Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating A Current Athlete Assessment Program, David Fish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the effectiveness of a questionnaire designed to assess coaches’ perceptions of an athlete monitoring program. There are four reasons for this examination of perceptions: 1) it may serve as a check for understanding of how the coach takes in the information presented to them, 2) identify any gaps in the knowledge of the coach which the sport scientist may help to fill, 3) can serve to open a dialog with the coach for ways in which the information may be better tailored to help them improve their decision-making, and 4) the …

The Impact Of Body Image On Self-Confidence In Elite Dancers, Carissa Bethel

Applied Sport & Performance Psychology | Literature Reviews

In athletics and the performing arts, athletes and performers are expected to maintain a healthy, strong, and athletic physique. Specific professions foster a thin body image amongst athletes, which are expected to be maintained. Pressure to maintain low weight or an athletic body has been considered a risk factor for developing body image dissatisfaction (Nascimento, Luna, Fontenelle, 2012). Previous research has shown that from a health perspective body satisfaction is one of the crucial factors in the prevention of unhealthy, weight related behaviors, especially in female athletes (Kantanista et al., 2018). The research addresses body image concerns in elite performance …

Medicine Balls Training In The Sequence Of Complex Handball Training Versus Only Handball Training: Effects On Physical Fitness In Pre-Adolescence Female Handball Players, Natalia Chukhlantseva

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Introduction: The inclusion of the training process of pre-adolescent female athletes with additional means helps to optimize exercise influences. The study aims to estimate the influence of a 16-week program of handball training with medicine balls in comparison with a program of handball training on the physical and special training of beginner handball players. Methods: Female athletes were randomly divided into an experimental (n = 30; 11.23 ±0.41 years) and a control (n = 32; 10.99 ± 0.4 years) group. Training sessions of both groups were conducted according to the existing curriculum, but the experimental group replaced part …

Division I Softball Athletes' Perceptions On Stress, Coping, Performance, And Mental Health, Rhianna Weall

LSU Master's Theses

Collegiate athletes face numerous stressors in both athletic and academic areas of performance. Their perceptions of situations dictate coping responses and their ability to enact behavior or implement strategies to manage stress levels. This study investigated perceived stress and coping strategies using semi-structured in-person interviews with five current NCAA Division I softball players. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: (a) Pressure is Privilege, (b) Team Dynamic and Identity Development, (c) Softball-Centrism. In the first theme, pressure is viewed as a positive aspect and as an opportunity to perform in areas of high and low levels of confidence. Within the …

Characteristics Of The Efficiency Of Actions Of Top-Level Goalkeepers In Soccer, Andrzej Szwarc, Michał Chamera, Henryk Duda, Daniel Memmert, Lukasz Radziminski

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

The aim of this study was to present the characteristics of the actions efficiency in elite goalkeepers. 54 observations of 25 goalkeepers participating in 27 matches of the World and the European Championships and the Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America held in the years 2014–2019 were included. The study applied a method of observation. Game data were registered on a self-developed observation sheet. Goalkeepers’ activity, effectiveness, and reliability with a view to implementing the objectives of the game were analyzed in offensive and in defense. It was found that in the elite goalkeepers’ game, offensive actions constitute 62% …

Playing Down To The Competition? Making Sense Of A Golfer's Frequently Used Excuse, Alejandro J. Regalado

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Golf is a sport that continues to develop throughout the years. The development of the sport exceeds the fascinating technological advances of the clubs, balls and gadgets and has taken a new sector of people by storm. Every year golf seems to capture a new audience and more over a new generation of women have taken a liking to the sport. With all these great advances there still seems to be a question out there on why performance fluctuates so much?

This fluctuation can be seen by the avid sports observer on any weekend of a PGA tour event, yearly …

The Effect Of Rest Interval Length On The Repetitions Recovery During Lower Body Resistance Exercises, Hamid Arazi, Morteza Sangdevini, Mohammad Reza Hossein Abadi, Amin Sohbatzadeh

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: The purpose of the current study was to compare the effect of two different rest intervals on the number of repetitions performed in lower body resistance exercises in consecutive sets. Material/Methods: 12 trained men (age 22.85 ±1.7 yrs; height 175.63 ±4.6 cm; weight 75.54 ±4.8 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. The subjects completed two experimental sessions that consisted of 6 lower body exercises for 3 sets with 8RM (repetition maximum) load. The two experimental sessions differed only in the length of the rest interval between the sets and exercises: one session with 1-minute and the other sessions …

Study Regarding The Role Of Motivation In The Sport Performance Activities, Paul Florian Dragos

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: What does it mean to be motivated? This is a question often formulated by psychologists and other researchers of human behavior. However it is a question which interests more or less managers and coaches, but the produced effects can be determinative for the activity of sports performance at all levels. Material/Methods: The present work aims to analyze the measurements in which the actions connected to athletes’ motivation , undertaken by sports organizations, influence and support their activities in order to increase performance. For this purpose we used the literature survey, a questionnaire, data analysis and data processing. This research …

The Efficiency Of Executing Technical Actions By Female Volleyball Players Depending On Their Positions On The Court, Karol Cieminski

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: The aim of the study was to determine differences in the efficiency of executing technical actions by female volleyball players taking into account their positions on the court. Material/Methods: The research material comprised results of the efficiency of female volleyball players’ technical actions (n = 98) participating in the 2015 Women’s European Volleyball Championship. The subjects were divided into five groups: receivers, middle blockers, spikers, setters, and liberoes. The following technical actions were analysed: attack, block, serve, and receiving a serve. In order to determine the differences between the studied groups, statistical tests were used. The Scheffe test was …

Differences Between Official And Non-Official Matches In Worst-Case Scenarios In Elite Futsal Players, Konstantinos Spyrou, Tomás T. Freitas, Elena Marín-Cascales, Rubén Herrero-Carrasco, Pedro E. Alcaraz

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: ‪This study aimed to compare the worst-case scenarios (WCS) between official (OFF) and non-official (Non-OFF) matches, in different time-periods in an elite futsal team. Material and methods: Twenty-six games were divided into OFF (n = 13) and Non-OFF (n = 13). The WCS were calculated using: two methods, rolling averages (ROLL) and fixed-periods (FIX); four-length epochs (30-s, 1-, 3-, and 5-min); and player load per minute (PL·min-1). Results: Considering ROLL, significant and small differences were found in PL·min-1, with higher intensity in 30-s (p = 0.001; ES = -0.53) and 1-min (p = 0.001; ES = -0.47) in OFF …

Lifeguard Performance Skills: A Systematic Review, Paulo Santiago, Filipe Maia, Sandra Santiago, Daniel Duarte, Pedro Teques

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and lifeguards’ action can be regarded as a significant contribution to change that reality. In this regard, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors associated with lifeguards’ performance. After extensive research on PsycArticles, PsicBooks, PsycInfo, SportDiscus, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and SportDiscus databases, containing the keywords “lifeguard” AND “performance”, “lifeguard” AND “skills” and “lifeguard” AND “drowning”, we obtained 429 research articles. After eliminating duplicates, excluding those that had no relevance to the study, and screening against set criteria, a total of five articles were fully reviewed. …

Differences In Performance Anxiety Between Expert And Amateur Dressage Riders, Hanna E. Benne

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Performance anxiety is a challenge most individuals in a sport face. From experts to novices in dressage, various individuals attempt to find harmony between horse and rider. Performance is a large part of dressage sport riding. This thesis will examine the following topics: the differences in expert and amateurs’ performance anxiety; the anxiety level of an expert or amateur who has been involved in a sport related injury; if the individual has a neurotic personality, whether more performance anxiety may occur while riding. A Mini IPIP five-factor personality test, Sports anxiety scale, Sports injury anxiety scales, and dressage questionnaires will …

Pengaruh Latihan Mandiri Dalam Rangka Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat: Study Kasus Atlet Pencak Silat Kabupaten Karawang, Rian Tri Prayogo, Sendy Mohamad Anugrah, Ardhika Falaahudin, Dody Tri Iwandana, Rifqi Festiawan

Jurnal Keolahragaan

Pembatasan kegiatan masyarakat akibat penyebaran virus covid-19 telah mengubah olahraga di Indonesia sehingga memaksa para atlet untuk melakukan latihan mandiri di tempat tinggalnya masing-masing dengan program latihan yang dibuat oleh para pelatihnya. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah membandingkan kapasitas aerobik, aspek kelincahan, dan daya tahan otot lokal atlet pencak silat sebelum dan sesudah masa latihan mandiri. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskritptif dengan melibatkan 12 atlet pencak silat putra kategori tanding Kabupaten Karawang. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa terjadi penurunan signifikan pada kapasitas aerobik (p= 0.025) dan performa kelincahan (0.042) namun pada daya tahan otot lokal tidak terdapat perbedaan. Kesimpulan penelitian ini …

Serve-Specific Core Self-Evaluations: A Predictive Validation Study, Brandi Renee Forgione

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Core Self-Evaluations (CSE) is a broad personality trait used by industrial organizational psychologists to predict important organizational outcomes such as job performance and employee satisfaction. CSE comprises four elements: generalized self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and neuroticism. Task-specific versions of CSE have been proposed to better predict task-specific performance than general CSE. Accordingly, Serve-Specific Core Self- Evaluations (SS-CSE) was adapted specifically to predict serve performance of intercollegiate volleyball players. In this study, I explored the predictive validity of SS-CSE for serve performance by expanding a previous study that used a concurrent validation approach. Results indicated that SS-CSE scores collected pre-season …

The Effects Of Veganism On Endurance Running Performance, Wesley Toh, Kristle Ann Garcia, Ishwin Mann, Saw Caesar Htoo, Nor Natasha Amir

Introduction to Research Methods RSCH 202

With the growing interest in veganism and its potential health benefits to athletes, it is imperative to consider whether dietary practices could influence athletic performance. The purpose of this research is to find out whether veganism leads to a better performance in endurance runners. We also examine recent studies that attempt to highlight the positive and negative impacts of veganism on athletes’ health. This study adopts a similar framework to the Nutritional and Running High Mileage (NURMI) study, which aims to investigate the relationship between different diet types and running performance. 200 volunteers in Singapore will participate in a cross-sectional …

Profiling Combat Sports Athletes: Competitive History And Outcomes According To Sports Type And Current Level Of Competition, Oliver R. Barley, Craig A. Harms

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background

This study aimed to investigate the competitive history (the age when training and competing started), training habits and patterns of winning and losing of competitive combat sports athletes across different combat sports as well as the level of competition (e.g. amateurs, state-level and elite).

Methods

Competitors (N = 298) from mixed martial arts (MMA), Muay Thai/kickboxing, boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), wrestling, judo and traditional striking sports (TSS) completed an online questionnaire.

Results

Most athletes began competing in their mid-teenage years and competing soon after except for wrestlers who began earlier. Elite athletes began training earlier than amateurs (13.75 …

Kinesthetic Language: A Dialect Of Kinesics, Terrill Suzanne Corletto

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Human communication requires the disciplines regarding physical fitness, codified language, and the performing arts to overlap, and exist symbiotically. Within the realm of artistic performance, the three disciplines working together deliver a deliberate message in a way unique to performing artists. The general tendency to compartmentalize sports, communication, and the performing arts into their pigeonhole categories of Kinesiology, Linguistics, and Theatre Arts is impractical, particularly for performing artists simply because all of the disciplines are mutually dependent in the context of all kinesthetic communications.

The purpose of this paper is to define and discuss several concepts and the ways in …

Improving Sprint Performance In Road Cycling: The Forward Standing Sprint Position, Paul Franciscus Johannes Merkes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The majority of road cycling races finish with a sprint and as such sprints are a key determinant of success. Surprisingly, the scientific literature on this specific topic is scarce, with limited to few studies describing the characteristics of road cycling sprinters and the demands of road sprinting. Cyclists’ sprinting velocity, which is mostly influenced by power output and aerodynamic drag (CdA) is critical to performance outcomes. However, to date, there is very limited research specifically examining how to maximise road sprint velocity. Thus, the overall objective of the four studies outlined in this thesis was to manipulate CdA, physiology, …

Orthorexia Nervosa Among Collegiate Female Student-Athletes, Maryse Bard-Martel

MSU Graduate Theses

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a specific style of disordered eating defined as an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food, or going to extremes in the pursuit of a diet that is supposed to be good for you. The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa tendencies in college female soccer players in the NCAA Division 1. Purposive sampling was used, and participants were current student-athletes from the Missouri State women’s soccer team (n=18). Survey research was utilized to assess athletes’ attitudes and behaviors related to various aspects of diet and training, and the control it …

Safety–Performance Management In Extreme Sports? A Situated Analysis In Spearfishing Activity, Aude Villemain, Willy Buchmann

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

The aim of this research is to understand safety–performance articulation in spearfishing through the study of the global, specific, and temporal organization of an elite free diver’s activity. Three kinds of data were collected: diary reports, ten elicitation interviews on spearfishing, and two self-confrontation interviews on successful and failed apneas. The results indicated (1) the spearfisher’s global organization during the spearfishing set, (2) the alternation of intentions during apnea and periods of stabilization, (3) harmony with the environment, and (4) the strategy of keeping pace with the fish. The article will discuss the specific competence development needed to manage the …

The Psychology Of Performance In Elite Youth Soccer Players, Matthew Best

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study is a holistic assessment of psychological mindsets, which are one’s attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions, in elite youth male soccer players between the ages of 13 and 18 and the exploration of the relationships between these mindsets and performance outcomes. The mindsets that were assessed were expectancy, growth mindset, value, goals, belongingness, grit, and self-regulation, and the performance outcomes were minutes played, goals scored, and goals allowed. The mindsets were selected through a review of research in education and sport. I conducted Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient analyses to assess the validity and reliability of the …

The Effect Of Movement Variability On Putting Proficiency During The Golf Putting Stroke, Ashley K. Richardson, Andrew C.S. Mitchell, Gerwyn Hughes

Kinesiology (Formerly Exercise and Sport Science)

Movement variability has been considered important to execute golf swing yet is comparatively unexplored regarding the golf putt. Movement variability could potentially be important considering the small margins of error between successful and a missed putt. The aim of this study was to assess whether variability of body segment rotations influence putting performance (ball kinematic measures). Eight golfers (handicap range 0-10) performed a 3.2 metre level putt wearing retro-reflective markers which were tracked using a three-dimensional motion analysis system sampling at 120 Hz. Ball roll kinematics were recorded using Quintic Ball Roll launch monitor. Movement (segment) variability was calculated based …

Mindfulness Program For Student Athletes, Daniel J. Savory

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Student athletes face challenging situations during their time at college which can cause their experience to be a negative one if they are not fully supported. This can be due to several factors; most athletes face an immense amount of pressure to succeed in the classroom as well as in their sport. Also, many athletes are moving away from home for the first time and this can be a daunting feeling. They are expected to manage all of these challenges, and if mishandled, it can lead to an overwhelming amount of negative stress resulting in an unsuccessful time as a …

The Acrobatic Body In Ancient Greek Society, Jonathan R. Vickers

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis I collate the textual, artistic, and material evidence for acrobatics in sport and spectacle in Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece, and analyze gymnastic performances with regard to their respective socio-cultural contexts. I develop the theoretical perspective that all body movement is socially qualified in order to demonstrate how the extreme manipulations of an acrobatic body carry particular social meaning: in sport, the male acrobatic body approaches superhumanism, and in spectacle the female acrobatic body approaches subhumanism. I argue, on the one hand, that men’s tumbling took place at the early Panathenaia festival in Athens, both in martial …

Performing Gender Through Bowling, Or, "I Was In Shock Other Girls Could Bowl", Eleanor Ann Hasken

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, I explore how bowling frames a gendered understanding of the world. I examine style, ball weight, and relationships, and others areas to discuss the ramifications of a binary understanding of gender as it is conceived in bowling centers. To complete this examination, I use interviews and personal observations from a year of fieldwork in Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. I also rely on my personal experiences with the sport to provide contextual information. Drawing primarily on scholarship from Judith Butler, Richard Bauman, and Ann K. Ferrell, I theorize about gendered performances occurring in the bowling center. These …

Does Transition Experience Improve Newcomer Performance? Evidence From The National Basketball Association, Joseph R. Radzevick

Management Faculty Publications

A substantial body of research has highlighted the effects of experience on individual performance in groups. However, the challenges individuals confront after moving between groups require the adoption of more finely grained categorizations of experience to understand how they will help or hinder performance in novel group environments. This article develops a distinct form of experience here termed transition experience to deal specifically with insights individuals accumulate as they shift membership between different groups and contrasts its impact with that of the frequently examined component of related task experience. Player movement data from the National Basketball Association is used to …

Crime In The Nfl: Does An Arrest History Lead To Better Performance?, Austin D. Crist

CMC Senior Theses

Teams in the National Football League will do whatever it takes to win football games, even if that means having players with a criminal arrest history on their roster. However, does being arrested result in improved performance? Do NFL players with an arrest history perform better than those without one? I examine the effect a criminal arrest record has on player performance in the NFL from 2000-2014, using the top 30 ranked players within each position group. The position I chose to analyze were: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers, Defensive Linemen, Linebackers, and Defensive Backs. My findings show that having …

Boom & Bust: The Perils Of Guaranteed Long Term Contracts. Evidence From Ops100 Performance Over The Contract Cycle, Heather M. O'Neill

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

This study focuses on panel data of 256 MLB free agent hitters under the 2006-2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to demonstrate that hitters, on average, increase their offensive production, measured by OPS100, during the last year of their contract and subsequently underperform the first year of the newly signed long term contract. The contract year phenomenon arises from the incentive to land a lucrative guaranteed contract for players not intending to retire. Signing a long term guaranteed contract creates an incentive to shirk (underperform) the first year of the new contract because performance and pay become unlinked and the need …

The Development Of A Composite Additive To Increase Safety And Performance Of Wooden Baseball Bats, Cj Worley

Honors Theses

Many youth baseball leagues are in the process of doing away with metal bats and using solely wood bats. They claim the game will be safer since ball exit velocities off of wood bats are lower than that of their metal counterparts; however, they are overlooking the fact that wood bats shatter causing new safety concerns that are not experienced with metal. It was the goal of this project to develop and test new additive materials to coat wood baseball bats in order to improve strength without decreasing performance. Polyurethane sealant, carbon fiber fabric, and duct tape were chosen to …

Money Puck: The Effectiveness Of Statistical Analysis In Building An Nhl Team, Troy Grosenick

Honors Theses

The 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement in the National Hockey League limits contracts offered to free agents in terms of length and variance in yearly salary. These changes have made finding undervalued free agents even more important to teams’ general managers. The purpose of this study is to evaluate players and teams with both traditional and advanced metrics to determine how players are valued in comparison to their impact on their team’s performance. A team’s winning percentage is hypothesized to be a function of shooting percentage and save percentage, as well as proxies for puck possession time, such as shots on …