Sports Studies and Sports Psychology – Page 2

Relationship Between Physical Training, Ratings of Perceived Exertion, and Mental Toughness in Female NCAA Division I Volleyball Players

Authors: Mathieu Castello, Jacob P Reed, Robin Lund, Mick Mack
Kinesiology, Allied Health, and Human Services
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614

Corresponding Author:
Jacob Reed
University of Northern Iowa
203 Wellness and Recreation Center
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
Phone: 319-273-2071
Email: jacob.reed@uni.edu

Relationship Between Physical Training, Ratings of Perceived Exertion, and Mental Toughness in Female NCAA Division I Volleyball Players

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between participating in a conditioning program, ratings of perceived exertion, heart rate (HR), and mental toughness. Thirteen Division I Volleyball players were recruited while 10 participated in an 8-week off-season conditioning program aimed at improving physical fitness. Before and after the training period, the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test and Mental, Emotional, and Bodily Toughness Inventory (MeBTough) were completed. While performing the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test, heart rate was collected. During the 8-week program, session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) was obtained following each training session. Significant improvement in physiological capacity was observed following the 8-week training protocol; pre (844m ± 196.37) to post (980m ± 200.67), t(9) = -5.50, p = 0.00. Mental toughness scores (as assessed by the MeBTough) did not change significantly during that same time period; pre (145.2 ± 12.3) to post (144 ± 16.72), p > 0.05. Additionally, no significant correlation between the capacity to perform on the physical test, the mental toughness score, sRPE, or maximum HR was found.

Based on these observations, coaches should be cautious in their judgement of an athlete’s mental toughness based on fitness, sRPE, and HR. Finally, it appears that an 8-week conditioning program was not enough to elicit any changes in mental toughness. Mental toughness is a complex phenomenon. As such, coaches should be cautious when assessing an athlete’s mental toughness based solely on the results of a physical test or values provided from the session RPE. Furthermore, the researchers observation that mental toughness did not change over an 8-week training protocol demonstrates that hard physical training does not necessarily improve mental toughness. This result is not definitive but does warrant further investigation.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-06-29T10:34:30+00:00August 9th, 2018|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Experiencing a Super Bowl: The Motivations of Student Volunteers at a Mega-Event

Authors: Alan Ledford, Ed.D., Angela Mitchell, Ph.D., Travis Scheadler

Corresponding Authors:
Alan Ledford, Ed.D.
alan_ledford@wilmington.edu
(937) 481-2253
1870 Quaker Way
Pyle Box 1246
Wilmington, OH 45177
Wilmington College

Angela Mitchell, Ph.D.
angela_mitchell@wilmington.edu
(937) 481-2211
1870 Quaker Way
Bailey Hall 201
Wilmington, OH 45177
Wilmington College

Travis Scheadler
tscheadler@wilmington.edu
(937) 751-5799
6811 Oakland Rd
Loveland, OH 45140
Wilmington College

Experiencing a Super Bowl: The Motivations of Student Volunteers at a Mega-Event

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to explore the motivations of sport management students during an experiential excursion to Super Bowl LI. The study pulls from prior questionnaires on volunteer motivations. A quantitative approach was employed using a 47-item questionnaire completed by students who volunteered at the National Football League Experience and at Super Bowl LI. The findings revealed that students were motivated by professional development, altruistic motivations, and lastly by the general experience of the Super Bowl. Moreover, these results suggest that class rank, or more specifically student maturity, impacts the underlying motivations for volunteering at a mega-event such as the Super Bowl.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-06-29T09:47:49+00:00July 31st, 2018|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

A Practical Evaluation of Golf Coaches’ Knowledge of Block and Random Practice

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 now 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.

A Practical Evaluation of Golf Coaches’ Knowledge of Block and Random Practice

ABSTRACT
The practical knowledge of golf coaches is of great interest to golfers, researchers, and the media alike. One popular element is their application of practice design and, in particular, their use of Contextual Interference (CI) through their use of random and block practice design. The study investigated the level of understanding of 69 golf coaches in the theory, use, and transference of both these methods. The main findings were that coaches had a surface level understanding of the issues, but had worrying gaps in knowledge on how to relate their practice design to long-term athlete development. Suggestions are provided on how coach learning could be provided to support this identified development need.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-06-13T11:07:13+00:00July 19th, 2018|Sport Education, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Talking Bodies: Athletes & Tattoos as Nonverbal Communication

Authors: Sam Belkin(a) & R. Dale Sheptak Jr(b)

Corresponding Author:
Sam Belkin, MA
sb787@leicester.ac.uk
440-241-5913

(a) Department of Sociology, University of Leicester, Leicester, England.
(b) Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, Ohio, USA.

Talking Bodies: Athletes & Tattoos as Nonverbal Communication

ABSTRACT
Dennis Rodman, the quintessential example of deviant behavior as a player in professional basketball, along with Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen fast tracked the normalization of tattoos in the National Basketball Association. Still considered deviant behavior in Western societies, the prominence of highly visible tattoos in the NBA and collegiate basketball world has been growing rapidly. In this article, we discuss how professional and collegiate basketball players perceive tattoos in regard to identity and performance. We focus on how tattoos act as a channel for nonverbal communication in this population. Through these two topics, players avertedly or inadvertently address the interplay of tattoos and identity as well as how tattoos inform social groups. With the increased visual media presence of players through social media, smart phones, the internet, and other forms of technology, the necessity of understanding what role tattoos have among the players cannot be understated.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-05-24T10:13:59+00:00July 5th, 2018|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Investigation of Attention, Concentration and Mental Toughness Properties in Tennis, Table Tennis, and Badminton Athletes

Authors: Gulsum Bastug * (1), Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Turkey.

Corresponding Author:
Gulsum Bastug, PhD
Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Faculty of Sports Sciences
Kotekli/Mugla, 48000
gbastug@mu.edu.tr
002522111951

(1) Gulsum Bastug, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Sports Sciences is a doctoral professor. She works in the field of exercise and sports psychology.

Investigation of Attention, Concentration and Mental Toughness Properties in Tennis, Table Tennis, and Badminton Athletes

ABSTRACT
The aim is to examine the attention, concentration, and mental toughness characteristics of tennis, table tennis, and badminton athletes. A total of 61 athletes participated in the study, with a mean age of 21.18 ± 2.96, playing tennis, table tennis, and badminton. The Concentration Endurance Test (d2 attention test) developed by Brickenkamp (1966) was used to determine the level of attention of the athletes participating in the study. The Letter Cancellation Task, developed by Kumar and Telles (2009), was used to determine the concentration level, and Sheard et al. (2009) developed the “Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire-SMTQ-14”. In the Analysis of Data, the ANOVA test was used to identify differences between groups, and Tukey Honest Significant Difference (HSD) analysis was used to determine which branches were different. As a result; concentration performance was significantly different between the groups. It was determined that tennis athletes were more successful in concentration performance than table tennis and badminton athletes.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-05-25T14:13:23+00:00July 3rd, 2018|General, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off