performance – Page 2 – The Sport Journal

Organizational Learning Chains – The Epistemological Chain and the Management of Sporting Talent Pathways

Authors: David Grecic

Corresponding Author:
David Grecic PhD
Greenbank 253
Victoria Street
Preston, UK
PR12HE
Dgrecic1@uclan.ac.uk
00-44-01772-894237

David Grecic is a principal lecturer in the School of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire. He is Chair of UCLan Sport, through which he offers sport and physical education consultancy for a range of professional sports teams, schools and colleges in the UK and overseas.

Organizational Learning Chains – The Epistemological Chain and the Management of Sporting Talent Pathways

ABSTRACT

The Epistemological ‘Learning’ Chain (EC) construct of decision making in sport as proposed by Grecic and Collins (1) has been investigated in various domains at the micro level of player and coach interaction. The EC construct is now extended and related to the meso and macro levels of sport. The sporting talent pathway, its construction, development and performance management, is used as the focus on which to base discussion. An organizational EC is presented for consideration with sophisticated and naive epistemological exemplars. The operation of an organizational EC within the sporting talent pathway is then explored. Finally, recommendations are made in order to extend the scope, value, and impact of future EC research.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-02T13:46:16-05:00July 25th, 2019|Commentary, Sports Management|Comments Off

Movement Competency Screen Predicts Performance in Female Military Academy Recruits

Authors: Alex M. Warshaw1, David D. Peterson2, Sharon M. Henry1
1 Rehabilitation and Movement Science Department, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
2 Kinesiology and Allied Health Department, Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:
David D. Peterson, EdD, CSCS*D
Cedarville University
251 N. Main Street
Cedarville, OH 45314
ddpeterson@cedarville.edu
(937) 766-7761

Dr. Peterson is an associate professor of kinesiology at Cedarville University (CU) and currently serves as the Director of the Multi-Age Physical Education (MAPE) program at CU.

Movement Competency Screen Predicts Performance in Female Military Academy Recruits

ABSTRACT
Musculoskeletal injuries in military populations are a leading cause for reduced physical readiness (15). Utilizing a screening tool that predicts physical performance and injuries could help identify recruits who need remedial training or conditioning. The Movement Competency Screen (MCS) identifies poor movement patterns and suggests safe load levels for individuals (8). This study sought to establish the predictive ability of the MCS for injuries and performance in United States Naval Academy (USNA) recruits over four years. Fifteen female and 26 male recruits completed the MCS upon entry into the academy. The recruits’ Physical Readiness Test (PRT) scores and injury data were collected for eight semesters. Correlations between MCS scores and recruits’ number of injuries, missed “duty days”, and region of injury were identified using Pearson correlation coefficients. Additionally, correlations between MCS scores and recruits’ overall PRT score, number of push-ups, curl-ups, and their 1.5-mile run time were calculated. Within the first year at USNA recruits’ MCS scores correlated with the number of injuries and missed “duty days”; however, this correlation was not sustained. Recruits also experienced the most injuries in the first year. For female recruits, higher MCS scores correlated with better PRT scores, number of push-ups, and 1.5 mile run times. With its high inter- and intra-rater reliability (12), the MCS could be used to identify poor movement patterns and guide remedial training to help prevent future injury. Further research should focus on a larger military population to determine if the MCS’s predictive abilities go beyond a military academy population.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-10-23T16:39:58-05:00November 1st, 2018|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

The effects of Perceptual-Cognitive training on Subjective Performance in Elite Athletes

Authors: F. Moen1, M. Hrozanova2, and A. M. Pensgaard3

Centre for Elite Sports Research, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 2Centre for Elite Sports Research, Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 3Department of Coaching and Psychology, The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway

Corresponding Author:
Frode Moen
E-mail address: frode.moen@ntnu.no
Tel. : +47 932 487 50
Postal address: Department of Education and Lifelong Learning
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
N-7491 Trondheim, Norway

Frode Moen is currently the head manager of the Norwegian Olympic Sports Center in the Mid-Norway region, where he also has a position as a coach / mental trainer for elite athletes and coaches. He also is an associate professor at the Department of Lifelong Learning and Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He previously has worked as a teacher in high school where sport was his major subject, and he has been a coach for the national team in Nordic combined in Norway for several years. Frode received his Ph. D. in coaching and performance psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research focuses mainly on coaching in business, coaching in sport, communication, performance psychology and relationship issues.

The effects of Perceptual-Cognitive training on Subjective Performance in Elite Athletes

ABSTRACT
This current study examines if a perceptual-cognitive training program, such as the Neurotracker (NT) 3-dimensional (3D) multiple object tracking (MOT) device, has the potential to improve elite athletes’ performances in dynamic sports. Fifty-four elite athletes from boxing, wrestling, women handball, women soccer, orienteering, biathlon, alpine skiing, sled hockey, badminton and table tennis completed a pre-post quasi experiment over a period of 5 weeks (46% males and 54% females). The results show that the NT baseline scores and subjective performance improved significantly during the experiment. However, subjective performance improved only when learning rate and number of targets were controlled for. The results are discussed in regard of applied implications and possible future research.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-05-02T13:03:13-05:00May 31st, 2018|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Emotions and Performance in Elite Women Handball

Authors: F. Moen, K. Myhre, K. A. Andersen and M. Hrozanova

Corresponding Author:
Frode Moen
E-mail address: frode.moen@ntnu.no, Tel. : +47 932 487 50
Postal address: Department of Education and Lifelong learning, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway

Frode Moen is currently the head manager of the Olympic Athlete program in central Norway, where he also has a position as a coach / mental trainer for elite athletes and coaches. He also is an associate professor at the Department of Lifelong Learning and Education at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He previously has worked as a teacher in high school where sport was his major subject, and he has been a coach for the national team in Nordic combined in Norway for several years. Frode received his Ph.D. in coaching and performance psychology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. His research focuses mainly on coaching in business, coaching in sport, communication, performance psychology and relationship issues.

Emotions and Performance in Elite Women Handball

ABSTRACT
This article looks at how emotions are associated with performance in elite women handball in Norway. The results show that positive emotions such as joy (exemplified by feeling satisfied, pleased, and happy), serenity (exemplified by feeling calm, balanced, and hopeful), interest (exemplified by feeling curious, interested, and immersed) and ecstasy (exemplified by feeling exhilarated, enthusiastic, and convinced) are positively associated with subjective performance. On the other hand, negative emotions such as anger (exemplified by feeling aggressive and angry), fear (exemplified by feeling nervous and afraid), sadness (exemplified by feeling sad and depressed) and remorse (exemplified by feeling ashamed and guilty) were found to be negatively associated with subjective performance. The present results showed that joy, serenity, and remorse uniquely explained 51% of the variance in subjective performance.

In general, results showed that positive emotions were most intense when the female elite athletes experienced positive events during trainings and matches and that negative emotions were most intense when the athletes experienced too challenging and negative events during trainings and matches. Triggers that elicited positive emotional responses in female elite athletes in the current study were mostly proactive in nature. The results are discussed in regard of applied implications and possible future research.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-01-18T14:28:48-06:00January 25th, 2018|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Resistance Training Among Competitive Mountain Bikers and Adherence to Recommended Training Guidelines

Authors: Shawn M Mitchell, John C. Higginbotham, Mark T. Richardson, Jonathan E Wingo, Randi J Henderson Mitchell, Stuart L. Usdan

Corresponding Author:
Shawn Michael Mitchell, PhD, MA, MS, NSCA-CSCS
The University of Montevallo
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Science
108 Myrick Hall, Station 6591
Montevallo, AL 351115
smitche7@montevallo.edu
205-665-691

Shawn Mitchell is an assistant professor of exercise and nutrition science at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL. His research interests include recovery from high intensity intermittent exercise, concurrent training, and exercise trainig techniques targeted at improvement in cycling performance. He is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Resistance Training Among Competitive Mountain Bikers and Adherence to Recommended Training Guidelines

ABSTRACT
The sport of mountain biking provides an ideal avenue for examining sport specific training. Research has identified mainstays in mountain bike performance, which include peak power output (PPO) and mean power output (MPO). Resistance Training (RT) has been shown to increase muscular strength. An increase in strength can increase power output (PO). Increases in power would allow an athlete to perform at higher given workloads. A stronger individual will typically produce greater sustained PO, thereby increasing sport performance. The purposes of this study were to identify the prevalence of RT among competitive mountain bikers, as well as to determine if riders are adhering to the recommended guidelines shown to increase sport performance. Forty competitive mountain bikers responded to a nationwide online training survey assessing exercise training. Fifty-five percent of respondents reported participating in RT during the in-season. Mean number of workout sessions per week devoted to RT was 3.0 ± 1.2 days per week. Fifty-two and a half percent of respondents reported participating in RT during the off-season. Mean number of workout sessions per week devoted to RT was 2.8 ± 1.1 days per week. No significant difference (t = 0.8, df = 15, p = 0.4) in the number of workout sessions per week between seasons was shown. Results suggest that riders are adhering to the recommended resistance training guidelines associated with increases in sport performance. To increase performance, competitive mountain bikers should consider implementing RT into his or her workout regimen.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-01-05T09:56:33-06:00January 4th, 2018|Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off