Selim Sırrı Tarcan: a Pioneer in the Development of Physical Education and Sports in Turkey

Selim Sırrı Tarcan was one of the most important significant figures of modern physical education teacher education in Turkey. He played a crucial role in the organization of physical education and sports in schools and Olympic Games in Turkey. Tarcan served as a soldier, physical educator and director of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Tarcan also wrote articles in the newspapers, held conferences on the radio and organized several meetings for spreading the physical education and sports for the purpose of public adoption. He held the first conference in the field in Istanbul when he returned from Sweden. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain contributions of Tarcan in four areas: his interest in physical education and sports, teacher preparation, contribution to formal, and informal education in Turkey

Prediction of Upper Body Strength By Using Grip Strength Test in Division II American College Football Players’ Grip Strength

The purpose of this study was to investigate if the grip strength could be used to predict upper body strength of college football players through comparing dominant grip strength and upper body strength of col­lege football players. Forty-one Division II National Col­legiate Athletic Association football players (24 defen­sive players and 17 offensive players) participated in the present study. A grip strength dynamometer was used to measure grip strength of football players and the one-repetition maximum (1RM) bench press was used to measure participants’ upper body strength. Each play­er had undergone a minimum of eight weeks of heavy resistance training during the winter off-season con­ditioning program prior to measurement. None of the participants had a serious pre-existing injury that could hinder their performance throughout the study, and participants in the study had the ability to understand and perform bench press and grip strength tests. The Pearson product-moment coefficients of correlation and a simple regression were computed to determine relationship between 1RM bench press and grip strength. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to test the differences in upper body and grip strength among offensive and defensive college football players and their player positions by using their relative strength. Notably, strength scores were divided by body weights to express bench press and grip strength relative to weight. The results of this study showed that grip strength test did not predict the upper body strength of college foot­ball players when we used the 1RM bench press strength test as a standard test to measure upper body strength of players (β = .248, p = .118)

Teaching Developmentally Appropriate Warm-Up Drills in Physical Education

The warm-up is the most important part of the physical education classes, where the student’s interest and attention are drawn and motivated towards the lesson purpose. However, many physical education teachers do not give enough attention to the beginning and warm-up part of the lesson when planning their lessons. Faigenbaum & McFarland (2007) stated that warm-up activities help prepare students for dynamic activities and increase their lesson time with physical activity. Warm-up in physical education classes is a part that should emphasize, primarily since it constitutes a basis for the main phase. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide some developmentally appropriate warm-up examples to increase the quality of the physical education lesson

Comparison of Division II College Offensive and Defensive Football Players’ Upper Body Strength Across One Repetition Maximum Test and The NFL‐225 Test

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of predicting actual one repetition maximum (1RM) bench press strength from the National Football League (NFL) 225-test in college football players. Forty-one Division II college football players participated in this study. Participants’ upper body strength scores were expressed relative to body weight and results were compared across both tests. Mayhew et al. equation was used to predict 1RM. A repeated measures ANOVA and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the groups. The present study found that the Mayhew equation overestimated relative upper body strength of college football players, while high degree of reliability was found between the actual 1RM and the NFL-225 tests [Wilks λ =0.43, F (1,40) = 53.07, p =0.000, Eta-squared =0.57] and the correlation between these two tests was very high (r =0.94, p\u3c0.001). The present study also found that defensive players were stronger than offensive players when scores were expressed relative to body weight. The finding of this study indicates that the NFL-225 test’s applicability may not be identical for all college players. This study elucidates some of the difficulties associated with predicting 1RM. However, while it is difficult to predict 1RM, testing using sub-maximal loads are far less time consuming especially when they involve a large number of athletes. The results of this study should facilitate coaches in choosing the most appropriate strength testing procedure for their programs

Physical education and gender differences in physical activity, sedentary behavior related to academic success of science-related courses for children in the State of Qatar

Background: This cross-sectional study examined gender differences in physical activity (PA), body mass index, sedentary behavior (SB), and academic performance (AP) in school-aged children in Qatar. Methods: Fifty-two schoolchildren (age: 11.9 ± 0.6 years) were assigned to gender-adjusted groups (female; n = 29). AP was calculated using the grade point averages (GPA) in Mathematics, Science, and Arabic. Additionally, the Short Form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was utilized. Results: Four parameters (peak height velocity [PHV], science, Arabic, vigorous PA) showed relevant gender effects (p < 0.05 and ηp2 > 0.10). The largest gender effect was calculated for PHV (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.45). PHV was markedly higher for males (1.65 ± 0.90) than for females (0.36 ± 0.37). Females showed a higher performance level in science (82.9 ± 8.61 vs. 77.0 ± 8.76) and Arabic (80.9 ± 8.25 vs. 73.0 ± 8.22). A significant gender difference (p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.18) was evident for vigorous MET-minutes/week (males: 1318 ± 932 vs. females: 646 ± 525). In conclusion, males exhibited the greatest amount of moderate and vigorous PA. Females spent the greatest time sitting. Arabic was different by gender, and science AP was dependent upon gender. Conclusions: These data suggest subjects in middle school are sensitive to gender, but not necessarily influenced by PA or SB at this age. Encouraging a school-based program and an after-school health club characterized by gender sensitive strategies consisting of a health class and physical education curriculum support the unique needs, interests of academic performance, and motor skills to improving health related fitness for girls compared to boys

Razina tjelesne pripremljenosti mladih odraslih osoba s intelektualnim poteškoćama i bez njih

Intellectual disability (ID) and living in residential home settings may be a disadvantage for an active lifestyle and healthy aging. The purpose of this study was to determine physical fitness levels of women with mild intellectual disabilities (n=31; mean age 22.22±3.11 years), clients of residential homes, and to compare them to the levels of their control peers (n=31; 23.16±3.12 years of age). First, cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD) of the participants were determined based on the information from residential home doctor, participants’ health reports, and blood samples. Health-related physical fitness parameters (balance, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, and flexibility) were measured, and body composition and anaerobic power were assessed. The significant differences were found between the groups (p<.05) in body mass index, muscular endurance, maximum walking distance, peak VO2, balance, flexibility, and power. The results of the study indicated that the fitness levels of women with ID were lower than those of their control peers. Women with ID should be encouraged to participate in physical activity programs to improve their physical fitness.Intelektualne poteškoće i život u domu mogu nepovoljno utjecati na aktivan životni stil i zdravo starenje. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi razinu tjelesne pripremljenosti žena s lakšim intelektualnim poteškoćama (n=31; prosječna dob 22,22 ± 3,11 godina), korisnika domova za nemoćne te ih usporediti s vrijednostima njihovih vršnjakinja u kontrolnoj skupini (n=31; dob 23,16 ± 3,12 godina). Na temelju podataka dobivenih od liječnika iz domova te zdravstvenih izvješća sudionika i analiza uzoraka krvi, najprije su određeni rizični faktori za razvoj karidiovaskularnih bolesti. Izmjereni su parametri zdravstvenog fitnesa (ravnoteža, kardiorespiratorna izdržljivost, mišićna izdržljivosti i fleksibilnost) te su procijenjeni sastav tijela i anaerobna izdržljivost. Dobivene su značajne razlike između skupina (p<=0,05) u indeksu tjelesne mase, mišićnoj izdržljivost, maksimalnoj prehodanoj udaljenosti, vršnom VO2, ravnoteži, fleksibilnosti i snazi. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je razina tjelesne pripremljenosti žena s intelektualnim poteškoćama bila niža od razine dobivene u kontrolnoj skupini njihovih vršnjakinja. Žene s intelektualnim poteškoćama trebalo bi poticati da sudjeluju u programima tjelesne aktivnosti kako bi poboljšale svoju fizičku pripremljenost

Introduction to World Taekwondo Peace Corps

[EN] The World Taekwondo Pace Corps (TPC) was created by the World Taekwondo Federation ..

An Examination of the Relationship Between Aerobic Fitness Level and Bodymass Index in 8 to 12 Year Old Children

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between 20 meter shuttle run test performance (aerobic fitness) and body mass index (BMI) among minority elementary school children of low socio-economic level in a physical education and sport program. Participants included 75 students in grades 3-6 (38 boys and 37 girls). A physician’s balance beam and a stadiometer (Holtain, UK) with the sliding vertical bar and hinged horizontal head lever were used to measure children’s weight and height. Then Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by dividing the children’s body weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. To examine relationship between 20 meter shuttle run test and BMI, the Pearson product-moment coefficients of correlation and a simple regression were computed. The results indicated that the relationship between 20 meter shuttle run test and BMI was low, negative but statistically significant (r = -.281, p \u3c.01), suggesting that a portion of this total variance may be explained by these measures. Low correlation and regression levels in this study indicate that other studies should be performed to examine such a relationship

Associations between biological maturation, physical performance, postural control, and mathematical achievement in youth soccer players

This investigation explored relationships between biological maturation, physical and academic performance in young male soccer players. Thirty-eight players (age: 9.79 ± 1.21 years; body mass index (BMI): 20.4 ± 2.39 kg/m2; body fat: 16.8 ± 2.21%) participated. Measures of anthropometry used for body mass, body fat percentage (%BF), and BMI as well. Postural control, 15 m sprint, squat jumps and counter-movement jumps (SJ, CMJ), and T-half test for change-of-direction (CoD) were parameters of physical performance. The grade point average (GPA) of mathematics determined academic attainment. Moore’s equations were used to estimate their maturity status (PHV). Biological maturation was highly correlated with most (not 15 m sprint) physical and academic performance parameters, especially CMJ (r = -0.812) and mathematics (r = -0.781). Academic performance showed the largest relations to the jumping performance (CMJ: r = 0.771; SJ: r = 0.723). In contrast, anthropometric and fatness parameters were not relevantly (r ≥ 0.5) correlated with any other parameters. The largest correlations were calculated for sitting height vs. SJ (r = -0.408), sitting height vs. postural control (r = -0.355), leg length vs. postural control (r = -0.339). As a result, it is essential to take biological maturation inconsideration while assessing the physical and academic achievement of young soccer players. In consequence, soccer coaches and physical education (PE) teachers should be cognizant of the impact of biological maturity on physical and academic performance to assist fair and equal opportunities for achievement in young players