Coaching athletes with disabilities : challenges and recommendations for effective training / Nagoor Meera Abdullah

The article briefly discusses athletes with disabilities and how their condition can be matched with suitable activities to allow them to participate in physical activity and sports. The article also aims at assisting coaches who conducts training for people with disability to understand their condition first, and then devise programs that are appropriate for their condition. Furthermore, it highlights the barriers and conditions that affect athletes with disabilities participation in sports, especially those related to the health, safety, and medical considerations that coaches should understand and manage carefully. The article offers recommendations on how coaches should train athletes with disability

Identifying the level of flexibility, speed and agility among visually impaired students / Borhan Yusof, Nagoor Meera Abdullah and Hisam Che Mat

Visually impaired and blindness can cause low level of physical capacity, posture problems, orientation difficulties, depressions and problems with balance. Previous studies had indicated that these problems existed among the visually impaired and Visually impaired and blindness . Zabriske and McCormick (2001) defined visually impaired individual as having a limited field of vision either in a tunnel vision stage where the individual have the capability to see limited light source or can detect a minimal light source that aid them in finding direction. According to Ellis (2001) and Palmer (2006), visual impairment referring to individual that have the field of vision at the rate of 40% due to different congenital eye diseases that have a very minimal mobility capacity. Therefore, the needs to do research study on the fitness levels of the visually impaired in Malaysia is crucial since there are limited data in this area especially those related to the motor abilities of the handicapped individuals. Most of the studies done in this area are related to the education development of the VI and TB which focus on the educational instructions, visual aids apparatus, program structures and mainstream programming. However, there are no studies focus on the fitness levels of the VI and TB especially those measuring the level of flexibility, speed and strength of the handicapped individuals

Paralympic movement in Malaysia: The achievement of high-performance para sports

The article elaborates on the achievement of the Malaysian athletes with disabilities locally and also in international scenes. Malaysian athletes start to participate in international competition since 1962, and local games had been organized back in 1982 with the introduction of the Paralympic Games. The article also illustrates the medal achievement where Malaysian contingent achieved a total of 1700 medals at the ASEAN Para Games from 2001-2017. In FESPIC and Asian Para Games, a total of 582 medals was won from the year 1982-2018. At the FESPIC and Asian Youth Para Games, a total of 189 medals won from the year 2003-2017. The highest achievement came from the Paralympic games as Malaysian won 11 medals in total from the year 1962-2016. More need to be done to establish para sports in Malaysia with the support of every parties including the government and the media

The correlation between agility and performance among blind and visually impaired athletes

Regular physical activity has benefits on physical fitness among visually impaired athletes. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the motor fitness of agility influences the performance of the athletes. Total of 39 athletes (24 males and 15 females) were recruited for this study and were differentiate between their medical classes (totally blind athletes (B1) – male (n=10); females (n=8) and partially blind athletes (B2)- males (n=14); females (n=7). Subject?s height and weight was measured to determine the BMI level. Subjects was also required to undergo the lateral change of direction test was used to determine the agility among the athletes. Each of the subjects was required to complete 2 trials and the average score was recorded. The entire tests were analyzed using SPSS and presented as mean. Independent T-Test showed that there are significant differences in agility levels between b1 and B2 athletes. Correlation was also significant (p < 0.01; r = –.581) between classification groups and tests time scores. B1 and B2 athlete?s agility levels were slightly difference which also will affect their performance. Based on this data, future studies were suggested on non-athletes population

Positive coping strategies and performance level among Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) athletes

Anxiety is one of the main barriers that impact on performance among athletes and countless researches have been conducted on coping strategy techniques to reduce anxiety among athletes. Coping strategies involve positive or negative techniques. Positive techniques include positive self-talk, physical activity, goal setting, thinking on practice, thought stopping, remembering the worst-case scenario, focus on what you can control, imagery, meditation, simulation, breathing techniques, progressive relaxation, autogenic training and biofeedback, while, negative techniques include drugs, alcohol and smoking.The present study sought to explore potential positive coping techniques used by athletes as influence by demographic variables of athletes.The sample consisted of 78 Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) athletes. The sample was drawn from athletes who competed in MASUM (Sport between Universities).Results showed that imagery have the highest usage among athletes. National athletes used more postive coping techniques than state, district, and university level athletes.Positive coping techniques of high level performance athletes were more than medium and low level performance athletes.The findings emphasized the importance of positive coping strategies to enhance performance.Sport psychologists, sport counselors and coaches should encourage their athletes to use positive coping strategies to improve performance

Inclusive Instruction in Elementary Physical Education: A Study of Teachers' Beliefs and Attitudes

Teachers' beliefs and attitudes about teaching students with disabilities in a physical education setting are the most important factors in inclusive education, as teachers' attitudes directly influence success in learning. This study aimed to assess physical education teachers' beliefs and attitudes regarding teaching students with disabilities in inclusive primary schools. A qualitative approach was used with a sample of 12 physical education teachers from 24 inclusive education-provider schools in Pekanbaru. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observation checklists and analysed using content analysis. Findings showed significant variation in teachers' beliefs regarding the potential of students with disabilities in physical education. While some teachers showed a strong belief in the abilities of these students, others remained sceptical. In addition, some teachers were more confident in teaching students with mild disabilities compared to students with more severe disabilities. These findings underline the importance of improving teachers' understanding of the potential of students with disabilities in the context of physical education. This research contributes to a better understanding of physical education teachers' perspectives on inclusive education, which serves as a basis for improving training and support strategies for teachers who face challenges in teaching students with diverse disabilities. Furthermore, the research highlights the importance of creating an inclusive school environment to support more effective inclusive education practices

Psychological skills assessment and referee rugby sevens performance

This study aims to examine the psychological skills that are commonly used among referees rugby sevens and their relationship with referees’ performance. The Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987) was adapted and modified specifically for use by rugby sevens referees. It was administered to 132 rugby sevens referee (mean age 33.4 + 1.5 years; 132 males) of the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) which has been refereed in 10 rugby sevens tournament in Malaysia. The psychological skills variables employed in the questionnaire included confidence, anxiety management, mental preparation, motivation and concentration. The IRB Referee Sevens Performance Evaluation Form (r=0.94) was used to evaluate referee performance. These instruments measure the performance variable that contains the dimensions of control, communication, application of the law and the positioning. The descriptive statistics of the variables are Psychological skills (M= 120.14, SD= 6.97) and performance (M= 136.45, SD= 4.47) identified at a moderate level. Findings indicated no significant differences [F= (3, 72) =.636, p>0.05] in psychological skills across age levels but there are significant differences [F= (3, 128) =57.616, p<0.05] across experience levels. Highly experienced referees scored significantly higher in all psychological constructs compared to less experienced referees. Variables that showed strong and positive relationships with performance were anxiety management (r= .61), concentration (r= .57), confidence(r= .54) and motivation (r= .50). In conclusion, the psychological skills assessment can improve the efficacy of rugby referees and recommends that referee coaches increase the use of psychological skills in competitions and future training. Researchers should investigate the effectiveness of applied sport psychology interventions in enhancing referee performance in the future

Psychological skills assessment and referee rugby sevens performance

This study aims to examine the psychological skills that are commonly used among referees rugby sevens and their relationship with referees’ performance. The Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987) was adapted and modified specifically for use by rugby sevens referees. It was administered to 132 rugby sevens referee (mean age 33.4 + 1.5 years; 132 males) of the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU) which has been refereed in 10 rugby sevens tournament in Malaysia. The psychological skills variables employed in the questionnaire included confidence, anxiety management, mental preparation, motivation and concentration. The IRB Referee Sevens Performance Evaluation Form (r=0.94) was used to evaluate referee performance. These instruments measure the performance variable that contains the dimensions of control, communication, application of the law and the positioning. The descriptive statistics of the variables are Psychological skills (M= 120.14, SD= 6.97) and performance (M= 136.45, SD= 4.47) identified at a moderate level. Findings indicated no significant differences [F= (3, 72) =.636, p>0.05] in psychological skills across age levels but there are significant differences [F= (3, 128) =57.616, p<0.05] across experience levels. Highly experienced referees scored significantly higher in all psychological constructs compared to less experienced referees. Variables that showed strong and positive relationships with performance were anxiety management (r= .61), concentration (r= .57), confidence(r= .54) and motivation (r= .50). In conclusion, the psychological skills assessment can improve the efficacy of rugby referees and recommends that referee coaches increase the use of psychological skills in competitions and future training. Researchers should investigate the effectiveness of applied sport psychology interventions in enhancing referee performance in the future

The importance of physical activity participation among persons with disabilities

Participation in physical activity and sports is beneficial for psychosocial health among children and adolescents with a disability. People with disabilities are far less likely to engage in physically active lifestyles than are people without disabilities. This study was conducted to investigate the importance of physical activity participation for persons with disabilities. A total of 100 (men = 59, women = 41) persons with disabilities aged between 10 to 40 years old participated in the study. The instrument used was The Benefits of Exercise towards Persons with Disabilities and Social Support to Exercise for Persons with Disabilities developed by Rauzon designed to investigate the importance of physical activity for disabled persons. The research instrument used for this study was a questionnaire on demographics, the benefits of exercise and social support for exercise. Overall, both men and women agreed with five main statements regarding the benefits of exercise: that they can improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels, help to avoid disease, give more energy, help to relieve tension and to have a more positive outlook on life. There is no significant relationship between family support and physical activity participation. However, for social support, there is a significant relationship between friend support and physical activity participation. The most selected statements for social support for both men and women such as offer to exercise with them, complain about the time they spend for exercise, fun exercise, rewards and help to plan activities around their exercise. Physical activity participation for persons with abilities appears to have many benefits, and this knowledge should be shared not only among the disabled but also the non-disabled as it will help them to become better caregivers who will encourage and support the disabled in physical activities. For a deeper insight, further research with more variables is recommended