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Training staff and volunteers is an important aspect of successful program implementation. This paper follows Part A of an evaluation of the Special Olympics Canada (SOC) Coaching Young Athletes Training course. Consistent with Kirkpatrick's four-level model of training evaluation, Part A evaluated program leaders' reactions to (level 1) and immediate learning from (level 2) the training. This Part B paper covers "on the job" behavior (level 3). In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with youth program leaders (n = 11) from eight provinces. Overall, participants felt that more training related to working with children with autism and promoting positive athlete behavior was needed. The findings also lead us to suggest that program leaders need to develop a more fulsome understanding of how to foster skill mastery, including how to practice the same skill in many and varied ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many children demonstrate persistent difficulties in learning and using skills that contribute to their academic performance in core curricular areas. Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and specific learning disorders (SLDs) appear to demonstrate similar impairments in the traits thought to underlie and contribute to the performance of a variety of movement skills, which may impact their performance in physical education and the classroom. This study aimed to describe the movement profiles of primary school children who were identified as demonstrating characteristics associated with a diagnosis of DCD or SLDs. Similar impairments were found for both groups of children on tasks of manual dexterity and balance, but not aiming and catching. It is important that educators recognize and understand the broad range of difficulties these children may experience to better meet their educational needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary guidelines from a variety of sources are generally congruent that an adequate dietary protein intake for persons over the age of 19 is between 0·8–0·9 g protein/kg body weight/d. According to the US/Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes, the RDA for protein of 0·8 g protein/kg/d is “…the average daily intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all [~98 %]… healthy individuals…” The panel also states that “…no additional dietary protein is suggested for healthy adults undertaking resistance or endurance exercise.” These recommendations are in contrast to recommendations from the US and Canadian Dietetic Association: “Protein recommendations for endurance and strength trained athletes range from 1·2 to 1·7 g/kg/d.” The disparity between those setting dietary protein requirements and those who might be considered to be making practical recommendations for athletes is substantial. This may reflect a situation where an adaptive advantage of protein intakes higher than recommended protein requirements exists. That population protein requirements are still based on nitrogen balance may also be a point of contention since achieving balanced nitrogen intake and excretion likely means little to an athlete who has the primary goal of exercise performance. The goal of the present review is to critically analyse evidence from both acute and chronic dietary protein-based studies in which athletic performance, or correlates thereof, have been measured. An attempt will be made to distinguish between protein requirements set by data from nitrogen balance studies, and a potential adaptive ‘advantage’ for athletes of dietary protein in excess of the RDA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At young ages, a few extra months of development can make a big difference in size, strength, and athletic ability. A child who turns 5 years old in January will be nearly 20% older by the time a child born in December has their 5th birthday. In many sports, including hockey, children born in the early months of the calendar year get noticed by their coaches because of the superiority they demonstrate due to their age advantage. As a result, boys born early in the year are more likely to reach the professional ranks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The phenomenon just described has been labeled the relative age effect (RAE). Previous work studying the RAE in the NHL has focused on individual NHL seasons, often encompassing many of the same players across multiple seasons. We investigate the RAE using complete data on every player who has ever played in the NHL. We focus the majority of our analysis on Canadian born players and examine the RAE across hockey position and hall-of-fame status. For the first time, we provide strong evidence of when the RAE began to manifest itself in Canada. Our change point analysis indicates that the RAE began for players born since 1951. Finally, we make a case for what initiated this change in the way young hockey players develop, particularly in Canada, which produced over 90% of NHL players at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]