musculoskeletal or organ damage, a person with malignant hyperthermia does as well. Both EHI and MH are also both found in otherwise healthy people. Some of the people, who suffered from what appeared to be EHI, were later found to actually have been malignant hyperthermia. In contradiction, ER can also occur in warm or cool environments. However, like EHI and MH, “ER also is a hypermetabolic state wherein the skeletal cell membrane is severely compromised and serum CK values are markedly increased.” (Muldoon, et al, 2008). The recovery process of each of these seems to be very similar in that it calls for normalization of CK, serum electrolytes, creatinine, and liver functions. As of 2008, there are no biochemical tests, genetic tests, or functional bioassay tests available to determine the differences between the three. Further research is needed in order to be able to identify the similarities, differences, and treatments for each. In addition, Muldoon mentioned that females are more susceptible to heat illnesses than males. While searching through other articles I ran across an article researching the physiological responses to the menstrual cycle. In this article it was shown that females had a longer time to exhaustion than expected but was thought that by extending their time to exhaustion they become more susceptible to injury or illness. “Given the difficulty in conducting clinical research into the development of heat illness, obtaining evidence of the theoretical increased susceptibility to heat illness during the luteal phase in females remains elusive; however, it is an area that warrants further investigation.” (Marsh, & Jenkins, 2002).

The last special circumstance to consider is that of actually warming up before an activity while wearing an ice vest. The ice vest warm up was used on runners in a long distance race. The results showed that although heart rates varied, a lower body temperature was a consistent result. “The ice vest slowed the increase in core temperature throughout cross-country warm-up and racing among the participants of this study. With the reduced thermal strain, greater blood flow may be available for transport of oxygen to muscle. Sweat rate will likely be decreased during performance when the ice vest is used during the warm-up, and with a decreased sweat rate, blood volume should be better maintained, improving oxygen delivery to muscles. The greater blood flow and blood volume should lead to a better performance.” (Hunter, Hopkins, & Casa, 2006). While it is a fairly new idea, the ice vest warm up seems to provide impressive results. If we can decrease the core body temperature before an athletic event, it will theoretically, take longer for an athlete’s core body temperature to rise to a dangerous level. I found this article of interest because I am an athletic trainer in southern California where heat illnesses seem to be on the rise.

### Conclusions

In conclusion, the hope of this paper was to provide insight to how serious heat illnesses can be and how easy it is to prevent them. Currently, it seems that not enough people are knowledgeable of heat illnesses and the danger they possess. I urge everyone to take the time to learn about the prevention, treatments, and possible outcomes of heat illnesses. Learning this information could save a life. Even after years of education and research on heat illness, more and more athletes are suffering and dying from heat stroke. It is currently the second most leading cause of death in high school athletes and I find that totally unacceptable. The research and information on heat illness is out there for the public, however, they seem unaware of it. Medical professionals need to find a way to educate the public about heat illnesses, whether it is for the athlete or just a regular person.

### Applications in Sport

The mild versions of heat illness include: heat edema, heat rash, heat syncope, and heat cramps while heat exhaustion and heat stroke are much more serious and can lead to death. Parents and athletes need to be educated about the risks of playing sports, including environmental factors such as heat and humidity. Athletes also need to be aware of proper hydration methods to keep themselves healthy. The parents, athletes, coaches, and sports medicine team need to be on the same page with regards to the athletes’ safety and well being. Things like acclimatizing to the heat over a period of at least two weeks, proper hydration techniques, wearing proper, light-colored, breathable clothing, and identifying any underlying health issues before the start of the season are all important factors in helping to prevent heat illnesses. The sports medicine team is ultimately responsible for the safety of the athletes and must provide proper equipment, like a small pool with coolers of ice and water, for use of an ice water-immersion in the event of a heat related emergency. Communication between athletes, coaches, parents, and the sports medicine team are a necessity. An emergency action plan needs to be in place and implemented should an emergency arise. The timeline of when an athlete can return to play is unclear, however, the participant should be properly hydrated, have a clear mental status and should be cleared by a physician before returning to competition. There are always athletes with special circumstances or underlying health issues and it is important to try to identify these before the sport season begins so appropriate planning can be done regarding those issues. Further research is needed in the distinction between exertional heat illness, exertional rhabdomyolysis, and malignant hyperthermia. Additional information is also sought for those with menstrual cycles and the effect of possible heat illnesses. Warming up with an ice-vest also seems like it could be beneficial to the athlete, however, I believe additional research is still needed.

### Acknowledgments

None

### References

1. Bates, G.P., & Miller, V.S. (2008). Sweat rate and sodium loss during work in the heat. _Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology_, 3(4), Retrieved from http://www.occup-med.com/content/3/1/4 doi: 10.1186/1745-6673-3-4
2. Cleary, M.A. (2007). Predisposing risk factors on susceptibility to exertional heat illness: clinical decision-making considerations. _Journal of Sport Rehabilitation_, 16, 204-214.
3. Cooper, Jr, E.R., Ferrara, M.S., & Broglio, S.P. (2006). Exertional heat illness and environmental conditions during a single football season in the southeast. _Journal of Athletic Training_, 41(3), 332-336.
4. Coris, E.E., Ramirez, A.M., & Van Durme, D.J. (2004). Heat illness in athletes. _Sports Medicine_, 34(1), 9-16.
5. Coris, E.E., Walz, S., Konin, J., & Pescasio, M. (2007). Return to activity considerations in a football player predisposed to exertional heat illness: a case study. _Journal of Sport Rehabilitation_, 16, 260-270.
6. Eberman, L.E., & Cleary, M.A. (2009). Preparticipation physical exam to identify at-risk athletes for exertional heat illness. _Athletic Therapy Today_, 14(4), 4-7.
7. Haley, A., & Nichols, A. (2009). A survey of injuries and medical conditions affecting competitive adult outrigger canoe paddlers on Oahu. _Hawaii Medical Journal_, 68(7), 162-165.
8. Hunter, I., Hopkins, J.T., & Casa, D.J. (2006). Warming up with an ice vest: core body temperature before and after cross-country racing. _Journal of Athletic Training_, 41(4), 371-374.
9. Kleiner, D.M. (2002). A new exertional heat illness scale. _Athletic Therapy Today_, 7(6), 65-70.
10. Marsh, S.A., & Jenkins, D.G. (2002). Physiological responses to the menstrual cycle. _Sports Medicine_, 32(10), 601-614.
11. Mazerolle, S.M., Scruggs, I.C., Casa, D.J., Burton, L.J., & McDermott, B.P. (2010). Current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of certified athletic trainers regarding recognition and treatment of exertional heat stroke. _Journal of Athletic Training_, 45(2), 170-180.
12. McDermott, B.P., Casa, D.J., Ganio, M.S., Lopez, R.M., & Yeargin, S.W. (2009). Acute whole-body cooling for exercise-induced hyperthermia: a systematic review. _Journal of Athletic Training_, 44(1), 84-93.
13. Miners, A.L. (2010). The diagnosis and emergency care of heat related illness and sunburn in athletes: a retrospective case series. _J Can Chiro Assoc_, 54(2), 107-117.
14. Muldoon, S., Deuster, P., Voelkel, M., Capacchione, J., & Bunger, R. (2008). Exertional heat illness, exertional rhabdomyolysis, and malignant hyperthermia: is there a link? _Current Sports Medicine Report_s, 7(2), 74-80.
15. Shendell, D.G., Alexander, M.S., Lorentzon, L., & McCarty, F.A. (2010). Knowledge and awareness of heat-related morbidity among adult recreational endurance athletes. +Int J Biometeorol_, 54, 441-448.
16. Snell, P.G., Ward, R., Kandaswami, C., & Stohs, S.J. (2010). Comparative effects of selected non-caffeinated rehydration sports drinks on short-term performance following moderate hydration. _Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition_, 7(28), Retrieved from http://www.jissn.com/content/7/1/28 doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-7-28
17. Spain, J.K., Liotta, C., Terrell, T., & Branoff, R. (2010). Heat-related illness in athletes: recognition and treatment. _Athletic Training & Sports Health Care_, 2(4), 152-154.
18. Spann, T. (2007). Avoiding heat illness. _Hughston Health Alert_, 19(3), 5-6.

U.S. Sports Academy2014-11-24T05:56:18-06:00August 24th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

When Pride Goes Wrong

Dr. Steven Aicinena

Abstract
Pride is considered to be a positive emotion and is observed in human beings throughout the world. It is fostered through positive approval received from others and is associated with success and satisfaction. Feelings of pride serve to enhance an individual’s self-concept. When pride is at stake, individuals are motivated to work longer and harder to achieve success. Pride serves individuals and groups positively, however, experienced pride may lead individuals to feel special and entitled. When they are, they experience hubristic pride. Hubristic pride is sinister and dangerous. In the name of pride, sport participants cheat, engage in violence, and selfishly take advantage of others. Hubristic pride is not to be confused with the satisfaction one receives from successful performance and positive feedback. Hubristic pride is pride that has gone wrong. It allows individuals to engage in harmful acts without feeling remorse. Coaches, athletes and parents exhibit hubristic pride that causes harm to others. In this paper, examples of hubristic behavior and the harm that it causes in sport are presented. A lack of perspective enables individuals to choose to engage in hubristically motivated behavior.

Key Words: Pride, Hubris, Coaches, Athletes, Parents, Cheating, Violence, Sexual Behavior, Abuse, Hubristic Pride

The term pride is often viewed in a favorable light. It conjures up positive images such as a toddler’s glee after successful performance of a task, a parent’s delight in the athletic accomplishment of a child, a coach’s jubilation following an important victory, and an athlete’s elation after a record-setting performance. Few would find fault with these positive images of pride.

Pride, however, can degenerate into something abhorrent. Athletes cheat and injure others in order to achieve success and bolster their pride. Coaches can become controlling and abusive of athletes as they seek success and enhancement of their pride. Parents meddle into the affairs of coaches and abuse their children in the pursuit of athletic success, their means to enhancing parental pride. Pride can be the motivation for antagonistic actions as individuals compete for the social standing, fame, and riches associated with athletic success.

“In truth, pride is double-edged: destructive and ludicrous in the wrong place and the wrong proportions, but heroic and admirable in the right ones” (19, p. 46). How does pride positively serve individuals as they navigate the waters of social relationships and as they pursue success? How does pride, which can serve as a positive social attribute, become something negative? In order to answer these questions, the nature of pride as well as its positive social functions shall be examined. Hubristic pride will be explored as the origin of many ills plaguing sport and society. When pride suggests traces hubris, it becomes a negative force in the lives of many and all that fall within reach of its acridity. By better understanding the difference between pride and hubristic pride, coaches, parents and administrators may be better able to take action to prevent hubristic pride from causing harm to themselves or others.

The Nature of Pride and Its Positive Functions

Pride is a basic emotion observed universally in human beings (35). It is exhibited through specific and recognizable non-verbal expressions spontaneously displayed when individuals experience pride. They include a low-intensity smile, expanded posture, slight head tilt, and arms to the side with hands on hips or raised above the head with hands in fists (36). Children exhibit recognizable signs of pride by the age of two and a half years and are able to recognize physical expressions of pride in others by age four.

Pride is generally considered to be a positive emotion. It can be thought of as a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in one’s actions. Pride is often linked to success and it is achieved through the receipt of social approval and the admiration of others (33). When individuals are rewarded with positive feedback and when they see faces brimming with pride over their accomplishments, they feel pride and understand that they stand well in comparison to others (26). Success enhances self-esteem and feelings of pride. Self-esteem and a sense of pride serve as positive means to find success in society (6,21).

Pride in One’s Work and Efforts

Pride is sometimes used to describe the satisfaction achieved through the completion of a task to the best of one’s ability. Former Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame member Don Sutton illustrated the belief that one should take pride in doing one’s job and in doing it well (22):

I grew up in rural Clio, Alabama and in rural northwest Florida where your work ethic was what you took pride in, whether you might have been a farmer or a carpenter or whatever. You showed up on time, you did your job, and you went home. (5)

Sutton believed it was his responsibility to prepare himself for games to the best of his ability each day and that by doing so; he could feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.

National Football League quarterback and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Drew Brees explained why he believed some athletes are superior to others. The key is having pride in one’s performance efforts (5):

I think it’s pride. That encompasses so many things. But in my mind, pride is that inner discipline, that inner voice to just be the hardest-working guy on the field — as tough as you can be — to give everything you can to your team, to not be a selfish player, to fulfill your role, to fight for your teammates, to be a great leader not only on the field but off the field. And just to work at your craft. (p. 1)

The comments of Sutton and Brees reflect the belief held by most involved in sport: individuals should work to the best of their ability and take pride in their efforts. Knowing that one has supplied the best effort possible is the means by which those defeated may find solace in their loss. Providing one’s best effort also enhances one’s chances of experiencing success.

Pride and Its Effect Upon Performance

Many athletes and coaches believe that when a person’s pride is challenged, superior performances result (18). Indeed, it has been demonstrated that the level of pride individuals possess is positively associated with goal-attainment motivation and perseverance (40). Those concerned with ego-enhancement and pride possess competitive orientations geared toward maintaining self-esteem and pride (6). When the pride of individuals is at risk, they work longer and harder to succeed.

Pride, however, can be a very damaging emotion for it can serve as the motivation to engage in harmful behavior as individuals seek to bolster and protect their pride. Further, a loss of pride in the form of humiliation or the potential loss of pride through ego threats can lead people to engage in aggressive and violent behavior (39,35).

The scriptures of many world religions proscribe pride and the egoism that is reflective of pride. Scriptures from two religious texts shall serve as illustrations.

Judaism and Christianity: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16.18 (25).

Hinduism: “Honoured (only) by themselves, void of humility, and full of the pride and frenzy of wealth, these calumniators (of the virtuous) perform sacrifices, which are sacrifices only in name, with ostentatiousness and against prescribed rules 3; indulging (their) vanity, brute force, arrogance, lust, and anger; and hating me in their own bodies and in those of others 4. These enemies 5, ferocious, meanest of men, and unholy, I continually hurl down, to these worlds 6, only into demoniac wombs. Coming into demoniac wombs, deluded in every birth, they go down to the vilest state, O son of Kuntî! without ever coming to me.” _The Bhagavadgita_ Chapter XVI (34, p. 115)

Writers and philosophers over the ages have also observed that pride may become something negative and destructive as evidenced by the following quotes (13):

> **Samuel Johnson:** “Pride is seldom delicate; it will please itself with very mean advantages.” (p. 517)

> **Louis the Eleventh:** “When pride and presumption walk before, shame and loss follow very closely.” (p. 518)

It is evident that pride can become something problematic in the lives of human beings. Though pride may benefit us, it may also be the cause of pain, suffering, and destruction.

### Hubristic Pride

Hubris is a term taken from the Ancient Greeks. Originally hubris described those who thought themselves superior to the gods and it entailed the moral failings of not knowing one’s place in a hierarchical scheme and vaingloriously sticking to it (23). Hubris is a false pride (9). The hubristic are puffed up with pride, exaggerate their importance, act recklessly in pursuit of glory, and may believe themselves to be infallible (19). Hubristic pride is associated with arrogance, conceit, narcissism, hostility, aggression, and it results in interpersonal problems (36- 37). Hubristic pride is not to be confused with the satisfaction one receives from successful performance and positive feedback. It is pride that has morphed into prideful. Hubris is pride that has gone wrong.

When individuals engage in a harmful act or transgression against another, the perpetrator may experience either shame or pride. If the choice is to experience pride, it is an indication that the perpetrator has morally disengaged from the victimized. The personal benefit gained through the harmful action is considered to be more important than the negative impact it has upon the victim (24).

In order to illustrate the real evil that can be caused by hubristic pride, three examples taken from outside the world of sport are presented below. Rapes occur frequently in war-zones as a consequence of narcissistic pride. Rape is deemed acceptable by the rapists because they believe the victimized deserve to be shamed through the act of rape. Shame displacement and narcissistic pride preclude the rapists from feeling shame over the horrible act of rape (3).

During the “Holy Wars” known as the Crusades, Byzantine Christian and Muslim writers characterized the Latin intruders as being prideful and arrogant (27). Who could war over religious beliefs and practices? Only the proud and arrogant could. The Byzantines believed that God would ultimately punish the pride and arrogance of the invading Latins. To the Muslims, Latin pride and arrogance was considered to be the gravest of sins. Those who acted with arrogance and pride, they believed, could not be true believers in their conceptualization of God.

The colonization and expansion of European settlements in North America resulting in the death of countless Native Americans required a measure of hubris. According to Lewy (17):

> The new Americans, convinced of their cultural and racial superiority, were unwilling to grant the original inhabitants of the continent the vast preserve of land required by the Indians’ way of life. The consequence was a conflict in which there were few heroes, but which was far from a simple tale of hapless victims and merciless aggressors. (68)

If indeed hubristic pride empowers individuals to engage in behavior that harms others in the quest to achieve their goals, it seems that sport would provide a context in which those who have achieved success and those committed to athletic success might display hubristic pride. One would also expect to observe conflict, pain and suffering in the wake of the hubristic sport participant.

### Hubristic Pride and Problems in Sport

During a televised speech, professional golfer Tiger Woods apologized for extramarital affairs that gained worldwide attention, garnered negative publicity and cost him millions of dollars in commercial sponsorships. The words of Woods (42) illustrated how athletic success can lead to hubristic pride and a sense of entitlement:

> I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules did not apply. I never thought about who I was hurting… I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me. I brought this shame on myself. (¶ 11 – 12)

Many who find success in sport are seduced by the calling of hubris. They grow to feel that they are special; that they are more important than others, and that they are entitled to have what they want and to act as they please. Actions taken as the consequence of hubristic pride held by coaches, athletes, and parents often impact others negatively.

#### Coaches and Hubristic Pride

Hubristic coaches dish out strong humiliation to athletes in an effort to achieve success that brings to them wealth, sporting glory and enhancement of their pride (23). Strong humiliation comes in the form of abusive and degrading language meant to embarrass and degrade the athlete’s self-concept. Strong humiliation is a violation of the basic respect one human being should have for another. It often results in more than an athlete’s loss of self-esteem that may come as a result of a loss; even an embarrassing loss. Athletes experience mental anguish, embarrassment, shame and may come to hate sport as a consequence of strong humiliation. More sinister is the prospect of the athlete feeling poorly about him or herself as a human being. Hubristic coaches coldly and calculably do harm in the name of athletic success and toward the enhancement of their personal reputation, fame and pride.

Recently, a college football coach at high profile program was accused of physically attacking and verbally abusing his players. A second was accused of grabbing a player by the facemask, shaking him, choking him, and punching him in the face (38).

Losses and insubordination enraged the coaches who suffered humiliation and a loss of face. The violent actions taken by the coaches as a consequence of assaults upon their pride made it clear that pride was more important than the athletes they chose to abuse.

Hubristic, glory-seeking coaches may violate rules and regulations in an effort to increase their chances of winning. For example, the New England Patriots’ coaching staff videotaped the defensive signals used by opposing coaches during games and practices. The Patriots used the information in order to call offensive plays to best take advantage of the defense, thus increasing their chances of success. The illegal activity was found by the National Football League to have taken place during the 2007 season, however, additional allegations of illegal filming surfaced during the 2008 season. It was also reported by a former Patriots’ employee that the team had filmed opponent’s signals beginning in 2000 during head coach Bill Belichick’s first season with the team (4). It is worth noting that the Patriots won three Super Bowl Championships between 2000 and 2006.

Hubristic coaches are found in youth leagues, high schools, and colleges. They feel as though they are above having to adhere to rules and regulations. Operating rules, they believe, are for everyone else to follow. In a sense, the hubristic do not believe they are cheating. They are simply doing what the timid and uncommitted will not do to achieve success.

Hubristic pride can lead to poor coaching decisions. A coach may leave a player in the game longer than appropriate because replacing the individual may make it clear that a mistake was made by either playing the athlete or by having left him/her in too long (28). Hubristic pride can lead coaches to make decisions concerning who plays where and when entirely upon opinions rather than the objective utilization of statistics as a part of the decision-making process. When athletes question hubristic coaches for reasoning behind opinion-based coaching decisions they indignantly respond, “Because I am the coach!” Sadly, hubristic pride hampers their ability to make good decisions. It prevents them from effectively motivating and communicating with their athletes. It thwarts the coach’s desire to learn and grow.

President Bill Clinton engaged in an adulterous sexual encounter with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. When asked some years later why he had the affair, he replied that it was for the worst possible reason, “Just because I could” (20, ¶ 16). Clinton felt special and entitled to do as he pleased. His actions were motivated by hubris. Illicit sexual activity is observed in coaches and it can also be motivated by a sense of hubris. Between 1993 and 2003, 159 athletic coaches were fired or received reprimands for sexual misconduct in the state of Washington (41). Coaches form strong bonds with athletes. They may take advantage of the closeness of their relationships and the power that they have over their athletes to garner sexual favors. They engage in the behavior because they can and because they do not consider the impact that the act has upon the victims.

Hubristic pride allows coaches to believe themselves to be exempt from the moral imperative of the “Golden Rule.” For example, they expect to be respected by officials, yet berate them when calls do not go their way. How many coaches refer to officials as “blind man,” “zebra,” and worse?

Hubristic coaches may demand respect from athletes, but give none in return. They wish to have athletes attentively listen to their instructions, wants, and needs, yet they fail to consider those of their charges. Though hubristic coaches may find success, their actions result in athletes who resent and despise them. The hubristic demonstrate to the world that they alone are important and spread the message that the self is important above all. Hubristic coaches simply use athletes to achieve their personal goals.

What insidious actions will hubristic coaches take in an effort to achieve victory and bolster their pride? Before a T-Ball playoff game a coach offered to pay one of his players twenty-five dollars if he hit a teammate on purpose with a thrown ball. The intended target was Harry, a nine year old who was autistic and mildly retarded (2). The goal was to avoid having to play Harry in the three innings required by league rules. Participation by the autistic and mildly-retarded child would naturally decrease the team’s chances for success. If Harry were hurt, he would most likely go home. When hitting Harry in the groin failed to have the desired effect, the coach asked the player to hit Harry harder with a second throw. The child hit Harry in the side of his face and ear drawing blood. Traumatized, Harry did not play in the game. The coach was, however, able to bask in the glow of an epic T-Ball playoff victory.

#### Athletes and Hubristic Pride

Successful athletes often feel entitled to special treatment from others. Earlier in this paper, the words of Tiger Woods illustrated how athletes may convince themselves that hard work and success entitle them to special treatment. Athletes who feel entitled to special treatment negatively impact others and at times, harm themselves.

Few athletes in history have been the embodiment of perfection. How can athletes improve if they believe themselves above the need for improvement? How can they better contribute to the success of a team if they do not realize their potential? Hubristic athletes cannot honestly consider these questions, because they have been successful and their attitude toward instruction becomes hardened. They have an unrealistic assessment of their abilities and cannot see that their current abilities may simply make them a “big fish in a small pond.” They do not achieve their potential because they have an inflated perspective of their abilities. They lack perspective.

Hubristic athletes often feel as though they should not be required to adhere to policies and expectations set forth by the coach. For example, they are offended when they are taken out of a game in order to allow a substitute to play, when they are punished for being late, when they are asked to stop talking while the coach is trying to instruct, and when they are required to perform in tactical roles determined by the coach.

Hubristic athletes are less than a joy to have on a team in spite of how talented they may be. They cause frustration, irritation and resentment. They do so because they believe their perceived self-importance is worthy of special treatment and understanding. They believe that because they are gifted, the team cannot do well without them. They deceive themselves.

The hubristic individual is a poor teammate for it becomes clear to all that their own views and their personal success are all that is important. The hubristic athlete feels entitled to tell others what they are to do instead of making suggestions. The hubristic quickly express their displeasure in the poor performance of others and are incensed when others have the audacity to suggest that their play could be improved. Teammates come to fear and in a way despise them.

Hubristic athletes may even come to expect special treatment from officials. Some professional basketball players receive favorable calls because of their historical success and fame. They also receive favorable calls because they complain to officials to the point of embarrassment when calls do not go their way (29).

Hubristic athletes may see no problem with intentionally harming opponents in response to a loss of face experienced during competition. For example, an opponent was dominating NFL defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth during a contest. In the midst of a play the helmet of Haynesworth’s opponent had fallen off. With his opponent lying unprotected on the ground, Haynesworth intentionally stomped upon the face of his tormentor with a cleated foot. The stomping resulted in the victim being removed from the game and receiving several stitches. When asked about the motivation for the reprehensible act, Haynesworth replied, “You come to a crossroads in your life. I’m a prideful guy and I hate to lose, and I thought I was losing or at the point where it was make it or break it. I wanted to make it.” (15, ¶ 26).

#### Hubristic Pride and Parents

Modern parents often believe that the successes and failures of their children are an indication of their parental prowess. According to Coakley (10) the moral worth of parents is often tied to their children’s sporting success. In the sports setting the consequences of a child’s success and failure therefore takes on high importance concerning the pride an individual may take in being a parent.

Parents may display symptoms of hubris as they seek glory for their children. They feel entitled to impose their will, opinions, and desires upon anyone who may have an impact upon their child’s ability to shine. According to Dominowski (12):

> Some parents become obsessed with their son’s or daughter’s athletic success. Making all-conference, all-county, all-district, or all-state, for some parents caught in the web of showing themselves and their neighbors they are somehow ‘better’ because of their child’s success, is a case in point. Playing up to a coach, beseeching administrators, or running to the athletic director is a common occurrence among those with a do-or-die fixation personality. When things don’t go the way these individuals want them to go, out come the personal bashing, invective, provocative personal assaults, name-calling, and ‘get-even’ determination to end a coach’s career. (18)

Hubristic parents become a bane upon the lives of coaches. Parents evaluate all coaching decisions in light of how they may benefit or harm their child’s chances to achieve success and glory. Coaches are frequently second-guessed and criticized. Emboldened parents will often attempt to influence the decisions of coaches and become enraged if and when their attempts fail. Parents become incensed when it is perceived that their child has been “mistreated” or subjected to “humiliation” because it indirectly serves as an attack on their pride. Too frequently, their rage erupts into violence. Some salient examples are presented below.

* An angry parent attacked a coach because allegedly the coach had verbally embarrassed his son. The parent was a member of the United States House of Representatives (7).
* A parent ran onto the wrestling mat and grabbed the eleven-year-old athlete who was about to pin his child and threw him off of the mat (11).
* A parent attacked a coach after his child was forced to run a lap for being late to practice (1).
* An angry parent came after a coach with a loaded gun because his child did not get enough playing time (30).
* The organizer of a youth football league knocked his child’s coach unconscious during an argument over when the child would be placed into the game (14).
* A parent was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter over an attack leading to the death of a coach. The parent was angered over rough play that had occurred during a hockey scrimmage (8).

How many engage in violent activity because their parental pride has been wounded? How many angry parents believe that violence is justified because their pride is more important than the health, safety and even the lives of others? Those who do posses a puffed-up hubristic pride that makes them dangerous.

Parents may justify cheating as a means of assisting with their child’s success. The importance of success to the hubristic parent takes precedence over values such as fair play and sportsmanship. In an effort to achieve success, parents may falsify birth certificates or purchase performance-enhancing drugs for their children to ingest (16,32).

Hubristic parents may be despised by others because their conversational focus centers around their child’s talents, successes, future greatness, and because they often erupt into tirades concerning “unfair” treatment doled out by coaches and officials. Not to be forgotten are the stories of financial sacrifice, time invested and personal involvement in the skill development of their children. If people are not told, hubristic parents believe, how can they recognize the important impact that their actions have had upon the success of their children?

### Perspective Yields Humility

In a capitalistic society, competition is ubiquitous and the standing afforded us through our successes and failures has a tremendous impact upon our self-concept and experienced pride. Pride can indeed be a positive emotion. It serves to motivate human beings to accomplish great things both individually and collectively.

In the pursuit of success and in the afterglow of achievement we may deem ourselves special and, therefore above following the rules and standards of behavior set forth by society or the governing bodies of sport. We may come to believe ourselves to be worthy of special treatment and to take license to do as we please regardless of the harm we may do to others. When we do, we have chosen to be hubristic (27). We become a source of conflict, pain and discomfort. We may literally become a danger to others as well as to ourselves.

The perspective unknown to or unappreciated by the hubristic is that success and fame soon fade. Eventually time has its way and the mantle of greatness once bestowed upon the prideful is unceremoniously taken by vigorous youths. “In sports, more than most cultural pursuits, greatness is indeed on loan temporarily from the Gods” (23, p. 51). We cannot win forever. The applause we receive for our achievements does not echo throughout eternity.

Even those who achieve international renown should understand that to some, they are nothing more and nothing less than one of the 6.8 billion inhabitants of the earth. In an interview following Tiger Wood’s public apology for his hubristically motivated indiscretions, the Buddhist religious leader, Dalai Lama, stated that he did not know who Tiger Woods was (31). It is clear that the monumental achievements of some are unknown by and irrelevant to the many. Perspective yields humility. Perverted is the perspective held by the hubristic.

### Application in Sport

There is nothing wrong with the positive feelings of pride associated with athletic accomplishments. Athletes fittingly take pride in their abilities and performances. Coaches justifiably take pride in their work and successes. Parents rightly feel pride in the performances and accomplishments of their children. The desire to obtain a sense of accomplishment and pride drives individuals toward excellence in sport and life.

The danger to individuals and to society surfaces when pride in one’s athletic accomplishments leads them to believe that they are entitled to special treatment. At this point, pride has gone wrong. Pride has morphed into hubristic pride.

If sport is to prepare individuals to work and to live in harmony with one another, hubris must be eliminated from the competitive milieu. Athletic administrators, coaches, athletes, and parents must be vigilant for traces of hubristic behavior and sanction it quickly and effectively. In doing so, the spread of hubristic behavior through sport may be lessened.

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41. Willmsen, C., & O’Hagan, M. (2003, December 14). Coaches who prey. The Seattle Times. Retrieved from <http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20031214&slug=coaches14m>
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Corresponding Author
Dr. Steven Aicinena
Professor of Kinesiology/Athletic Director
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
4901 East University
Odessa, TX 79762
<Aicinena_s@utpb.edu>
Office: 432-552-4675

U.S. Sports Academy2015-10-24T01:31:50-05:00August 19th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

The Athletic Hurdles to Prestige: A Case Report

John L. Stump, Michael R. Allen, Robert J. Saxon, Jr., Vincent McConnell

### Abstract

This case report presents a history, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of a young tennis athlete on scholarship to Florida State University. He sustains an acute ankle injury while in a tournament in the last month of high school that jolts him into realizing the injury hurdles that may lie ahead in the college athletic world. He and his parents choose alternative and complementary sports medicine rather than traditional methods and procedures for the health care of the young athlete. This case report details the procedures used to manage the acute ankle injury – Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Cold Laser – and the latest athletic training methods for sports rehabilitation are given in the integrative sports injury care given this athlete.

**Key Words:** Alternative, Complementary, Integrative, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Cold Laser

### Introduction

Leonardo da Vinci called the human foot, which contains nearly 25 percent of the human’s bones and an elegantly functional arrangement of ligaments, tendons and fascia, a marvel of bioengineering and a work of art. Centuries after that observation by da Vinci, researchers continue to discover more about how the feet work, what can go wrong with motility maneuvers, and why (1).

Since 1990, Anderson Reed, a Daphne, Alabama resident and standout student at Bayside Academy in Daphne, Alabama, had been aspiring to greater heights in his chosen athletic endeavor of tennis (2). This year he graduated at or near the top of his class to go on to the University of his choice. He had a wide choice of colleges to select from by his sophomore year in high school when he became the top ranked tennis player in the State of Alabama. Reed played in tournaments across the United States through his high school career and accomplished a top 10 national ranking in tennis.

The young athlete narrowed his field of schools down to Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Louisiana State University, University of Alabama and Florida State University. After visiting the schools, talking with the administration, players, coach, and coaching staff at each college he felt informed enough to make a decision. His selection turned out to be Florida State University in Tallahassee.

His academic performance had been as good as his tennis record over the last four years, and it was reflected in the colleges and universities that sought Reed for their student body. Reed had decided on his collegiate career based on the academics of the school and the tennis program of Florida State University. Florida State has competed in the National Collegiate (NCAA) Sweet Sixteen finals each year for the past five years. They have top participants in the professional ranks, so he knew the coaching was going to be some of the best and – another plus – it was fairly close to home for him.

### Athlete and Injury

Last year at a state tournament in Mobile, Alabama, Reed was returning a hard volley and came down from a jump in the air, as he had done a thousand times before for a return shot. This time, however, he went down to the court in pain. He couldn’t move without severe pain. He had to forfeit the match and the game that day. His father and mother happened to be there and brought him home. They immediately called the practitioner they had depended on to keep Reed in good playing health for the last fifteen years. They all came together at the Integrative Medicine Centre office. The young athlete was taken to an examination room. It didn’t take long to determine that he had indeed sustained a bad ankle contusion with strain and sprain. The doctor thought he should be taken to the hospital for radiographs (X-rays), imaging (MRI), or both.

At the hospital the ER physician examined and followed up with radiographs and an MRI. It was determined he had sustained a grade III strain/sprain to the ankle (3). The radiologist had pointed out a couple of stress lines that he felt in most individuals would have been fractures (4). The diagnosis was a strain/sprain of the right ankle. Reed was to be out of action for the first time in his athletic career with an ankle injury. He had suffered mild shoulder, neck, wrist, and low back strains (5) over the past ten years, but nothing that kept him out of action more than a few days. This time was going to be different.

The team of Integrative Sports Medicine Specialists had seen hundreds of these injuries and had taken care of some of the best athletes in the world. They saw this as a good opportunity to illustrate the unified professional cooperation of the group.

![Reed’s Right Ankle](http://thesportjournal.org/files/)
Figure 1 Lateral View – Reed’s Right Ankle

### Biomechanical Analysis

The injury stunned Reed, his family and friends. Seeing him hobble around on crutches for weeks was just not what they were used to. But there were three components to this injury they had to understand. Because of the excessive flexibility of his body, especially the foot, over-pronation could easily have caused a fracture to occur. The three components that were involved, any one of which could have resulted in the injury were: a) too-rapid pronation (a turning-in of the foot); b) too extensive a degree of pronation; and c) pronation for too long a time.

When jumping, the athlete maintains pronation from the time of ground contact all the way into what’s called the propulsion phase. (At the propulsion phase, the foot should be very rigid to propel the body forward.) With a late-phase over-pronation, the foot is hypermobile (loose) and in danger of injury (6). Simply put, the body is applying a high level of force against the ground to propel the body forward while the foot is also excessively rolling inward. This inward foot rotation is transferred up the kinetic chain, alternating joint function. The uncontrolled load results in a high impact foot strike (6). So the athlete has reacted too fast, too excessively, and too long. The most difficult part for most people to understand is that he was just doing what his mind directed his body to do with the shot he was returning (6).

While traditional treatment methods for muscle, tendon and ligament injury have always emphasized rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE), the team felt Reed should start functional treatment right away in order to retard scar tissue development (7).

### Methods and Materials

The team discussed the treatment plan after the consultation and examination, and determined that the athlete required a minimum of eight weeks of therapy, to consist of a physical examination (orthopaedic and neurological) (8,9), applied kinesiology or manual muscle testing to determine the weakened structures (10), acupuncture for quick pain control (10,11), and chiropractic for pelvic and low back compensation correction (6,8,10,12) as well as sports therapy procedures (13,14).

One new innovation in sports therapy, the Laser Therapy, a 500 mW cold laser (15,16), was to be utilized for the innovations provided by photobiostimulation technology within the last few years of Sports Medicine application and research (16). Medical Laser Systems has been working with doctors on a number of laser investigations, and this therapy seemed to be a good integrative approach to use. The laser utilizes acupuncture points that have been used in foot and ankle injuries in martial arts for hundreds of years with safety and efficiency (17).

Rehabilitative help from athletic training procedures and expertise was invaluable (18). The role of the Athletic Trainer’s (AT) involvement with the rehabilitation began early. Having worked with athletes for years, the AT was in tune with the mind and body needs of Reed’s injury from the start. There was the obvious need for some immobilization with an injury such as this, but the vital benefit of movement to promote healing in the affected area was not to be ignored (18).

The initial rehab session involved testing the ankle for range of motion (ROM) in relation to pain. The athlete needed to work in ranges where discomfort was 1-4 on a scale of 10 (19). This assessment was done in open chain fashion as the affected ankle tested in every possible position to locate the primary hindrances to healthy ROM.

What was found was there were a few positions in ROM (i.e. dorsiflexion) that caused greater degrees of pain than others. Once located, “pain-free zones” of ROM were used to work the ankle in those zones with resistance bands in a seated position. Some pain-free ROM with light resistance in the injured ankle progressed into the areas where discomfort was evident. The stimulus was kept passive as opposed to forcing any ROM that was not compliant. It must be noted here that the non-injured ankle was trained with the same resistance and workload. Well-established research literature indicates that working a non-injured limb results in strength improvement in the injured contralateral side. This is referred to as “cross-transfer” and even in immobilization situations reports show 10-77% (of healthy side) strength increases (20).

The athlete’s progress in ROM was quite amazing. He was seen 3-4 days per week through the rehab process in combination with his acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. Stability drills were added to the program. With the ankle, a healthy joint must have both mobility and stability (20). The ankle can be quite an uncooperative joint for an athlete, since if either the stability or mobility is compromised the other attribute suffers. Being a tennis player means the demands of repeated acceleration, deceleration, and change of direction are inherent. Proficiency in these athletic skills requires high degrees of mobility in the ankle joint. However, once that mobility threshold has been violated (as was the case with this injury), stability is the number one priority. Mobility cannot be restored to the athlete’s ankle without the presence of stability. Stretching of the lower leg was done with precision and care, to locate the ROM for that day as opposed to being competitive and forcing progress.

Though “ankle stability” was the focus, the vital fact is that the human body works in kinetic chains, meaning no specific area of the body (i.e. ankle) is an island unto itself. For example, the restoration of the ankle is intimately affected by mobility and stability in other key areas such as the hip and knee (21,22). We did not want our athlete performing closed chain movements on the injured ankle that would compromise ipsilateral hip function through compensations to “protect” the ankle. Standing exercises were implemented that required a “regulated stimulus” to the injured ankle. Reed performed these drills barefoot on a cushioned surface that required him to flex his feet into the surface.

After he developed the necessary stability in the ankle, it was time to implement lunge type drills with assistance from a resistance band around the waist. The bands are used in this case to _unload_ the drill so that less of the athlete’s bodyweight is placed on the injured ankle. The progression was to go into controlled horizontal force drills where the subject would move laterally while attached to the resistance band. This gradually reintroduced the ankle to deceleration forces as well as change-of-direction demands. These drills, and others similarly performed with trunk rotation, re-educated the kinetic chain that includes the hips and other core muscles as well as the shoulders.

Figure 2 Dr. Mike Allen, Dr. John Stump, Sports Medicine Specialist, with Anderson Reed

Reed followed the treatment and rehab plan exactly as was suggested and established a routine that had him back in competitive condition within the predicted 8 weeks.

It is reported, “Reed has been a natural athlete from the beginning of his career; not taking any medications, steroids or athletic enhancements has been his prerogative.” There was no question or desire for anti-inflammatory therapy during the treatment or rehabilitation phase. The athlete understood the theory that medication may give him short-term benefit but nothing permanent (23). He followed the daily grind of the exercises and the muscle therapy explained to him each week. The manual muscle testing (AK) showed the progress being made each week. His speed, strength and agility were there as before the injury. The relationship between the force of movement and the velocity of movement was well understood (24,25).

### Conclusion

Beginning high-competitive athletics at an early age, this young man just experienced what every athlete has to face, human frailty and lack of total control, the fact that athletic injury hurdles come up suddenly, unannounced and as quickly as moguls down a ski slope.

The sports injury team had worked with athletes from elementary to professional and Olympic levels during their career. They knew there are times when this happens to the best of athletes; it’s part of the price that each athlete has to pay climbing to the top of their athletic endeavor. Some athletes take it in stride and know and understand, but the knowledge is difficult for others. They just can’t understand why the body doesn’t always respond as quickly and as efficiently as it should to a mental command and when it tries, sometimes the communication breaks down.

This athlete has a great future ahead. He crossed this injury hurdle just as he had all other hurdles put in front of him, with hard work and patience. He took on his treatment and rehabilitation as if it was part of the challenge of the game, and it is a very important part. Our athletic staff would not be surprised at all to see him at Wimbledon in the near future if he continues to follow the work ethic he has set up for himself in the early stages of his athletic career. We want to thank the Physicians and staff of Thomas Hospital for their contribution and help with the imaging of the ankle.

Please address any questions, comments or suggestions to the authors at the following email address: bamashogun@aol.com or visit www.alternative-concepts.com

### Applications in Sport

This article was written for the coaches, trainers and other sports health related personnel not familiar with the benefits of working in an Integrative Sports Healthcare facility. In this type of facility there are chiropractic, acupuncture, laser, nutrition and many non-traditional clinical applications that can speed an athlete’s injury toward recovery, in addition to the traditional approach in Sport Medicine.

### Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the radiology staff at Thomas Hospital, Fairhope, Alabama, especially the physicians who consulted with us in this case.

### References

1. Keele, KD with a commentary by Carlo Pedretti, Corpus of the anatomical works in the collection of her Majesty the Queen, New York: Johnson, 1979-1981. 3 vol. See also his fundamental study, Leonardo da Vinci’s elements of the science of man, New York: Academic Press, 1983.
2. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons The Young Athlete New York, NY, July 2009.
3. Hole JW, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Wm C Brown Brothers, Oxford 1995 pages 172-200.
4. Fore, David and Radiology Staff, Thomas Hospital, Fairhope, AL. May 2009.
5. Gibble, M and Ashton, J. Young Athletes Fight Sports Injury www.CBS.Com June 2009.
6. Schafer RC. Clinical Biomechanics Musculoskeletal Actions and Reactions. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1998, pages 579-582.
7. Hammer, W. New Trends in Treating Muscle Injury. Dynamic Chiropractic, March, 2009.
8. Jenkins, DB Functional Anatomy of the Limbs and Back W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1991.
9. Cyriax, J Orthopaedic Medicine Vol I & II Bailliere Tindall, London, 1984.
10. Micozzi M Fundamentals of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Saunders Elsevier, 2006 pp 223-225.
11. Ibid pp255-73
12. Mayor DF Electroacupuncture Churchill Livingstone, London 2007 pp 191-195.
13. Oschman JL Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis Churchill Livingstone London 2000 pp 165-193.
14. Stump JL Neuroma Pain of the Foot Successfully Managed with Laser Therapy Practical Pain Management, May 2009 pp 47-51.
15. Medical Laser Systems, Brandford, CT
16. White J and Kaesberg-White K Laser Therapy and Pain Relief. Dynamic Chiropractic. October 1994. 12(21).
17. Deadman P, AL- Khafaji M, and Baker K. A Manual of Acupuncture Journal of Chinese Publications. East Sussex, England. 2001.pp 10-20.
18. Konin JG Clinical Athletic Training SLACK Inc., Publishers, Thorofare, NJ 1996.
19. Irvin RL Classification of Chronic Pain. Pain. Supplement 3. 395-396.
20. Muscolino JE. The Muscular System Manual. Elsevier Mosby, St Louis, 2005.
21. Liebenson, C. Building Speed and Agility. Dynamic Chiropractic, June 2009.
22. Miller, John P. and Croce, Ronald V. (2007). “Analysis of Isokinetic and Closed Chain Movements for Hamstring Reciprocal Coactivation”. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation (16): 319–325.
23. Mishra DK, Friden J, Schmitz MC, et al. Anti-inflammatory medication after muscle injury. A treatment resulting in short-term improvement but subsequent loss of muscle function. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 1995; 77(10): 1510-9.
24. Munn, J., Herbert, R., & Grandevia, S. (2004). Contralateral effects of unilateral resistance training: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Physiology, 96, 1861-1866.
25. Lee, M., & Carrol, T. (2007). Cross Education: Possible mechanisms for the contralateral effects of unilateral resistance training. Sports Medicine, 37, 1-14.

### Authors

John Stump did his undergraduate work in biology at the University of Maryland and a Master’s and Doctorate in Sports Medicine at the United States Sports Academy. In addition he accomplished a doctorate in Chiropractic from Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa. He went on to do postdoctoral work in Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture in Japan, China and Korea. In addition he holds black belts in Judo, Karate, and Kempo.

Dr. Stump is armed with a unique perspective on health care from an eastern and western scientific view. Because of this Dr. Stump was asked to be a team doctor for the South Korean government in 1986 for the Asian Games and 1988 Seoul Olympics. He is the author of numerous scientific articles, and has coauthored 4 textbooks. The latest textbook publication Stump contributed to being Electroacupuncture, edited by David Mayor, published by Elsevier 2007. Later that year he released a non-fiction account of the tragic stroke he survived (“A Stroke of Midnight” Alternative Concepts Publishing, 2007.) John is now writing a unique east-west anatomy text for McGraw-Hill to be released in 2011. He is a National Faculty member of the United States Sports Academy.

Mike Allen did his undergraduate work at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and graduated in 1999. He did post-graduate studies in Sports Medicine at the United States Sports Academy and Athletic Training at the University of Mobile in Alabama. He is presently assistant Clinic Director at Southwest College of Acupuncture, and attends patients at a clinic in Denver, Colorado. In addition he is Consultant in Acupuncture to the Integrative Medicine Centre, Fairhope, Alabama since 2005.

Bob Saxon did his undergraduate work biology at Loch Haven University in Pennsylvania. He graduated from New York Chiropractic College with his DC degree in 2000. He has worked at the Integrative Medicine Centre for the past three years as Assistant Clinic Director, Chiropractic Department. He is also certified in Acupuncture by the International College of Acupuncture. In addition he teaches Anatomy and Kinesiology for Blue Cliff College in Mobile, Alabama.

Vince McConnell is a certified fitness trainer and athletic preparation specialist. Coach McConnell has been working with private clients, as well as high school, collegiate and professional athletes. He has written numerous articles for various fitness magazines and is often a guest on TV and Radio programs. He owns and operates McConnell’s Athletics in Fairhope, Alabama.

### Corresponding Author

John L. Stump, DC, PhD, EdD
Integrative Medicine Centre
315 Magnolia Avenue
Fairhope, AL 36532
<bamashogun@aol.com>
251-990-8188

John Stump did his undergraduate work in biology at the University of Maryland and took his Master’s and Doctorate in Sports Medicine at the United States Sports Academy. In addition he accomplished a doctorate in Chiropractic from Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa. He went on to do postdoctoral work in Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture in Japan, China and Korea. He also holds black belts in Judo, Karate, and Kempo.

Dr. Stump is armed with a unique perspective of health care from an eastern and western scientific view. Because of this Dr. Stump was asked to be a team doctor for the South Korean government in 1986 for the Asian Games and 1988 Seoul Olympics. He is the author of numerous scientific articles, and has coauthored 4 textbooks. The latest textbook publication Stump contributed to was Electroacupuncture, edited by David Mayor, published by Elsevier in 2007. Later that year he released “A Stroke of Midnight” (Alternative Concepts Publishing, 2007), a non-fiction account of the tragic stroke he survived. John is now writing a unique east-west anatomy text for McGraw-Hill to be released in 2011. He is a National Faculty member of the United States Sports Academy.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-25T15:32:30-06:00August 8th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Usefulness of Bioelectrical Impedance in the Prediction of VO2max in Healthy Men and Women

Jordan R. Moon, Vincent J. Dalbo, Michael D. Roberts, Chad M. Kerksick, and Jeffrey R. Stout

### Abstract

VO₂max is an invaluable measure for the assessment of aerobic fitness; however, to yield accurate results direct assessment requires costly equipment, trained investigators, and that the participant produce a maximal effort to volitional fatigue. The majority of VO₂max prediction equations have attempted to predict aerobic capacity without considering physiological variables other than age and body composition. As a result, a majority of VO₂max prediction equations have been found to be invalid. A recent study proposed an equation accounting for additional physiological variables known to influence aerobic capacity, including blood volume, fat-free mass, urinary creatine excretion, and total body potassium. Therefore, this investigation sought to evaluate the validity of novel non-exercise prediction equations, which utilize bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to obtain an estimate of blood volume and skeletal muscle mass as predictor variables in an attempt to increase the accuracy of non-exercise VO₂max prediction equations. VO₂max was assessed using indirect calorimetry. Healthy male (30.9 ± 6.0 y, 179.0 ± 4.3 cm, 94.1 ± 19.5 kg; n = 23) and female (32.0 ± 6.1 y, 167.8 ± 7.9 cm, 72.0 ± 9.6 kg; n = 25) participants completed a VO₂max test and a physical activity survey (PA-R) and were analyzed using bioelectrical impedance. Results indicated that each equation resulted in a significant (p ≤ 0.025) underestimation of VO₂max. These outcomes suggest that the use of BIA to estimate blood volume and skeletal muscle mass does not improve the accuracy of VO₂max prediction equations. Coaches and trainers will not benefit from the inclusion of BIA in an equation to predict aerobic fitness. Currently, the best methods to estimate aerobic fitness require submaximal and maximal exercise testing. Predicting aerobic fitness using non-exercise equations does not appear to be practical or valid.

**Keywords:** maximal, aerobic capacity, prediction, gender-specific

### Introduction

The rate of maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max) has practicality in research and field settings as a measure of aerobic fitness, in order to prescribe exercise intensities and to assess exercise training responses following an intervention (19). An acceptable standard for VO₂max determination is the direct measure of expired gas samples obtained while an individual is performing maximal exertion exercise (2). From a research perspective reliable non-exercise VO₂max prediction equations could prove to be beneficial, as experimenters could obtain an immediate, valid measure of the aerobic fitness of an individual without maximal exercise testing. Additional advantages of non-exercise VO₂max prediction equations include the ease and cost associated with test administration and use in participants who are unable to perform a treadmill test, as VO₂max tends to be underestimated with other modes of exercise (19). However, the greatest advantage of an accurate VO₂max prediction equation is the practicality of use in research laboratories that do not possess the necessary equipment to access VO₂max and for coaches and trainers looking to evaluate several athletes and/or an entire team. Due to the disadvantages associated with VO₂max testing numerous submaximal (1,8,18,23) and non-exercise prediction equations (4,5,10,17,21,24,25) have been developed to reduce the necessity of direct VO₂max assessment.

Previous non-exercise prediction equations have been developed but the need to improve the accuracy of these equations has been suggested in previous literature (4,16,17,21). However, due to known deviations in VO₂max values determined from varying modes of exercise (bike, treadmill walking, treadmill running, and arm ergometry), the use of VO₂max prediction equations are dependent on the task. For example, a prediction equation for VO₂max during a treadmill run may not be accurate for predicting VO₂max during cycle ergometry. In addition, another primary shortcoming of non-exercise VO₂max prediction equations is the limited ability to account for genetic variability in VO₂max (21). According to Stahn et al. (21), the primary physiological determinants measured at rest to predict VO₂max are blood volume, which has been found to account for up to 80% of the variance in VO₂max, and a group of variables including fat-free mass, urinary creatine excretion, and total body potassium, which have been proposed to be related to skeletal muscle mass. Additional evidence supporting this claim was provided by Sananda et al. (20) who found total skeletal muscle mass to be highly correlated (r = 0.92, p < 0.001) with VO₂max (20).

Stahn et al. (21) sought to obtain an estimate of blood volume and skeletal muscle mass using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Previous work has suggested BIA to have a strong correlation with blood volume (r = 0.89, SEE = 9.0%) using the impedance index of height squared divided by impedance (22) and skeletal muscle mass, as compared to magnetic resonance imaging (r = 0.927, SEE = 9.0%) (11). As a result Stahn et al. (21) developed a non-exercise VO₂max prediction equation, which utilizes BIA to estimate resting levels of blood volume and skeletal muscle mass as predictor variables. However, the equation by Stahn et al. (21) has yet to be validated by an independent laboratory, and the benefits of utilizing BIA for predicting VO₂max have not been established. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to validate treadmill VO₂max predictions using the recently published BIA equation of Stahn et al. (21). It was hypothesized that the BIA equations would produce accurate VO₂max predictions due to the relationship between VO₂max, BIA, skeletal muscle mass, and blood volume.

### Methods
#### Subjects

Sixty participants chose to participate in this study, but 12 were eliminated for not reaching VO₂max (n = 48; Table 1). All testing was conducted after the participant signed the IRB-approved informed consent and completed comprehensive medical history questionnaires. Participants were excluded if they: 1) had a history of metabolic, hepatorenal, musculoskeletal, autoimmune, or neurological disease; 2) were currently taking androgenic medications; or 3) had consumed nutritional supplements that may affect metabolism [i.e., over 100 mg•d-1 of caffeine, ephedrine alkaloids, etc.] and/or muscle mass [i.e. creatine, protein/amino acids, androstenedione, dihydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), etc.] within three months of starting the study; 4) were unable to reach at least two of the three stated criteria for reaching VO₂max.

Table 1. Participant characteristics of validated equations

	Stahn et al. (21)			Current Validation Participants
	N	Males	Females	N	Males	Females
N	66	33	33	48	23	25
Age (yr)	24.0 (4.0)	25.0 (4.0)	23.0 (4.0)	31.5 (6.0)	30.9 (6.1)	32.1 (6.1)
Height (cm)	174 (6)	180 (5)	168 (6)	173 (9)	179.0 (4)	169 (8)
Weight (kg)	68.4 (7.6)	74.9 (8.3)	61.8 (6.8)	82.6 (18.7)	94.1 (19.5)	72.0 (9.6)
PA-R	6.6 (1.1)	6.6 (0.9)	6.3 (1.3)	2.9 (1.9)	3.4 (2.3)	2.4 (1.5)
VO₂max (mlkgmin^-1)	53.6 (5.0)	59.6 (5.5)	47.6 (4.4)	43.9 (13.4)	42.4 (14.4)	45.2 (12.6)

#### Non-Exercise VO₂max Prediction Equations

The equations selected for validation were developed by Stahn et al. (21) and are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Submaximal VO₂max prediction equations

2MF	Stahn et al. (21)	VO₂max (DF50) = 14.29 · H²/Z + 104.14 · PA-R – 440.79 • Gender (M = 1, F = 0) + 489.47
2M	Stahn et al. (21)	VO₂max (DF50) = 14.29 • Height/Z + 104.14 • PA-R– 440.79 • Gender (M = 1) + 489.47
2F	Stahn et al. (21)	VO₂max (DF50) = 14.29 • Height2/Z + 104.14 • PA-R – 440.79 • Gender (F = 0) + 489.47

∗ All values from prediction equations were converted to ml•kg•min-1
H = Height (cm)
Z = Impedance (Ohm)
PA-R = Physical activity rating scale
M = Male
F = Female

#### Experimental Design

Testing was performed between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in a temperature-controlled laboratory maintained at 21.6 ± 0.7oC and 28.2 ± 5.5% relative humidity. Prior to testing, each subject was instructed to avoid the consumption of alcohol, refrain from heavy exertion for 48 hours, and avoid smoking and caffeine consumption the day of testing. Subjects were also instructed to consume 2 liters of water the day before testing in an effort to promote normohydration.

#### Anthropometry and Physical Activity Assessment

After voiding their bladders, subjects changed into minimal clothing and removed footwear for measurement of body mass and height, conducted on a calibrated scale and stadiometer (Detecto, Webb City, MO). Body mass was measured to the nearest 0.2 kg and height was assessed to the nearest 0.5 cm. The PA-R was used to assess the average weekly physical activity patterns of each participant in the 6 months prior to testing (7).

### Bioelectric Impedance Measurement

Whole-body impedance measurements were performed using a single frequency (50 kHz) bioelectrical impedance analyzer (IMPTM DF50, ImpediMed Inc, Queensland, Australia). Each morning prior to testing, the bioelectrical impedance device was calibrated following the manufacturer’s guidelines. Measurements were taken from the right side of the body using a tetrapolar electrode arrangement following the standard procedures used by Stahn et al. (21). Prior to testing each subject was asked remove jewelry and excess clothing before being instructed to lie in a supine position for 10 minutes with arms and legs abducted from the body at 10˚ and 20˚ respectively, allowing body fluids to stabilize. Following identification of electrode placement, body hair was removed with a razor before the skin was cleaned with alcohol and allowed to dry. Current-inducing electrodes (575 mm2: 25 mm x 23 mm) (ImpediMed Electrodes, Queensland, Australia) were placed 1 cm below the phalangeal-metacarpal joint in the middle posterior surface of the hand and 1 cm below the transverse (metatarsal) arch on the dorsum of the foot. Detector electrodes of the same type were placed on the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and the lateral condyle of the femur according to the guidelines of Stahn et al. (21). Interclass and intraclass correlation coefficients for within and between days using this technology vary between 0.960 and 0.997 (6,21), while interindividual within-day reliability measures are commonly 1.3-2.0% (13,15,21).

#### VO₂max Assessment

VO₂max testing was performed on a calibrated Quinton treadmill (Q65 Series 90, Bothell, WA) according to Stahn et al. (21). Participants began the test with a 4-minute warm-up at 1.5 m·s-1 at a 1% gradient. Following warm-up, 3-minute testing periods began at speeds of 2.0 m·s-1 for women and 2.5 m·s-1 for men. Completion of each stage resulted in a speed increase of 0.5 m·s -1 until volitional fatigue despite verbal encouragement.

Maximal heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and VO₂max were measured with a calibrated metabolic cart (ParvoMedics TrueOne® 2400 metabolic measuring system, Sandy, UT). The system was calibrated 15 minutes prior to testing according to manufacturer specifications. Mean oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide output (VCO2), and pulmonary ventilation (VE) were computed for each breath and averaged over 15-second intervals. Heart rate was monitored during testing using a heart rate monitor (Polar F6, Lake Success, NY). The test was considered maximal if two of the following criteria were obtained: 1) a plateau of VO2 occurred, defined as an increase of less than 150 ml·min-1 despite increasing speed, 2) Respiratory exchange ratio (RER) was ≥ 1.15, and 3) maximal heart rate was within 10 beats of age-predicted maximal heart rate (21).

#### Data analysis

Validity of VO₂max estimates were based on an evaluation of predicted values versus the criterion value from direct treadmill VO₂max assessment by calculating the constant error (CE = actual VO₂max – predicted VO₂max), r value (Pearson product moment correlation coefficient), standard error of estimate and total error (9,14). The mean difference (CE) between the VO₂max prediction equations and the direct measure of VO₂max was analyzed using dependent t-tests with the Bonferroni alpha adjustment (12). The method of Bland and Altman (3) was used to identify the 95% limits of agreement between actual VO₂max values and predicted VO₂max values.

### Results

Demographic information of participants in the Stahn et al. (21) study and the current investigation are presented in Table 1. To optimize the accuracy of the prediction equations, results of the validation analysis are presented in two groups: male- and female-specific equations (Table 3). Each sex-specific equation produced a significantly different VO₂max value from the direct measure (p<0.05). TE values were greater than 13.2 ml•kg•min-1, SEE values were greater than 9.1 ml•kg•min-1 and r values were less than 0.75.

Table 3. Validity of non-exercise prediction equations for estimating VO₂max ml•kg•min-1

Method	VO₂max ± (x SD)	CE	r	Slope	Y-intercept	SEE	TE
Direct VO₂M	42.4 (14.4)
Male	33.3 (8.3)	9.1*	0.74	1.2	-0.5	9.9	13.3
Direct VO₂F	45.2 (12.6)
Female	34.0 (6.5)	11.2*	0.70	1.3	-0.78	9.2	14.5

### Discussion

The sex-specific equations analyzed in this investigation produced predicted VO₂max values that were significantly below the actual VO₂max (p<0.05). Using the predicted VO₂max values to produce exercise prescriptions would yield exercise intensities underestimated by an equivalent amount.

The aim of the Stahn et al. (21) study was to demonstrate the viability of using BIA for the non-exercise prediction of VO₂max. The authors attempted to account for the influence of physiological variables on aerobic performance by indirectly accounting for blood volume, fat-free mass, urinary creatine excretion and total body potassium with a time efficient assessment of blood volume and skeletal muscle mass using a BIA device. Results from the Stahn et al. (21) study appeared promising as their equation was reported to account for 88.7% of the variance in VO₂max in an athletic population, and the authors postulated the equation would be more effective in a more diverse population. However, in the current investigation the equations developed by Stahn et al. (21) were found to be invalid in a population of healthy men and women. Errors in the equations were most likely introduced by using predicted values of blood volume and skeletal muscle mass (via BIA). In essence, predicted variables were used to predict another predictor, VO₂max. The validity of the equations developed by Stahn et al. (21) may be improved by using a more accepted and still cost-effective measure of skeletal muscle mass, such as a multiple-site skinfold, as was used in VO₂max prediction equations developed by Jackson et al. (10).

### Conclusions

The equation developed by Stahn et al. (21) may have been effective at predicting VO₂max in the athletic population used in the original investigation but appears to significantly underestimate VO₂max in a representative sample of healthy young men and women. Future prediction equations should include percent body fat and physical activity rating scales, as these variables appear to have the greatest predictive power in the estimation of non-exercise VO₂max prediction equations. Although the prediction equations developed by Stahn et al. (21) were not found to be valid in this investigation, non-exercise VO₂max prediction equations should attempt to increase their predictive power by accounting for physiological factors that are known to influence VO₂max, namely skeletal muscle mass. Furthermore, future research should examine the accuracy of the equations developed by Stahn et al. (21) in an athletic population and determine the viability of using a BIA device in the prediction of VO₂max.

### Applications in Sport

An athlete’s aerobic fitness is a crucial component of performance regardless of the sporting event. Aerobic athletes and coaches/trainers can benefit from accurate measurements of aerobic fitness through VO₂max testing. However, direct VO₂max testing requires expensive equipment and is not practical in the field. Many prediction equations have been developed in an attempt to find an easy way to predict VO₂max in the field. However, results from this investigation suggest that using BIA in a non-exercise VO₂max equation may not be appropriate or valid in healthy men and women. Specifically, the Stahn et al. (21) BIA VO₂max equations underpredicted VO₂max, resulting in significantly lower VO₂max values, giving the impression of an individual who is less aerobically fit. Therefore, it is suggested that coaches and trainers utilize either submaximal or maximal VO₂max prediction equations for their athletes and clients, as non-exercise prediction equations may not provide valid information.

### Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the participants for their willingness to participate in this investigation.

### References

1. Astrand, & Ryhming, I. (1954). A nomogram for calculation of aerobic capacity (physical fitness) from pulse rate during sub-maximal work. J Appl Physiol, 7(2), 218-221.
2. Balady, G. J., Berra, K. A., Golding, L. A., Gordon, N. F., Mahler, D. A., Myers, J. N., et al. (2000). ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (6 ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
3. Bland, J. M., & Altman, D. G. (1986). Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet, 1(8476), 307-310.
4. Davis, J. A., Storer, T. W., Caiozzo, V. J., & Pham, P. H. (2002). Lower reference limit for maximal oxygen uptake in men and women. Clin Physiol Funct Imaging, 22(5), 332-338.
5. Fairbarn, M. S., Blackie, S. P., McElvaney, N. G., Wiggs, B. R., Pare, P. D., & Pardy, R. L. (1994). Prediction of heart rate and oxygen uptake during incremental and maximal exercise in healthy adults. Chest, 105(5), 1365-1369.
6. Fornetti, W. C., Pivarnik, J. M., Foley, J. M., & Fiechtner, J. J. (1999). Reliability and validity of body composition measures in female athletes. Journal of Applied Physiology, 87(3), 1114-1122.
7. George, J. D., Stone, W. J., & Burkett, L. N. (1997). Non-exercise VO₂max estimation for physically active college students. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 29(3), 415-423.
8. Golding, L. A. (2000). YMCA Physical Fitness Testing and Assessment Manual (4 ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics
9. Heyward, V. H., & Wagner, D. R. (2004). Applied Body Composition Assessments. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
10. Jackson, A. S., Blair, S. N., Mahar, M. T., Wier, L. T., Ross, R. M., & Stuteville, J. E. (1990). Prediction of functional aerobic capacity without exercise testing. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 22(6), 863-870.
11. Janssen, I., Heymsfield, S. B., Baumgartner, R. N., & Ross, R. (2000). Estimation of skeletal muscle mass by bioelectrical impedance analysis. J Appl Physiol, 89(2), 465-471.
12. Keppel, G. a. T. D. W. (2004). Design and Analysis: A Researchers Handbook (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
13. Kushner, R. F., & Schoeller, D. A. (1986). Estimation of total body water by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Am J Clin Nutr, 44(3), 417-424.
14. Lohman, T. G. (1996). Human Body Composition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
15. Lukaski, H. C., Johnson, P. E., Bolonchuk, W. W., & Lykken, G. I. (1985). Assessment of fat-free mass using bioelectrical impedance measurements of the human body. Am J Clin Nutr, 41(4), 810-817.
16. Malek, M. H., Berger, D. E., Housh, T. J., Coburn, J. W., & Beck, T. W. (2004). Validity of VO₂max equations for aerobically trained males and females. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 36(8), 1427-1432.
17. Matthews, C. E., Heil, D. P., Freedson, P. S., & Pastides, H. (1999). Classification of cardiorespiratory fitness without exercise testing. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 31(3), 486-493.
18. Pare, G., Noreau, L., & Simard, C. (1993). Prediction of maximal aerobic power from a submaximal exercise test performed by paraplegics on a wheelchair ergometer. Paraplegia, 31(9), 584-592.
19. Ross, R. M. (2003). ATS/ACCP statement on cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 167(10), 1451; author reply 1451.
20. Sanada, K., Kearns, C. F., Kojima, K., & Abe, T. (2005). Peak oxygen uptake during running and arm cranking normalized to total and regional skeletal muscle mass measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Eur J Appl Physiol, 93(5-6), 687-693.
21. Stahn, A., Terblanche, E., Grunert, S., & Strobel, G. (2006). Estimation of maximal oxygen uptake by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Eur J Appl Physiol, 96(3), 265-273.
22. Stahn, A., Terblanche, E., & Strobel, G. (2004). Relationships between bioelectrical impedance and blood volume. Proceedings of the 11th Pre-Olympic Congress, 219-220.
23. Storer, T. W., Davis, J. A., & Caiozzo, V. J. (1990). Accurate prediction of VO₂max in cycle ergometry. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 22(5), 704-712.
24. Wier, L. T., Jackson, A. S., Ayers, G. W., & Arenare, B. (2006). Nonexercise models for estimating VO₂max with waist girth, percent fat, or BMI. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 38(3), 555-561.
25. Williford, H. N., Scharff-Olson, M., Wang, N., Blessing, D. L., Smith, F. H., & Duey, W. J. (1996). Cross-validation of non-exercise predictions of VO2peak in women. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 28(7), 926-930.

### Corresponding Author

Jordan R. Moon, PhD
Department Head
Department of Sports Fitness and Health
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, AL 36526

### Author Affiliations

Jordan R. Moon, PhD
Department of Sports Fitness and Health
United States Sports Academy
One Academy Drive
Daphne, AL 36526

Chad M. Kerksick, PhD and Jeffrey R. Stout, PhD
Department of Health and Exercise Science
University of Oklahoma
1401 Asp Ave.
Norman, OK 73019

Vincent J. Dalbo, PhD
School of Medical and Applied Sciences
Institute of Health and Social Science Research
Central Queensland University
Rockhampton, Australia

Michael D. Roberts, PhD
University of Missouri-Columbia
Department of Biomedical Science
Veterinary Medicine Building
Columbia, MO 65211

U.S. Sports Academy2016-04-01T09:13:13-05:00July 27th, 2011|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Teaching the Olympic Values within the Educational System

Dr. Yohan Blondel, National Union of Sports School deputy director

### Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of National Olympic Academies, dear Professor Kostas Georgiadis and my friends, I am deeply moved as I stand today on the rostrum in order to talk to you about a special Olympic education experience. I sincerely wish to thank the International Olympic Academy and, in particular, Professor Kostas Georgiadis for this invitation.

The objective of this lecture is to present to you a case study from France, within a special administrative framework and environment. Teaching Olympic values in the educational system means that you need to be aware of the system’s strengths, as well as its limitations. Despite France’s seemingly privileged situation as the birthplace of Pierre de Coubertin, it appears that the connection to Olympism and its values is very particular in our educational system. At the core of our educational system, therefore, when dealing with values that are closely related to those of the Republic, the pillar of French society, you need to develop a whole strategy in order to teach the Olympic ideals to French youth.

In fact, the French Olympic Committee has been developing for many years now an educational program that focuses on the Olympic Games and Olympism, which cannot, however, become fully integrated in the school curriculum.

So, the question that arises today is why, since about one year now, the French Minister who is responsible for Education wishes to build a program around the Olympic values? A number of answers, at different levels could be given:

a. An important and inescapable triggering factor was the city of Annecy’s bid for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2018. Unquestionably, this candidature that was presented at the highest national level, meant that different actors met, discussed and finalized an original educational project.
b. The choice of putting “a pilot in the plane.” Over and above the candidature, there was the issue of the project’s sustainability. So, who should be the interlocutor, the coordinator to be chosen among the various stakeholders (the Bidding Committee Annecy 2018, the French National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Education)? The National School Sports Union (UNSS) that I represent today was entrusted with the coordination and development of the activities and you will see later why.
c. Original initiatives aimed at all French students, from earlier on until university, from the local to the international level.

As a result, I will be talking to you about all the problems related to a particular system and ambitious projects. I shall divide my presentation into four big areas. In the first, I will briefly present the French educational model and UNSS’ original position between the French administration (State) and Sport.

The second part will cover the general concept of the UNSS’ program, its concrete implementation, tools and educational projects.

The third will deal with the international aspects and strategies for reaching out to the French school students abroad (French schools abroad).

Finally, I will talk about the evaluation of the teaching Olympic values program.

### A Special Kind of Administration Between Sport and School

In order to help you understand the particularities of the French model, I will focus for a few moments on the administrative structure that manages educational issues. To reach French youth, you need to take into acccount an important element, the school. The vast majority of young people, 6-to-18 years old, attend school. Most of them—15 million—go to public schools. Therefore it seems quite logical that if you want to succeed in your teaching of Olympic values, the school is the primary institution on which you should rely.

Even though identifying the target is a rather easy task, reaching that same target is a rather complex matter. Indeed, the administration of the French scool system that dates back to 150 years ago, is governed by the republican principle of equal opportunities. As a result, this leads to a formalization of teaching programs at national level and to a recruitment process at national and very high academic level (master degree) for teachers. A civil service examination completes this complex procedure for the educator, also at a very high level—even for physical education and sports teachers.

Although, in the last 10 years, local management of school establishments has become a reality, centralized developmeent of the curricula and teaching material remains an important aspect of public policies in the field of education.

It is therefore difficult to imagine direct access through the curricula or the teachers’ initial training.

On the other hand, we have developed our program, building on sports practice, a special period of the student’s school life. Using this privileged opportunity of school sport, we can develop a reference framework linked to the Olympic values.

I should make it clear that school sport also has its own particularities. You will therefore easily understand why the UNSS is the main actor regarding all issues related to the teaching of Olympic values.

A student who attends lower or upper secondary school has two opportinities to practice sports: 1) during physical education classes; or 2) by joining the school’s sports association. This is the activity that is managed by UNSS. It involves organizing more than 100 sports every year, 200 national and local directors, 9,500 sports associations, 35,000 trainers who are all physical education teachers (civil servants) for a total of 1 million students under the same sports license.

Another important point is that every sport association is chaired by the head of the school and the UNSS by the Minister of Education, who also directly appoints the Directors.

On the following graph you will see that the UNSS’ administration is directly related to the administration of Education and Sports (ministry or sports movement). We are therefore in a special position that allows us to develop our own programs that simply have to follow the Minister’s guidelines and we do not have to go through the same barriers as the school curricula.

As a result, the Minister of Education has entrusted the UNSS with the coordination of educational activities that are linked to the promotion of Olympic values. More important, he has stated, through the UNSS, that the school wished to develop a comprehensive project around the ideals of the Olympic Games.

Between the School and Sport, I shall now present the strategy that allows us to efectively teach the Olympic values to school children 6-to-18 years old.

### The Olympic Values: From the Classroom to the Sports Fields, A Local and National Vision

This second part will focus on our program for teaching Olympic values. Which was the concept around which we are developing all our educational curricula? The UNSS, which is determined to develop an original educational program, obviously wishes to follow a sustainable approach in promoting the Olympic values. Its purpose is to revive the Olympic spirit and share the values it carries. In this sense, we wish to go beyond “incantations” and allow French youth to build Olympism in action.

What is “Olympism in action?” How did we develop a special methodology around this central concept? What were the requirements regarding the tools and implementation? These are the questions I shall try to answer.

It is always very difficult to formalize a very precise definition when dealing with a concept as global as Olympism. Nevertheless, this concept of “Olympism in action” refers directly to the students’ experience. To live the values of Olympism by different means contributes to a rather effective integration of these values. Sport and values thus become part of the individual’s general education. In this sense, since it is important to formalize a program in order to allow each teacher to draw from it the important elements to be included in the learning process, our methodology focused on the development of multidisciplinary educational projects that really require the student to act.

You understand that this allowed us to circumvent the difficult issue of school curricula. Indeed, every teacher, in the context of his discipline, as well as every institution is given the possibility to develop projects outside their class teaching in order to create openings in apprentice-training. To allow teachers to take such initiatives and before I present the most significant projects to you, I must tell you that a guide on the developoment of these projects is absolutely essential. In other words, we must give them the means to propose a new pedagogical approach by using Olympic values as a vehicle for education.

### The Educational Book, “Education and Olympism,” From One Pole to the Other

We had the idea of creating an educational tool that would allow us, through an interdisciplinary approach, to suggest a thought process to teachers. This book that was written and published by the Ministry of National Education, or to be specific by the Grenoble Academy (the Minister’s regional services) is aimed directly at teachers. Alongside IOC member Jean-Claude Killy, the Rector of the Grenoble Academy prefaced the book. This means that there is a clear link between the IOC’s expectations and the action at local, national and international level of the Education Ministry. This book was published in a hard copy version but what is important is that it can be downloaded free of charge. Here is the address: <http://www.federation-unss.org>.

From nursery school to higher education, the purpose is to highlight the numerous educational projects in this restricted area (a region), publicize them and make them known to other educational teams. In other words, to allow the exchange of best practices arising from local experiences and initiatives in order to extend them to all teaching teams. The involvement of school principals and teachers allowed a coherent multidisciplinary approach.

What are the book’s contents? Approximately 20 thematic data sheets designed by and for teachers. They contain a lot of illustrations thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education.

On the basis of the curricula of primary, lower and upper secondary schools, each data sheet focuses on a specific aspect of the programs. Their content remains open-ended in order to mobilize teachers as much as possible. It’s like a kind of “databank” if you will, a rather large documentary material that will allow teachers to initiate a great variety of pedagogical projects together with the students, depending on their choices, in order to raise their students’ awareness of Olympic values. I shall not go into the details. I am officially handing over this book to Professor Georgiadis and to the documentation center of the International Olympic Academy. You can either download it or consult it here.

In addition to the hard copy version, an audiovisual support has also been created consisting of films, historic pictures and animated films connected to the Olympic Games.

### The Most Important Local Projects

As the outcome of this book, here are a few original projects that I would like to present to you:

* The meeting of students with champions. 2,500 students welcomed in their classroom Olympic medalists in 2010. The athletes shared their experience and showed them their sports path. Before the visit, students worked on the champion’s discipline, the Olympic Games where he obtained his medal and prepared, down to the smallest detail, this meeting which clearly was the culmination of their work. After that, 1,500 young people went to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne in order to continue their work of discovering the champion.

* For the younger students, Olympic Youth Camps continue to be organized. This activity launched in 2006 and led by the Olympic committee that was originally intended for primary schools has gained a central role in the long term development of a comprehensive program on Olympism. Based on the principle of «mini-Olympics», several local classes are given the opportunity to build an interdisciplinary program based on sport (the practice of sports, as well as its history, physical sciences. The end-result is the staging of these games, with all the symbolic elements of the real Olympic Games (flame, opening ceremony, sports challenge, performance measurement, historic exhibition). The Olympic Youth Camps were held in March of this year in the mountain area of Carreaux d’Arraches (Haute Savoie).

* Promotion of existing events. Each year, the UNSS organizes more than 100 different sports. Our regional and departmental directors are invited to highlight sports meets using cross-cutting themes such as sports and disabled students or sports and sustainable development.

* Opening to new communication media. Through the introduction of new communication modes, the challenge is to create a social network around the Olympic Games. Called OLYNK, this network will allow young people to connect around Olympism using their communication mode and providing them with the diversity, the directness and the interactivity they expect from modern media.

### The Agreement Between the French NOC and the Ministry of Education: National Cooperation Framework

Beyond the massive distribution of the educational book throughout France, the question of its promotion at national level needs to be considered. Indeed, if we are looking for original educational projects that will contribute to the development of Olympism in action and if we wish to give regions sufficient freedom of movement for focusing essentially on local issues, the fact remains that a national framework needs to be set up in order to convey a clear message to all the parties involved.

On May 25, 2010, for the first time in the history of the French Olympic Movement and the Ministry of Education, a framework agreement was signed between the President of the French NOC and the Minister of education. Concluded for a three-year period, this agreement states in its article 1: Through this agreement, the parties shall seek to attain the following objectives: _…promote the educational and social values conveyed by sport and Olympism._ Article 2 further provides: _To this end, the parties undertake to cooperate in order (to encourage) the promotion of behaviors and values that reflect the Olympic spirit (and) contribute to the acquisition of knowledge and behavioral skills that enhance the values of Olympism._

I believe that the contents of this agreement clearly state the objectives to be attained.

Several concrete actions, directly related to this agreement were implemented, in less than a year, in many areas:

* Training young people to take on responsibilities. The UNSS has created a program called “Towards a responsible generation.” In cooperation with the French Olympic Committee, we train young people for the role of vice-president of school sport associations. At the side of the headmasters of the schools who are by right the presidents of the sport association, these students are directly involved in the governance of the association, the choices to be made regarding sports practice, projects, future development. A national commission, composed of about twenty young members, has just been created in order to lead this program.

* Agreements have been signed between certain sport federations and the Ministry of Education. This was the case, in particular, for rowing, tennis, badminton and wrestling, which have placed their know-how and their values at the service of the school. The UNSS was an important actor in this closer relationship between sport federations and the Ministry of Education.

* The creation of an Agenda 21 for school sport in connection with the challenges of sustainable development. The “classical” Agenda 21 was presented to the school world thanks to the support of the Olympic Commitee and of the Sports Ministry.

* The presence of a member of the Olympic Committee on the UNSS’ Scientific Committee who is responsible for evaluating implemented policies. I will come back to this point in the last part of my presentation on the evaluation of the educational program.

We have looked at the methodology, the agreements and concrete projects. The signing of the agreement between the French National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Education was a real driver for us. For history’s sake, I want to underline that the UNSS’ role was pivotal in finalizing this agreement. However, Olympism in action cannot forget that a large portion of French youth lives outside the territory of France. This is why it is important to adapt the program to other countries and I will talk about that in the third part of my presentation.

### French Youth Abroad: A Priority for Our Education

In addition to local and national actions, one of our priorities is to extend this educational program to the French youth that attends school abroad. More precisely, this will allow us to promote our vision in the context of the education provided by French schools abroad, which also welcome native students of the countries.

A memorandum of understanding will be signed in the very near future between the UNSS and the Agency for French education abroad (AEFE), which is a public institution of the Foreign Ministry, for the distribution of the educational book I have presented to you. Moreover, several presentations of the book have and will be organized until the end of the year 2011 in order to mobilize the students of this network to our teaching of Olympic values.

Our international vision aims at two major directions:

* The first is to establish an international link between AEFE’s world zones and the UNSS coordinators. To put it simply, the administration of French schools abrod is divided in 16 zones around the world. Opposite these zones, we have identified 16 territories in Metropolitan France in order to animate the network at local level and so each French zone is in direct contact with its reference world zone.

What are the offers betwen the UNSS and AEFE zones?

There are three types of offer: 1) A sports practice offer, i.e. French schools abroad will be allowed to take part in the sports competitions of French schools. 2) A training offer aimed at teachers and school principals who are sometimes very far away from France. In this way we can offer expertise and generate dynamism and connections around the Olympic values. 3) A communication offer, because sport often is an important argument that determines the quality of an institution’s teaching.
* At another level, faithful to our project strategy aimed at teaching youth to live the Olympic values, we have ceated a special event, always within the framework of the MOU beween the UNSS and the AEFE, that brings together these young people and part of the students living in France. We have called it the “International Youth Games.” You understand that, on a smaller scale, these Games are directly inspired by the Youth Olympic Games. They combine sporting and cultural challenge and are open to young people 15-to-16 years old. We have chosen this age group because at this level there are no important exams at the end of the year. These International Youth Games will be held for the first time on May 25-29, 2011 in Arcachon, near the city of Bordeaux (South-West France). For this first edition we expect 400 students from the whole world [comments on the countries table].

What will these International Youth Games be like?

The week is organized in two major types of activities.

First, sports activities which we shall evaluate on the basis of Olympism. Since it is difficult to judge beforehand what will be the level of students coming from al over the world and to create a festive atmosphere that is clearly desired, the events will be held on sand. For this first edition of the Games, collective sports will be on the program. To allow teams to meet, the mini-championships will be organized at the beginning of the Games to encourage contacts. Beach handball, beach volley, beach football and beach rugby will be top of the list. After that, another period will be devoted to the presentation of the Olympic symbols. A relay race with the participation of all schools will be an opportunity to become acquainted with the itinerary of the Olympic flame during the Games. Finally, to make their stay even more pleasant, students will discover the local sports (surfing, sport rescue, as Arcachon is situated on the Atlantic coast).

Secondly, a cultural part with three activities:

* Country evenings. Each school will bring an object, food or a poster and present it to the others. In a small stand, delegations will taste the products of the region that hosts the International Youth Games. This country evening will be staged on the day of participants’ arrival who will thus have an opportunity to meet.
* Conference-debate on Olympism and international exchanges. All participants will gather in one large hall where they can interact with great French athletes, specialists of Olympism and ecology.
* Visit to the major sites of the region (tour to the aquaculture area by boat, climb of the Pyla dune and folk dances).

These Games, which represent today a very important contribution to the teaching of Olympic values within our complex system, aim to become a permanent institution. Next year, they will be staged in Nice, marking the starting point for the educational program of the Games of the Francophonie (French-speaking countries) in 2013. Following that, we shall be holding these games every two years to allow more remote schools to meet travel costs.

Regarding the prospects of the International Youth Games, we shall follow three directions:

* Extend the sports practice offer. Although team beach sports are more joyful competitions, it is true that they do not reflect the whole the essence of sport. For the next edition we shall be proposing individual activities like mini tennis for example.
* We want to enhance sports practice for girls and their commitment. For this purpose, both for the sports part and cultural activities, we shall propose special workshops focusing, in particular, on empowerment in school sports associations.
* Finally, we are aiming at establishing a link between the geographical distribution of AEFE and UNSS members. In this way, opposite to each «world zone», one or more departmental or regional directors of the UNSS will be responsible for animating, in cooperation with their AEFE counterpart, a network of cooperation and partnership. We hope in this way to be able to increase the diversity of countries attending the International Youth Games.

From the local to the international level, from the classroom to the sports field, this is our vision of an Olympism in action through the students’ life experiences.

### Evaluation of the Program

The setting up of such a complex and extensive progam as the one I have just presented to you requires an in-depth consideration of the system’s evaluation. Without going into technical details, three major evaluation modules have been implemented and they will give us their first results during 2012.

The qualitative aspect is, to a large extent, the outcome of dynamic statistical tools. Teachers feed data directly to a database throughout the year. This allows us to know how many students have been involved, the type of actions that are implemented and identify the areas that are most prominent. Combined with the cross-cutting thematic areas (sport and girls, sport and sustainable development, sport and international…), this allows us to consider a more qualitative approach to the program’s evaluation.

However, to achieve a good qualitative evaluation, we have created an independent scientific committee that monitors from outside the implementation of our policies. It is composed of 6 people who represent, in the best possible way, all he stakeholders of French school sport. In this way, academics, high level sports officials and local elected representatives are able to issue calls for projects aimed at universities, in particular. This allows us to set up high level teams that will be focusing for one year or more on the evaluation of an aspect of the teaching program seen as a priority.

Finally, the last evaluation tool for dealing, specifically, with the complex issues of French schools abroad, is the setting up of a mixed group of UNSS and AEFE people which, on the model of the scientific committee, shall evaluate in detail the activities of the world zones.

### Conclusion

In conclusion, a few important points need to be noted as they could help in the transposition of this French program on the teaching of Olympic values at school:

* Find and use an important triggering factor. In our case, we shouldn’t deny it, the candidature of Annecy 2018 is a great opportunity to convince people.
* Find and formalize a concept. In our case, taking into account the specificities of the French model, we have clearly opted for capitalizing on experience. Educational projects that involve students from the local to the international level allow me to defend this concept of Olympism in action.
* Take into account the increased diversity of the target audience. It is true that we remained focused mainly on school youths. This choice was dictated by our status as a sports Federation of National Education and the number of young people we want to reach. However, the inclusion of French schools abroad had never been attempted, until then, by any program for the teaching of Olympic values.
* Develop a sustainable program that will continue for many years. In this way, integration at local level (teachers, departmental and regional directors) will allow a broad variety of initiatives and ongoing activities.

Finally, the few reactions we received from the IOC clearly indicated that we had responded to most of their expectations. Regarding this last point, you understand of course that UNSS is ready to assist Olympic Academies, National Olympic Committees and the countries to develop programs for teaching Olympic values in a system as complex as the French system.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-25T15:22:10-06:00June 30th, 2011|Sports Coaching, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off