U.S. Sports Academy

Vincent T. Lombardi: Three Key Lessons for Today’s Executive that Go Beyond Football

Author: Francis Petit, Ed.D.

Corresponding Author:
Francis Petit, Ed.D.
Associate Dean for Global Initiatives and Partnerships
Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing
Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business
113 West 60th Street, Room 616
New York, New York 10023
(212) 636 7429 – work
(646) 256 2991 – mobile

Francis Petit serves as associate dean of global initiatives and partnerships and also serves as an adjunct associate professor of marketing at the Gabelli School of Business where he teaches a Sports Marketing course. Dr. Petit has established executive programs in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Vincent T. Lombardi: Three Key Lessons for Today’s Executive that Go Beyond Football

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research was to determine what lessons, if any, professionals can learn from Vincent T. Lombardi, the Hall of Fame coach, that go beyond football. The methods of this research included a historical study of the life and career of Vince Lombardi and a subsequent analysis of his decisions. The results of this study indicate that there are learning takeaways that go beyond football including the lack of balance in his life, his long professional journey before Green Bay and his potential lack of self-awareness. The conclusions of this study illustrate that professionals, beyond football, can learn valuable life lessons from this iconic coach. In addition, this relates to the world of sports in that fans should understand that sports celebrities are human and there are lessons to be learned from their journey that go beyond the playing field.

Keywords: Lombardi, NFL, Packers, Coach, Super Bowl

(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2018-09-14T11:47:17-05:00August 11th, 2016|Commentary, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Tools and Benefits of Periodization: Developing an Annual Training Plan and Promoting Performance Improvements in Athletes

Authors: Michael B. Phillips, Jake A. Lockert, and LaNise D. Rosemond

Corresponding Author:
Jake Lockert, MA
810 Quadrangle
TTU Box 5043
Cookeville, TN 38505
jalockert42@students.tntech.edu
423-779-7127
Jake Lockert works at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN as research assistant in the department of Exercise Science, Physical Education, and Wellness

Tools and Benefits of Periodization: Developing an Annual Training Plan and Promoting Performance Improvements in Athletes.

ABSTRACT
All teams and athletes have goals in mind with their prospective sports. They work hard and train in the off-season to achieve their goals. Most coaches and athletes change the intensity, volume, and exercises in their workouts to improve performance. In the past, the attempts at this have been from intuitive knowledge. But over the past 20 years, many coaches have learned and utilized the periodization theory. Although periodization has become more popular, coaches and athletes still appear to struggle with completely grasping the idea of periodization.

Many coaches periodize training without a full understanding of the many facets of this invaluable training method (10). A long term plan can periodize training in the weight room that will allow athletes to reach their full athletic potential, and, just as important become as strong as possible in the off-season right leading up to competition. The goal of this article is to give coaches and athletes a better understanding of a very relevant way to program for improvements in strength and performance. It will also provide specific ways of applying facets of periodization in setting goals for their athletes (11).

Keywords: periodization, strength training, performance training, preseason planning, improve athletes, coaching

(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-07-22T14:33:55-05:00August 5th, 2016|Sports Coaching|Comments Off

Assessing the Impact of Service Quality Attributes on Customer Satisfaction: A Case of Private Golf Courses in South Korea

Author: Boyun Woo*

*Corresponding Author:
Boyun Woo
Associate Professor
Endicott College
School of Sport Science
376 Hale Street
Beverly, MA 01915
Phone: 978-335-9966
Email: bwoo@endicott.edu

ABSTRACT
Responding to a highly competitive golf course environment in South Korea, it is important to investigate factors that influence customer satisfaction that will lead to a revisit. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of different service quality attributes on customer satisfaction among golf courses in South Korea. Service quality attributes included in this study were website reservation system, caddy competency, accessibility, physical environment, cost, course difficulty, and employee service. Data was collected from 609 recreational golfers who played golf in 12 private golf courses across South Korea. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that all the service quality attributes together, with an exception of convenience of website reservation system, explained 40.5% of the variance in customer satisfaction. In terms of the individual attributes of the service quality, caddy competency had the greatest influence on customer satisfaction followed by accessibility, physical environment, cost, course difficulty, and employee service. The findings suggest golf course managers on what service quality attributes they need to focus on in order to satisfy customers.

Keywords: service quality, customer satisfaction, golf, South Korea

(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-07-15T16:00:28-05:00July 29th, 2016|Sports Management|Comments Off

Differences in Official Athletic Website Coverage and Social Media use Between Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams

Authors: Steve Shih-Chia Chen, Terran Duncan, Eric Street*, and Brooklyn Hesterberg

*Corresponding Author:
Eric Street, MS
1048 Lemon Rue Way
Lexington, KY 40515
esflair@hotmail.com
859-797-1479

Steve Chen, D.S.M., is an associate professor at the Department of Management and Marketing in Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. He received his doctorate in Sport Management from United States Sports Academy in Daphne, AL. He currently serves as the chief editor of the KAHPERD (Kentucky Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance) Journal. (s.chen@moreheadstate.edu)

Terran Duncan, M.A., is an assistant coach of Lindsey Wilson College’s Women’s Basketball. She received her Master’s degree in Sport Management from Morehead State University, KY. (duncant@lindsey.edu)

Brooklyn Hesterberg is an undergraduate Sport Management student of Morehead State University. She is an assistant softball coach at Rowan County High School, KY. (blhesterberg@moreheadstate.edu)

Eric Street, M.S. is a doctorate student at the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, AL. He received a BA and MS in Sports Management from the University of Kentucky. He currently works as Director of Fitness and Training for LA Fitness in Lexington, KY. (esflair@hotmail.com)

ABSTRACT
Since the implementation of Title IX, there have been significant gains in the area of equity between men’s and women’s sports. Instituted in 1972, Title IX has leveled the playing field by offering the same amount of opportunity for women as men. Deficient media coverage in female sports is a less examined and recognized issue among various types of Title IX violations in collegiate sports. The study examined if there was equal coverage between men’s and women’s basketball programs on the athletic department’s webpages and social media websites. The collected data included traffics for the athletic website, Facebook, and Twitter pages of Southeastern Conference institutions. The findings indicated that there was slightly more men’s coverage than women’s (53% vs 47%). Among those 14 schools, eight schools had more content coverage for their men’s team. Only six women’s programs received more official website coverage than their male counterparts. The exact tendency also occurred regarding the number of total Twitter posts. The analysis of Facebook posts displayed an unexpected result, as 13 schools had more posts related to women’s teams than men’s teams. The results tended to support the vital promotional role that social media may play to increase the awareness and popularity of women’s sports. In general, the schools’ official website still maintained an accepted coverage proportion toward both genders without heavily gravitated toward men’s teams. Practical implications are addressed for better utilizing social media to promote women’s sports and maintain gender equity in media coverage.

Keywords: Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Title IX

(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-07-08T11:00:33-05:00July 22nd, 2016|Commentary, Sports Marketing|Comments Off

Coaching environments and student-athletes: Perceptions of support, climate and autonomy

Authors: Jeff Noble, Mark Vermillion*, and Kewa Foster

*Corresponding Author:
Mark Vermillion, PhD
Wichita State University
Department of Sport Management
Wichita, KS 67260-0127
Mark.vermillion@wichita.edu
316-978-5444

ABSTRACT
Understanding how athletes interact with coaches is an important topic for not only increasing performance, but also for managing developmental dynamics so often associated with coaching. As a result, the purpose of the research is to examine student-athletes’ perceptions of coaching environments as related to autonomy-supportive motivational climates. Division I (formerly known as Division I AAA) student-athletes were surveyed (n=143) as part of a larger data collection process by the athletic department. Self-determination theory is applied to examine motivation, autonomy, and support, while psychosocial student development theory is used to influence variable selection relating to the student-athlete population. Statistical results indicate an overall positive perception of coaching environments by student-athletes and no differences based upon gender. Regression analyses indicate only 28% of the variance is explained by current variables/questions on athletic department survey instrument with variables of gender, type of sport played, and student classification having little to no statistically significant impact. In accordance with previous research, coaches have the ability to create a positive atmosphere and in this study student-athletes had an overall positive view of their coaches’ ability to develop autonomy-supportive team climates. However, many personal-level factors could account for the large percent of variance not explained by statistical analyses in the current study.

Keywords: student-athletes, motivation, coaching climate, self-determination

(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2016-07-06T14:03:29-05:00July 15th, 2016|Research, Sports Coaching|Comments Off

About U.S. Sports Academy

Vincent T. Lombardi: Three Key Lessons for Today’s Executive that Go Beyond Football

Vincent T. Lombardi: Three Key Lessons for Today’s Executive that Go Beyond Football

Tools and Benefits of Periodization: Developing an Annual Training Plan and Promoting Performance Improvements in Athletes

Assessing the Impact of Service Quality Attributes on Customer Satisfaction: A Case of Private Golf Courses in South Korea

Differences in Official Athletic Website Coverage and Social Media use Between Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams

Coaching environments and student-athletes: Perceptions of support, climate and autonomy