United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Introduction

Over 250 delegates from 80 countries, representing governments,
inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGO),
and academic institutions attended the World Summit on Physical
Education (Berlin, November 3-5, 1999). It was held under the
international patronage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Olympic
Committee (IOC), and with the co-sponsorship of the World Health
Organization (WHO).

On behalf of the participants of the Summit and the International
Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE), I present
this paper to the Ministers and Senior Officials of Ministries
responsible for Education and Sport for discussion at the MINEPS
III meeting. The paper combines the latest research, content
from keynote presentations and workgroup discussions from the
World Summit.

Coaching and Teaching in Foreign
Lands: Denmark and Egypt: Tim Henrich, Robert Pankey, Henrik
Bech, Rania Elwani, Bill Carleton. Sports Supplement: Vol The
purpose of this article is to discuss and contrast the authors
experiences coaching in the Kingdom of Denmark and the Arab Republic
of Egypt The qualitative observations are my own and obviously
from the perspective of my own country. Expatriates working in
the sport environment must understand the values of the people
with whom they are working or training as well as the values
of their colleagues and of the society in general. In addition,
an expatriate must understand how their athletes and their colleagues
are educated and socialized to live and conduct themselves in
society. Finally they must understand the social and economic
systems of the nation. A highly developed understanding of the
society early in the expatriates stay will make their job much
easier and lead to a greater success in each of their endeavors.
Denmark is one of the poorest countries on earth but has the
highest standard of living and the most educated population as
well. It is the oldest kingdom in Europe and possess an interesting
history. The Scandinavian countries have a state supported church
but most people are not involved in religious faith. Egypt has
one of the rapidly developing middle classes in the world. Egypt
has a strong upwardly mobile, economy. Egypt has a rich history
an tradition of its own. Ninety-seven percent of Egypt's population
follow Islam and I characterize it as a deeply religious society
while Danes do not generally have a religious faith. These experiences
have been among the most rewarding in my coaching career.

Ask any champion athlete whether their state of mind is an important component of sporting performance and the answer will always be the same - a resounding "YES!". At the highest level, mindset is the crucial factor that separates winners from losers. The ideal mindset enables the body to function automatically with little conscious effort. In this optimal state, complex tasks appear to be easily accomplished and time can either stand still or rush by as the performer is completely immersed in what he or she is doing.

Coaches and sport psychologists often refer to this optimal mindset as "The Zone". For some athletes, performance in the zone is achieved only a few times in their careers; however, with systematic training using sport psychology techniques, the zone can be entered almost at will. The aim of this article is to outline the theory, which underlies optimal psychological state, and to provide 10 techniques that can safely be recommended to athletes.

This scholarly history of the
International Olympics and modern Olympic
games will be an outstanding source for scholars interested in
the Olympics and all its glory. Oleg A. Milshteyn is particularly
qualified as a researcher through his former affiliation in the Moscow Institute
of Sport, where he was a professor of sport sociology. Some of his
former students there read like a Who’s Who in the rarefied world
of Olympic champions.

In preparation for this unique
historical tome, Dr. Milsteyn conducted sociological interviews with 500 leading world experts from more
than 80 countries regarding the Centenial Anniversary of the
International Olympic Movement and Modern Olympic Games. Among
those polled were outstanding Olympians; participants in the
Games from 1932 in Los Angeles to 1996 in Atlanta, as well as famous coaches,
scientists, journalists, IOC members, heads of the ISF, NOCs
and other international and national sport bodies; culture, art, religious
figures, managers, businessmen, and sponsors involved in the Olympics.

This scholarly history of the
International Olympics and modern Olympic
games will be an outstanding source for scholars interested in
the Olympics and all its glory. Oleg A. Milshteyn is particularly
qualified as a researcher through his former affiliation in the Moscow Institute
of Sport, where he was a professor of sport sociology. Some of his
former students there read like a Who’s Who in the rarefied world
of Olympic champions.

In preparation for this unique
historical tome, Dr. Milsteyn conducted sociological interviews with 500 leading world experts from more
than 80 countries regarding the Centenial Anniversary of the
International Olympic Movement and Modern Olympic Games. Among
those polled were outstanding Olympians; participants in the
Games from 1932 in Los Angeles to 1996 in Atlanta, as well as famous coaches,
scientists, journalists, IOC members, heads of the ISF, NOCs
and other international and national sport bodies; culture, art, religious
figures, managers, businessmen, and sponsors involved in the Olympics.

For the fifth consecutive year,
the annual results of the USSA Distance
Learning Course Evaluation Survey are clearly positive. The
surveys were administered to all students (N=693) who were enrolled in
distance learning courses during the 1997-98 academic year. The surveys
were anonymously administered at the time the students took
their final examinations in each distance learning course.

The USSA Distance Learning
Course Surveys are organized into four sections including: Student
Profile, Course Content and Structure, Faculty Evaluation,and
Overall Rating of the Course.

Student Profile:

Four hundred ninety four (71.3%)
of the students had previously taken a distance learning course
at the United States Sports Academy. Six hundred forty (92.4%)
were satisfied with their communication with the USSA Distance
Learning Office. Six hundred nineteen (89.3%) of the students
reported their course material was delivered in an acceptable
amount of time.

The purpose of this study was
to develop a competency based undergraduate sports medicine curriculum
for universities in the Republic of Korea (R.O.K.). The survey
questionnaire used in this study was derived from five performance
domains and universal competencies of the 1995 Role Delineation
Study For Entry-Level Athletic Trainers (NATA-BOC, 1995).

The sample in this study consisted of all 180 athletic trainers,
medical doctors, and sport educators from the Korean Society
of Sports Medicine (KSSM) in the R.O.K. One hundred eighty survey
questionnaires were sent to the subjects. Of the 180 questionnaires,
104 were returned out. Two were discarded because they were
incomplete. The 102 questionnaires yielded a 56.7% overall return
rate. Frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations
were computed to describe the data. One way ANOVA and Scheffe
post-hoc tests were used to analyze the data.

Introduction

In the summer of 1998, the Department of Kinesiology and Health
at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) offered an
Exercise Physiology course over the Internet as the first step
in developing a distance learning track with their exercise science
curriculum. This class was partially supported with a grant
from the University Outreach program and administered through
the Center of Teaching Excellence at TAMUCC. The primary feature
to this online course was to present lectures and practice quizzes
complete with QuickTime movies and graphic illustrations. Additionally,
The use of electronic mail and exercise physiology lab experiences
were required as a means of maintaining communication with students
and providing them with application to what was being discussed
in lectures respectively. In this article, we discuss the details
and results of this pilot project.

Abstract

Past research has found a negative
correlation between the variables of self-esteem and approval
motivation (Larsen, Martin, Ettinger, & Nelson, 1976). This
relationship has not been explored specifically for individuals
who participate in athletics. The purpose of this study was to
compare athletes and non-athletes on their levels of self-esteem
and approval motivation, and to determine if a positive correlation
exists for athletes in contrast to the negative correlation found
in the general college population. A significant difference was
found between athletes and non-athletes in their levels of self-esteem
and approval motivation.

This article has been inspired
by six years of doctoral research in which I found that the "right"
music can have a very positive impact on sport and exercise performance.
I am grateful to the Academy for cultivating my interest in the
area of psychophysical responses to music during my master's
programme in 1991/92. I am also pleased to be invited to share
my findings with you, the coaches and fitness professionals.