Institute for Sport Coaching

The Institute for Sport Coaching is a not-for-profit organization devoted to the creation and delivery of educational experiences and leadership tools to sport coaches. Based in Acton, Massachusetts, USA, the Institute’s mission is to provide excellence in sport coaching education, ideally enabling sport coaches to be more effective in their mentoring of athletes. In the American sport system, the vast majority of coaches are volunteers and receive inadequate training. The Institute was founded in 2003 to be an organization that could provide educational opportunities to coaches across a wide spectrum of amateur sports. According to its website, the Institute aims to become the preeminent provider of sport coaching education, a goal facilitated by the creation of a leadership training center for professional, interscholastic, and youth sport coaches. This review includes a synopsis of the resources provide by the Institute, and evaluates both the content and format of the Institute’s webpage

Female and Male Youth Sport Coaches’ Perceptions of Teaching Sportspersonship to Female and Male Athletes

According to the positive youth development framework, sportspersonship and character development is an expected outcome from participation in youth sport. Previous studies have shown mixed results in terms of how gender affects young athletes’ sportspersonship, suggesting it is important to explore how boys and girls are taught about sportspersonship by their coaches. In this study, we interviewed six female and six male youth sport coaches who had coached both girls’ and boys’ teams at recreational and competitive levels to examine coaches’ expectations regarding sportspersonship, with a specific focus on those beliefs associated with gender. Our analysis indicated that gender does matter, as represented in the two emergent higher-order themes—(a) Observations of Athletes’ Sportspersonship Behaviors and (b) Teaching Sportspersonship to Girls and Boys—representative of two and four lower-order themes, respectively. Results showed that gender mattered in terms of coaches’ reported strategies for teaching about sportspersonship, suggesting that youth sport participation builds gendered character

Coaching Behaviors and Adolescent Athletes\u27 Sportspersonship Outcomes: Further Validation of the Sportsmanship Coaching Behaviors Scale (SCBS)

N. D. Bolter and M. R. Weiss (2012, Coaching for character: Development of the Sportsmanship Coaching Behaviors Scale (SCBS). Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 1, 73–90) created and provided initial validity for the Sportsmanship Coaching Behavior Scale (SCBS) to assess adolescent athletes\u27 perceptions of coaches\u27 behaviors that promote or deter sportsperson-like behaviors. The present study provided additional factorial and criterion validity for the SCBS with a sample of 418 adolescents (211 female, 207 male) participating in a variety of team sports. Participants completed the SCBS and a measure of prosocial and antisocial behaviors toward teammates and opponents (M. Kavussanu and I. D. Boardley, 2009, The prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 31, 97–117). A confirmatory factor analysis established factorial validity and gender invariance for a 6-factor model of the SCBS. Criterion validity was shown in that four coaching behaviors (modeling, reinforcing, teaching, and prioritizing winning) were related to athletes\u27 prosocial and antisocial behaviors in theoretically consistent ways. Unique findings emerged for boys and girls in the pattern of relationships between coaching behaviors and sportspersonship outcomes. Teaching and modeling were important coaching mechanisms for explaining girls\u27 sportspersonship behaviors, whereas reinforcing and prioritizing winning were significantly related to boys\u27 sportspersonship behaviors. Results provide support for a valid and reliable tool for assessing coaches\u27 influence in promoting athletes\u27 sportspersonship outcomes

Attentional Focus and Feedback Frequency Among First Graders in Physical Education

Purpose: External attentional focused instructions and feedback have shown to enhance motor performance among adults, adolescents, and older children. This study examined type and frequency of instructions and feedback among younger children performing an overhand throw. Method: First graders (N = 65) were provided external or internal focused instructions at high- or low-frequency rates resulting in four experimental groups (External-High, External-Low, Internal-High, and Internal-Low). Results: Internal focused groups performed significantly better than external focused groups during retention–transfer, and children who received feedback that is more frequent performed better. External-Low performed better than External-High at the end of acquisition and retention–transfer, whereas Internal-High performed better than Internal-Low throughout acquisition. Conclusion: Data support previous research indicating children need more feedback when learning a motor skill but did not support prior studies regarding attentional focus. More work is needed to understand how and why young children respond differently to attentional focused instructions and feedback

Coach, Parent, and Administrator Perspectives on Required Coaching Education in Organized Youth Sport

Previous studies have primarily relied on coaches’ perspectives about whether and how to provide formal coachingeducation in youth sport. This study was designed to highlight multiple perspectives from key stakeholders (i.e., coaches,parents, and administrators) about the need for required formal coaching education programs in a youth sport community. We applied Bronfenbrenner’s process-person-context-time framework to understand views on required coaching education and children’s development through sport from an ecological vantage. The sample included 202 coaches,309 parents, and 38 administrators who were involved in youth sport. In an online survey, participants were askedwhether they agreed or disagreed that coaching education should be required, followed by an open-ended questionasking them to elaborate on their answer. Quantitatively, the majority of participants agreed or strongly agreed thatcoaching education should be required. Inductive–deductive qualitative analyses resulted in 49 lower order themesrepresenting 11 higher order themes that spanned the four categories of the process-person-context-time framework.Themes highlighted both convergence and divergence among the perspectives of coaches, parents, and administratorsabout why coaching education should or should not be required

Sibling Influence on Physical Activity and Sport Participation: Considerations for Coaches

Siblings can often be seen playing the same sports and participating in the same physical activities. The Williams sisters in tennis and the football-playing Manning brothers are well-known examples of siblings in professional sports. More than 80% of children in the United States have at least one sibling (Horn & Horn, 2007) and the prevalence of twins has increased significantly in the past few decades. Given the overwhelming majority of children who have a sibling, and as sport continues to be a valued activity in many American households, more and more children are participating in physical activities and sports with their siblings

The Play Community: A Student-Centered Model for Physical Education

As a result of their participation in K–12 physical education, students should obtain high levels of physical activity and learn motor and/or sport skills. How to accomplish these outcomes in the context of K–12 physical education is a continuous challenge for teachers. The purpose of this article is to introduce the play community model, which addresses how to proceed in the current climate of public health demands and a continuing commitment to educational outcomes like skill/knowledge attainment. First, a theoretical foundation for the play community model is delineated. Second, practical suggestions for implementing the play community model in physical education are offered. An underlying assumption of the play community model is that students will develop skills and knowledge, and increase their activity levels and/or fitness when their aspirations to participate in an activity or sport are sufficiently strong. Under this model, a physical education teacher\u27s primary responsibility is to create specific sport or activity play communities where students\u27 interest in physical education content can flourish. It is proposed that the physical education outcomes teachers so highly prize in today\u27s educational environments — skills, knowledge, and physical activity/fitness and health — will occur “organically” via student involvement and inclusion in specific activity or sport play communities

Assessing Impact of Physical Activity-Based Youth Development Programs: Validation of the Life Skills Transfer Survey (LSTS)

Purpose: A signature characteristic of positive youth development (PYD) programs is the opportunity to develop life skills, such as social, behavioral, and moral competencies, that can be generalized to domains beyond the immediate activity. Although context-specific instruments are available to assess developmental outcomes, a measure of life skills transfer would enable evaluation of PYD programs in successfully teaching skills that youth report using in other domains. The purpose of our studies was to develop and validate a measure of perceived life skills transfer, based on data collected with The First Tee, a physical activity-based PYD program. Method: In 3 studies, we conducted a series of steps to provide content and construct validity and internal consistency reliability for the Life Skills Transfer Survey (LSTS), a measure of perceived life skills transfer. Results: Study 1 provided content validity for the LSTS that included 8 life skills and 50 items. Study 2 revealed construct validity (structural validity) through a confirmatory factor analysis and convergent validity by correlating scores on the LSTS with scores on an assessment tool that measures a related construct. Study 3 offered additional construct validity by reassessing youth 1 year later and showing that scores during both time periods were invariant in factor pattern, loadings, and variances and covariances. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated internal consistency reliability of the LSTS. Conclusion: Results from 3 studies provide evidence of content and construct validity and internal consistency reliability for the LSTS, which can be used in evaluation research with youth development programs

Effects Of Various Self-Myofascial Release Devices On 60-Meter Sprint Performance

Over the past decade, self-myofascial release (SMR) has become a common tool amongst athletes as it is highly regarded in its ability to increase range of motion (ROM), athletic performance, and post-exercise recovery PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare 60-meter sprint performances with and without two technologically advanced SMR devices - the percussive massager and clamp roller. Based on the available literature, it was hypothesized that sprint time metrics and stride biomechanics would be improved after the use of either of these advanced SMR devices compared to not using an SMR device. METHODS: The study consisted of 1 healthy young adult (25 years old) male. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was intended to examine the effects of SMR devices on high school-aged athletes. Due to the closure of public schools across the country, the study pivoted into a pilot study. The study implemented a randomized, cross-over design over three study days, with 24 hours between trials. Three different intervention conditions -- percussive massager (PM), clamp roller (CR), and no roller (NR) -- were implemented. During the sprint, Sixty-meter time (60-m), Thirty-meter Time (30-m), Flying thirty-meter Time (30-60m), Foot Strikes, time differential from Sprint #1 & #2, Stride Length (meters), and Stride Rate (steps per second) were recorded and analyzed. Since this was a pilot study involving one participant, inferential statistics could not be performed on the data. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) were calculated from the recorded variables and examined to determine any noticeable differences between interventions. RESULTS: PM improved sprint performance while CR showed no improvements on sprint performance but had improvements on stride length. PM was also better at reducing fatigue from sprint-1 and sprint-2 compared to CR and NR. CONCLUSION: Results show potential performance benefits of using percussive massagers as a way of improving sprint performance. While this study looked at the performance of a short sprint following an acute bout of SMR, future research should focus on benefits within the vertical and horizontal jump events in track & field as both of those require speed and range of motion on the approach to elicit strong performances