Research – Page 2 – The Sport Journal

Return to Play and Learn: Findings from a Countywide High School Sports-Related Concussion Program

Authors: Gillian Hotz PhD¹, Jacob R. Griffin², Hengyi Ke³, Raymond Crittenden IV², Abraham Chileuitt MD⁴

¹Department of Neurosurgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

²KiDZ Neuroscience Center, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

³Department of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

⁴Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Gillian Hotz, Ph.D.
1095 NW 14th Ter
Miami, FL 33136
ghotz@med.miami.edu
305-243-2074

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.

Return to Play and Learn: Findings from a Countywide High School Sports-Related Concussion Program

ABSTRACT

Purpose
To report return to play (RTP) and learn (RTL) findings of high school athletes with a sports-related concussion (SRC) from a 10-year injury surveillance system. The goal was also to explore differences between athletes who received and did not receive academic accommodations.

Methods

SRC data was entered into a REDCap database by certified athletic trainers (ATs) at 35 public high schools in Miami-Dade County (MDC). A required 6 Steps to Safe Play concussion protocol was implemented between 2012 to 2022. Concussion Clinic data was also reported for as well as symptom scores of post-injury ImPACT retesting.

Results

From review and analysis of the ImPACT retesting scores, the most common symptoms reported included; headache (54.0%), difficulty concentrating (35.0%), sensitivity to light (34.6%), and dizziness (30.5%). Overall, female athletes reported a higher symptom count and severity on post-injury ImPACT assessments than males (7 vs. 4 total symptoms score; p < 0.001), and all but 4 of the 22 reportable symptoms listed on the symptom inventory (vomiting, fatigue, numbness/tingling, and difficulty remembering) were significant (p < 0.05) between males and females. Despite experiencing a greater number of overall SRCs, athletes playing football had a smaller average (p < 0.001) ImPACT total symptom score than athletes playing other sports (10.9 vs. 14.2). Those seen in clinic and receiving academic accommodations were less likely to RTP, have a greater (p < 0.05) ImPACT total symptom score, more days between injury date and post-ImPACT testing, and a greater number of days until returning to play than athletes not academically accommodated.

Conclusions

It is important for concussion providers to identify and monitor symptoms post-SRC. Study findings report that high school female athletes report more symptoms following an SRC and that appropriate academic accommodations should be included when necessary to ensure athletes recover in a safe and timely manner. Understanding how SRC symptoms vary based on an athlete’s circumstances can help in managing SRC and making better RTL and RTL decisions.

Application In Sports

Academic accommodations, when appropriate, should be incorporated and implemented in an athlete’s recovery plan to help them safely return to the field and classroom after an SRC.

Key Words: Concussion, Adolescent, Accommodations, Symptoms

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-08-25T14:38:06-05:00August 25th, 2023|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off

Visual Memory Recovery by Gender in Young Athletes with a Sport-Related Concussion (SRC)

Authors: Hyunsoo Yoo

Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Science and Disorders, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA

Correspondence:

Hyunsoo Yoo Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Science and Disorders
Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences
Baylor University

One Bear Place #97332
Waco, TX 76798

Visual Memory Recovery by Gender in Young Athletes with a Sport-Related Concussion (SRC)

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine 1) whether there are gender differences in the post-concussion (PC 1-3) recovery process in visual memory after a concussion, and 2) whether there is interaction between two gender groups and the number of concussions.

Method: 75 athletes with sports-related concussion in two groups by gender. The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) performance was compared between and within subjects from post-concussion test 1 (PC1) to PC3. The visual memory composite scores were obtained from ImPACT.

Results: Two gender groups were significantly different in visual memory: female athletes were higher than male athletes in visual memory composite scores. Two gender groups also exhibited different recovery pattern: female group showed early recovery from PC1 to PC2 as well as from PC1 to PC3, while male athletes showed significant recovery from PC1 to PC3 only. There was no significant interaction between visual memory scores and the number of concussions.

Conclusions: We can conclude that two gender groups differed in visual memory composite scores. Additionally, the timing of the recovery was different by gender. There was no interaction between the visual memory scores and the number of concussions sustained.

Keywords Sports-related concussion (SRC), Visual memory, Gender

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-08-25T17:53:25-05:00August 11th, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

The role of coach education in coaching philosophy development and implementation: A dual case study

Authors: Kim Ferner¹, Lindsay Ross-Stewart², and Drew Dueck²

¹Department of Educational Psychology, University of North Texas

²Department of Applied Health, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Corresponding Author:

Kim Ferner, MS
1155 Union Circle #310769
Denton, TX 76203-5017
Kimberly.Ferner@unt.edu
843-331-2876

Kim Ferner, MS is currently faculty and a Psychosocial Aspects of Sport doctoral student at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. Her research area includes coach education, coaching philosophy, and coach expectations of sport psychology services.

Lindsay Ross-Stewart, PhD, CMPC® is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Health at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in Edwardsville, IL. Her research area includes a focus on sources of efficacy for athletes, including the impact of coaches on athlete development.

Drew Dueck, MS is a recent graduate from the Exercise and Sport Psychology graduate program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is a track and field coach who is interested in coaching philosophy development, leadership, confidence, and motivation.

The role of coach education in coaching philosophy development and implementation: A dual case study

ABSTRACT

Developing a coaching philosophy (CP) is important due to the influence coaches have in creating positive sport environments for their athletes. Despite the numerous benefits identified in literature for developing a CP, limited research exists on whether coaches implement their philosophies, which has created a gap in the coaching literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore coaches’ perceptions of their coach education (CE) experiences and the influence this has had on their CP development and implementation. A secondary purpose was to understand athletes’ perceptions of their head coach’s CP through their experiences with their coach. A case study methodology, which is useful when exploring experiences and perceptions, was employed for this study. Two NCAA head coaches—one female and one male, along with two athletes from each coach’s team, were recruited for this study. The researcher conducted a semi-structured interview with each participant and examined the data with thematic analysis. The current study identified four themes: Comprehension of CP, Influences on CP, Communication of CP, and Coaching Goals. A discrepancy between CP theory and practice was observed via the disconnect in athlete and coach responses. Coaches’ reported experiences with CE were also found to impact their CP development and implementation. These findings indicate having a well-developed CP and positive CE experiences may lead to athletes having a better understanding of their coach, which may lead to a more positive sport experience. This study may be of use to coaches and coach educators interested in CPs and highlights the need for future research with larger, more inclusive samples.

Key Words: coach development, coach perceptions, athlete perceptions

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-08-09T11:13:25-05:00August 9th, 2023|Research, Sport Education|Comments Off

Marketing Division II athletics to college students: The perceived effectiveness of internally focused promotion tactics

Authors: Martin Barrett and Jeffrey R. Farr

Department of Recreation and Parks Management, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD, USA

Corresponding Author:

Martin Barrett, PhD
101 Braddock Road
Frostburg, MD 21532-2303
mbarrett@frostburg.edu
301-687-4475

Martin Barrett, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, MD. His diverse research interests focus on sport and environmental sustainability, the diffusion of non-traditional sports, and divisional reclassification within intercollegiate athletics.

Jeffrey R. Farr, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Recreation, Parks, and Sport Management at Frostburg State University in Frostburg, MD. His research interests focus on understanding the relationships between families and youth sport participation.

Marketing Division II athletics to college students: The perceived effectiveness of internally focused promotion tactics

ABSTRACT

Sport-based incentives such as sales promotions and atmospheric efforts such as augmenting the core product with entertainment programming are widely used in sport to increase attendance at events. Despite this, there is little understanding regarding the effectiveness of marketing and promotion activities in persuading and motivating college students to attend Division II athletic events. Therefore, this paper sought to understand the
perceived effectiveness of different types of marketing and promotion activities, as well as the relationship between perceived effectiveness and existing attendance behavior. Surveys collected from students attending a public university in the Mid-Atlantic region (N=327) revealed that behavioral response incentives – marketing tactics where the sport product is augmented to better match the primary motive for fan attendance – have the greatest perceived effectiveness in persuading and motivating attendance. In addition, behavioral response incentives were positively related to attendance behavior; meaning students who were already regularly attendees perceived these types of marketing and promotion activities to be even more effective. The results from this study should guide athletic marketing efforts at the Division II level in the implementation of marketing and promotion activities to generate optimal return on investment.

Key Words: athletics, marketing, promotion, incentives, atmospherics

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-05-12T17:48:58-05:00May 12th, 2023|Research, Sports Management|Comments Off

Obesity on the Line! An Analysis of High School Linemen Recruited to Play for “Power Five” Schools

Authors: Jeffrey J. Fountain¹, Peter S. Finley², and Thomas Wuerzer³

¹Department of Management at Nova Southeastern University

²Department of Management at Nova Southeastern University

³Department of Public Administration & Real Estate Development at Nova Southeastern University

Correspondence:

Jeffrey J. Fountain
Carl DeSantis Building
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314-7796
jeffjf@nova.edu
954-262-8129

Jeffrey Fountain, Ph.D., and Peter Finley, Ph.D., are both Associate Professors of Sport and Recreation Management at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University. Their research interests focus on issues in college athletics with an emphasis on college athlete welfare.

Thomas Wuerzer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in theDepartment of Public Administration & Real Estate Development at Nova Southeastern University. His research focus is on Geographical Information Systems with an emphasis on Public Health

Obesity on the Line! An Analysis of High School Linemen Recruited to Play for “Power Five” Schools

Abstract

Purpose: This article explored the changing body sizes of high school football linemen recruited to play for “Power 5” schools between 2003 and 2020 when factoring in the position group. This study also allowed for a cross-sectional analysis to explore body size differences within and between “Power 5” conferences. Methods: The dataset contained 7,428 linemen, and a cross-sectional design was used to examine position and conference affiliation related to the differences in height, weight, and Body Mass Index over three time periods. Statistical analysis was conducted using nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis H tests and post-hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction for pairwise comparisons. Results: The results showed that while height did not significantly change, weight continued to increase, particularly among defensive tackles, offensive centers, and guards. Conclusions: In some “Power 5” conferences, the number of linemen recruits weighing more than 300 pounds had more than doubled over this period. This adds to the player obesity discussion and the systematic issues that allow linemen to continue to play at weight levels categorized as obese, with little apparent regard for the risk of injury or long-term health implications. Application in Sport: College football decision-makers will be able to use the results of this study to demonstrate a need for new health protocols and policies that reduce the number of obese and significantly overweight linemen.

Keywords: college football, BMI, health risk

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Vandy Pacetti-Donelson2023-05-05T15:24:56-05:00May 5th, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off