In a recent study examining coaching philosophy within English football academies, researchers uncovered intriguing insights into how coaches perceive and utilize this concept. The findings shed light on the complex interplay between symbolic identity, practical coaching approaches, and institutional norms.…
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes faced unprecedented challenges, prompting researchers to investigate the role of self-compassion in their coping strategies. This mixed-methods study explored how self-compassion influenced athletes’ coping through cognitive appraisal during the pandemic, offering valuable insights into mental…
In a recent study examining the effects of pressure on performance in golf putting tasks, researchers uncovered surprising insights that challenge conventional wisdom. Contrary to the belief that pressure uniformly impairs performance, the study reveals that different types of pressure…
This study investigated the impact of a school-based karate intervention on academic achievement, psychosocial functioning, and physical fitness in 7-8-year-old children across five European countries. Twenty schools participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial, with children assigned to either traditional…
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, rehabilitation access was disrupted. This study compares late-stage ACLR rehabilitation outcomes before and during pandemic-related restrictions. It analyzes return-to-sport test data from two periods: pre-pandemic (Dec 2018 – Mar 2020) and during the pandemic (Jun –…
This study delves into the efficacy of compression garments (CGs) during athletic endeavors, particularly exploring their influence on balance, sprinting, jumping, and change of direction performance. Employing a sample of 24 recreationally active participants, the research compares the effects of…
This paper examines the use of the term “athlete” in scientific literature, particularly in studies related to Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rehabilitation. It highlights a significant lack of standardization in the definition and usage of this term across various research…
This article delves into the nuanced development of swimmers during puberty, aiming to distinguish between those on track to elite levels and those who are not. Over three swimming seasons, data was collected from 90 talented sprint and middle-distance swimmers,…
This paper systematically examined the impact of post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI) in conjunction with resistance training (RT) on muscle growth. Through a comprehensive meta-analysis of available data, the study aimed to shed light on whether CWI, when used as…
This paper aimed to investigate the effects of mental fatigue (MF), induced by a cognitively demanding task, on repeated sprint ability (RSA), repeated jump ability (RJA), and psychomotor vigilance. The study conducted utilized a randomized within-participant design and measured various…
The emerging field of emotion regulation studies how individuals influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. This review takes an evolutionary perspective and characterizes emotion in terms of response tendencies. Emotion regulation is defined and distinguished from coping, mood regulation, defense, and affect regulation. In the increasingly specialized discipline of psychology, the field of emotion regulation cuts across traditional boundaries and provides common ground. According to a process model of emotion regulation, emotion may be regulated at five points in the emotion generative process: (a) selection of the situation, (b) modification of the situation, (c) deployment of attention, (d) change of cognitions, and (e) modulation of responses. The field of emotion regulation promises new insights into age-old questions about how people manage their emotions.
This chapter provides a conceptual foundation for answering questions as they arise in developmental and adult literatures relevant to emotion regulation. Because a discussion of emotion regulation presupposes an understanding of what emotion is, we first consider emotion in the context of the larger family of affective processes to which it belongs. Next, we distinguish emotion regulation from other major forms of self-regulation. This prepares the way for our presentation of the framework we use to organize the many different types of emotion regulation. Using this framework, we review findings from child developmental and adult literatures. In the last section, we highlight some of the biggest challenges--and opportunities--for those interested in emotion and emotion regulation.
Examining the landscape of sleep variability among athletes, a systematic review was conducted to delve into how researchers have conceptualized and investigated these fluctuations in sleep patterns. This comprehensive analysis, spanning 16 studies, highlights the varied approaches and limitations in…
Exploring the nuances of various sports is essential for talent programs seeking to identify, develop, and transfer athletes effectively. A recent study analyzed 1247 coaches across 34 sports, employing sophisticated techniques to distinguish unique characteristics per sport. Their findings not only uncovered sport-specific profiles but also provided practical insights crucial for talent programs, coaches, and athletes seeking optimal pathways in talent identification, development, and transfer.
This study on youth tennis players delved into the pivotal role of coach communication in shaping the attentional focus of athletes during training sessions across diverse sports. A detailed analysis encompassing 10 coaches engaged with youth athletes was conducted to understand the prevalence and influencers of attentional focus induced by coach communication. While prior research advocates for an external focus (EF) in enhancing performance, this study aimed to explore how coach-, content-, and player-related factors influence the attentional focus induced during sports training sessions. The findings shed light on the prevalent induction of EF in coaching across various sports, emphasizing the need for adaptable communication strategies aligned with athletes' skill levels for optimized training outcomes.
In the realm of sports training, effective monitoring plays a pivotal role in enhancing athlete performance. A recent article delves into the intricate world of exercise monitoring, emphasizing its indispensable role in fine-tuning training methodologies. Highlighting the fusion of external and internal load measurements, this piece navigates through the complexities of selecting, understanding, and applying various monitoring tools. By advocating for a balanced approach between simplicity and complexity, it illuminates the significance of data-informed decisions and the integration of subjective insights. Tailoring strategies to sport-specific nuances and embracing a comprehensive model that amalgamates varied metrics, the article presents practical takeaways for coaches and practitioners aiming to optimize athlete training and performance.
In today's competitive sports landscape, the evolution of player support structures has become increasingly complex. A recent article highlights the shifting dynamics within elite sports, shedding light on the growing trend of athletes employing specialized personal staff. This practice reflects a desire for tailored support systems aimed at optimizing performance, health, and career longevity. The article delves into the motivations behind this shift, emphasizing the critical role of effective communication and collaboration between club-centered professionals and personal staff. Amidst these changes, practical takeaways emerge to navigate this evolving terrain, emphasizing the importance of unified approaches and informed decision-making for player well-being and peak performance.
In a comprehensive study investigating cognitive performance in a substantial cohort of rugby players over eight years, several crucial findings emerged. This research delved into the intersection of sociodemographic factors, player characteristics, and cognitive scores, revealing practical insights crucial for player management. Among the key revelations were the impact of repeated assessments on cognitive scores, the influence of education levels and playing positions, and the prevalence of psychological symptoms. These findings offer actionable takeaways to refine assessment strategies, personalize evaluations, and prioritize holistic well-being in the realm of rugby and similar high-contact sports.
This study delves into the intricate relationship between coaches' self-worth and their coaching styles, particularly concerning how some coaches attach their sense of worth to the successes or failures of their athletes. It explores the impact of this Athlete-Invested Contingent Self-Worth (AICS) on coaching approaches and athlete performance. Additionally, it sheds light on various predictors and outcomes of AICS, offering insights into how these factors influence coaches' behaviors and the implications for interventions at both the coach and club levels.
This study delved into the psychological aspects influencing people's willingness to engage in exercise as part of postconcussion recovery. It revealed that social expectations, particularly what individuals believe others expect of them, strongly influence participation intentions. Additionally, it highlighted the significance of personalized programs and supervised sessions. Integrating these findings, here are five key takeaways:
This study delves into how pre-training wellness, measured via a mobile app, impacts the perceived exertion and overall training load in collegiate female soccer players across an entire competitive season. By analyzing the players' self-reported wellness metrics and their exertion levels during sessions, the research highlights the crucial role of mood in predicting how hard players feel they've worked during training. This insight underscores the significance of tracking and managing athletes' wellness to optimize their performance and maintain their well-being throughout the season.
In a comprehensive review exploring neural adaptations to strength training, researchers analyzed 20 studies comparing trained and untrained individuals. This investigation delved into electromyography (EMG) signals during strength tasks, uncovering key insights into neuromuscular efficiency, rapid force production, EMG patterns, muscle coordination, and antagonist muscle activity. These findings offer practical guidance for optimizing training strategies and understanding the nuanced neurological responses that define strength gains
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) based interventions on children and adolescents' physical activity levels and motivational processes, specifically when conducted outside the school environment. Analyzing nine identified studies, this research delved into the effectiveness of these out-of-school interventions, shedding light on their influence on factors like satisfaction of psychological needs, motivation toward physical activity, and actual levels of engagement.
This study delved into the impact of supervision during resistance training among young individuals already familiar with such workouts. Comparing supervised sessions against unsupervised ones over an 8-week period, the research aimed to uncover how guidance influences muscle development and strength gains. The findings shed light on the differences in muscle adaptations and strength improvements between supervised and unsupervised training, offering valuable insights into optimizing training approaches for better outcomes. Let's explore the key takeaways from this study.
Exploring the brain's response to cognitive tasks among semi-professional soccer players, this study dives into the differences in prefrontal cortex activity during general and sport-specific cognitive tests. By analyzing the cortical mechanisms underlying expertise in soccer, the research uncovers intriguing insights into how the brain processes familiar versus novel information in athletes. Understanding these cognitive nuances could significantly impact training approaches and shed light on the intricate relationship between brain function and sports expertise. Let's explore the key takeaways from this illuminating study.
Examining the toll of a 6-day basketball tournament on under-18 elite players sheds light on the nuanced effects of consecutive games on athlete performance and well-being. This comprehensive study closely monitored physical demands, physiological responses, player well-being, and game statistics across the tournament's duration. Understanding how the players' bodies and well-being responded throughout this intense schedule provides valuable insights for coaches and trainers aiming to optimize player performance and health in high-stakes multi-day tournaments.
Understanding the optimal protein intake for athletes, particularly endurance athletes, is crucial for maximizing recovery and performance. This recent study delved into this realm, exploring protein needs in both male and female endurance athletes in real-world settings. Their findings shed light on the ideal protein intake, irrespective of gender, offering insights that challenge conventional recommendations and emphasize a unified approach towards optimizing muscle recovery.
The focus of this meta-analysis was to investigate the impact of early involvement in talent promotion programs on both junior and senior athletic performance. While these programs aim to accelerate performance development by selecting talented youth at a young age, studies indicate a turnover rate of 25-55% within these programs due to factors like accelerated biological maturation and intensive childhood practice.
Some key findings to take away from this study are:
We sought to identify concepts that may facilitate National Collegiate Athletic Association efforts to assist member institutions in addressing the mental health needs of student-athletes of colour. A two-step process was followed to generate and refine concepts, guided by Delphi…
Global well-being (GWB) is a complex, multi-dimensional, and multi-faceted construct that can be explored from two different, but often overlapping, complementary perspectives: the subjective and the objective ones. The subjective perspective, in turn, is comprised of two dimensions: namely, the…
The purposes of the present study were to compare selected psycho-behavioral characteristics between Australian adolescent-aged ballet dancers and non-dancers linked to disordered eating patterns, and to determine selected psychological characteristics that most likely predisposed ballet dancers at risk for developing…
Background: The purpose was to: 1) perform a systematic review of studies examining the relation between physical activity, fitness, and health in school-aged children and youth, and 2) make recommendations based on the findings.Methods: The systematic review was limited to…
The purpose of this study was to examine the development of six leader-athletes. In-depth qualitative interviews were used to explore the various activities that leader athletes engaged in from an early age as well as the roles and influences that…
The frequency of involvement in sports often has been concurrently and longitudinally associated with higher self-esteem. The interpretation of this association consistently has been framed as involvement in sports leading to higher levels of self-esteem over time (i.e., socialization effect),…
This review is designed to summarize and critique current life skills through sport research. In particular, life skills are defined, the conditions needed to examine life skills development are explored, and the possible theoretical explanations of how, when, under what…
Sport coaching scholars extol the hope that relations of care will bring to sport. Yet, the insidious nature of relations of power and domination have been under-theorised with respect to care theory in sport coaching. Therefore, the purpose of this…
Despite widespread anecdotal accounts of coaches’ emotional abuse in intercollegiate sports, empirical literature is lacking. To address this gap, the present exploratory study was designed to explore how former intercollegiate student-athletes interpreted experiences of emotionally abusive coaching. Former female NCAA…
The correlates of coach-athlete relationship quality have been the focus of research for over a decade; however, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying these associations. The present study conducted a moderated mediation analysis to examine (a)…
This article adopts the theory of social practices as a critical lens for understanding computer game consumption as multiple ‘nexuses of doings and sayings’, which represent the elements of and are situated within the broader context of consumer culture. Specifically,…
This work contributes to an understanding of college athletes’ experiences with campus climate and its relationship to perceptions of their academic success. This work extends race work to include Latina/o and Asian and Pacific Islander college athlete populations across multiple…
This paper explores the role of recreational sport as a means and marker of social integration by analysing the lived experiences of Somali people from refugee backgrounds with sport. Drawing on a three-year multi-sided ethnography, the paper examines the extent…
Sport is among the most potent institutions in the production, maintenance and contestation of race in the modern world. The last decade has witnessed a significant increase of sport-based research on the cutting edge of theorizing race and racism in…
This article considers the relationship between Big Data and the athlete. Where Beer and Hutchins have focused on Big Data and sport, this article concentrates on the athlete’s potential response to Big Data monitoring. Drawing on the work of Andrejevic,…
In this paper we examine how practices and logics associated with the cultural ‘outsider’ underpin one particular fusion of contemporary art, alternative sports, and marketing interests which are endemic to post-Fordist economies. We describe a skateboarding-infused art exhibit, Beautiful Losers,…
The aim of this article is to examine a meeting between discourses of gender and age at the macro-level, applying an intersectional research approach. The discussion of intersecting discourses is based on empirical material from Poland. It refers to the…
Why some young people start to tattoo their bodies? And why some of them keep going on with this practice, until having all body tattooed? What doing so means to them? These are some of the questions that underlie a…
The article shows how young men who take part in a ‘feminine’ sport — rhythmic gymnastics — construct their masculine identity. In order to be considered as men, boys performing rhythmic gymnastics have to work to construct their identity, a…
Ethnographic data have frequently been used to examine socialization, but rarely to ground theories of socialization. This paper is an exception. Interest in indigenous representations emerging in situations involving socialization has led to the building of a relational model of…
This article explores how the global revival of roller derby as an alternative sport for women has been mobilised through online social networks, league promotion and fan sites that create imagined communities of ‘roller grrrls’. In the creation of sport…
Football supporters worldwide organise protests, petitions, campaigns, workshops and congresses and are engaged in political lobbying. These expressions of supporters’ activism are nourished by both discontent with developments in football culture and an effort to change them. The aim of…
This article reports findings from a study designed to examine cricket’s role as an international development tool – with a particular focus on how decisions are made at the highest institutional levels to support cricket-related development initiatives. Data for the…
The purpose of the current study was to examine how head coach–player racial dissimilarity was associated with negative treatment from the head coach. Data were collected from 212 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women’s basketball players (124 Whites,…
This article offers a critique of the dominant ways in which well-being has been conceptualized and researched within social policy, focusing in particular on the significance of this for policy relating to older people. It conceptualizes well-being as relational and…
‘Being while black’ is ultimately an ‘everyday revolution’, Despite the fact that people manage themselves by their own choosing, especially as their desires are being shaped (Foucault, 1977), their selves remains the basic revolutionary unit. Foucault’s oeuvre on power and…
The present study set out to assess the impact of attributional beliefs about success on the susceptibility for doping use in adolescent athletes. The sample consisted of 309 adolescent athletes participating in both team and individual sports. Participants completed a…
During the 1970s, a new corporal and aesthetic standard emerged in women’s artistic gymnastics. No longer was grace and elegance the main feature, but acrobatic and somewhat robotic performances. These exercises were increasingly performed by highly trained and sexually immature…
The purpose of this paper was to explore the benefits and barriers influencing participation for athletes with disabilities from a developing country (Malaysia). Two independent studies were undertaken: Study 1 included a sample of 123 athletes (95 males, 28 females)…
The first purpose of this study was to examine low-income parents’ and their children’s perceptions of the benefits associated with participation in youth sport. The second purpose was to examine parents’ perceptions of the challenges associated with providing their children…
Sports provide one of the most prominent fields in which one can study the interaction between globalization and glocalization processes. Drawing on recent theoretical developments in globalization theory and on both primary and secondary data, the present article examines the…
This paper argues that a reflexive, late modern volunteer culture coexists with a collectivist, traditional one at major sporting events. Those who regularly volunteer at such events and are affiliated with organized sport tend to be older and male, and…
Drawing on a case study involving mediated vitriol targeting cheerleaders, this article identifies two potentially problematic aspects of the media studies concept of anti fandom. First, it critiques the classification of vitriolic texts produced by anti fans as belonging primarily…
Gramsci’s theory of intellectuals is widely cited but rarely closely studied. This article makes a case for a rereading of this theory. This is both desirable and necessary because, as the article shows, it is a more nuanced and yet…
The percentage of older adults who are active gamers has increased tremendously in recent years. Although research shows that video games enhance physical and cognitive well-being in older adults, the role of video games in enhancing social interactions has been…
On the fiftieth anniversary of the International Sociology Of Sport Association and the International Review for the Sociology of Sport, the three guest editors for this special fiftieth anniversary issue of the IRSS, current ISSA president, Elizabeth CJ Pike, the…
This paper explores three female swimmers’ relationships with their male coaches and the body practices they were exposed to within Australian swimming. Particular attention is given to how the relationships and practices might relate to gender. Additionally, the article examines…
Do digital games and play mean the same things for different people? This article presents the results of a 3-year study in which we sought for new ways to approach digital games cultures and playing practices. First, the authors present…
Sport is often perceived as healthy and safe. However, research has demonstrated that problems involving sexual, psychological, and physical abuse exist in this context and that very few protection measures are available in sport organizations. Quebec’s sport organizations are not…
As one of the world’s most recognizable athletes, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is emblematic of the modern athlete-activist; as such, it is important to understand how the media frame him in the context of a controversial issue. In recent…
Few studies have examined how groups of individuals enact different patterns of gender relations within and across contexts. In this article, I draw upon nine months of fieldwork and 15 semistructured interviews conducted with eight- to 10-year-old swimmers on a…
The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic review of studies on athletes’ career transition out of sport from 1968 until the end of 2010. A total of 126 studies were evaluated and reported in three sections: sample…
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the psychological effects of poor coaching reported by collegiate, professional and semi-professional athletes. Design: The present study employs a qualitative research design. Existential phenomenology is a contemporary qualitative research method that…
Research independently examining athletic identity and sport aggression is quite extensive; however, the relationship between these variables has yet to be explored. Findings from both the identity literature and the sport fandom literature regarding team identification and aggressive fan behavior…
Although seatbelts save lives, adolescents may be disproportionately likely to omit their use. Using data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey of more than 16,000 U.S. public and private high school students, the authors employed a…
Over 400,000 student-athletes participate in NCAA intercollegiate athletics programs. Due to their dual roles as student and athlete, they have a different college experience than the general student population. Specialized academic centers and resources for student-athletes are part of the…
The purpose of this study was to explore participants’ academic experiences and confidence about their academic achievement. Participants (N = 27) consisted of high-achieving African American male student—athletes from four academically rigorous American Universities in the Pac-Ten conference. Most of…
Taking inspiration from Nikolas Rose (2007a, 2007b) and feminist new materialists, this paper creates space for athletic women’s voices of their biological and social bodies, and particularly their interactions with the medical professions and biomedical technologies. Drawing upon interviews with…
This study examines sport as a source for youth popularity, and its variation by gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and grade level, using a nationally representative U.S. sample of 2,185 3rd—12th graders. Results indicate athletes are more likely than non athletes…
Participation in elite sport, and in particular those sports with special demands in terms of weight and shape, is associated with a higher risk for eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa [Sundgot-Borgen, J., & Torstveit, M. K. (2010). Aspects of…
Football hooliganism, defined as episodes of crowd trouble inside and outside football stadiums on match days, is commonly perceived to have adverse effects on the sport. We are especially interested in the effects of football-related fan violence on a club’s…
In recent years, individuals who do not conform to healthiest body shape and weight norms are the target of an increasingly fervent moral panic about “obesity” (Gard & Wright, 2005). As a subculture within the gay male community (Wright, 1997a),…
Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) refers to the use of sport to promote varied outcomes beyond the playing field and has been defined as ‘the intentional use of sport, physical activity and play to attain specific development objectives in…
This paper features a critical examination of recent legislation banning cosmetic pesticide applications in the province of Ontario, Canada. It focuses in particular on the exemption of golf courses from the province’s Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act of 2009. Drawing from…
Aim: The aim of the paper was to identify changes in the extent and patterns of anabolic steroid use in the United Kingdom to better understand the public health implications within the context of the current health-related evidence base. Methods:…
This article seeks to expand the conceptual boundaries of sport media research by investigating the utility of a postfeminist sensibility for analyzing depictions of women in sport. Rosalind Gill’s (2007) notion of a postfeminist sensibility is situated within UK-led feminist…
Recently, sociologists have argued in high-profile journals that racial categories are linked to genetically distinct clusters within the human population. They propose theorizing race as a socially constructed categorization system that is related to biological groupings within our species. This…
Blood sport—the practice of pitting animals against each other (or against humans) in bloody combat to the death—is a tragic form of human entertainment that has been resilient since antiquity. While animal blood sport is a form of human driven…
This article explores the reasons behind the expression of anti-English sentiment by Scots in relation to both sporting and wider social contexts, whilst also considering the impact of migration to England on the attitudes expressed by members of the Scottish…
This article explores how sport, frequently seen as the foremost meritocracy in New Zealand, is a site that can produce and reproduce social class-based distinctions. Specifically, we explore how participation in youth sport is connected with the consolidation of social…
In recent years it has become widely accepted that one of the greatest demographic challenges facing most developed societies is the shift to an ageing population. Older people are often constructed as dependent and over-burdening societal resources, with many consequently…
While college sport can impact a campus’ sense of community (Clopton, 2007), no empirical research has established a connection with college sport and social capital, an increasingly researched social phenomenon defined as the sum of trust and reciprocating relationships amongst…
Researchers commonly use sports betting lines as predictions of the outcome of sporting events. Betting houses set betting lines conditional on bettors ex ante beliefs about game outcomes, which implies that the predictive power of the sports betting market could…