management – The Sport Journal

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…)

The High Performance Management Model: From Olympic and Professional to University Sport in the United States

Authors: Jed Smith* (1), Peter Smolianov (2)

(1) Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and an Instructor in the area of Movement and Exercise Science at the University of Northern Iowa and is currently a doctoral student at the United States Sports Academy
(2) Sport Management Professor at Salem State University

*Corresponding Author
Jed Smith, MS, CSCS, USA Weightlifting National Coach, USA Weightlifting National Instructor, USA Track and Field Level 1 Track Coach
High Performance Director at University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0241
Jed.smith@uni.edu
319-273-7867

ABSTRACT
This exploratory study of the High Performance Model of Sport Management examines the model’s origins and where these ideas were first applied in the sports industry. This review discusses the evolution of its use in high level sport, and the successes incurred in systems utilizing the model. The investigation discusses the recent spreading of the model throughout Olympic and professional sports organizations throughout the world, where High Performance concepts are being studied and implemented into professional sports franchises in the United States as well as American universities. This study focuses on a particular ingredient important to the success of the High Performance Model at the “meso” and “micro” levels of implementation. This central step is the establishment of an integral operational position titled “High Performance Director” or “High Performance Manager”. The duties, responsibilities, areas of expertise, and traits necessary for success are reviewed and discussed. The inquiry explores the natural evolution of the High Performance Model into the industry of NCAA Division I athletics, where implementation is occurring at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Here, the Smith and Smolianov High Performance Model is being applied within UNI Athletics, using strength and conditioning as the median for operation. The infrastructure is being created and organized for proper application of the model. The study looks at how technology is being used to help monitor, track, and adjust training protocols as well as assist in the proper development of athletes. The review will indicate tactics used for selling the concepts internally, within an NCAA athletic, as well as an educational setting, exposing key players and supports, explaining the connection between these pillars of support and the importance of creating synergy, transparency, and an environment of effective communication. This work is the first in a series of exploratory reviews and future research to be conducted by the authors, who are reporting the current, ongoing case study, within UNI’s NCAA athletics/education program.

Keywords: high performance model, management, history
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