ISSN: 1543-9518|Vol. 24

About U.S. Sports Academy

The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research, and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare our men and women for careers in the profession of sports using modern technologies and traditional teaching methodologies.

Concussion: Video Education Program for High School Football Players

Authors: Gillian Hotz, Ph.D.; Raymond Crittenden, M.S.; Bryan Pomares, M.H.S.; Jonathan Siegel, B.S.; Kester Nedd, D.O.;

Corresponding Author:
Gillian Hotz, Ph.D.
1095 NW 14th Ter
Miami, FL 33136
ghotz@med.miami.edu
302-243-4004

Gillian A. Hotz, PhD is a research professor at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine and a nationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist and expert in pediatric and adult neurotrauma, concussion management, and neurorehabilitation. Dr. Hotz is the director of the KiDZ Neuroscience Center, WalkSafe and BikeSafe programs, and has been co-director of the Miller School of Medicine’s Concussion Program since 1995. She continues to assess and treat many athletes from Miami-Dade County public and private high schools, University of Miami, and from other colleges and the community.

Concussion: Video Education Program for High School Football Players

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to use technology to improve participant’s knowledge about concussions. The study also collected attitude and behavior data regarding concussions.

METHOD
During the 2015-2016 football season, three high school football teams were presented with a comprehensive concussion education video. A student iClicker response system were used to answer concussion-related questions during pre-, post-, and 3-month post-testing periods. In addition, a set of attitude and behavioral questions at the 3-month post-testing period were added. Athletes who participated in all testing periods were included in the analysis.

RESULTS
A total of 152 high school football players were educated about concussions. Overall, mean test scores showed a significant difference in gained knowledge across the three testing periods (p<0.002). Athletes reported that receiving education about concussions promoted safer play; however, most athletes reported a willingness to continue playing despite having symptoms of an injury.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of a concussion education video and iClicker response system were beneficial for improving concussion knowledge. However, it had minimal effects on symptom-reporting behavior for high school football players in Miami-Dade County. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of concussion education programs and the best methods of dissemination. Future studies should evaluate the team culture and prevailing attitudes on reporting symptoms.
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2018-04-12T09:18:00-05:00April 17th, 2018|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Concussion: Video Education Program for High School Football Players
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Athletic trainers in employment leadership positions at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institutions

Authors: Dr. Lindsey H. Schroeder

Corresponding Author:
Lindsey H. Schroeder Ed.D., LAT, ATC, CES
601 S. College Rd.
Wilmington NC, 28403-5956
schroederl@uncw.edu
910-962-7188

Dr. Schroeder is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the Athletic Training Program. She is a licensed and certified athletic trainer and is also an alumnus of the United States Sports Academy.

Athletic trainers in employment leadership positions at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institutions

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the percentage, by sex, of athletic trainers (AT) in employment leadership positions at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (DI) institutions. This percentage was analyzed specifically in the power five conferences. Participants were 351 institutions in 32 conferences. A list of institutions by conference was obtained from the NCAA website. Each institution’s athletic webpage was used to locate the name, picture, and employment bio of the athletic trainer with the upmost authority. Manifest coding was used to note the sex of each athletic trainer holding a leadership position. One institution did not list who was responsible for its athletic training program resulting in a final sample of 350 institutions. Results found 286 institutions had male ATs (81.71%), 60 had a female AT (17.14%), and four had dual representatives (1.14%) in positions such as Assistant/Associate AD for Sports Medicine, Director of Sports Medicine, or Head Athletic Trainer. When separated by the power five conferences, 60 male ATs (92.3%) held leadership positions. For the remaining five institutions, Female ATs held four positions (6.15%) with one institution having dual representatives (1.54%). Currently, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association membership consists of a greater number of females ATs (55.16%) than male ATs (44.67%). Even with more female ATs in the profession, the representation of female ATs in the position of upmost authority in NCAA DI member institutions has not increased in the last 20 years.
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2018-03-23T11:19:59-05:00April 5th, 2018|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Athletic trainers in employment leadership positions at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institutions
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Startup Leadership in Sports

Authors: Wanyi Tang and Rodney J. Blackman

Corresponding Author: Rodney Blackman, rblackman@ussa.edu

Wanyi Tang is a doctoral Teaching Assistant at the United States Sports Academy
Rodney J. Blackman, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Recreation Management at the United States Sports Academy

Startup Leadership in Sports

ABSTRACT
A qualitative, phenomenological document analysis approach was taken to ascertain and highlight characteristics found in successful sports startup entrepreneurs. This information was framed in a thorough review of leadership characteristics necessary for general startup company success, as reported by successful startup entrepreneurs in response to interview questions. Other sources of information valuable for interpretation and understanding of this phenomenon came from individuals known for their successes and reporting their expertise, based on experience, in magazine and journal articles, as well as information from focus groups reporting results from their findings in online formats, newsprint articles, and other popular literature. Accordingly, 4 primary dominant leadership characteristics were identified among sports startup leaders. These traits included sound decision making, recruitment and retention of workers that fit the company and become followers, maintenance of clear vision, and prioritization to keep that vision clear and being attentive to strategy – to continually strategize for success. Interestingly, it was also determined that sports startup leadership characteristics do not appear in isolation – but rather, in each case in this study, effectiveness was augmented by leaders who displayed multiple leadership characteristics linked in a variety of different ways.
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2018-03-30T13:46:27-05:00April 2nd, 2018|Commentary, Contemporary Sports Issues, Sport Education|Comments Off on Startup Leadership in Sports
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Sample Distribution and Research Design Are Methodological Dilemmas When Identifying Selection and Using Relative Age as an Explanation of Results

Authors: Torsten Buhre and Oscar Tschernij

Corresponding Author:
Torsten Buhre, PhD
Department of Sport Sciences
Malmö University
20506 Malmö
Sweden
+46-40-665845
torsten.buhre@mah.se

Torsten Buhre is the senior physiologist at the Department of Sport Sciences at Malmö University

Sample distribution and research design are methodological dilemmas when identifying selection and using relative age as an explanation of results

ABSTRACT
The use of a statistical test, such as the chi-squared test, to determine if selection has occurred within a sport has been used frequently in research. The assumed distribution of a sample could influence the occurrence of significant outcomes. The occurrence of significance is generally interpreted as RAE and explained as a result of selection within the sport. Most studies in this field have been done using a cross-sectional design. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of using different types of distribution when testing for significance, in swimming as an example, over a nine-year period of six cohorts in age by gender groups.

Results show that using either an assumed uniformed distribution or a proportional distribution of the national population distribution will lead to an increased number of significant results, in comparison to using either a distribution of the actual sample of the specific age by gender group or the distribution of the previous year within the age by gender group. In addition, when using a longitudinal design over a nine-year period, the occurrence of significance decreased over time. In order to interpret significant results as a consequence of selection within a sport the use of a sport specific and age by gender distribution and a longitudinal design is proposed.
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2018-03-23T10:55:57-05:00March 29th, 2018|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off on Sample Distribution and Research Design Are Methodological Dilemmas When Identifying Selection and Using Relative Age as an Explanation of Results
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Relationship between Servant Leadership Attributes and Trust in Leaders: A Case of Sport Instructors in South Korea

Corresponding Authors:

Boyun Woo
Associate Professor
Endicott College
School of Sport Science
376 Hale Street
Beverly, MA 01915
Phone: 978-232-2431
Email: bwoo@endicott.edu

Relationship between Servant Leadership Attributes and Trust in Leaders: A Case of Sport Instructors in South Korea

ABSTRACT
In a highly competitive fitness industry in South Korea, leaders’ role has become more important in retaining competent sport instructors for the survival of the organization. In particular, the leadership style the manager exhibits is crucial in building the sport instructors’ trust in their leaders. This quality relationship between the leader and the followers, in turn, help the competent sport instructors to stay in the organization and perform at their best. Based on Barbuto and Wheeler’s (2006) servant leadership model, the purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between different servant leadership attributes and trust in leaders among sport instructors in South Korea. The servant leadership attributes included were altruistic calling, emotional healing, wisdom, persuasive mapping, and organizational stewardship. The data were collected from 219 certified sport instructors in South Korea during the national sport instructor certification training using a paper pencil self-administered survey method. The results of multiple regression analysis demonstrated that all the servant leadership attributes together explained 75.3% of the variance in trust in leaders. Of the five attributes studied, three attributes, altruistic calling, persuasive mapping, and organizational stewardship, had a significant association with trust in leaders. The findings of the study guide sport managers on what attributes they need to focus on to gain trust from their followers. In addition, the results of the study could serve as a vital tool to hire an effective sport manager and to develop a leadership training program for sport managers.
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2018-03-12T11:19:52-05:00March 22nd, 2018|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off on Relationship between Servant Leadership Attributes and Trust in Leaders: A Case of Sport Instructors in South Korea
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