The influence of gender on perceptions of coaches’ relationships with their athletes:a novel video-based methodology

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of coach and athlete gender on perceptions of a coach through the use of a novel video-based method. Forty-one participants (16 males, 25 females, Mage=32.76 SD= ± 11.57) watched four videos depicting a coach and an athlete having a conversation about the athlete’s de-selection from a squad. Each video featuring different gender combinations of the coach and athlete. Participants rated the coach on perceived relationship quality and perceived empathy. Analysis showed a main effect for coach gender with female coaches being rated higher than male coaches for relationship quality and empathy, and a main effect for athlete gender with all coaches perceived as displaying a greater level of affective empathy when paired with a female athlete. Coaches need to be aware that their actions may be interpreted differently based on their gender and that of the athletes they are working with. This could potentially impact on coach effectiveness and the outcomes of their behaviours

Perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship predict the attainment of mastery achievement goals six months later : a two-wave longitudinal study among F.A. Premier League academy soccer players

All football teams that compete within the F. A. Premier League possess an academy, whose objective is to produce more and better home-grown players that are capable of playing professionally. These young players spend a large amount of time with their coach, but little is known about player’s perception of the coach-athlete relationship within F.A. Premier League Academies. The objectives of this study were to examine whether perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship changed over six months and if the coach-athlete relationship predicted self-reported goal achievement among F. A. Premier League academy players. This study included cross-sectional (n = 104) and longitudinal (n = 52) assessments, in which academy soccer players completed a measure of the coach-athlete relationship and goal achievement across either one or two time periods. The cross-sectional data were subjected to bivariate correlations, whereas the longitudinal data were analyzed using multiple regressions. Perceptions of the coach-athlete relationship remained stable over time. The coach-athlete relationship predicted the achievement of mastery goals six months later. Enhancing the quality of the coach-athlete relationship among elite adolescent athletes appears to be a suitable way of maximizing mastery achievement goals, particularly among developmental athletes who participate in team sports

Bike Athlete Performance

Faculty reflection on VCU Great Bike Race Book course. Course Description: This track will focus on nutritional and training practices of cyclists competing in the UCI Worlds. YouTube Videos referenced in reflection: VCU Exercise Science: Christian Vande Velde Interview VCU Exercise Science - Sports Nutritionist Dr Janet Rankin Interview Fuel for a 5 Hour Ride Assignment 3: My Musette Assignment 4: Bike Athlete Performance VCU Exercise Science: Professional Cyclist Evie Stevens Intervie

Kinesthetic imagery: does it exist and how can we measure it?

[Introduction]: The emergence of sport psychology has influenced how athletes train and compete. Increasingly, coaches and athletes are incorporating mental as well as physical skills into their training programs and competition routines. Imagery is one such mental skill. To develop an imagery program tailored to the athlete three pieces of information are vital: the imagery ability of the athlete; the effect of imagery on performance; and the motive for using imagery. This paper explores measurement of the imagery ability of the athlete. Specifically, the aim was to create new and valid measures of kinaesthetic imagery and examine the relationship these measures share with existing measures of imagery

Perfectionism and burnout in junior athletes: A three-month longitudinal study

Perfectionism in sports has been shown to be associated with burnout in athletes. Whether perfectionism predicts longitudinal changes in athlete burnout, however, is still unclear. Using a two-wave cross-lagged panel design, the present study examined perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and athlete burnout in 101 junior athletes (mean age 17.7 years) over 3 months of active training. When structural equation modeling was employed to test a series of competing models, the best-fitting model showed opposite patterns for perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. Whereas perfectionistic concerns predicted increases in athlete burnout over the 3 months, perfectionistic strivings predicted decreases. The present findings suggest that perfectionistic concerns are a risk factor for junior athletes contributing to the development of athlete burnout whereas perfectionistic strivings appear to be a protective factor

Injuries in the Chinese Arena Football League: American Versus Chinese Players.

Background: Arena football is an indoor version of American football played in indoor arenas on a smaller field with 8 players per team. Only 1 study has evaluated injury rates in arena football, and no study had compared 2 distinct cohorts of players. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare injury rates in American versus Chinese athletes in the Chinese Arena Football League. Our hypothesis was that the rate of significant injuries (≥7 days of time lost from play) would be statistically significantly higher in Chinese athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Each of the 6 teams included in this study comprised 11 American and 11 Chinese athletes, for a total of 132 included athletes (66 Chinese, 66 American). All players stayed in the same hotel, trained and played in the same facilities, and were covered by the same medical staff. A total of 18 games were played consecutively in 6 cities from October 1 to November 6, 2016. At least 4 Chinese players had to be on the field for each team at all times during game play. Results: American athletes were significantly older, taller, and heavier than Chinese athletes. The total exposure was 759 athlete-hours, and there were 80 reported injuries, with 74 (92.5%) occurring during games (overall injury rate, 105.4 injuries per 1000 athlete-hours). For American athletes, the exposure was 387 athlete-hours with 38 injuries observed, and the injury rate was 98.2 injuries per 1000 athlete-hours. For Chinese athletes, the exposure was 372 athlete-hours with 42 injuries observed, and the injury rate was 112.9 injuries per 1000 athlete-hours. There was no statistically significant difference in exposure or overall injury rate between American and Chinese athletes. The rate of significant injuries was 30.3 per 1000 athlete-hours; there were 17 such injuries in Chinese athletes compared with 6 such injuries for American athletes. The rate of significant injuries was 45.7 (Chinese) and 15.5 (American) injuries per 1000 athlete-hours, and the relative risk for Chinese versus American athletes for significant injuries was 3.0 (95% CI, 1.2-7.8; Conclusion: The overall risk of injuries was similar between Chinese and American athletes, but Chinese athletes showed statistically higher rates of significant injuries than their American counterparts. Years of experience was the only factor that was associated with severe injuries. As professional sports become more global, medical personnel must take into account the distinct differences and levels of experience between the national and international professional athletes. The results of this study will be used to make recommendations to develop preventive training measures, including techniques to improve tackling

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A look at some of our fall athlete

Making up for the deficit in a marathon run

To predict the final result of an athlete in a marathon run thoroughly is the eternal desire of each trainer. Usually, the achieved result is weaker than the predicted one due to the objective (e.g., environmental conditions) as well as subjective factors (e.g., athlete's malaise). Therefore, making up for the deficit between predicted and achieved results is the main ingredient of the analysis performed by trainers after the competition. In the analysis, they search for parts of a marathon course where the athlete lost time. This paper proposes an automatic making up for the deficit by using a Differential Evolution algorithm. In this case study, the results that were obtained by a wearable sports-watch by an athlete in a real marathon are analyzed. The first experiments with Differential Evolution show the possibility of using this method in the future.Comment: ISMSI 201

Bike Athlete Performance, Blog 1

Student blog posts from the Great VCU Bike Race Book