Search

Objective: Determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student-athletes. Participants: Participants (n = 238) were Division III student-athletes (18-24yrs) enrolled at a Pennsylvania State University campus during the Fall 2020 semester. Methods: Student-athletes were emailed a link of a 43-question survey which was deployed using Qualtrics®. The survey asked questions about collegiate experience, health, well-being, sport related training, and physical fitness before and during the pandemic. Results: Approximately 94% of student-athletes reported that COVID-19 worsened their college experience. About 52 and 59% of student-athletes believed that COVID-19 had a negative impact on their health and well-being, respectively. Nearly 79% of student-athletes reported that their sport-related training decreased during the pandemic. Over half of participants believed that their physical fitness, endurance, and strength decreased during the pandemic. Conclusion: The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on Division III collegiate student-athletes include a worsened college experience as well as worsened health and well-being.

Regulations implemented by World Athletics (WA) require female athletes with differences of sexual development to suppress their blood testosterone levels in order to participate in certain women's sporting competitions. These regulations have been justified by reference to fairness. In this paper, we reconstruct WA's understanding of fairness, which requires a "level playing field" where no athlete should have a significant performance advantage based on factors other than talent, dedication, and hard work over an average athlete in their category. We demonstrate that by placing regulations only on testosterone levels, while ignoring physical as well as socioeconomic advantages, WA consistently fails to meet its own definition of fairness. We then discuss several ways in which this definition could be met. Our analysis shows that a categorical system, in which athletes are divided into categories based on properties leading to significant performance advantages, is best suited for meeting WA's definition of fairness.

Objectives: There is limited information on the performance progression of athletics endurance athletes from junior-to-senior status and the determinants of success in adulthood. This study aimed to quantify the youth-to-senior transition rate, the likelihood of success and the relationship between youth and senior performance amongst world-class athletes competing in middle- and long-distance disciplines., Design: Retrospective design examining public data between 2000 and 2019., Methods: The performances of 4678 international athletes (45.3 % female) were analysed. World's all-time top 50 athletes were identified for U18 and Senior categories (age ≥ 20 years). Youth-to-senior transition rate and transition probabilities were calculated. Correlations between best U18 and Senior performances were determined to assess the stability of the performance., Results: The youth-to-senior transition rate for top U18 athletes was low for males and females (~19 % and 21 %). Nevertheless, the probability of transition to a top senior was ~7 times higher for top U18 athletes than for non-top U18 athletes. The correlations between youth and senior best performances were low-to-high., Conclusions: Few top U18 athletes maintained top world ranking status during their senior careers. Still, they are more likely to become top senior athletes than those who did not perform at the top level in U18. The association between youth and senior performance is stronger when comparing the same discipline or when athletes competed over longer distances in their senior compared to U18 career. Being a successful youth athlete may represent a small advantage for future success, however, it does not guarantee advancement to the senior top level., Competing Interests: Declaration of interest statement The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This study assessed the knowledge, behavior, and needs of competitive adolescent (16-18 years) distance runners and distance running coaches enrolled as part of England Athletics' Youth Talent Programme in relation to the prevention of running-related injury (RRI). Two online surveys were developed and distributed to the distance runners (survey one) and coaches (survey two). Both surveys included sections related to: (1) current knowledge; (2) current behavior; (3) need and support for RRI prevention measures; and (4) possible content and form of RRI prevention measures. A total of 39 distance runners (36% of total possible sample) completed survey 1, and 29 coaches (32% of total possible sample) completed survey 2. Key findings included that the majority of distance runners and coaches: (1) agreed that it is 'very important' to try to prevent RRI; (2) are currently implementing something in practice (e.g., strength training) to prevent RRI; and (3) view the creation of RRI prevention measures as an important initiative. Differences between distance runners and coaches were identified in relation to their understanding of the most common causes of RRI. Interestingly, distance runners identified a modifiable cause of RRI (i.e., too much training) as the most common cause of RRI, while coaches selected a non-modifiable cause of RRI (i.e., growth and maturation). These key findings were supplemented by competitive adolescent runners and distance running coaches detailing their delivery preferences for such RRI prevention measures. Results from this study will help inform subsequent steps of the larger co-creation process, with an emphasis on developing multifaceted and context-specific RRI prevention measures that are deemed to be feasible and acceptable for real-world implementation.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of food insecurity among female collegiate athletes., Participants: NCAA Division I female athletes attending a public university located in East Texas in 2018., Methods: A prospective cross-sectional online survey was employed to gather quantitative and qualitative data regarding food security status. Participants were instructed to complete the 26-item questionnaire, including the six-item USFSSM., Results: Participants (N = 78) were 18-22 years of age, largely white (75%). Despite most (89.74%) receiving some form of scholarship and 80% reporting provision of some meals, 32.10% were classified as food insecure. Barriers to food intake were two-fold higher among the food insecure (88% vs 43%, p < .001); limited time (43.6%) and finances (23.1%) were the most frequently reported barriers., Conclusions: Despite university support, food insecurity exists in female collegiate athletes. Outcomes warrant screening for food insecurity, referral to support resources throughout matriculation, and tailored intervention programs.

This pilot quantitative study sought to explore lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) ally engagement by collegiate coaches and athletic department staff. In particular, this study sought to investigate the psychometric properties for two adapted measures: the Ally Identity Scale-Athletic Staff Version and the Engagement in LGBTQ Ally Actions in Sports Scale-Athletic Staff Version. These measures could provide a means to assess the degree to which coaches and athletic department staff identify as allies and engage in actions that support a welcoming and inclusive climate for LGBTQ student-athletes and athletic department staff. The sample for this study was 87 coaches and athletic department staff who completed an online survey. The results of this study provide preliminary psychometric support for two adapted measures and provide insights into the next steps scholars can take in exploring the intersection of LGBTQ identities and collegiate athletics.

The current study explores the motivations underlying tobacco use among varsity athletes. A cross-sectional exploratory mixed method approach was used. Both tobacco users (TU) and non-tobacco users (NTU) completed an online survey of closed and open-ended questions. These questions focused on tobacco use, motivations for tobacco use, teammate and coaches' perceptions of athlete tobacco use, and self-perceived effects of tobacco use on health and athletic performance. Thirty-eight completed surveys were included of which 12 were TU and 26 were NTU. The majority of TU indicated that they used products during the off-season. Motivations for using tobacco products included social influences, stress-relief, and increasing energy. TU mostly indicated that there are negative effects on their health but not on their athletic performance, whereas NTU reported potential detrimental effects on their teammate's performance. Overall, varsity athletes who use tobacco products are aware of the health effects and negative opinions of their teammates.

Movement training is thought to be very important in terms of learning both basic motor skills and new techniques in sports branches. Rhythmic gymnastics apparatus technique applications, which is a widely used method in movement training; it aims to display predetermined choreography in harmony with various tools. In this context, the aim of this experimental study is to examine the effect of rhythmic gymnastics equipment technique, which is predicted to be a good tool to improve reaction performance for movement educators and athletes, on various hand and foot reaction parameters. A total of 42 female athletes, including 22 experimental group members who had not previously practiced rhythmic gymnastics and 20 control group members, were included in the study on voluntary basis. The reaction performances of the athletes were determined using the ÇAGIN Hand and Foot Reaction Test. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 package program using Repeated Measures-ANOVA and descriptive statistics. In the pretest-posttest results of the reaction time of the individuals, it was determined that the hand simple and discriminative reaction time and foot discriminative reaction time of the experimental group decreased significantly (p<0.05). In the pretest-posttest results regarding the individuals' correct reaction rates, it was determined that only the foot selective reaction correct rate of the experimental group increased significantly (p<0.05). As a result of the study, it was observed that the application of the apparatus technique generally positively affected the athletes' hand and foot reaction times and the accuracy of the reactions.

Concussions are an important issue facing the short- and long-term health of athletes. News media play an important role in shaping public perceptions of concussions. However, such coverage often provides inaccurate information, disinformation, and/or trivializes concussions. To address the problem, the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) provides workshops to teach journalists to responsibly report about concussions during live and post-competition coverage. Spearheaded by journalism instructors, the present study tested the effectiveness of the workshops through an experiment with 90 college journalism students. Students who completed the training showed improvement in scores on a "concussion in sport" literacy exam. They also performed better on the examination than students in a control condition. Results suggest the training is effective and could be standardized for those studying to work in the field of sports journalism.

Objectives: The current study explored how affective disturbances, particularly concomitant anxiety and depressive symptoms, impact baseline symptom self-reporting on the Post-Concussion Symptoms Scale (PCSS) in college athletes., Methods: Athletes were separated into four groups (Healthy Control (HC) ( n = 581), Depression Only ( n = 136), Anxiety Only ( n = 54), Concomitant Depression/Anxiety ( n = 62)) based on their anxiety and depression scores. Groups were compared on Total PCSS Score as well as 5 PCSS Symptom Cluster scores (Cognitive, Physical, Affective, Sleep, and Headache)., Results: The three affective groups reported significantly greater symptomatology than HCs, with the Concomitant group showing the highest symptomatology scores across all clusters. The depressive symptoms only group also reported significantly elevated symptomatology, compared to HCs, on every symptom cluster except headache. The anxiety symptoms only group differed from HCs on only the cognitive symptoms cluster. Additionally, the Concomitant group reported significantly increased PCSS symptomatology, in terms of total scores and all 5 symptom clusters, compared to the depressive symptoms only and anxiety symptoms only groups., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that athletes experiencing concomitant depressive/anxiety symptoms report significantly greater levels of symptomatology across all 5 PCSS symptom clusters compared to HCs. Further, results suggest that athletes experiencing concomitant affective disturbance tend to report greater symptomatology than those with only one affective disturbance. These findings are important because, despite the absence of concussion, the concomitant group demonstrated significantly elevated symptomatology at baseline. Thus, future comparisons with post-concussion data should account for this increased symptomatology, as test results may be skewed by affective disturbances at baseline.

Black male students on college campuses report being frequently misperceived as student-athletes. Across three studies, we tested the role of perceivers' racial and gendered biases in categorization of Black and White students and student-athletes and the subsequent evaluative consequences. Participants viewed faces of actual Black and White male and female undergraduates who were either non-athlete students or student- athletes and made binary judgments about whether the undergraduate was a student or an athlete . We found an overall bias to judge Black male undergraduates to be student-athletes, driven by Black male students being more likely to be misperceived as student-athletes than White male students. Furthermore, male targets perceived to be student-athletes were rated lower on academic ability (Studies 2 and 3). In contrast, we found an overall bias to judge female undergraduates as students. Implications for how perceiver bias plays a dual role in negatively affecting academic climates for underrepresented groups are discussed.

Special Olympics promotes the health of their athletes year-round and offers their athletes options to obtain free health screenings. Following screening events, athletes often have difficulties finding needed referral care. Obstacles to finding a healthcare provider (HCP) for a referral is what necessitates the need for a state-wide HCP referral list in South Dakota. Creation of a HCP referral list was done via an online two-part survey and sent to HCPs throughout the state of South Dakota. Currently, this is the only database of healthcare providers that is accessible to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) that are members of Special Olympics South Dakota (SOSD). While the created referral list offers increased opportunities to access HCPs in South Dakota, there are still limits to ensuring easy access to HCPs throughout the entire state.

Aim: The aim of this research is to examine whether the sports status of high school students has any effect on their self-confidence and to examine them in terms of different variables. Material & Method: The population of the research consists of students studying in high schools located in Kilis. The sample of the study consists of 415 students, 210 male and 205 female, randomly selected from high schools in Kilis. A personal information form developed by the researchers was used to collect information about the independent variables. The "Self-Confidence Scale", developed by Akin (2007) as a data collection tool to measure students' self-confidence levels, was used to determine the existing self-confidence levels of individuals. While evaluating the study data, descriptive statistical methods were used. Independent sample T-Test and ANOVA Test were used in the analysis of the data. In the analyzes used, the level of significance was determined as p<0.05. Results: In the obtained findings, no statistical significance was found in terms of the variable of students' gender and active sports year. Statistically significant was observed in terms of grade variable, active sports involvement variable and sports type. Conclusion: It was concluded that high school students who do sports are more self-confident than those who do not. It was concluded that as the grade level of the student increased, the self-confidence also increased. It has been concluded that students who do team sports are more self-confident than those who do individual sports.

The pacing behaviors used by elite athletes differ among individual sports, necessitating the study of sport-specific pacing profiles. Additionally, pacing behaviors adopted by elite runners differ depending on race distance. An "all-out" strategy, characterized by initial rapid acceleration and reduction in speed in the later stages, is observed during 100 m and 200 m events; 400 m runners also display positive pacing patterns, which is characterized by a reduction in speed throughout the race. Similarly, 800 m runners typically adopt a positive pacing strategy during paced "meet" races. However, during championship races, depending on the tactical approaches used by dominant athletes, pacing can be either positive or negative (characterized by an increase in speed throughout). A U-shaped pacing strategy (characterized by a faster start and end than during the middle part of the race) is evident during world record performances at meet races in 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10,000 m events. Although a parabolic J-shaped pacing profile (in which the start is faster than the middle part of the race but is slower than the endspurt) can be observed during championship 1500 m races, a negative pacing strategy with microvariations of pace is adopted by 5000 m and 10,000 m runners in championship races. Major cross country and marathon championship races are characterized by a positive pacing strategy; whereas a U-shaped pacing strategy, which is the result of a fast endspurt, is adopted by 3000 m steeplechasers and half marathoners. In contrast, recent world record marathon performances have been characterized by even pacing, which emphasizes the differences between championship and meet races at distances longer than 800 m. Studies reviewed suggest further recommendations for athletes. Throughout the whole race, 800 m runners should avoid running wide on the bends. In turn, during major championship events, 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10,000 m runners should try to run close to the inside of the track as much as possible during the decisive stages of the race when the speed is high. Staying within the leading positions during the last lap is recommended to optimize finishing position during 1500 m and 5000 m major championship races. Athletes with more modest aims than winning a medal at major championships are advised to adopt a realistic pace during the initial stages of long-distance races and stay within a pack of runners. Coaches of elite athletes should take into account the observed difference in pacing profiles adopted in meet races vs. those used in championship races: fast times achieved during races with the help of one or more pacemakers are not necessarily replicated in winner-takes-all championship races, where pace varies substantially. Although existing studies examining pacing characteristics in elite runners through an observational approach provide highly ecologically valid performance data, they provide little information regarding the underpinning mechanisms that explain the behaviors shown. Therefore, further research is needed in order to make a meaningful impact on the discipline. Researchers should design and conduct interventions that enable athletes to carefully choose strategies that are not influenced by poor decisions made by other competitors, allowing these athletes to develop more optimal and successful behaviors., (Copyright © 2021. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

This paper presents a model that analyses the relationship between the coach's emotional competences and the training climate as predictors of the youngsters' emotional competences and psychological well-being. In the present study, 309 athletes and 17 coaches participated in the study. A general predictive model was estimated with path analysis and the maximum robust likelihood (MLR) estimation method. The results showed that the coach's emotional competences are associated with autonomy-supportive climates ([beta] = 0.15, p < 0.005). This climate is related to youth's emotional competences ([beta] = 0.30, p < 0.005) and lower emotional ([beta] = -0.27, p < 0.005), behavioural ([beta] = -0.51, p < 0.005), and social ([beta] = -0.33, p < 0.005) symptomatology. These results have important practical implications in designing interventions that promote coaches' emotional competences given its association with autonomy-supportive climates, which in turn are related to athletes' emotional competences and psychological well-being.

In the last decade, the number of full-time registered dietitians (RDs) serving intercollegiate athletes in the United States has more than quadrupled. However, many student athletes may be at increased risk of nutrition-related problems that impact physical and academic performance, which include inadequate macronutrients, inadequate micronutrients, and excessive macronutrients. This narrative review reports the current literature to date on nutrition-related knowledge in collegiate athletes and the impact of sports RDs on student athletes' nutrition knowledge and behaviors. To date, only observational and quasi-experimental studies have been published with regard to changes in nutrition knowledge and behaviors in NCAA athletes. While these studies report benefits of the RD as a member of the interdisciplinary student athlete support team, more well-designed randomized control trials are warranted to determine benefits related to health outcomes and sport-specific performance outcomes.

This research aims to examine the fair play behaviors of secondary school students who participate in school sports. The sample of the research consists of 495 secondary school students who continue their education in Nigde in the 2022-2023 academic year and are selected by criterion sampling from purposive sampling methods. "Frequency of Exhibiting Fair Play Behaviors Scale" was used as a data collection tool in the research. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA tests were performed in the analysis of the data, and a significance level of 0.05 was taken into account in the interpretation of the data. According to the research findings, the students who participated in school sports exhibited fair play behavior at a frequent level in the spectator dimension; at a very frequent level in team, negative behavior, opponent dimension, throughout the scale. Fair play behaviors of female students were higher than male students (p<0.03). According to the grade level, the scores of the 5th-grade students were found to be significantly higher than the 7th-grade students (p<0.01). While the fair play behaviors of the students playing football in the spectator dimension of the scale were higher than the athletes interested in individual branches (p<0.00), no significant difference was found in other dimensions (p>0.05). In the variable of sports age, the fair play behaviors of the students who do sports for 1-3 years were found to be higher than the students who did sports for less than 1 year (p<0.00). As a result of the research, it has been determined that secondary school students participating in school sports exhibit fair play behaviors very often and develop more positive attitudes towards their team. It is recommended that secondary school students participate in events such as games, competitions, and tournaments within the scope of school sports.

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of individuals' motivation to participate in sports on their happiness level. This study is a descriptive survey study on the impact of Bayburt University students' attitudes about sports on their levels of happiness. This study is a descriptive survey study on the impact of Bayburt University sports sciences faculty students' participation motivation to sports on their levels of happiness. The population of this study, which examined the effect of motivation to participate in sports on happiness level, consisted of students studying at Bayburt University. The sample consisted of a total of 357 people, 129 of whom were female and 228 of whom were male, studying in different departments of the sports sciences faculty of the same university. "Personal Information Form", " Participation Motivation Questionnaire " and "Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form" were used as data collection tools. SPSS 25 package program was used for statistical analysis. Normality test, spearman correlation and simple linear regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. When the effect of the participants' motivation to participate in sports on their happiness levels is investigated, it is seen that motivation to participate in sports has a significant effect on the happiness levels of university students. In conclusion, considering the findings obtained from the research, it is seen that there was a relationship between motivation to participate in sports and happiness in the study, and that motivation to participate in sports had an effect on the happiness levels of individuals.

The objective of this study was to examine muscular fitness using measurements of the right hand grip (RHG) and left hand grip (LHG), as well as the counter movement jump (CMJ) performance of both athlete and non-athlete school children. Additionally, the study aimed to compare these variables between genders. A total of 221 school children aged 11-13 participated in this study. The participants were categorized into four groups based on their characteristics: female athletes (n = 57), female non-athletes (n = 60), male athletes (n = 59), and male non-athletes (n = 45). The primary exclusion criteria included any musculoskeletal limitations that could potentially affect test performance. The strength of the RHG and LHG (kg) was assessed using the Takei-TKK-5101 device. CMJ heights (cm) were measured using the Smart-Speed device. For all variables, a mixed-design two-way univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to identify differences between and within groups. The findings of the present study indicated that the RHG, LHG, and CMJ values of athletes were significantly greater than those of non-athletes for both genders (p < 0.001). Moreover, the analyzed performance values exhibited significant differences between male athletes and male as well as female non-athletes, and also between female athletes and female as well as male non-athletes (p < 0.001). Engaging in sports is highly important for school children aged 11-13 to enhance their muscular fitness. It can be stated that the development of muscular fitness for both genders would be higher in children who participate in sports compared to those who do not engage in sports.

Objective: To examine associations between suicidal ideation and sexual and physical abuse among active and recently retired elite athletics (track and field) athletes., Methods: The study population consisted of all athletes (n=402) selected for a Swedish Athletics team between 2011 and 2017. Data on suicidal ideation, suicidal events (estimated through the 1 year non-sports injury prevalence), lifetime abuse experiences, sociodemographics, sense of coherence and coping strategies were collected using a cross-sectional survey. The data were analysed using binary logistic regression with suicidal ideation and non-sports injury as outcomes., Results: 192 athletes (47.8%) returned data. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 15.6% (men 17.4%; women 14.2%) and the non-sports injury prevalence was 8.0% (men 11.6%; women 5.7%). Among women, suicidal ideation was associated with having been sexually abused (OR 5.94, 95% CI 1.42 to 24.90; p=0.015) and lower sense of coherence (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85 to 0.96; p=0.001) (Nagelkerke R 2 =0.33). Among men, suicidal ideation was only associated with use of behavioural disengagement for coping (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.95; p=0.001) ( R 2 =0.25). Among women, non-sports injury prevalence was associated with having been sexually abused (OR 8.61, 95% CI 1.34 to 55.1; p=0.023) and participating in an endurance event (OR 7.37, 95% CI 1.11 to 48.9; p=0.039 ( R 2 =0.23), while among men, having immigrant parents (OR 5.67, 95% CI 1.31 to 24.5; p=0.020) ( R 2 =0.11) was associated with injury outside sports., Conclusions: About one out of six international athletics athletes reported having experienced suicidal ideation. World Athletics and National Olympic Committees need to include suicide prevention in their athlete protection programmes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Medical history of the city of Rijeka is a rich treasure trove of events, celebrities and valuable innovations in the field of healthcare. The historical development of Rijeka was largely determined by her geopolitical position as a border town with a multicultural population, marked by strong conflicts of interest and numerous identity turmoil. The great exodus of the domicile population of Italian nationality after World War II has significantly changed the social picture of the city. Among many of such esuli (immigrants) were brothers Giovanni (b. 1932) and Abdon (b. 1933) Pamich, whose lives are reminiscent of the fate of many displaced people from Rijeka who were forced to live in exile after the war. After leaving their hometown during the formative years of their childhood, they had successful careers in Italy in the fields of medicine and healthcare. The older brother Giovanni became a successful surgeon and the younger Abdon a psychologist. Along with his positions as the head of general surgery at the Monfalcone and Gorizia Hospitals, Giovanni Pamich was teaching at the University of Trieste. Abdon Pamich collaborated with the best Italian tennis players in the field of sports psychology, and was a psychologist for the Italian handball team. They both practiced athletics, and Abdon Pamich won the silver medal in speed walking at the 1958 European Championships in Sweden and the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In addition to emphasizing the achievements of the two brothers in the field of medicine, this paper also addresses the position of the migrant, which is highlighted in Robert Covaz’s book “Abdon Pamich, memorie di un marciatore (Rome, 2016), an exciting biography of an emigrant from Rijeka. The paper also explores the concept of thematizing the limits of differences and experiences of migration of Rijeka residents facing the existential issues.

Background: Female learning of movement in elite combat sports has not been studied enough to date. Literature on movement learning and teaching of complex skills has not, to date, focused on karate, and the scarce literature on the learning of elite karate practitioners mostly does not focus on women. Nevertheless, women fighters participated in karate as an Olympic sport, even if such status was temporary, limited to Tokyo 2020 (2021). Purpose: In an analogy with Iris Marion Young's (1980) publication 'throwing like a girl', our aim in this study was to investigate what it means to learn 'to fight like a "girl"' and if there is a feminine learned fighting style. Methods: We have carried out an ethnographic project focusing, due to the unexpected impact of COVID-19, mainly on interviewing the female Spanish karate team in preparation for the Olympic Games. We interviewed 14 women athletes of the team and their four male coaches twice each and analysed 28 videos of women athletes displaying their best athletic performances, according to themselves. In this article we are focusing on the analysis of 20 videos of the "kumite" modality, then reflecting on this analysis with data from interviews of the four coaches and ten of the athletes, the "kumite" athletes. We developed a series of criteria in order to carry out the task of observation and analysis of the gendered martial-sportive movement supported by the literature, coaches' perspectives and athletes' views. The main concepts derived from the video analysis were the "use of space, restricted movements; absence of melee work; and difficulty in carrying out projections/sweeps. kumite kumite use of space, restricted movements absence of melee work difficulty in carrying out projections/sweeps." Findings: Sports karate is still configured as a (hetero)normative environment, supported in tradition, be that of martial art with its pedagogy and of sport as a male preserve. This context leads to a view of women's learning to perform as inferior to men's, perpetually comparing them, in the hierarchical structure established within the field. Concepts of equality and equity are undermined, and by performing differently, or not matching the male model, women have their performance of some complex movements qualified as a "natural inability." Conclusion: We conclude that there is a feminine way of learning to fight, but only with generalized characteristics since there is a rich plurality of styles among these elite sporting women. For the field, to fight like a "girl" means inferior performance in comparison with men's performance, however, for us, it means really 'to fight', not just on the mat, and we see such comparison as untenable.

Objective: The College Warrior Athlete Initiative (CWAI) determined if a key element of military occupational culture, referred to as the "battle-buddy" concept of pairing college athletes with veterans, could be applied to Student Service Members/Veterans (SSM/V) health promotion. Participants: Fifty veterans of fifty-seven enrolled completed the program in seven separate cohorts between 2016 and 2017. Methods: The veteran-student athlete pairs or small groups exercised twice a week for 75 min under the supervision of a certified athletic trainer and attended wellness classes. Results: Of the data from 50 veterans, over 2/3rd of veterans lost weight during their 12-week program and reported increased overall health, mood, energy levels and social engagement. Conclusions: This exercise intervention program implemented at two university campuses indicates the benefits of engaging SSM/Vs and college students for physical exercise to improve health. Results provide a foundation for academic nursing in conjunction with other university departments to increase peer cohesion and a sense of community for SSM/Vs.

The aim of the study was to determine how many Norwegian athletes who, during all the times they had achieved the European Athletics Championship 2020-Entry Standards (EAC20ES), were also ranked among the 20 all-time-best athletes at the ages of 15 and 18 years. The number of athletes who achieved the EAC20ES during their career, and the percentage of those who were among top 20 in the age groups 15 and 18 years, were determined from the Norwegian all-time-best results lists. A total of 202 athletes achieved the EAC20ES in the studied time period. Of these, 14.4% and 42.1% were ranked among the top 20 all-time best in one or more events at the ages of 15 and 18 years, respectively. However, among those who had won an international gold medal, these percentages were much higher. Eight out of 12 champions (66.7%) were ranked among the top 20 all-time best in one or more event at 15 years of age, and 11 of 12 champions (91.6%) were ranked among the top 20 all-time best at 18 years of age. Athletes that went on to win international championships typically performed better as adolescents compared to other athletes who also reach an international level as seniors. However, due to the low number of international champions, the date should be interpreted with caution., Competing Interests: The author declares no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Athletes competing in athletics (track and field) at international level may be participating with underlying undiagnosed life-threatening cardiovascular conditions. Our objective was to analyse variations in pre-participation cardiac evaluation prevalence among athletes participating in two International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Championships, with regard to the human developmental level and global region of their home countries, as well as athletes' age category, gender, event group and medical insurance type., Design: Cross-sectional web-based survey., Methods: A total of 1785 athletes competing in the IAAF World Under 18 Championships Nairobi 2017 and World Championships London 2017 were invited to complete a pre-participation health questionnaire investigating the experience of a pre-participation cardiac examination., Results: A total of 704 (39%) of the athletes participated. Among these, 59% (60% of women; 58% of men) reported that they had been provided at least one type of pre-participation cardiac evaluation. Athletes from very high income countries, Europe and Asia, showed a higher prevalence of at least one pre-participation cardiac evaluation., Conclusions: The prevalence of pre-participation cardiac evaluation in low to middle income countries, and the African continent in particular, needs urgent attention. Furthermore, increases in evaluation prevalence should be accompanied by the development of cost-effective methods that can be adopted in all global regions.

Magnesium plays a critical role in athlete health and performance. It is involved in numerous physiological mechanisms that support energy production, immune function, pain modulation, muscle function and bone health. Athletes may be susceptible to magnesium deficiency due to an increased utilization during exercise. Objective: This study reports on the magnesium status of 192 Olympic and Paralympic athletes over the course of eight years. Methods: Athletes on the British Athletics world class performance plan undertook blood testing for Red Cell Magnesium status. Their history of tendon pain, muscle and bone injury, ethnicity, sporting event and gender were also recorded. 510 samples from 192 athletes were included in the study. Results: On at least one blood test during the study time, 22% of athletes were identified as clinically deficient (<1.19 mmol/L). The average red cell magnesium concentration was 1.34 nmol/L. Magnesium was significantly lower in female athletes and those with Black or Mixed-Race ethnicity and was higher in Throws athletes and Paralympians with Cerebral Palsy. Athletes with a history of achilles or patella tendon pain had significantly lower magnesium levels than average. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of investigating magnesium within this population to identify deficiency and support athlete health. Several areas for future work are identified to explore the relationship between magnesium and gender, ethnicity and tendon pain and muscle injury in athletes. Furthermore, new guidelines for magnesium status within athletics populations are proposed.

Background: The study of injuries stemming from sacroiliac dysfunction in athletes has been discussed in many papers. However, the treatment of this issue through thrust and muscle-energy techniques has hardly been researched. The objective of our research is to compare the effectiveness of thrust technique to that of energy muscle techniques in the resolution of sacroiliac joint blockage or dysfunction in middle-distance running athletes., Methods: A quasi-experimental design with three measures in time (pre-intervention, intervention 1, final intervention after one month from the first intervention) was made. The sample consisted of 60 adult athletes from an Athletic club, who were dealing with sacroiliac joint dysfunction. The sample was randomly divided into three groups of 20 participants (43 men and 17 women). One intervention group was treated with the thrust technique, another intervention group was treated with the muscle-energy technique, and the control group received treatment by means of a simulated technique. A prior assessment of the range of motion was performed by means of a seated forward flexion test, a standing forward flexion test, and the Gillet test. After observing the dysfunction, the corresponding technique was performed on each intervention group. The control group underwent a simulated technique. A second intervention took place a month later, in order to ascertain possible increased effectiveness., Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the muscle energy technique (MET) and muscle energy groups compared with the placebo group in both interventions ( p = 0.000), with a significant reduction in positive dysfunction (initially 20 in all groups, eight in MET group, and two in thrust group in the final intervention). Comparing the changes in time, only the thrust group obtained statistically significant differences ( p = 0.000, with a reduction of positive dysfunction, starting at 20 positives, five positive in the initial intervention and two positive in the final intervention) and when comparing both techniques, it was observed that between the first intervention and the final intervention, the thrust technique was significantly higher than the MET technique ( p = 0.032)., Conclusions: The thrust manipulation technique is more effective in the treatment of sacroiliac dysfunction than the energy muscle technique, in both cases obtaining satisfactory results with far middle-distance running athletes. Finally, the thrust technique showed positive results in the first intervention and also in the long term, in contrast to the MET technique that only obtained changes after the first intervention.

Objective: Understand from whom concussed football players seek and receive emotional support, and whether this support is associated with injury perceptions. Participants: Football players ( N  = 26) from three NCAA Division I programs. Methods: With approval from the head athletic trainer, concussed athletes (2017 season) completed short surveys within 4-6 days of diagnosis and when cleared to return. Results: Concussed athletes perceived their injury as a normal consequence of playing football, not serious, and reported little, if any, depression and anxiety. Athletes reported the most support from athletic trainers; the least from coaches and teammates. Emotional support was associated with fewer adverse psychosocial reactions, more sport-injury related growth, and greater intentions to report future concussion symptoms. Conclusion: Results from this pilot study suggest that emotional support during the concussion recovery process should be understood and fostered by university officials charged with the health and well-being of collegiate football players.

Unhealthy aging is associated with increased adiposity, inflammation and oxidative stress (OS), but the interactions between them have been poorly investigated in people growing old under vigorous lifelong exercise regimens. Therefore, we compared and analyzed the relationships between markers of inflammation, OS and adiposity in master athletes (MA), young (YC) and middle-aged controls (MC). Fifty-nine participants (MA, n = 30, 51.56 ± 8.61 yrs, minimum of 20 yrs of training; YC, n = 17, 22.70 ± 3.92 yrs; MC, n = 12, 45.54 ± 9.86 yrs) underwent body composition measurements, blood sampling for inflammation and OS measurements, and provided information regarding general health and training status. The MA and YC demonstrated higher catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and higher CAT/TBARS (TBARS: thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and SOD/TBARS ratios. The cytokines TNF-α and IL-6, and their soluble receptors sTNF-RI and sIL-6R were lower in YC compared to MC and MA (p < 0.05). Moreover, MA showed lower levels of sTNF-RI, IL-6 and sIL-6R and higher IL-10 and IL-10/IL-6 ratio compared to MC (p < 0.05). The body fat was negatively associated with antioxidant enzymes (CAT: r = -0.448 and SOD: r = -0.413) and IL-10 (r = -0.585) and positively correlated with pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α: r = 0.278; sTNF-RI: r = 0.709; IL-6: r = 0.720: sIL-6R: r = 0.430) (p < 0.05). Further, CAT and SOD activities were inversely associated with inflammatory parameters (sTNF-RI, IL-6 and sIL-6R; p < 0.05). In conclusion, markers of OS and inflammation did not differ between MA and YC and were associated with adiposity. Moreover, MA were leaner than MC, similarly to YC. Thus, lifelong training clearly attenuates inflammation, OS, and adiposity, supporting an attenuated and healthy aging., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim was to determine the validity and test-retest reliability of the Sit to Stand App variables (rising time, vertical velocity, and power) for measuring single-leg sit-to-stand (STS) test compared to those derived from ground reaction force data. Twenty-seven female athletes performed the single-leg STS test over three consecutive sessions simultaneously recorded with a force plate and the smartphone app. Validity was assessed with Pearson's correlation coefficient, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), and percentage error. Reliability was assessed with the ICC. Almost perfect correlations (r [greater than or equal to] 0.95) and excellent agreement (ICC = 0.96-0.97) between the app and force plate measures with low percentage errors ([less than or equal to]7.3%) were found. The app showed good-to-excellent reliability (ICC = 0.88-0.92) with no differences in inter-limb asymmetry over three sessions. The app was highly valid and reliable for measuring single-leg STS performance. Practitioners can use this app to assess lower-limb performance in female athletes.

While youth sports can come with numerous mental health benefits, there can also be some risks. Understanding mental health in the context of youth sports involves recognizing the psychological pressures and challenges unique to this environment. This article describes a coaching model that coaches can use to teach coping strategies and motivational techniques.

Talent identification and development systems (TIDS) adopt a deterministic perspective (i.e. athletes' future state/performances can be predicted by observations of their initial state/performance), which encourages early identification and specialisation in sport. In this framework, the main aim of sport systems is to enhance predictability and reduce uncertainty, by investigating the causal relationship between entering a talent pathway and becoming an expert performer. Generally, athletes who display ideal body proportions and attain certain performance standards in early developmental stages are labelled as talented (i.e. they display the potential to succeed) and are selected by TIDS, which afford them a superior developmental opportunity (i.e. better training facilities, certified coaching staff, and higher competition levels), to realise their potential. A deterministic approach, thus, (a) sees talent as a fixed capacity, whereby future successful athletes can be identified early (i.e. early identification); and (b) considers entering at an earlier age in a talent pathway a pre-requisite for sporting success (i.e. early specialisation). Contrary to deterministic expectations, recent research has highlighted how being considered talented from the early stages does not guarantee a better likelihood of successfully achieve senior sporting success. In this paper, taking ideas from ecological anthropology, a new probabilistic approach is proposed which considers TIDS as a process (i.e. being talented is about remaining responsive to what you could become), dialogical (i.e. athlete selection and development are not done in isolation, but both influenced by sociocultural constraints), and open-ended (i.e. unpredictability related to future outcomes). If sport systems embrace the uncertainty of developmental pathways opportunities arise to participate in conversations across and within TIDS to support systemic change. We conclude by proposing four key foundations of any probabilistic TIDS: give sport back to kids, ethos of amateurism, delaying selection processes, and early diversification.

The word "talent" is used across many sport disciplines -- to describe an athlete's prowess (i.e. "he is talented"), as a term for what is sought after during assessment and selection (i.e. talent selection camps) or in reference to players to be developed (i.e. "a group of talents"). While the term has received research attention regarding its definition and criteria, its utility in practical settings is often debated. In this paper, we review several areas of concern researchers have raised for using the term "talent" and why this matters in the context of athlete development. While the notion of talent continues to resonate with coaches, scientists and practitioners, we suggest several areas for future research and recommendations for the use of this controversial term.

The Adult-Oriented Sport Coaching Survey (AOSCS) is a valid and reliable measure of coaches' and Masters athletes' perspectives of how often adult-oriented coaching practices are used. However, Masters athletes' heterogenous traits have been acknowledged as barriers to generalizing research findings on coaching behaviors. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct invariance testing of the AOSCS across groups of Masters athletes based on age, gender, competition level, and sport grouping variables. A sample of 616 Masters athletes (61.9% female, 37.5% male; M[superscript age] = 54.47 years, SD = 10.82) completed the AOSCS-A (athlete version) and demographic questions. The results indicated the AOSCS-A demonstrates configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across Masters athletes that differed on age, gender, competition level, and sport. This evidence advances the AOSCS-A as an assessment tool by ensuring confidence in the measurement and interpretation of adult-oriented coaching practices reported by Masters athletes, irrespective of age, gender, competition level, and sport.

Highly successful athletes must learn how to optimize factors that facilitate flow and effectively manage factors that inhibit flow. This article explains what coaches can do to push the flow button and motivate athletes to have peak experiences and improved performance.

The objective of the present research is to examine the factor structure of the Interpersonal Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) and the Interpersonal Behavior Self Questionnaire (IBQ-Self) in the sport context. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the psychometric properties and measurement invariance across sex and sports. For the IBQ, a sample of 813 Portuguese athletes aged between 15 and 32 years (M = 23.46; SD = 4.92) took part in this study. They had an average sports experience of approximately 7.62 ± 3.23 years. For the IBQ-Self, a sample of 606 Portuguese coaches aged between 20 and 73 years (M = 34.43; SD = 11.56) participated in this study. Both scales demonstrated good fit, achieved convergent and discriminant validity, exhibited acceptable internal consistency, and demonstrated invariance across sex and sports. Regarding the analysis of psychometric properties, the IBQ and IBQ-Self can be applied to Portuguese athletes and their coaches to measure perceived behaviors of others and self-reported behaviors.

Due to the significant growth of participants in sports around the world, this article aims to identify the effects of early specialization, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the professionals and people involved in athlete development, especially in the context of soccer. It describes the phases of Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) as a platform for youth sport coaches to encourage and support participants of all levels to reach their full potential and stay involved in the sport. The article provides strategies for soccer coaches to develop their activities and training sessions in alignment with the phases of the LTAD, along with an adequate pedagogical approach to avoid the negative effects of early sport specialization.

Every great shooter in the game of basketball has one thing in common: a routine. To help increase basketball shooting accuracy, this article presents a series of progressive drills that any aspiring middle school basketball player can use to develop their own routine and improve their game.

Concussion education is widely mandated and largely ineffective. Recent consensus guidance on concussion education asserts the importance of (1) theory-driven programming that targets the team as a system and (2) working with end users throughout the development process, and considering issues such as feasibility, acceptability, and sustainability. Consistent with this guidance, and in collaboration with youth sport stakeholders in two regions of the United States, we developed a novel approach to concussion education: Pre-game safety huddles. Safety huddles have the following two core components: (1) athletes, coaches, and other stakeholders come together before the start of each game and (2) opinion leaders (coaches, referees) affirm the importance of care seeking for suspected concussion. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the collaborative process through which we refined the safety huddle concept into an acceptable and feasible intervention with potential for sustainable implementation in diverse youth sports settings with minimal resource demands. In describing our process and discussing challenges and opportunities, we hope to provide an example for others seeking to develop and implement injury prevention interventions in youth sports settings.

Background: The participation of people with intellectual disabilities in Special Olympics sports and training opportunities offers numerous benefits for health and inclusion. However, little is known about the impact of such training on physical activity behaviour. Here, we evaluate the differences in physical activity volume and intensity of Special Olympics athletes between Unified and non-Unified football training. Method: Accelerometer data of 12 male athletes from eight standardised training sessions (four Unified, four non-Unified) were analysed. Results: While there was no statistically significant difference for the main part of the training, athletes showed higher levels of physical activity intensity (MVPA: M[subscript diff] = 11.74%; 95% CI = 5.50-17.97) and volume (average acceleration ENMO: M[subscript diff] = 112.82 mg; 95% CI = 24.73-200.90) in a Unified compared to non-Unified endurance-related exercise task. Conclusion: Understanding physical activity participation in different training types can help to design and implement future training programmes.

Spirituality in healthcare has been researched in multiple healthcare professions; however, very little research has been done in athletic training, and no studies have investigated the athletes' perception. The purpose of our online survey study was to determine the perceptions of college student-athletes on spiritual care. Our participants included 268 collegiate student-athletes from both faith-based and non-faith-based institutions. Respondents agree that spirituality may affect treatment progress, addressing spiritual concerns of the athlete could result in a more positive outcome, and certified athletic trainers should have some basic skills and knowledge to support the spiritual needs of the athlete.

Objective: Student football managers have demands on their time that may pose barriers to meeting recommended current physical activity (PA) guidelines. The study sought to assess the amount of PA obtained by student football managers at a NCAA Division I Football university. Participants: Subjects were student football managers ( n  = 14) with data collected in the fall 2015. Methods: Participants wore an Omron HJ-720ITFFP pedometer for seven consecutive days during football activities only, while self-reporting their overall PA on day 7. Measures were analyzed using repeated measures and mixed-design ANOVAs. Results: Managers averaged 8474 steps/day for each practice/game. All PA measures significantly varied by day and manager experience. Overall PA equated to 78 hours of walking. Conclusions: Student football managers easily met and surpassed the recommended aerobic health-enhancing PA guideline. While their manager-related PA was 140 minutes per week, other PA allowed them to easily reach significantly healthy levels of PA.

Objectives : This study aimed to analyze the association between sleep quality and mood in elite athletes of different competitive levels. Methods : Participants were 1041 elite athletes (aged 20.82 ± 6.62 years), with 671 men (64.5%/21.52 ± 6.90 years) and 370 women (35.5%/19.55 ± 5.89 years) from 10 individual sports and 6 team sports. Participants self-reported sleep quality on a Likert-type scale and mood was measured with the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS). The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and binary logistic regression. Results : Results revealed that athletes who compete internationally are 84% more likely to have poor sleep quality than athletes who compete at a regional level. International athletes with good sleep quality showed greater vigor. National athletes with poor sleep quality showed more confusion, depression, and fatigue. Thus, mood and competitive level are factors associated with sleep quality. Confusion, fatigue, and tension impair sleep, and vigor reduces the likelihood of poor sleep. Conclusions : Sleep should be monitored, especially in international level athletes, in order to prevent sleep disorders during competitions. Coaches and athletes should use techniques and strategies for appropriate management of sleep and mood, to maintain the athletes in optimal condition before important competitions.

The aim of this study was to analyze footstrike patterns in elite marathon runners at the 2017 IAAF World Championships. Seventy-one men and 78 women were analyzed in their respective races. Athletes' footstrike patterns were recorded (120 Hz) at approximately 8.5, 19, 29.5 and 40 km ("Laps 1 - 4") and categorized as either rearfoot (RFS), midfoot or forefoot striking; the latter two were classified together as non-rearfoot striking (NRFS). The most common footstrike pattern was RFS, with proportions never less than 54% of men or 67% of women at any distance. There were no sex-based differences for proportion of footstrike patterns, and there were no differences between footstrike proportions when comparing the top and bottom 50% of men finishers, or between women during Laps 1 and 2. A greater proportion of the top 50% of women maintained NRFS than amongst the bottom 50%. The proportion of RFS increased with distance run in the men's race, although more than 75% of athletes across both marathons had consistent footstrike patterns between laps (79 RFS and 36 NRFS). As most athletes were RFS (including the top four finishing men), there appears to be no clear advantage to NRFS in marathon running. Coaches should note that it is normal for elite marathon runners to be either RFS or NRFS; however, forefoot striking was rare. The high proportion of athletes who maintained their footstrike pattern reflected individualized preferences for a given footstrike pattern., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Aging is associated with decreased autonomic balance which could be assessed by Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Exercise training improves autonomic balance, but there is a lack in the literature regarding the heart rate variability (HRV) of master sprinters and endurance athletes., Purpose: The effects of lifelong endurance and sprint training on cardiac autonomic balance were assessed in master athletes and compared with age-matched controls and young untrained controls., Methods: Participants (n = 81) were 8 master sprinters (MS; 51.8 ± 11.1 yrs), 8 master endurance athletes (EN, n = 8, 53.6 ± 8.6 yrs), 17 age-matched untrained (CON, 47.47 ± 6.00 yrs) and 48 young controls (YC, 25.40 ± 3.87 yrs). For the acquisition of RR intervals (iRR) (Polar RS800X Heart Rate Monitor®) the participants remained seated for 15-min with the final 10-min being considered for analysis. HRV was measured using Kubios software. A one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was applied., Results: All studied parameters did not differ between MS and EN {Time Domain [HR (bpm) 59.00 ± 6.13 vs. 58.94 ± 12.75], [R-R (ms) 1030.45 ± 107.45 vs. 1068.77 ± 206.17], [SDNN (ms) 57.35 ± 20.07 vs. 80.66 ± 71.07], [RMSSD (ms) 40.88 ± 20.07 vs. 38.93 ± 20.44]; Non-linear domain [SD1 (ms) 28.93 ± 14.20 vs. 27.56 ± 14.46]}, whose demonstrated a reduced HR and elevated mean R-R intervals in comparison to both YC {[HR (bpm) 69.64 ± 9.81]; [R-R (ms) 883.93 ± 124.11]} and age-matched controls {[HR (bpm) 70.06 ± 6.63]; [R-R (ms) 865.11 ± 78.39]}. It was observed a lower HRV for middle-aged CON {[RMSSD (ms) 20.23 ± 5.87], [SDNN (ms) 37.79 ± 10.15] and [SD1 (ms) 14.31 ± 4.15]} compared to YC {[RMSSD (ms) 43.33 ± 26.41], [SDNN (ms) 67.07 ± 28.77] and [SD1 (ms) 30.66 ± 18.69; p < .05]}. These last age-related differences were not observed for MS and EN., Conclusion: For master athletes, regardless of whether they are trained in endurance or sprinters, both training modes revealed to be equally beneficial in attenuating the effects of aging on the autonomic balance., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The results of master athletes have been used previously to examine the age-related differences in aerobic capacity, however, less research has been conducted on the variation of jumping and throwing performances with aging. Therefore, the aim of the present study of elite master athletes was to investigate (a) the age-related differences in throwing (i.e., discus, hammer, javelin, and shot put) and jumping events (i.e., high jump, long jump, pole vault, and triple jump) in 5-year age-group intervals from 35-39 to 95-99 years of elite master athletes, and (b) the trends in performance and sex differences. The top eight female and male finalists for each age group and in each event from 20 European Masters Athletics Championships held between 1978 and 2017 were considered. Overall, 13,673 observations from 4726 master athletes were analyzed. For each event separately, a mixed regression model was performed with sex, age group, calendar year, and interaction terms (sex-age group, sex-year) defined as fixed effects. Performances were improving over time with a linear trend overall for each event. Men had better performances as compared to women, (i.e., in triple jump the estimated difference was 2.58 m, p < 0.001). Performances declined with age for each event (i.e., in triple jump, compared with the age group 45-49 years, performance in the age group 35-39 years was 0.98 m better and performance in the age group 85-89 years was 6.24 m worse). The decline of male performances with age was either slower or faster than the decline of female performances depending on age groups and events.

Despite reports that there has been a positive trend in perception and treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals in recent years (Griffin, 2012 ; Loftus, 2001 ), sport, in general, is still an uncertain, and sometimes even hostile, environment for LGB athletes (Anderson, 2005 ; Waldron & Krane, 2005 ). To gain more information on coach understanding and perceptions of the team environment, 10 high school head coaches in the United States were interviewed to explore their experiences coaching openly LGB athletes. Qualitative analyses revealed four primary themes associated with coach experiences: team environment dogmas and observations, fundamental beliefs contributing to perceptions of LGB athletes, types and timing of sexual orientation disclosure, and differential LGB athlete characteristics. Future research should examine these primary themes in more detail through interviews with LGB athletes, as well as high school coaches in more traditionally masculine sports, such as football, men's basketball, and wrestling.