Sports Exercise Science – The Sport Journal

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

The Impact of Eating Disorder Risk on Sports Anxiety and Sports Confidence in Division III Female Athletes

Submission by JoAnne Barbieri Bullard1, Psy.D.*

1* Instructor, Health and Exercise Science Department, Rowan University,

JoAnne Barbieri Bullard is an instructor in the Health and Exercise Science Department at Rowan University. Bullard is also a Doctor of Sport Psychology and Performance and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

ABSTRACT

Eating disorder risk is important to assess not only regarding possible impact on the performance ability of an athlete, but also for the health risks athletes could experience. The purpose of this study is to evaluate eating disorder risk and the impact on sports anxiety and sports confidence of Division III female student-athletes. The results were based off of the Eating Attitudes Risk-26 Questionnaire to examine eating disorder risk, the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 to examine trait anxiety in sport settings, and the Sources of Sport Confidence Questionnaire to examine sources of sport confidence. The methodology included an informed consent form, demographics questionnaire, Eating Attitudes Risk-26 Questionnaire, Sport Anxiety Scale-2, and the Sources of Sport Confidence Questionnaire. Analyses were completed utilizing bivariate correlations and regression analysis. The results of this study showed that eating disorder risk was significantly correlated with only one variable of sports confidence, labeled as physical self-presentation, and no variables of sports anxiety. Athletic departments, athletic trainers and coaching staffs can utilize these findings to effectively work with student-athletes in a preventative manner.

Key words: eating disorder risk, sports anxiety and sports self-confidence (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2015-04-16T15:51:19-05:00April 1st, 2015|Sports Exercise Science, Sports Nutrition|Comments Off

Ratios of Certified Athletic Trainers’ to Athletic Teams and Number of Athletes in South Carolina Collegiate Settings

Submitted by Robert Bradley1, Ed.D, ATC, SCAT*. Fred Cromartie2, Ed.D*, Jeff Briggs3 PhD.*, Fred Battenfield4, Ph.D.*, Jon Boulet5 Ph.D*.

1* Assistant Professor of Sport management at North Greenville University, Tigersville, South Carolina, 29680

2* Director of Doctoral Studies at the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, Alabama, 36526

3* Professor of Sport Management at North Greenville University, Tigersville, South Carolina, 29680

4* Professor of Sport Management at North Greenville University, Tigersville, South Carolina, 29680

5* Professor of Economics at North Greenville University, Tigersville, South Carolina, 29680

Robert Bradley is a certified athletic trainer and assistant professor at North Greenville University. He is an expert in the financial resources of athletic training and appropriate medical coverage research.

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association produced a recommendation for the appropriate medical coverage of college athletics back in 1998.¹ The purpose was to determine how many certified athletic trainers (ATC’s) they need to have to reach the NATA’s minimum recommendation. Despite the recommendation, there has been no review of the application of this recommendation in colleges since its inception. This research was to determine the current ratios of full time athletic trainers to the number of athletic teams and student-athletes in the collegiate setting in South Carolina.

Method:

Cross-sectional study, using an open ended questionnaire sent to the head athletic trainers or athletic directors of the 32, four year colleges in South Carolina that support intercollegiate athletic teams. The subjects represented FBS, FCS, NCAA DI no football, NCAA DII with football, NCAA DII without football, NAIA, and NCCAA schools. Results were compared to the original results from Rankin’s survey.

Results:

Of the 32 available schools 23 responded for a 72% return rate. The number of full time athletic trainers in South Carolina colleges and universities rose from 3.0 in 1992 to 3.6 in 2014. The ratio of student-athletes to full time athletic trainers decreased from 115/1 to 87/1. The ratio of sports to full time athletic trainers fell from 6/1 to 4/1 in the same time period. Public schools report more full time athletic trainers with fewer sports than their private college counterparts.

Conclusion:

Colleges in South Carolina are attempting to address the NATA’s Appropriate Medical Coverage statement. The ratio of student/athletes and teams to full time athletic trainers shows an effort by schools to address the medical coverage needs of their college student athletes. Public colleges report having fewer sports and more full time athletic trainers than private colleges.

Application in sports:

In order for colleges in South Carolina and other states to meet the standards for appropriate medical coverage as determined by the National Athletic Trainers Association, colleges will need to hire additional full time athletic trainers.

Key Words: Ratio, Medical Coverage, Public Colleges, Private Colleges (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2015-11-06T20:22:47-06:00March 16th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sport Training, Sports Exercise Science|Comments Off

Effect of Mental Training on the Performance of College Age Distance Runners

Submitted by Michael P. Spino1*, William F. Straub2*

1* Sports Administration, Kinesiology and Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303

2*Department of Psychology, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, NY 13053
wstraub7314@gmail.com

Michael P. Spino was born in New Jersey but has spent most of his adult years working in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an excellent track coach having coached at Georgia Tech and Life University. His teams have won many state and national championships. Recently he earned his doctoral degree at Lille2 University, Lille, France. Presently, he is teaching part-time at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

William F. Straub was born in Catskill, New York. He is a retired professor of kinesiology and sport psychology. He has published extensively in scholarly journals and now has a small private practice in sport psychology. He is a USOC certified sport psychology consultant. He received his PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI and a Master’s degree in clinical psychology from the new School for Social Research in NYC.

ABSTRACT

The purpose was to determine if Event Rehearsal Imagery (ERI) and Internal guided Imagery with Distractions (IGID) resulted in improvements in the running performance of college students. The participants (N = 74) were students at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Cooper’s 12 min run test was used to assess running performance. Following 8-weeks of training, findings indicated that there was a statistically significant difference (0.05 level) in running performance between the Event Rehearsal Imagery (n = 29), Event Rehearsal Imagery with Distractions (n = 16) and the Control group (n = 29). Overall, there was a significant mean difference in running among male (n = 47) and female (n = 27 participants).

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U.S. Sports Academy2014-11-12T10:54:32-06:00November 12th, 2014|Contemporary Sports Issues, General, Sports Exercise Science|Comments Off

An Athlete’s Nutritional Answer

Submitted by John Stump, DC, PhD, EdD

John Stump is the clinic director at the Integrative Medicine Centre. A consultant and partner in Sportec International, a Fairhope, AL, based sport and fitness consulting company. He is also a National Faculty member of the United States Sports Academy

ABSTRACT

The year of the Olympics is a special time for athletes everywhere. Health care professionals find it difficult to recognize a case of Chronic Fatigue of a former college track athlete who persisted on despite her infirmity to qualify for the Olympics. The patient had an acute onset of symptoms not consistent with any condition but general fatigue. Blood studies and additional tests indicated a fatigue syndrome consistent with that of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She was placed on a specific nutritional program for four months and shortly afterward was back to long distance running.

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