Collegiate Athletic Trainers’ Experiences Planning for Return-to-Sports During COVID-19: A Qualitative Research Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the role of intercollegiate head athletic trainers in the process of planning to resume sport, as well as their experiences across the course of the pandemic to identify key strategies, challenges, and future considerations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: This exploratory, descriptive qualitative study was conducted via one-on-one semi structured interviews through the Zoom video conference technology. Twenty-four head athletic trainers across NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions participated in the study. Results: Emerging themes included the development of detailed, institution-specific plans with shared elements such as policies for testing and screening, modifications to facilities and cleaning, and incorporation of coach and athlete education. Athletic trainers discussed the processes they used to create their return-to-sport policies, which included professional development and interprofessional collaborations. While participants were confident in their plans, they acknowledged the need to overcome logistical and psychosocial challenges, such as the recognition that the success of their plans relied on numerous variables that could not be completely controlled. Conclusion: It is clear that NCAA ATs have played – and will continue to play – an integral role in overcoming challenges to promote a safe return-to-sports amidst the COVID-19 pandemic via education, policy making, and delivery of healthcare services. The challenges imposed by the accompanying set of circumstances have strained these ATs’ practical tendencies and procedures. ATs have met these challenges through collaboration, information-seeking, and acceptance of the situation. NCAA ATs have embraced the opportunity to lead the way towards safe, successful campus reopening and resumption of competition

Preventive Training Program Feedback Complexity, Movement Control, and Performance in Youth Athletes

Context: Preventive training programs (PTPs) reduce injury risk by improving movement control. Corrective feedback is important; however, many cues at once may be too complicated for athletes. Objective: To compare movement control and long-jump (LJ) changes in youth athletes participating in a season-long PTP, with simplified feedback, traditional feedback, or a warmup of the coaches\u27 choosing. Design: Cluster-randomized controlled trial. Setting: Soccer fields. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 420 athletes (simplified feedback = 173, traditional feedback = 118, and control = 129; age = 11 ± 3 years). Intervention(s): Teams were randomized into the simplified PTP, traditional PTP, or control group. Simplified and traditional PTPs lasted 10 to 12 minutes and used the same exercises. The simplified PTP provided only sagittal-plane feedback (eg, “get low”), and the traditional PTP provided feedback targeting all motion planes (eg, “don\u27t let your knees cave inward”). Research assistants administered the PTP warmups 2 to 3 times/week for the season. Control team coaches chose and ran their own warmup strategies. Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed 4 sessions (preseason [PRE], postseason [POST] at approximately 8 weeks after PRE, retention 1 [R1] at 6 weeks postseason, and retention 2 [R2] at 12 weeks postseason). They performed 3 trials of a jump-landing task, which was evaluated using the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) and 2 recorded standing LJ trials at each test session. A time series panel was used to evaluate group differences across time points for the LESS and LJ. Results: Change score analyses revealed improvements in the LESS score from PRE to POST for all groups. Improvements from PRE were retained at R1 and R2 for the intervention groups (simplified and traditional). The traditional group demonstrated better LJ performance at POST (P \u3c .001) and R1 (P = .049) than the simplified or control group. Conclusions; Simplified cues were as effective as traditional cues in improving LESS scores from PRE to POST season. Participating in PTPs, regardless of their complexity, likely provides movement benefits

The Effect of a Tailored Pre-Season Workshop on Preventive Training Program Adoption and Related Athlete Outcomes

Background: Over 40 million children participate in organized sport in the United States annually, but each day approximately 8,000 children are treated in emergency departments (EDs) due to sport-related injuries, resulting in over $925 million in health care costs. Exercise-based preventive training programs (PTPs) used as a team warm-up can reduce injuries dramatically but youth coaches do not commonly use PTPs. Understanding barriers and facilitators that drive PTP adoption and compliance at the youth sport level could dramatically enhance PTP dissemination and propagate injury reduction in athletes. Further, determining the relationship between coach compliance with PTPs and the effect on athlete injury risk is necessary to promote PTP adoption. Purpose: The purposes of this dissertation were to evaluate the impact of different educational strategies (Generalized, Tailored) on youth soccer and basketball coaches’ behavior drivers for PTP implementation. A secondary purpose was to apply an implementation framework to different youth sport organizations to evaluate which areas of implementation may be more challenging. A final purpose was to evaluate the impact of a coaches’ educational workshop on athlete movement technique following one season. Study Design: Cluster randomized controlled trial. Methods: Mixed methods approach. Youth soccer and basketball coaches volunteered to participate. Coaches were randomized by league into a Tailored or General workshop. We evaluated coaches’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavior control, and behavioral intention to adopt a PTP using a pre- and post-workshop survey consisting of Likert-scale and open-ended questions, as well as a post-season questionnaire to evaluate PTP implementation. Athletes completed a PRE and POST season movement assessment. Results: There were no significant differences between workshop groups on attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, or behavioral intention to adopt. Establishing the administrative team was the most challenging framework step to complete. There were no significant differences between workshops on athlete movement technique from PRE to POST but there was a main effect for time (P=0.03). Conclusions: A generalized workshop design was as effective as a tailored workshop in increasing some aspects of coach injury prevention behavior as well as athlete movement technique. Key Words: Injury Prevention; Athletes; Education; Adolescent; Sports WORD COUNT 349/350 END OF ABSTRAC