The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL): A Review of Literature and Its Reflection of Gender Issues

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was the first, and to date, the only women’s professional baseball league in United States history. Yet many people are unaware of the league’s existence. The purposes of this paper are to (1) review the historical and research literature on the AAGPBL, (2) examine the reflections on gender issues within this literature, and (3) discuss how these issues contributed to the success and failure of the AAGPBL. The published historical documentation and archived artifacts of the AAGPBL are quite thorough; however, research on the league is limited. Gender issues, such as the female apologetic, marginalization, and feminist reconstruction of sport are evident throughout the league’s existence. These issues enhanced the league’s success, but also contributed to its demise. The pioneering efforts of the women of the AAGPBL created a new vision of opportunity for girls and women in sport that still resonates today

Telling her-story: recovering lost history of Linfield women’s athletics: searching NCWSA archives

This project was part of a larger sabbatical project to reconstruct the missing history of Linfield women’s athletics. Specifically, this grant funded travel to Washington State University to review the archived special collection on the Northwest College Women’s Sports Association (NCWSA), the regional structure in which Linfield women’s athletics competed from 1967-83. The grant also funded travel to Lewis and Clark College to review the archived special collection on the Northwest Conference (NWC) in hopes of locating archived documents on the Women’s Conference of Independent Colleges (WCIC). The WCIC was the conference in which Linfield women’s athletics competed from 1964-85. Although there was minimal WCIC documentation contained in the NWC collection, what was there along with the NCWSA documentation helped reconstruct portions of regional tournaments and results, coaching tenures, participant lists, budgets, administrative structures and policies, and post-season honors relative to Linfield women’s athletics. This information helps create a more accurate representation of the history of Linfield women’s athletics. The information also adds to materials and activities used in the teaching of HHPA 410 – Gender Issues in Education and Sport and provides direction for future faculty-student collaborative projects to gather narrative histories that will be housed in the Linfield archives

Relationship between Anxiety, Self-Confidence, and Evaluation of Coaching Behaviors

Two experiments examined Smoll and Smith\u27s (1989) model of leadership behaviors in sport. The coaching behaviors of a male head coach of a collegiate women\u27s basketball team (n=11 players) were examined. The data supported competitive trait anxiety as an individual-difference variable that mediates athletes\u27 perception and evaluation of coaching behaviors. There also was support for adding athletes\u27 state cognitive anxiety, state self-confidence and perception of the coach\u27s cognitive anxiety to the model as individual-difference variables. Athletes who scored high in trait anxiety (p\u3c.001) and state cognitive anxiety (p\u3c.05) and low in state self-confidence (p\u3c.05), and athletes who perceived the coach as high in state cognitive anxiety (p\u3c.001), evaluated coaching behavior more negatively. Game outcome may influence the effect of self-confidence in mediating athletes\u27 perception and evaluation of coaching behaviors. Additionally, athletes perceived several specific coaching behaviors more negatively than did the coach, and athletes drastically overestimated their coach\u27s self-reported pregame cognitive and somatic anxiety and underestimated his self-confidence. Overall, the results suggest that coaches should be more supportive and less negative with high anxious and low self-confident athletes

Making return-to-play decisions in competitive sport: challenges, coping, and preparation among athletic trainers

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2014. Major: Kinesiology. Advisor: Diane A. Wiese-Bjornstal. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 208 pages; appendices A-C.Athletic trainers are challenged by the task of making ethical return-to-play (RTP) decisions in a sport culture that normalizes pain and playing through injury. The purposes of this study were to examine within an athletic training sample a) the accuracy, applicability and comprehensiveness of Creighton et al.'s (2010) decision-based RTP model, b) to what extent and under what circumstances decision-modifier variables influence RTP decisions, and c) athletic trainers' strategies and perceptions of their professional preparation for dealing with decision-modifier variables in RTP decisions. Twelve certified athletic trainers of various ages (M = 34.67 yrs, SD = 6.12 yrs) and with varied professional experience (M = 12.08 yrs, SD = 6.08 yrs) participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences making RTP decisions. Template analysis (King, 1998) and thematic coding (Braun & Clarke, 2006) were used to analyze the data. The 3-step decision-making process was supported; however, modifications were necessary. Medical factors considered in step one included signs and symptoms, functional testing, physical healing, psychological state and personal medical history. In step two, all of Creighton et al.'s (2010) sport risk modifiers were retained and potential seriousness, environmental conditions, expertise of physicians and psychological state were added. Decision modifier variables in step 3 of the model were expanded. External modifier variables included situational pressures, such as game and player importance, time issues, and competitive level; external people, such as athletes, parents, coaches, agents, non-team physicians, administration, management, media other athletic trainers, and officials; and sources of financial conflict of interest, such as bonuses, incentives or the athletes' financial state. Internal decision modifier variables included anxieties over job security, litigation, or professional reputation, and personal factors, such as age and experience, emotional attachment, personal biases, and gender. An external by internal interaction effect increased the potential for RTP decision modification. Strategies suggested for coping with potential decision modifier variables included establishing objective, evidence-based protocols, educating and establishing trusting relationships with stakeholders, creating a positive work environment, and fostering confidence in decision-making skills. Shortcomings in current professional preparation are outlined, and a framework for improving athletic training education efforts is provided.Kenow, Laura J.. (2014). Making return-to-play decisions in competitive sport: challenges, coping, and preparation among athletic trainers. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/163775

Winning or not winning: the influence on coach-athlete relationships and goal achievement

This study analyses the relation between sports success and athletes’ perception of coaches’ leadership, athletes’ satisfaction with coaches’ leadership, coach-athlete compatibility, and goal achievement. Sixty-six athletes who qualified for the final Division I play-offs of a professional volleyball championship were grouped into winning (n = 21) and non-winning teams (n = 45). Leadership styles, satisfaction with leadership, coach-athlete compatibility, and goal achievement were evaluated. Analysis of variance with repeated-measures revealed that the winning teams evaluated their coaches’ vision, inspiration, technical instruction, positive feedback, and active management more positively than non-winning teams and that their satisfaction with coaches’ strategies increased over time. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that the winning teams’ perceived achievement of personal and team goals was greater than that of the non-winning teams. Sports success was associated with athletes’ positive evaluation of coaches’ leadership, satisfaction with coaches’ strategy, and higher perceived goal attainment

Spatially Explicit Network Analysis Reveals Multi‐Species Annual Cycle Movement Patterns of Sea Ducks

Conservation of long‐distance migratory species poses unique challenges. Migratory connectivity, that is, the extent to which groupings of individuals at breeding sites are maintained in wintering areas, is frequently used to evaluate population structure and assess use of key habitat areas. However, for species with complex or variable annual cycle movements, this traditional bimodal framework of migratory connectivity may be overly simplistic. Like many other waterfowl, sea ducks often travel to specific pre‐ and post‐breeding sites outside their nesting and wintering areas to prepare for migration by feeding extensively and, in some cases, molting their flight feathers. These additional migrations may play a key role in population structure, but are not included in traditional models of migratory connectivity. Network analysis, which applies graph theory to assess linkages between discrete locations or entities, offers a powerful tool for quantitatively assessing the contributions of different sites used throughout the annual cycle to complex spatial networks. We collected satellite telemetry data on annual cycle movements of 672 individual sea ducks of five species from throughout eastern North America and the Great Lakes. From these data, we constructed a multi‐species network model of migratory patterns and site use over the course of breeding, molting, wintering, and migratory staging. Our results highlight inter‐ and intra‐specific differences in the patterns and complexity of annual cycle movement patterns, including the central importance of staging and molting sites in James Bay, the St. Lawrence River, and southern New England to multi‐species annual cycle habitat linkages, and highlight the value of Long‐tailed Ducks (Calengula haemalis) as an umbrella species to represent the movement patterns of multiple sea duck species. We also discuss potential applications of network migration models to conservation prioritization, identification of population units, and integrating different data streams

Implanted Satellite Transmitters Affect Sea Duck Movement Patterns at Short and Long Timescales

Studies of the effects of transmitters on wildlife often focus on survival. However, sublethal behavioral changes resulting from radio-marking have the potential to affect inferences from telemetry data and may vary based on individual and environmental characteristics. We used a long-term, multi-species tracking study of sea ducks to assess behavioral patterns at multiple temporal scales following implantation of intracoelomic satellite transmitters. We applied state-space models to assess short-term behavioral patterns in 476 individuals with implanted satellite transmitters, as well as comparing breeding site attendance and migratory phenology across multiple years after capture. In the short term, our results suggest an increase in dispersive behavior immediately following capture and transmitter implantation; however, behavior returned to seasonally average patterns within ~5 days after release. Over multiple years, we found that breeding site attendance by both males and females was depressed during the first breeding season after radio-marking relative to subsequent years, with larger relative decreases in breeding site attendance among males than females. We also found that spring and breeding migrations occurred later in the first year after radio-marking than in subsequent years. Across all behavioral effects, the severity of behavioral change often varied by species, sex, age, and capture season. We conclude that, although individuals appear to adjust relatively quickly (i.e. within 1 week) to implanted satellite transmitters, changes in breeding phenology may occur over the longer term and should be considered when analyzing and reporting telemetry data

‘The Coaching Needs of High Performance Female Athletes within the Coach-Athlete Dyad’

Within the research literature there is little work that has examined how coaches (and coaching) can positively influence female athletes’ continued participation and development in performance sport. With this in mind, utilising a grounded theory approach, this study focused on what are the coaching preferences of female athletes within the elite coachathlete dyad. Through interviews with 27 current high performance female athletes, four major coaching needs were found. These were: to be supported as person as well a performer, coaching to be a joint endeavour, the need for positive communication and finally, recognition of the salience of gender within the coach-athlete dyad. The findings provide evidence that the relational expertise of coaches is at the forefront of these women’s coaching needs. This study also demonstrates that for the participants, the coach-athlete relationship is at the heart of improving athletic training and performance, and that gender is an important influence on this relationship. Furthermore, the research highlights the strength of using an interpretive-qualitative paradigmatic approach to athlete preferences through foregrounding the women’s voices and experiences