Chapter 4 Profesjonelle fotballtreneres interaksjon med sine overordnede og assistenter

"Research on coaching in sports has long been concerned with how coaches interact with their players. In recent years, more research in sports psychology has been conducted on the coach’s role. However, research on coaches’ co-operation with leaders and staff in the clubs has received little attention. There is reason to argue that the way coaches handle this part of their profession can have a huge impact on how well they are able to do their job. This study explores how three experienced Norwegian elite football coaches (average 25 years of elite experience) interact with others in their clubs creating room for themselves and achieving their goals through micro-political activity and orchestration, i.e. coaches’ actions to increase their own influence and power within the organization. We collected data through semi-structured interviews. Then we used content analysis based on a theoretical framework consisting of the orchestration metaphor and studies on micropolitics and the three aspects of micropolitical proficiency. The results and discussion describe how the coaches handle the negotiation process before joining a club, how they handle managers and employees, and how they have developed their micropolitical skills through their careers. Their knowledge about and attention to these processes were integral parts of their coaching and leadership challenges. Knowledge of orchestration and micropolitics seemed to be important for the coaches in the current study. We therefore provide some suggestions as to how coaches can improve their ability to handle these elements in coach education and suggest possible future research and applied implications for coaches.""Forskning på coaching i idrett har lenge vært opptatt av hvordan trenere samhandler med sine spillere. De siste årene har det blitt utført mer idrettspsykologisk forskning på trenerrollen, men treneres samhandling med overordnede og ansatte i klubbene har fått lite oppmerksomhet. Det er grunn til å hevde at måten trenere håndterer denne delen av sitt yrke på, kan ha stor innvirkning på hvor godt de er i stand til å utføre jobben sin. Denne studien går i dybden på hvordan tre erfarne norske elitefotballtrenere (gjennomsnittlig 25 års erfaring på elitenivå) samhandler med andre i klubbene for å skape handlingsrom for seg selv og for å nå sine mål gjennom mikropolitisk virksomhet og orkestrering, som kort fortalt handler om treneres handlinger for å øke sin egen innflytelse og påvirkningsmulighet i organisasjonen. Vi samlet data gjennom semi-strukturerte intervjuer. Deretter brukte vi innholdsanalyse basert på et teoretisk rammeverk bestående av orkestreringsmetaforen og studier på mikropolitikk og de tre aspektene av mikropolitiske ferdigheter. Resultatene og diskusjonen beskriver hvordan trenerne håndterer forhandlingsprosessen før de blir ansatt av en klubb, hvordan de håndterer overordnede og ansatte, og hvordan de har utviklet sin mikropolitiske kompetanse gjennom karrieren. Trenernes kunnskap og oppmerksomhet om disse prosessene var integrerte deler av deres coaching- og ledelsesutfordringer. Kunnskap om orkestrering og mikropolitikk syntes å være viktig for dem i den nåværende studien. Vi gir derfor noen forslag til hvordan trenere kan forbedre sin evne til å håndtere disse elementene i trenerutdanningen, og foreslår mulig fremtidig forskning og anvendte implikasjoner for trenere.

Sustainable Winter-Feeding Practices for Meat Goats Within The Southeastern United States

Winter feeding systems were evaluated on male Kiko meat goats against the traditional practice of raising goats in the winter months. Forty-Five Kiko bucks were randomly assigned to one of three treatments; Treatment 1, Treatment 2, and Treatment 3 consisted, respectively, of Cosaque Oats, annual Ryegrass, Crimson Clover mix, and 1.0% of BW concentrate supplementation with free choice hay. Forage clippings were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber. Body weights were monitored over the grazing period. Blood samples were collected during the experiment, and animals were slaughtered for the evaluation of carcass traits. Data were analyzed as a completely randomized design using the General Linear Model. Results showed that average daily gain and ribeye area were significantly lower for the control group compared to the other treatments. However, there was no difference in dressing percentage among treatments. Winter forages evaluated performed better than traditional feeding practices

Leading and organising national teams: functions of institutional leadership

National team coaches are tasked to increase athlete capacity for success – a key task of theirs is leading the athletes and team’s entourage. Few studies have detailed empirical accounts of leadership at the organisational-, team-, and individual level. This qualitative case study of institutional leadership examined how three national team coaches, who also have the role of high-performance directors, organise and lead their teams. Within the context of these successful Norwegian national teams, we identified how the coaches lead in ways that are consistent with leadership functions captured in institutional leadership, which focuses on the creation of structures and interactions that promote and protect the key organisational and societal values. Still, the coaches pursued this structuring and interactions in distinct ways, leading to distinctive organisational practices. The findings of the study stress the importance of considering contextual elements when leading athletes and entourage that pertain to national teams.publishedVersio

National and Organizational Culture in Norwegian Elite Sport: The Account of National Handball Head Coaches

The present study looks at the organizational culture of Norwegian elite sport which we capture as the meeting point of the national and elite sport cultures. Two successful national teams, the women’s and men’s handball are the point of departure. The selected elite sport contexts are apparently similar but at the same time distinctive. Informed by theories of culture and high reliability organizations, we analyzed in depth semi-structured interviews with the national team coaches and found that their organizational cultures were characterized by three common elements: a process-oriented approach, an athlete-centered approach, and a value-based approach towards development. Variations between teams were noticed, such as how the athletes partake in the team’s value-anchoring processes. Overall, we learned that at the international level results can be achieved even when embracing, and performing, under humanistic and social-democratic values, which deviates significantly from the commonly embraced win-at-all-costs approach. Norwegian elite sport culture appears to exemplify this cultural approach by actively employing a value-system in the development of its athletes, teams and sport. In that respect, the study contributes to the international elite sport organization literature as it relates daily practices with the overall culture theory and the specific theory of high reliability organizations. The study provides a detailed account of how national Norwegian values (and further overarching Scandinavian values) pair up with elite sport demands, in team and backstage practices within two elite sport contexts.publishedVersio

Impacts of Covid-19 on Norwegian salmon exports: A firm-level analysis

A rapidly growing literature investigates how the recent Covid-19 pandemic has affected international seafood trade along multiple dimensions, creating opportunities as well as challenges. This suggests that many of the impacts of the Covid measures are subtle and require disaggregated data to allow the impacts in different supply chains to be teased out. In aggregate, Norwegian salmon exports have not been significantly impacted by Covid-related measures. Using firm-level data to all export destinations to examine the effects of lockdowns in different destination countries in 2020, we show that the Covid-related lockdown measures significantly impacted trade patterns for four product forms of salmon. The results also illustrate how the Covid measures create opportunities, as increased stringency of the measures increased trade for two of the product forms. We also find significant differences among firms' responses, with large firms with larger trade networks reacting more strongly to the Covid measures. The limited overall impacts and the significant dynamics at the firm level clearly show the resiliency of the salmon supply chains.publishedVersio

Enriching the lives of children with acquired brain injury and their caregivers: experiences from peer mentorship sports camps

Peer-based community interventions have shown promise in improving health management and fostering coping skills and psychosocial functioning among individuals with a disability. Active Rehabilitation camps are examples of peer-based community interventions that provide structured, time-limited peer mentorship in conjunction with sports and leisure activities. These camps hold potential benefits for individuals with acquired neurological injury. However, the specific impact of Active Rehabilitation camps on children or individuals with acquired brain injury remains unexplored. In this longitudinal, qualitative study, we explored children with an acquired brain injury and their caregivers' experiences with an Active Rehabilitation camp in Norway through observations and interviews with nine children and ten caregivers. Using an abductive thematic analysis, we identified an overarching theme: Active Rehabilitation peer mentorship camps enrich the lives of children with acquired brain injury and their caregivers. The theme contains three sub-themes: (1) Interacting with peers made me wiser, (2) Nudging from peer mentors made me feel better, and (3) A sense of companionship through meeting peers. Peer mentorship, sports and leisure activities, and the safe camp atmosphere benefitted children with acquired brain injury and their caregivers. The children gained knowledge, motivation, and self-worth, and their caregivers had greater impetus to prioritize their children's independence. Meeting peers and peer mentors led to friendships and sustained social connections. The Self-Determination Theory was of assistance in explaining the informants' experiences. Active Rehabilitation camps provide children with acquired brain injury and their caregivers with an opportunity to develop better coping skills, improve psychological functioning, and build more robust social networks

The angiotensin type 1 receptor antagonist, eprosartan, attenuates the progression of renal disease in spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats with accelerated hypertension

ABSTRACT The effects of the angiotensin type 1 (AT 1 ) receptor antagonist, eprosartan, were studied in a model of severe, chronic hypertension. Treatment of male spontaneously hypertensive stroke prone rats (SHR-SP) fed a high-fat, high-salt diet with eprosartan (60 mg/kg/day i.p.) for 12 weeks resulted in a lowering of blood pressure (250 Ϯ 9 versus 284 Ϯ 8 mm Hg), renal expression of transforming growth factor-␤ mRNA (1.5 Ϯ 0.2 versus 5.4 Ϯ 1.4) and the matrix components: plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (5.2 Ϯ 1.4 versus 31.4 Ϯ 10.7), fibronectin (2.2 Ϯ 0.6 versus 8.2 Ϯ 2.2), collagen I-␣1 (5.6 Ϯ 2.0 versus 23.8 Ϯ 7.3), and collagen III (2.7 Ϯ 0.9 versus 7.6 Ϯ 2.1). Data were corrected for rpL32 mRNA expression and expressed relative to Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats [ϭ1.0]. Expression of fibronectin protein was also lowered by eprosartan (0.8 Ϯ 0.1 versus 1.9 Ϯ 0.5), relative to WKY rats. Eprosartan provided significant renoprotection to SHR-SP rats as measured by decreased proteinuria (22 Ϯ 2 versus 127 Ϯ 13 mg/day) and histological evidence of active renal damage (5 Ϯ 2 versus 195 Ϯ 6) and renal fibrosis (5.9 Ϯ 0.7 versus 16.4 Ϯ 1.9) in vehicle-versus eprosartantreated rats, respectively. Our results demonstrated that AT 1 receptor blockade with eprosartan can reduce blood pressure and preserve renal structure and function in this model of severe, chronic hypertension. These effects were accompanied by a decreased renal expression of transforming growth factor-␤1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and several other extracellular matrix proteins compared with vehicle-treated SHR-SP. The renin-angiotensin system is a major regulator of blood pressure within the body, through the maintenance of vascular tone and sodium homeostasis. The renin-angiotensin system has, however, also been implicated in a number of diseases, characterized by remodeling and fibrosis, including forms of progressive renal disease. The generation of angiotensin II can lead to organ damage through both mitogenic activity and profibrotic remodeling. Eprosartan is a potent (K i ϭ 1.4 nM) angiotensin II receptor antagonist selective for the AT 1 subtype. AT 1 receptor antagonists have been shown to attenuate the effects of exogenous angiotensin II Materials and Methods Experimental Design. Male SHR-SP rats, progeny from the strain developed b

An assessment of Arctic Ocean freshwater content changes from the 1990s to the 2006-2008 period

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 58 (2011): 173-185, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2010.12.002.Unprecedented summer-season sampling of the Arctic Ocean during the period 2006−2008 makes possible a quasi-synoptic estimate of liquid freshwater (LFW) inventories in the Arctic Ocean basins. In comparison to observations from 1992−1999, LFW content relative to a salinity of 35 in the layer from the surface to the 34 isohaline increased by 8400 ± 2000 km3 in the Arctic Ocean (water depth greater than 500m). This is close to the annual export of freshwater (liquid and solid) from the Arctic Ocean reported in the literature. Observations and a model simulation show regional variations in LFW were both due to changes in the depth of the lower halocline, often forced by regional wind-induced Ekman pumping, and a mean freshening of the water column above this depth, associated with an increased net sea ice melt and advection of increased amounts of river water from the Siberian shelves. Over the whole Arctic Ocean, changes in the observed mean salinity above the 34 isohaline dominated estimated changes in LFW content; the contribution to LFW change by bounding isohaline depth changes was less than a quarter of the salinity contribution, and non-linear effects due to both factors were negligible.This work was supported by the Co-Operative Project “The North Atlantic as Part of the Earth System: From System Comprehension to Analysis of Regional Impacts” funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and by the European Union Sixth Framework Programme project DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environment Studies), contract number 018509GOCE

Optimizing Staining Protocols for Laser Microdissection of Specific Cell Types from the Testis Including Carcinoma In Situ

Microarray and RT-PCR based methods are important tools for analysis of gene expression; however, in tissues containing many different cells types, such as the testis, characterization of gene expression in specific cell types can be severely hampered by noise from other cells. The laser microdissection technology allows for enrichment of specific cell types. However, when the cells are not morphologically distinguishable, it is necessary to use a specific staining method for the target cells. In this study we have tested different fixatives, storage conditions for frozen sections and staining protocols, and present two staining protocols for frozen sections, one for fast and specific staining of fetal germ cells, testicular carcinoma in situ cells, and other cells with embryonic stem cell-like properties that express the alkaline phosphatase, and one for specific staining of lipid droplet-containing cells, which is useful for isolation of the androgen-producing Leydig cells. Both protocols retain a morphology that is compatible with laser microdissection and yield RNA of a quality suitable for PCR and microarray analysis

Study protocol of European Fans in Training (EuroFIT):a four-country randomised controlled trial of a lifestyle program for men delivered in elite football clubs

Background: Lifestyle interventions targeting physical activity, sedentary time and dietary behaviours have the potential to initiate and support behavioural change and result in public health gain. Although men have often been reluctant to engage in such lifestyle programs, many are at high risk of several chronic conditions. We have developed an evidence and theory-based, gender sensitised, health and lifestyle program (European Fans in Training (EuroFIT)), which is designed to attract men through the loyalty they feel to the football club they support. This paper describes the study protocol to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the EuroFIT program in supporting men to improve their level of physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour over 12 months. Methods: The EuroFIT study is a pragmatic, two-arm, randomised controlled trial conducted in 15 football clubs in the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the UK (England). One-thousand men, aged 30 to 65 years, with a self-reported Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥27 kg/m2 will be recruited and individually randomised. The primary outcomes are objectively-assessed changes in total physical activity (steps per day) and total sedentary time (minutes per day) at 12 months after baseline assessment. Secondary outcomes are weight, BMI, waist circumference, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, cardio-metabolic blood biomarkers, food intake, self-reported physical activity and sedentary time, wellbeing, self-esteem, vitality and quality of life. Cost-effectiveness will be assessed and a process evaluation conducted. The EuroFIT program will be delivered over 12 weekly, 90-minute sessions that combine classroom discussion with graded physical activity in the setting of the football club. Classroom sessions provide participants with a toolbox of behaviour change techniques to initiate and sustain long-term lifestyle changes. The coaches will receive two days of training to enable them to create a positive social environment that supports men in engaging in sustained behaviour change. Discussion: The EuroFIT trial will provide evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the EuroFIT program delivered by football clubs to their male fans, and will offer insight into factors associated with success in making sustained changes to physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and secondary outcomes, such as diet.Trial registration: ISRCTN: 81935608. Registered 16 June 2015.<br/