An exploratory study of self-efficacy and attitudes on self-care health behaviors among Greek Naval Academy cadets. An application of the Theory of Planned

Many health conditions are caused by risk behaviors, such as problem drinking, substance use, and smoking. Health-compromising behaviors can be eliminated by self-regulatory efforts, and health-enhancing behaviors can be adopted instead, such as physical activity, weight control, and preventive nutrition.  Literature review indicated the negative correlation between smoking and exercise, suggesting that smoking status has been positively associated with weight-loss intention, but negatively correlated with use of exercise.  Additionally, smoking is negatively associated with readiness for participation in vigorous exercise. Research supports the fact that healthy diet can prevent and manage cardiovascular diseases and orthopaedic disorders. Facts indicate that if interventions foster exercise habits, this could facilitate transfer effects from one health behavior to the other.  The aim of the study was to investigate the involvement of self-efficacy and attitudes on self-care health behaviors such as eating, smoking and exercise habits.  The sample consisted of 185 cadets of the Greek Naval Academy (165 men, 20 women).  They completed the Greek versions of the “Theory of Planned Behavior” and “Health Behavior” questionnaires.  Results indicated that youngest cadets reported healthier habits than the older ones.  More specifically, they were more positive oriented on eating healthier, and exercising, and more negatively oriented towards smoking.  Overall, results shine for the first time some light on crucial and important aspects of prediction of intentions among healthy and unhealthy behaviors of military personnel

The effect of self-talk on Tae-kwon-do skills’ learning of novice athletes and perceived use of it

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of instructional self-talk on performance and learning two basic skills of W.T.F Tae-kwon-do (Ap chagi and Bandae jireugi), in the perceived use of self-talk of novice athletes as well as in the possible correlation between the dimensions (effort, automaticity, cognitive and emotional control, self-confidence and attention) of the “Functions of Self-Talk Questionnaire,-FSTQ” (Theodorakis, Hatzigeorgiadis & Chroni, 2008). The sample consisted of 36 novice boys and girls, 8-12 years old (M=9.53, SD=1.53) and were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental (instructional self-talk group, N = 18) and the control group (N = 18). The intervention program lasted 8 weeks (2 sessions per week). Before starting the practice of skills, the participants spoke aloud specific key-words for the proper use of the technical skill. Participants were evaluated with a pre-test in the beginning of the program, a post-test at the end and one week after the final test they were evaluated in retention test. Moreover the evaluation of skill involved ten trials every skill, which were recorded by a digital camera and evaluated in five main elements of skill, by two observers. The result showed that the instructional self-talk was more effective for performance and learning the skills than the group that received feedback with traditional teaching. The use of instructional self-talk on younger athletes helped them to learn the skills but also to develop the psychological dimensions of the questionnaire (effort, automaticity, cognitive and emotional control, self-confidence and attention). Instructional self-talk can be an additional tool in the hands of the coach / physical education teacher for teaching and improving skill performances in other sports

Learning tennis skill through game Play and Stay in elementary pupils

This study aimed to examine the effect of Play and Stay tennis program on learning the service skill on Elementary School pupils and the development of their satisfaction. Sixty-two (62) 5th class Elementary pupils, aged 11 years (Mean Age=11.13, SD=0.33) took part. The pupils, from four classes of two national elementary schools (two classes from each school), were divided into two groups: the experimental group which followed the Play and Stay program, and the control group which followed the traditional teaching method. The four-week course was held during the Physical Education lessons, (20 min of 3 hours/week). A quantitative evaluation was made on 10 trials at the service by each pupil. The qualitative evaluation of the technique was made (video-taping, observation, and a 5-element skill assessment) for service learning, comprising of: an initial test at the beginning, a final test at the end, and a retention test one week after completing the program without any practice. At the end of the course, all participants completed a feedback questionnaire on the level of satisfaction with the program. ANOVA repeated measures revealed significant interaction between groups and measurements for technique evaluation (F(2.120)=30.82, p<0.01), as well as the outcome of service skill (F(2.120)=10.44, p<0.01). The t-test analysis for independent samples showed significant differences between the experimental and the control group in four of the six variables on the satisfaction questionnaire. These findings indicate that the Play and Stay tennis teaching program was effective in helping pupils to learn the service skill, while simultaneously having fun and enjoying the procedure. This suggests that students will be motivated to become more involved in tennis as a sport, since enjoyment and satisfaction stimulate interest in participation

THE EFFECT OF SELF-REGULATED FEEDBACK ON ACQUISITION AND LEARNING THE OVERHAND SERVICE SKILL OF NOVICE FEMALE ATHLETES IN VOLLEYBALL

The purpose of the present research was to study the effect of self-regulated feedback on the acquisition and learning of the volleyball overhand service skill in novice female players 10-11 years old. Twenty-eight (28) novice female athletes aged 10-11 years old and with a 2- year training experience participated in this study. The female athletes were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental (n=14) and the control group (n=14). The athletes of both groups followed a five week training program with two units per week, which included drills for the learning of the service skill. The athletes of the experimental group were able to ask for feedback whenever they wished, while the athletes of the control group followed the program for learning the skill, taking feedback (knowledge of performance), whenever it was considered necessary by the coach. The results showed that there were significant differences between the two groups in learning the skill. Specifically, the experimental group was better at all the elements of the service skill, except for the throw of the ball, which apparently is due to lack of coordination of athletes at this age. It is suggested that coaches can use the self-regulated feedback, for better performance and learning and to develop athletes’ internal cognitive processes

Volleyball coaches behavior assessment through systematic observation

The purpose of this study was to record and evaluate the practice behaviors of 12 Greek Volleyball National Division coaches, mean age 47.36 (SD=6.1) through feedback that they provided to their athletes throughout the 2010-11 seasons. Verbal and non verbal behaviors were video recorded during four practices, of each coach. A total of 13.400 behaviors were observed and were coded using the Revised Coaching Behavior Recording Form which corresponded to the 12 categories of the instrument. The analyses of videotaped behaviors were made by two trained observers who were checked in the internal and external reliability. Results indicated that there were 279.11 coded coaching behaviors in each training session. A large proportion of reported coaching behaviors 17.38% (n=48.34) were about "Tactical Instruction", followed by "General Instruction" 15.92% (n=44.45) and "Technical Instruction" 12.42% (n=34.68). "Encouragement" and "Motivation" were 10.76% and 10.73% respectively. "Other Comments" (8.67%) and "Demonstration" (8.26%) were in lower rate. ANOVA revealed that there were not differences between 1st and 2nd division coaching behavior, instead of "Criticism" (p < 0.05) with 2nd division coaches have more comments and "Non verbal reward" (p < 0.05) which 1st division coaches were used more often

The attentional focus impact on tennis skills’ technique in 10 and under years old players: Implications for real game situations

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of the internal and external focus of attention instructions on performance and learning of the service, forehand and backhand tennis skills at 8 – 9 years old tennis players. 68 participants of 8 – 9 years old (M=8.8, SD=0.54), were divided in three groups and followed a 6 weeks intervention program; the internal attentional focus group (N=21), the external attentional group (N=23) and the control group (N=24). Three measurements were implemented (pre, post, retention) in which the participants were video recorded: a) while performing each skill and b) while playing matches in real game situations. Due to the qualitative evaluation of the technique five assessment criteria were used, whilst due to performance outcome evaluation one part of the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant interaction between groups and measurements and Bonferroni post hoc showed that the athletes of external focus of attention group had better scores in the post-test in the skills’ technique and in real game condition. The findings are in line with those of previous studies, which proved the superiority of external focus of attention instructions in performance and learning of object manipulation skills. Moreover, the present research makes an initial attempt to extend the already existing research about attentional focus impact on real game performance

The height of the women’s winners FIVB Beach Volleyball in relation to specialization and court dimensions

The purpose of this paper is to record and compare the height of women’s winners in FIVB competitions in relation to their specialization and court dimensions (9×9 m and 8×8 m). The heights of 56 winners in 217 tournaments were processed. The winners were split in three groups depending on their specialization: 21 Defenders (DE), 22 Blockers (BL) and 13 without any specialization (No Specialization - NS). The average height of winners was found to be 178.8 ± 6.1cm (min= 165 cm and max=191 cm). The one way ANOVA showed that there were significant differences (F(2,53)= 20.198, p<0.001) between the DE, BL and NS players. The Post Hoc Scheffe indicated significant differences between the DE (M=173.7, SD=4.9 cm) and BL (M=182.1, SD=5.2 cm), as between DE and the NS (M=181.1, SD=3.2 cm). Also, significant difference was found (F(5,60) = 12.210, p<0.001) between the DE9×9, DE8×8, BL9×9, BL8×8, NS9×9 and NS8×8. The Post Hoc Scheffe indicated significant differences (p<0.05) between the DE9×9 (M=171.8, SD=4.7 cm) and BL9×9 (M=180.0, SD=2.8 cm), as (p<0.05) between BL8×8 (M=182.9, SD=5.6 cm) and DE9×9 (M=173.7, SD=5.1 cm. Also between NS9×9 (M=179.7, SD=2.3 cm) and DE9×9. Furthermore, the independent t-test found significant difference (t(18)=2.717, p<0.05) between the 10 first blockers in victories at 8×8 m (M=182.6, SD=5.0) and 9×9 m (M=177.0, SD=4.2). Overall, when considering heights versus specializations, blockers and not specialized players were taller than defenders for both court dimensions. Moreover, the top ten blockers in 8×8 courts were taller than those in 9×9, while defenders had no statistically significant difference. Smaller court dimensions appear to have favored taller players in the FIVB top ten winning teams in Beach Volleyball due to the greatest significance of blocking. But, the importance of agility in defense favored players with such skills and was not depend on height

Multimedia As a New Approach for Learning in Physical Education

Aim: To present the relevant research results that enhance the possibilities presented today with the use of multimedia applications. An attempt was made to explain its importance in the learning process in general and motor skills in particular. At the same time, we try to define the implementation process and the flags that need attention for the best possible results. Nowadays the use of digital technology has reached very high levels. Especially in the last two years with the COVID-19 pandemic, where distance learning was most used. Teachers have learned to use these digital tools to create attractive lessons for their students, who are already introduced to digital technology in their lives. The use of multimedia in education, as many research suggests, is a modern learning tool in the classroom, but recently they have been used in both physical education and sport. The effectiveness of multimedia use is based on the theory of visualization of information that helps the student store this information in their memory for subsequent recall, make the course more attractive/pleasant, so students are motivated to learn. In PA and sports it is used as a helpful tool, since the master of learning is practice. The means used to present multimedia in the classroom can be tablets, mobile phones, a laptop with a large screen view at the same time