Research – Page 2 – The Sport Journal

Elite-level Coaches’ Coping: Stress Appraisal and Covid-19

Authors: Maja G. O. Østerås¹, Jan A. Haugan², and Frode Moen¹

¹ Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
²Department of Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Correspondence:

Frode Moen, PhD
Department of Education and Lifelong Learning
Post box 8900, Torgarden, NO-7491 Trondheim
Norway
frode.moen@ntnu.no

Maja G. O. Østerås, MA, is currently doctoral student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Maja’s area of research includes coach education, stress, coping and coach athlete relationship.

Jan A. Haugan is an Assistant Professor of pedagogical psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research interests focus on development, coping and relationships in school and sports.

Frode Moen, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of pedagogical psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research interests focus on the coach-athlete relationship, coaching, coach education, athlete-burnout, stress, executive functions and sleep. He also holds a position as a mental trainer for the Norwegian Olympic sport center in middle Norway.

Elite-level Coaches’ Coping: Stress Appraisal and Covid-19

Abstract

The current study investigated 97 Norwegian elite-level coaches’ appraisal of working as a coach during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the predictive outcomes of these cognitive processes. The participants were part of a Norwegian coach education program carried out by the Norwegian Olympic Sport Center (NOSC). The results in the current study show that the coaches appraised their work during the pandemic as controllable-by-self, as a challenge, as controllable-by-others, and stressful. The regression analysis showed that challenge and controllable-by-self were unique and positive significant predictors of the coaches’ subjective performance, and that controllable-by-self was the strongest predictor of the two. Appraising the situation as uncontrollable-by-anyone was also a significant positive predictor of coaches’ subjective performance in the step 2 of the regression analysis, and not coaches’ exhaustion level as hypothesized. Threat appraisals were found to significant predict coaches’ exhaustion level at the first step of the regression analysis, whereas controllable-by-self was the strongest negative significant predictor for coaches’ exhaustion. The results indicate that controllable-by-self appraisals play a particular role in preventing burnout and inducing performance in elite coaches when they face stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Words: elite sports, COVID-19, stress, coping

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-04-03T14:45:44-05:00March 31st, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Strength and Conditioning Practices among NCAA Place-Kickers

Authors: Dr. James A. Reid¹, Todd Schaneville², and Trey Schaneville³

¹Assistant Professor of Physical Education, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL, USA
²Physical Educator and Coach, Brevard Public Schools, Viera, FL, USA
³Graduate Student-Athlete, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA

Corresponding Author:

James A. Reid, DA, NSCA, CSCS and CPT
509 Greentree Ter
Auburn, Alabama 36832
jreid@tuskegee.edu
256-690-3581

University. Dr. Reid has been teaching exercise science and physical education in higher education since 2001. Dr. Reid was a place-kicker and punter at Tulane University and Auburn University. He played three years of semi-professional football as well. While serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Tennessee at Martin, he served as a volunteer kicking coach for the football team. Dr. Reid also has worked as a kicking coach with Feely Kicking School in Tampa, Florida.

Strength and Conditioning Practices among NCAA Place-Kickers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the strength and conditioning practices of NCAA Division I and II starting place-kickers. The hope is that this information will be valuable to football coaches and strength and conditioning professionals who oversee the offseason regiments of kickers. The researchers investigated the strength and conditioning practices over nine different categories of exercises. The instrumentation used was a survey, and the subjects were fifteen starting NCAA place-kickers at the Division I and II levels. The survey format was divided into nine sections, and respondents were asked to indicate any exercise from a list that the athlete performs regularly during off-season training. The findings from this research study show that there are a few exercise categories that seem to be used more frequently than others and that certain exercises provide greater benefits to a place-kicker’s performance. One hundred percent of respondents reported that they utilize the following exercise categories: core strength and endurance, assistance strength and endurance, power lifts, speed and agility, and flexibility. However, for place-kickers, flexibility and plyometric exercises seem to be the most beneficial for this specific type of athlete. This is most likely due to their need for explosive strength and power, as well as improved range of motion during kicking.

Key Words: flexibility, endurance, plyometrics, power, aerobic, strength, core

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-03-24T17:44:41-05:00March 24th, 2023|Research, Sport Education, Sport Training, Sports Exercise Science|Comments Off

Factors Associated with Anxiety Among Division III Student-Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Authors: Philip J. Brenner¹, JoAnne Bullard^2, and Robert Weaver²

¹Graduate student from the Athletic Training Program, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
²Department of Health and Exercise Science, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA

Correspondence:

Philip J. Brenner, MS, LAT, ATC
201 Mullica Hill Road

Glassboro, NJ 08028
Philbrenner97@gmail.com

Philip J. Brenner, MS, LAT, ATC graduated from Rowan University with a Masters in Athletic Training. Philip’s areas of research interest include: Mindfulness interventions for student athletes’ and the impact of COVID-19 on student athletes.

JoAnne Bullard, PsyD., CMPC, CSCS is currently an assistant professor at Rowan University in the Health and Exercise Science department. JoAnne’s areas of research interests include well-being of student athletes, mindfulness for performance, motivation and anxiety in athletics and academics, and athletic transitioning.

Robert Weaver, Ph.D is a professor and community health program coordinator at Rowan University in the Health and Exercise Science department. Robert’s research interests include social determents of health, food security and insecurity, and research methods in health science.

Factors Associated with Anxiety Among Division III Student-Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives of collegiate student-athletes due to canceled sports seasons. This led to an increase in anxiety symptoms among Division III student-athletes. Collegiate female student-athletes have reported increased anxiety during the pandemic, but it is unknown if individualized or team sport athletes have similar anxiety symptoms. The purpose of this study is to determine the association between anxiety symptoms, gender, and sport-type of Division III student-athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Qualtrics survey assessed demographic information, concerns and worries surrounding the pandemic, and generalized anxiety symptoms using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7). Participants were male and female Division III collegiate student-athletes in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) during the 2020-2021 fall, winter, and spring sports-seasons. They were categorized as either an individual athlete or a team sport athlete. Chi-square analyses and prevalence ratios were conducted on SPSS version 27. There were significant differences between male and female GAD-7 responses X²= 30.119 (df=3, n=435), p=.000. There were no significant differences between non-gender specific sport-type athletes and anxiety. Female individual sport athletes were three times more likely to report mild-severe anxiety symptoms than female team sport athletes (PR=3.2, 95% CI, 1.66-6.16, p=0.000). In conclusion, female individual sport athletes were at greater risk for reporting anxiety symptoms compared to female team sport athletes, male individual sport athletes, and male team sport athletes. The application of sports is that associated colleges need to provide additional assistance in counseling, telehealth, and social support to collegiate student-athletes to help lessen the mental distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-02-16T17:23:11-06:00February 3rd, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Predictive Validity of the Physical Skills Test of the 40-yard Dash and Draft Placement in the NFL Draft

Authors: Raymond Tucker and Willie Black

Department of Kinesiology, University of Houston Victoria, Victoria, TX, USA.

Correspondence:

College of Education and Health Professions Kinesiology Department University of Houston Victoria, USA.
University of Houston at Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, Texas 77901
Phone: (361)-570-4381
Tuckerr1@uhv.edu

Raymond Tucker, D.S.M., CFSC, CSCS * D, EXOS – XPS, FMS, USATF, USAW, is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Houston Victoria in Victoria, TX. His research interest focused on coaches’ leadership skills, program design, and performance measures used in strength and conditioning.

Willie J. Black, Jr. Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Houston in Victoria, Texas. His research interests focus on leadership, physical education pedagogy, and
social justice in physical education.

Predictive Validity of the Physical Skills Test of the 40-yard Dash and Draft Placement in the NFL Draft.

Abstract

Tucker, R. Predictive Validity of the 40-yard dash Physical Skills Test and Draft Position in the NFL Draft. To determine whether faster times by offensive and defensive positions correlate to higher draft positions in the NFL draft, the authors of this study looked into the correlation between the National Football League (NFL) combine test results of the 40-yard dash. Data was collected and analyzed from 1,009 players invited to the NFL combine between 2018 and 2020. The results of the research discovered a statistically significant correlation between the 40-yard dash for the offensive positions of WR r_s = .436, n = 147, p = .001; TE r_s = .356, n = 58, p = .05; OL r_s = .373, n = 77, p =.05; and for the defensive positions of LB r_s = .573, n = 83, p =. 001; S r_s = .510, n = 82, p = .05. These results suggested that faster times in the 40-yard dash for various offensive and defensive positions correlated to better draft position in the NFL draft.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-01-18T13:42:07-06:00January 27th, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

The Effect of Coaches’ Leadership Behaviors on Athletes’ Emotion Regulation Strategies

Authors: Adem Solakumur¹, Ahmet, N. Dilek², Yilmaz Unlu³ and Murat Kul⁴

1Department of Sports Physical Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, The University of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal, Bolu, Turkey
2Department of Sports Recreation, Faculty of Sport Sciences, The University of Bartin, Bartin, Turkey
3Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, The University of Bartin, Bartin, Turkey
4Department of Sports Management, Faculty of Sport Sciences, The University of Bayburt, Bayburt, Turkey

Corresponding Author:

Adem Solakumur, Ph.D
Department of Physical Education, School of Physical Education and Sports,
University of Abant Izzet Baysal, Golkoy Kampusu, 14030, Bolu/TURKEY
orcid.org/0000-0001-8377-7912
Office Phone: +903742534571
mobile phone: +90 505 933 1502
Fax: +90 374 2534636
Email: adem.solakumur@ibu.edu.tr

(1) Adem Solakumur, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Department of Physical Education at the University of Abant Izzet Baysal, His research interests focus on sports management and psycho-social issues.
(2) Ahmet Naci Dilek, Ph.D., is a researcher in the field of social relations and recreational activities.
(3)Yılmaz Ünlü, Ph.D., is a researcher in the field of Social Relations and Sport Management.
(4) Murat Kul is associate professor in Sports Management and Physical Education at the Bayburt University.

The Effect of Coaches’ Leadership Behaviors on Athletes’ Emotion Regulation Strategies

Abstract

Purpose: There are various studies that show that the attitudes and behaviours of sports stakeholders (e.g., coaches, supporters, managers, etc.) have positive and negative consequences on the emotion regulation strategies of athletes. In these studies, there is not enough evidence to reveal the effect of the leadership behaviors of the coaches who interact and direct the athlete, who is the subject of the sport, Specifically, there is not enough evidence to indicate the impact of leadership behaviors on the emotional states of the athletes. Therefore, this research examines the effect of four dimensions of coaches’ leadership behaviors (e.g., educational and supportive, democratic, explanatory and rewarding, and autocratic) on athletes’ emotional regulation strategies (e.g., suppression and cognitive reappraisal).

Theoretical background: The research is supported by the theory of “Multidimensional Sports Leadership.”

Methods: In order to collect data in the research, the “Leadership Scale for Sports” and “Emotion Regulation Scale” were used together with a personal information form. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were applied to determine the relationships between variables. The data were obtained from a total of 378 athletes including 168 women and 210 men. A survey was used as part of a field study on participating athletes.

Findings: “Autocratic” leadership behaviors of the coaches positively predicted the “Suppression” strategy of the athletes. Additionally, explanatory and autocratic leadership behaviors of coaches predict the “Cognitive Reappraisal ” strategy of the athletes in a positive way. “Autocratic” leadership behaviors of coaches positively predicted the “Suppression” strategy of the athletes. Additionally, “Explanatory and Autocratic” leadership behaviors of coaches predict the “Cognitive Reappraisal ” strategy of the athletes in a positive way.

Results: Trainers, by considering how leadership behaviors can positively affect the emotion regulation strategies of the athletes can create a healthy sports environment that will support sportive performance and success.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-01-18T12:28:35-06:00January 20th, 2023|Leadership, Research, Sports Coaching|Comments Off