Sports Studies and Sports Psychology – Page 2

Examining Perceptions of Baseball’s Eras: A Statistical Comparison

Authors: Mitchell T. Woltring, Jim K. Rost, Colby B. Jubenville

Corresponding Author:
Mitchell T. Woltring, Ph.D.
171 Jaguar Drive
HKS 1016
mitchellwoltring@gmail.com
251-461-1925

Dr. Mitchell Woltring is an assistant professor of Sport Management at the University of South Alabama. He teaches undergraduate classes in the Leisure Studies program which serves both sport management and therapeutic recreation students. He received his Ph.D. in Human Performance from Middle Tennessee State University, an M.S. in Sport Management from Middle Tennessee State University, and a B.S. in Sport Management from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He has worked in the sport industry with several baseball teams at the MLB, college, and amateur levels, as well as coaching at the high school level.

Examining Perceptions of Baseball’s Eras: A Statistical Comparison

ABSTRACT
Professional baseball has endured many changes in rules, equipment, and competitive strategy over the course of its history. Because of such shifts, the modern era of Major League Baseball has been segmented into distinct eras. The purpose of this research was to determine how the perceptions of each era compared with the statistical outputs based on the measure of On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS), beginning with the 1901 season. Results were segmented by each era to determine any significant differences between the eras. Multiple regression and ANOVA were used to determine if perceptions for each era aligned with statistical findings. Results showed that perceptions for five of the seven eras matched, while perceptions of two eras did not. Results also showed significant statistical differences between the eras, indicating the way in which hitting and pitching contributed to winning percentage were unique for each era.
(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2018-10-25T08:15:22+00:00October 25th, 2018|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

An Investigation of Youth Football Players’ Participation Motivations and Health Related Behaviors

Authors: Zhenhao Zeng, Andria Cuello, Jonathan Skelly, Christopher Gigliello, Steven Riveras

Corresponding Author:
P.I. Zhen Hao Zeng, D.P.E. Professor of Sport Pedagogy
Department of Kinesiology, Brooklyn College of
The City University of New York, USA
hzeng@brooklyn.cuny.edu
718-951-5014

Zhen Hao (Howard) Zeng is an associate professor of the Department of Kinesiology at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, USA. He has a doctoral degree in physical education and sport pedagogy; his fields of study are youth sports, teaching strategies in physical education and sports.

An Investigation of Youth Football Players’ Participation Motivations and Health Related Behaviors

ABSTRACT
Scientific studies investigating youth athletes have become increasingly broader and deeper since the first Youth Olympic Summer Games in 2010. This study examined the motivation factors that actually inspired the youth football athletes (YFAs) engaged in football practices and competitions and their health-related behaviors. Participants were 223 YFAs (age 16-18) from 10 high schools of New York City, USA. Adapted Questionnaire of Football Athlete’s Motivation and Health Related Behaviors (AQFAMHRB) was employed for data collection. The AQFAMHRB contains 19 questions examining participants’ motivation factors (MFs) and 27 questions investigating health-related behaviors. Data analysis included a 2 Supports (By-parents, By-school) x 2 Goal-Settings (For professional, For non-professional) MANOVA and other suitable methods. The top three scores from the 19 MFs from the AQSAMHRB were: “High technical-content” of Football, “For develop unique skill”, and “For shape body”, all three of these MFs are in the ‘Intrinsic motivation’ category and possess higher impact power on these YFAs’ participation motivation. The 2 x 2 MANOVA revealed that: no significant difference exists in the ‘Supports’ aspect (p >.70); however, significant difference was found in ‘Goal-settings’ (p < .00). Then a follow-up MANOVA determined: 13 out of 19 MFs comparisons in “Goal-settings” showed significant difference (p <. 05) with ‘For professional’ scored higher than ‘For non-professional’. The following MFs possess higher impact on YFAs: ‘to contest winners’, ‘to become a professional player’, ‘to establish prestige’, and ‘to become a coach’. Besides, both intrinsic and extrinsic MFs have significant impact on these YFAs’ motivations. Who “Support” their engagement is not the determinant but what goals the YFAs have set-up for themselves matter. Furthermore, to the 27 health-related behaviors in the AQSAMHRB, frequency and percentage data were summarized and analyzed. Findings from this aspect provided the first hand information about the YFAs’ ‘Eating Habits’, ‘Nutrition Knowledge and Status’, ‘Risk Behaviors’, and ‘Hygiene Behaviors’. These features of the YFAs’ health-related behaviors possess important meanings for improving YFAs’ coaching and management. (more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2018-10-01T08:21:48+00:00October 18th, 2018|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

The impact of relative age on sampling and performance in Swedish age-group swimming system

Authors: Torsten Buhre and Oscar Tschernij

Corresponding Author:
Torsten Buhre, PhD
Department of Sport Sciences
Malmö University
20506 Malmö
Sweden
+46-40-665845
torsten.buhre@mah.se

Torsten Buhre is the senior physiologist at the Department of Sport Sciences at Malmö University

The impact of relative age on sampling and performance in Swedish age-group swimming system

ABSTRACT
The phenomena of relative age effect (RAE) has been investigated thoroughly in the sport and school settings. However, different measures and research designs have been applied in the various settings. At the same time different constructs, such as sampling, participation, and performance have been investigated in separate studies. Most interpretations have been done in a de-contextualized manner. That is, results have not been interpreted based on the functioning of the age-grouping system over time, but rather on a general level of grouping individuals based on chronological age. The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of RAE in sampling, competitive participation, and selection for national competition in the Swedish age-group swimming system based on a thorough understanding of the specific impacts of age and gender of this system over time.

Results show that there is inconclusive evidence suggesting that RAE occurs due to the age-grouping system in Swedish swimming. The system does not create a bias based on either relative age difference or gender. Based on this study and future suggestions the continued research on RAE should be expanded to include longitudinal studies following specific age by gender groups over time. In addition, measures of performance and criteria of selection should be investigated in order to draw conclusions if systematic discrimination is embedded within a specific country and sport age-grouping system in favor of athletes that could be attributed to a relative age.
(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2018-10-22T15:24:56+00:00September 30th, 2018|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors in Sport: The Roles of Personality Traits and Moral Identity

Authors: Mevlüt YILDIZ (1), Ender ŞENEL (1), İbrahim YILDIRAN (2)
(1) Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Turkey.
(3) Gazi University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Turkey.

Corresponding Author:
Ender SENEL
Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Sports Sciences
Kotekli/Mugla, 48000
endersenel@gmail.com
00902522111951

(1) Dr. Ender SENEL is a research assistant in Physical Education and Sport Teacher Education Department at the Mugla Sitki Kocman University, studying teaching and learning approaches in physical education and sport.

Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors in Sport: The Roles of Personality Traits and Moral Identity

ABSTRACT
This study aimed to examine the roles of personality traits and moral identity in displaying prosocial and antisocial behaviors by athletes actively participating in contact team and individual sports. In this study, two different models were hypothesized. In the first model, it was proposed that the positive effect of extraversion on prosocial and antisocial behaviors enhance with the moderator role of internalization of moral identity; in the second model, it was proposed that the adverse effect of psychoticism on prosocial and antisocial behaviors decrease with the mediator role of internalization of moral identity. There were 296 athletes recruited from various branches. Data were collected by using Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors in Sport Scale, developed by Kavussanu and Broadley (29), adapted to Turkish by Sezen-Balçıkanlı (45), Moral Identity Scale, developed by Aquino and Reed (3), adapted Turkish by Yılmaz and Yılmaz (57), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, developed by Francis et al. (19), adapted to Turkish by Karancı, Dirik and Yorulmaz (26). Models were analyzed in Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) program by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internalization of moral identity was correlated with prosocial teammate positively, antisocial teammate, and opponent negatively. A positive correlation was found between extraversion and prosocial teammate and opponent, a negative correlation was found between extraversion and antisocial teammate. It can also be stated that extravert athletes exhibit more prosocial behaviors, however with the role of internalization of moral identity, the positive effect of extraversion on prosocial behaviors increases, the adverse effect of it on antisocial behaviors decreases. It is possible to conclude that extravert athletes will display more prosocial and less antisocial behaviors with the acquisition of internalization of moral identity. The support that athletes are taught to adopt internalization can lead to enhance prosocial behaviors and decrease antisocial behaviors.
(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2018-07-31T14:48:48+00:00August 21st, 2018|Commentary, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Coaching Golf – How skilled are we in ‘skill’?

Authors: Dr. David Grecic and Mr. Brendan Ryan, MS / MA

Corresponding Author:
Brendan Ryan
1304 Denman Ct
Wesley Chapel, FL
brendan@bmrgolfmanagement.com
407-233-6946

David Grecic is a princial lecture and head of sport at the University of Central Lancashire. David joined the School of Sport, Tourism and the Outdoors in August 2008 having previously worked in a variety of sport and education settings for 15 years. He is an active coach in a variety of sports including rugby union, swimming and golf. It is here that his specialist interest lies and that drives his academic research.

Brendan Ryan is a former college coach who know works closely developing junior golfers in their pursuit of college. He is also a well-established academic, with a pair of master’s degrees and the author of several books, published papers and popular articles.

Coaching Golf – How skilled are we in ‘skill’?

Abstract
There is much debate on how best to develop skilled performers in sport and which practices are most effective in achieving this aim. This paper’s interest is in the coaching of high-level golfers and how coaches utilise their knowledge base to select the methods they employ to develop skilled performance. With such a varied and sometimes dichotomous range of theories, concepts, ideas and practices, the coaching industry needs support to navigate through this vast field of work. Here, the major theories of skill learning and development are presented and explored in relation to the game of golf. Due to the importance of skill acquisition, retention and transfer decisions, coaching action needs to be carefully grounded in the environment and context in which it occurs. To support this, two models are presented for consideration that can guide coaches’ skill acquisition reflections and future skill development decisions. Golf specific examples are provided to bring these models to life but the utility of both frameworks has value to sports coaching in its many varied contexts. (176 words)
(more…)

U.S. Sports Academy2018-07-12T16:49:58+00:00August 14th, 2018|Sports Coaching, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off