student-athlete – The Sport Journal

COVID-19 and its impact on student-athlete depression and anxiety: the return to campus

Authors: Peter J Economou, Victoria Glascock, Mark Louie, Polina Poliakova, William Zuckerberg

Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, USA

Corresponding Author:

Peter Economou
1 Scarlet Knight Way
Piscataway, NJ 08854
peter.economou@rutgers.edu

Dr. Peter Economou, the Principal Investigator holds a Ph.D in counseling psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology. He conducts research on mindfulness and meditation in sports.

Dr. Mark Louie, a research assistant and Postdoc to the PI, holds an Ed.D in Applied Exercise Physiology, and a Masters in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a licensed counselor in both New Jersey and New York.

Victoria Glascock, Polina Poliakova, and William Zuckerberg are research assistants for the GSAPP Performance Psychology Center.

COVID-19 and its Impact on Student-Athlete Depression and Anxiety: The Return to Campus

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the NCAA to abruptly cancel all sporting events, to help slow the spread of the virus. As such, measures such as social-distancing and work from home orders, were implemented nationwide. While effective, both safety measures are socially disruptive with the potential to cause psychological disturbances such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and other behavioral disorders. To date, there is no literature that examines the consequences of abrupt mid-season cancellation for student-athletes, and the subsequent return to campus in Fall of 2020 brought on by a global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. To explore the mental health consequences of such termination and subsequent return to campus, student-athletes were surveyed on their experience with returning to campus amidst a global pandemic. Our results indicate that there were increased feelings of depression and anxiety upon returning to campus in Fall 2020.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-11-10T14:24:44-06:00October 22nd, 2021|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

A phenomenological exploration of constraints for varsity football student-athletes with a sport-related concussion

Authors: Wahid Hamidi¹, Yusuf Hamidi², and George Karlis¹

¹Department of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 125 University pvt., Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 1A2
²Department of Nursing, University of Ottawa 125, University pvt., Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 1A2

Corresponding Author:
Wahid Hamidi, Ph.D. Candidate
125 University pvt.
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1N 1A2
Email: whami024@uottawa.ca
Phone: 613-558-8279

Wahid Hamidi is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His area or research focuses on initiating and maintaining physical activity and exercise behavior, and injury prevention and concussion management in the academic and athletic settings for varsity student-athletes. He is a recipient of the University of Ottawa Admission Scholarship.

Yusuf Hamidi is a Master of Science student in the School of Nursing at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His area of research focuses on problem-solving approaches to learning barriers for undergraduate students using simulated-based learning. He is a recipient of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program award.

George Karlis is a Full Professor in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His area of research focuses on leisure, society, recreation, sport, and community development.

A phenomenological exploration of constraints for varsity football student-athletes with a sport-related concussion

ABSTRACT

Sports-related concussions are an emergent public health concern due to an increase in mortality and morbidity incident rates. The purpose of this study is to identify constraints in academic and athletic settings for varsity football student-athletes with a sport-related concussion. Twelve varsity football student-athletes from one institution who were diagnosed with a sport-related concussion took part in semi-structured interviews. This study used the social ecological model to identify intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental factors. Results suggested that varsity football student-athletes with a sport-related concussion experienced several constraining social ecological factors in the academic and athletic settings. Intrapersonal constraints related to loss of motivation, loss of social identification, stress, anxiety and depression, injury-specific issues, and internal pressure to return. Interpersonal constraints related to insufficient social support, lack of awareness and guidance on concussion knowledge, external pressure to return, and lack of academic support post-concussion. Environmental constraints related to return-to-play and return-to-learn protocols. Findings suggested that there remains a need to address constraining factors in the academic and athletic settings for varsity football student-athletes with a sport-related concussion.

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-05-12T09:35:00-05:00May 14th, 2021|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Pay to Play in the NCAA: A Data Driven Playbook on How to Compensate Athletes

Author: Cameron Van, J.D.

Contributing Author:
Cameron Van, J.D.
University of California, Davis School of Law, Davis CA

400 Mrak Hall Drive, Davis, CA 95616
Email: Cevan@Ucdavis.edu
Phone Number: (650) 740-2235

Cameron Van is a recent UC Davis School of Law Graduate with a focus on the intersection of business and the law.

ABSTRACT

This article offers the NCAA a reputable, repeatable, and reasonable formula for a student-athlete revenue scheme that will ensure its competitive edge in an ever-encroaching market. The NCAA uses amateurism to restrict artificially the compensation of student athletes’ compensation to “cost of tuition,” at best. It is precisely this reason that more athletes are finding alternative ways to capitalize on their talents. As a result, this amateurism scheme is not Pareto Efficient. Pareto efficiency is reached when a situation cannot be modified in a way that would have one party better off without making another party worse off. Notably, Pareto efficiency does not imply equality, equity, or fairness, rather simply that there could be no economic changes that would better off the overall system. Here, this article explores a rare occurrence where the system can be made both more efficient and equal by increasing the supply of revenue generators – the athletes. This article will build upon Stocz formula for deriving a student-athlete’s salary, as well as give examples of what such a salary would look like for said athletes.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-07-16T11:29:28-05:00October 16th, 2020|Contemporary Sports Issues, Research|Comments Off

Advising student-athletes: Understanding job preparation, roles, and challenges of the athletic academic advisor

Authors: Aaron Vaughn, Jimmy Smith

Corresponding Author:
Aaron Vaughn
Gonzaga University
502 E. Boone Ave, AD Box 25
Spokane, WA. 99258
avaughn2@zagmail.gonzaga.edu
520-270-0480

Aaron Vaughn, Graduate Student, Master’s of Arts in Sport and Athletic Administration (MASAA), Gonzaga University

Dr. Jimmy Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sport and Physical education; Gonzaga University, smithj1@gonzaga.edu

Advising student-athletes: Understanding job preparation, roles, and challenges of the athletic academic advisor

Abstract
According to the NCAA, each athletic department must provide its student-athletes with academic support that aids them with the necessary resources to be successful in the classroom. While much of the research in intercollegiate athletics focuses on coaches, student-athletes, and athletic administrators, less is known about Athletic Academic Advisors who provide necessary support to the student-athlete for their success off the fields or courts. This research aimed to contribute to the broad intercollegiate athletic literature related to further understanding Athletic Academic Advisors, and sought to specifically understand their preparedness, job roles, and challenges. A survey was sent to 510 athletic academic advisors; 115 responded, yielding a 22.5% response rate. Results showed important factors on preparedness was the level and focus of their degree, previous experience working with student-athletes, having a written set of job roles, and having been mentored. The relevant challenges faced by this population were student-athletes’ lack of academic desire, NCAA eligibility rules, athletes encountering issues with stress, communication, attendance, and an overwhelming amount of job roles.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-05-11T13:01:08-05:00June 7th, 2018|Sports Management|Comments Off

Dietary Behaviors & Perceived Nutrition Availability of Small College Student-Athletes: a Pilot Project

Authors: Anthony Randles

Corresponding Author:
Anthony Randles, Ph.D., MPH
Education and Arts Bldg. 2239
1002 South Esther Street, P.O. Box 7111
South Bend, IN 46334-7111
Randlest@iusb.edu
574-520-4693

Anthony Randles is a Lecturer at Indiana University South Bend, School of Education, Health, Physical Education and Recreation Program

Dietary Behaviors & Perceived Nutrition Availability of Small College Student-Athletes: a Pilot Project

ABSTRACT
Purpose: The objective of this project was to investigate dietary behaviors and perceived food availability for small college student athletes.

Methods: Two-hundred seventy-two student athletes from a Midwestern urban city participated in this study. Students-athletes received an electronic consent form and a dietary survey containing question about demographics, food frequency, perceived nutrition environment and food security.

Results: The project indicated that athletes reported eating limited fruit and vegetables. Athletes also reported that fruit was available to them mostly as either “always” (41.9%) or “often” (25%) and responded that vegetables were available “always” (45.2%) or “often” (27.2%). Chi-Square indicated that there were significant differences between male and female athletes when reporting specific items.

Conclusion: There is a need for continued nutritional tracking to understand dietary habits of small-college athletes, and whether they have the available food needed for athletic and academic success. In addition, effective nutrition interventions are needed to improve dietary intake: not only for performance, but also for health.

Application in Sport: Understanding nutritional behaviors, motivators, and knowledge are essential for coaches and administrators. Tracking of dietary behaviors should allow key personnel to develop interventions for a team or identify problematic issues such as eating disorders, and injury recovery.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-05-02T11:48:49-05:00May 24th, 2018|Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off