Exploring athletic identity in elite-level English youth football: a cross-sectional approach.

This study is the first empirical investigation that has explored levels of athletic identity in elite-level English professional football. The importance of understanding athletes' psychological well-being within professional sport has been well documented. This is especially important within the professional football industry, given the high attrition rate (Anderson, G., & Miller, R. M. (2011). The academy system in English professional football: Business value or following the herd? University of Liverpool, Management School Research Paper Series. Retrieved from http://www.liv.ac.uk/managementschool/research/working%20papers/wp201143.pdf ) and distinct occupational practices (Roderick, M. (2006). The work of professional football. A labour of love? London: Routledge). A total of 168 elite youth footballers from the English professional football leagues completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). Multilevel modelling was used to examine the effect of playing level, living arrangements and year of apprentice on the total AIMS score and its subscales (i.e., social identity, exclusivity and negative affectivity). Football club explained 30% of the variance in exclusivity among players (P = .022). Mean social identity was significantly higher for those players in the first year of their apprenticeship compared to the second year (P = .025). All other effects were not statistically significant (P > .05). The novel and unique findings have practical implications in the design and implementation of career support strategies with respect to social identity. This may facilitate the maintenance of motivation over a 2-year apprenticeship and positively impact on performance levels within the professional football environment

Player Perceptions Of The Talent Development Environment In Elite English Youth Soccer Academies using the TDEQ-5

Talent development environments (TDEs) in English soccer have been a focus of increasing attention (Gledhill, Harwood, & Forsdyke, 2017, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 31, 93-112). There are concerns around balancing positive and negative subjective (e.g., psychological, social) and functional (e.g., educational) outcomes, (Rongen, Mckenna, Cobley & Till, 2018, Sport Medicine, 4, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-018-0135-2). Player’s perceptions of their environment have been previously explored using questionnaire data (Mills, Butt, Maynard & Harwood, 2014, International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching, 9, 1457-1472). However, such instruments have since been modified and adapted making meaningful interpretations problematic. The aim of this study was to investigate player perspectives of the talent development environment within English elite youth soccer academies using the most contemporary research instrument. After institutional ethical approval all participants completed the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire-5 (TDEQ-5; Li, Wang, Young, Pyun & Martindale, 2015, Journal of Sports Sciences, 33,1831-1843) in season. The TDEQ-25, the most current version, consisted of 25 items (scored out of six; long term development focus (five items), holistic quality preparation (seven items), support network (four items), communication (four items) and alignment of expectations (five items). Ninety elite youth soccer players (Mage = 17.8+0.5 years) participated in the study. The sample consisted of players from Category 1 (n=15), Category 3 (n=56) and Category 4 (n=19) soccer academies. Subscale-level analysis revealed that participants scored highest for long term development (4.73 + 0.68), support network (4.68 + 0.77), alignment of expectations (4.49 + 0.85), communication (4.29 + 1.03) and lowest for Holistic Quality Preparation (3.57+ 0.89). Item level analysis using a quartile methodology allowed for easy identification areas for strength and development respectively (Gledhill & Harwood, 2017, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 0, 1-11). The top 25% of items comprised of long-term development (n=3) and support network (n= 2). The bottom 25% of items comprised of holistic quality preparation (n= 5). The results present soccer practitioners, including coaches, with key information about the player perceptions of the TDE within elite academy soccer. Long-term development (e.g. fundamental training and rounded development) and Support network (e.g. parents and schools) were seen as strengths, whereas Holistic quality preparation (e.g. caring coach, mental preparation, and balanced life) were seen as areas for development

Tales of Critical Moments in Professional Football

The term ‘critical moments’ describes the range of experiences of professional footballers, and are defined as “frequently experienced moments in our lives where we must confront the anxiety associated with an important change in our identity” (Nesti et al. 2012, p. 23). Our understanding of such critical moments in professional and youth football (Parker, 2001; Roderick, 2006, Nesti et al., 2012) is limited. To contribute to this emerging body of knowledge the aim of this study is to present accounts of critical moments from two players in a professional football club. From a season-long ethnographic engagement at a Championship football club two critical moments are presented as creative non-fiction vignettes. The first story is about Ryan who is about to find out if he has been given a professional playing contract for next season. The second is about Kevin, who is ‘lost’ in the talent development system after an unsuccessful loan spell. The term creative non-fiction is seen as appropriate as the vignettes are based on real events but make use of literary fiction to tell the story. Such representation has been advocated in coaching settings as a reflective tool in coach development (Douglas & Careless, 2008) and has also been seen as a valuable and necessary mode of expression (Sparkes & Smith, 2009). It is hoped that these accounts may offer coaches and sport psychologists in such settings an opportunity to reflect on their practices and processes by gaining an insight into player experience of such practices and processes

Integrating Psychosocial Skill and Characteristic Development Into an English Academy Soccer Coaching Program: A Preliminary Investigation

This study aimed to assess the impact of a psychosocial development program on academy soccer players with coaches being central design and delivery. The 8 Pillars program (designed to foster Communication, Control, Commitment, Confidence, Concentration, Resilience, Presence, and Self-awareness) was delivered through player workshops, coaching practice, and coach-led environmental manipulation. A total of 25 academy soccer players (Mage 14.7 ± 0.3) completed the Psychological Characteristics of Development Excellence Questionnaire-2 pre- and postseason, and a self-report scale for each of the eight prescribed psychosocial skills and characteristics at five time points across the season. Significant (p < .05) improvement between pre- and postseason for “Imagery and Active Preparation,” “Seeking and Using Social Support,” and “Active Coping” factors within the Psychological Characteristics of Development Excellence Questionnaire-2 were evident. Significant (p < .05) improvements were shown for “Communication,” “Control,” “Commitment,” “Concentration,” and “Resilience” scales across the season. These findings give initial efficacy that a targeted, multifaceted program, largely delivered by coaches, can improve player self-reported psychosocial skills and characteristics in a U.K. academy soccer setting

A randomized controlled trial of pretransplant antiviral therapy to prevent recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection recurs in liver recipients who are viremic at transplantation. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial to test the efficacy and safety of pretransplant pegylated interferon alpha‐2b plus ribavirin (Peg‐IFN‐α2b/RBV) for prevention of post‐transplant HCV recurrence. Enrollees had HCV and were listed for liver transplantation, with either potential living donors or Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease upgrade for hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with HCV genotypes (G) 1/4/6 (n = 44/2/1) were randomized 2:1 to treatment (n = 31) or untreated control (n = 16); HCV G2/3 (n=32) were assigned to treatment. Overall, 59 were treated and 20 were not. Peg‐IFN‐α2b, starting at 0.75 μg/kg/week, and RBV, starting at 600 mg/day, were escalated as tolerated. Patients assigned to treatment versus control had similar baseline characteristics. Combined virologic response (CVR) included pretransplant sustained virologic response and post‐transplant virologic response (pTVR), defined as undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks after end of treatment or transplant, respectively. In intent‐to‐treat analyses, 12 (19%) assigned to treatment and 1 (6%) assigned to control achieved CVR ( P = 0.29); per‐protocol values were 13 (22%) and 0 (0%) ( P = 0.03). Among treated G1/4/6 patients, 23 of 30 received transplant, of whom 22% had pTVR; among treated G2/3 patients 21 of 29 received transplant, of whom 29% had pTVR. pTVR was 0%, 18%, and 50% in patients treated for 16 weeks, respectively ( P = 0.01). Serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred with similar frequency in treated versus untreated patients (68% versus 55%; P = 0.30), but the number of SAEs per patient was higher in the treated group (2.7 versus 1.3; P = 0.003). Conclusion : Pretransplant treatment with Peg‐IFN‐α2b/RBV prevents post‐transplant recurrence of HCV in selected patients. Efficacy is higher with >16 weeks of treatment, but treatment is associated with increased risk of potentially serious complications. (H EPATOLOGY 2013)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97469/1/25976_ftp.pd

Canine Respiratory Coronavirus, Bovine Coronavirus, and Human Coronavirus OC43: Receptors and Attachment Factors

Despite high similarity of canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV), bovine coronavirus, (BCoV) and human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43), these viruses differ in species specificity. For years it was believed that they share receptor specificity, utilizing sialic acids for cell surface attachment, internalization, and entry. Interestingly, careful literature analysis shows that viruses indeed bind to the cell surface via sialic acids, but there is no solid data that these moieties mediate virus entry. In our study, using a number of techniques, we showed that all three viruses are indeed able to bind to sialic acids to a different extent, but these molecules render the cells permissive only for the clinical strain of HCoV-OC43, while for others they serve only as attachment receptors. CRCoV and BCoV appear to employ human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-1) as the entry receptor. Furthermore, we identified heparan sulfate as an alternative attachment factor, but this may be related to the cell culture adaptation, as in ex vivo conditions, it does not seem to play a significant role. Summarizing, we delineated early events during CRCoV, BCoV, and HCoV-OC43 entry and systematically studied the attachment and entry receptor utilized by these viruses

Myasthenia gravis and pregnancy: clinical implications and neonatal outcome

BACKGROUND: The myasthenia gravis is twice as common in women as in men and frequently affects young women in the second and third decades of life, overlapping with the childbearing years. Generally, during pregnancy in one third of patients the disease exacerbates, whereas in two thirds it remains clinically unchanged. Complete remission can occur in some patients. METHODS: To describe the clinical course, delivery and neonatal outcome of 18 pregnant women with the diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. Retrospective chart review of pregnant patients with myasthenia gravis, followed at the National Institute of Perinatology in Mexico City over an 8-year period. Data was abstracted from the medical records on the clinical course during pregnancy, delivery and neonatal outcome. RESULTS: From January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2003 18 patients with myasthenia gravis were identified and included in the study. The mean ± SD maternal age was 27.4 ± 4.0 years. During pregnancy 2 women (11%) had an improvement in the clinical symptoms of myasthenia gravis, 7 women (39%) had clinical worsening of the condition of 9 other patients (50%) remained clinically unchanged. Nine patients delivered vaginally, 8 delivered by cesarean section and 1 pregnancy ended in fetal loss. Seventeen infants were born at mean ± SD gestational age of 37.5 ± 3.0 weeks and a mean birth weight of 2710 ± 73 g. Only one infant presented with transient neonatal myasthenia gravis. No congenital anomalies were identified in any of the newborns. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical course of myasthenia gravis during pregnancy is variable, with a significant proportion of patients experiencing worsening of the clinical symptoms. However, neonatal transient myasthenia was uncommon in our patient population