Search

Despite concerted efforts, LGBTQ + inclusivity is not fostered across all sporting contexts. Interpersonal relationships with teammates and coaches are particularly significant when it comes to cultivating positive and inclusive LGBTQ + experiences within sport. Using online qualitative data collected from 741 LGBTQ + adults, this study examined how relationships with coaches, teammates and sport-related staff impacted sport experiences and participation. Participant responses were independently coded using reflexive thematic analysis. Data were used to develop a new visual model to understand different types of relationships LGBTQ + individuals experience in sport and how this impacted their sport experiences. Exclusive sport relationships were characterised by experiences of discrimination and were found to greatly influence how participants viewed sport and physical activity contexts as adults. Inert or neutral sport relationships were maintained through protective self-distancing techniques. Inclusive relationships with coaches and teammates were primarily based on acceptance and associated with viewing physical activity positively. Identity-concealment strategies and athletic ability were identified as factors that impacted LGBTQ + adults' relationships within sport. Our overall findings demonstrate how discrimination in the form of overt or subtle sexual and gender prejudice can thwart feelings of relatedness among LGBTQ + athletes.

This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the literature on sports nutrition as recovery published between 1964 and 2022. This study illustrates the structure and trends in sports nutrition publications by using scientific mapping and analyzing publication performance. This study identified the contributions of authors, journals, countries, and widely cited articles. While there was no massive expansion in the first year of publication, the results show that high growth emerged in the 2010s. Several countries have made significant contributions to recovery research in sports nutrition. European countries account for the majority of publications on this subject. Latin American and Asian countries are also keeping an eye on the study's growth. Another finding is that various multidisciplinary publishers publish articles about sports nutrition. The International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, on the other hand, is the journal that publishes the most articles. Burke L.M. has established himself as a prolific writer in this field, producing many documents and total citations. Several keywords have large nodes associated with their frequency of occurrence. The keyword relationship provides information about the relationship between keywords frequently appearing in one study. Visualizations of research trends are presented to provide an up-to-date reference guide for academics, revealing critical research gaps and potential research avenues for future studies to advance the discipline's consolidation.

Contemporary learning and development models have identified parkour-style training as a vehicle for athlete enrichment. However, perceptions of team-sport coaches and their receptiveness to such models of athlete enrichment have not been investigated and remain unclear. To explore how parkour-style training could be integrated into athlete development programs in team sports, we interviewed sport practitioners to explore their preexisting knowledge of parkour and their perceptions on its potential applications. Experienced talent development (n = 10) and strength and conditioning coaches (n = 10) were interviewed using an open-ended, semistructured approach with a two-stage thematic analysis being conducted to identify themes. Three dimensions were identified: coaches' general perceptions of parkour, potential applications of parkour, and feasibility of integrating parkour into athlete development programs. Participant perceptions revealed that: (a) parkour activities were viewed as supplementary activities to enrich sport-specific training routines, including use of obstacle courses and/or tag elements; (b) parkour-style obstacle environments needed to be scalable to allow individual athletes and coaches to manipulate object orientation and tasks using soft play and traditional gym equipment; and (c) the implementation of continued professional development opportunities, athlete-centered approaches to learning designs in sport, and coach-parent forums were recommended to support the integration of parkour-style training.

The current debate swirling around the inclusion of transgender individuals in sports is a complex and nuanced issue. This article reflects on how athletic organizations have historically dealt with this dilemma, as well as covers key legal battles that have surfaced in recent years in secondary schools and universities across America. With the "Save Women's Sports" movement gaining traction across the country, current legislative measures will be analyzed in light of Title IX, and main arguments on both sides of the debate will be explored. Finally, suggestions for moving toward reasonable policies that protect the rights of both cisgender and transgender individuals will be discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the skills, knowledge, and experiences differentiating expert and competent strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches. Method: The participants were 87 elite-level head S&C coaches with an average of over 18 years of coaching experience. These coaches were employed by teams from the MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA Division 1 FBS "Power Five" Conferences, United States National Teams, and the Australian Football League. This study used both a qualitative and quantitative research design through the use of the Delphi method, which incorporated three rounds of surveys. The first-round survey asked the participants to identify at least one important skill, knowledge area, and experience that should be possessed by an expert and competent S&C coach respectively. The characteristics generated from the first round were placed on a second-round survey and rated on their level of importance using a five-point Likert scale. If a characteristic received a suggestion for rephrasing, and did not reach a level of consensus, or an entirely new characteristic was suggested, then it was placed on the final-round survey to be rated again. Characteristics that reached a level of consensus were placed on the final list of characteristics. Results: A total of 46 characteristics reached a level of consensus and were placed on the final list of characteristics. Conclusion: There now exists an empirically validated list of characteristics differentiating expert and competent S&C coaches. This list can aid in the selection, evaluation, and development of S&C coaches.

The purpose of this article is to highlight the challenges that accomplished young athletes face as they aspire to become professional athletes. The data used in this study was derived from selected lived and told sport experiences of undergraduate and graduate kinesiology majors who were former competitive athletes. Additional data was derived via email exchanges between the author and a mother of a teen soccer player. Statistics from football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer are also presented in order to place both players' compensation and the odds of a professional career in sports in a proper perspective. Parents are advised of the challenge they may face as they try to reason with a child who neglects her/his studies in favor of focusing on her/his dream of a career in professional sports. The author also recommends steps parents may follow in order to help their child select a fitting and fulfilling post-professional athletics career.

It has been argued that sport is a way for youth to develop psycho-social skills that lead to holistic development. However, participation itself in sport does not lead to this growth; mechanisms for growth must be intentional, often conducted by coaches. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive study was to understand the integration of positive youth development concepts of citizenship into youth sport organizations. One hundred five coaches from the United States and Canada completed an online survey created by the researchers and comprising preexisting measures and newly devised questions. The coaches most heavily emphasized a mastery climate focusing on effort and having fun and emphasized winning the least. Additionally, coaches perceived their youth athletes to learn respect for others, teamwork, and respect for self at the highest rates through participation in their program. Regarding specific techniques for developing citizenship, participants provided many concrete examples in open responses: creating leadership development opportunities for girls in their organization, having league homework programs, and running food drives. Research has identified time as a major barrier to the implementation of opportunities for the explicit transfer of citizenship skills, and the participants provided several methods of growth that are not time intensive. The practical implications and limitations of the results are discussed.

Educators in the United States have been socialized to believe that their mission in teaching is to play nice and treat all of their students the same, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, or gender. What is often missing in this teaching-all-equally approach is a counter-narrative that questions whether teachers can in fact successfully act as the gate keepers of equal educational opportunities. Historically the teachers' role has been to evaluate their students from the earliest years of schooling, beginning with screening for kindergarten. In performing these responsibilities, do teachers approach their students with ingrained beliefs which influence their perception of students? To illuminate these possibilities the authors aim to examine a specific form of prejudice known as "lookism", which Ayto (1999) defines as "prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of appearance". How do such prejudices impact whether students will be treated equally? The participants for the study were 226 secondary education teacher candidates enrolled in professional education classes in a suburban university in Southern California. An attitudinal survey was used to solicit teacher candidates' perceptions about adolescents based on the adolescents' physical characteristics. The survey consisted of a series of eight photos of adolescents from four major racial groups (Black, White, Asian, and Hispanic) and 10 statements formulated to elicit deep-seated perceptions. The participants' responses were categorized into five major themes: (1) academic success; (2) athletic success; (3) perceived as outsiders; (4) academic adversity; and (5) challenging classroom authority. In this report the authors' findings focus on the two photographs that had the highest frequency of responses. The participants' responses to the photos reflected perceptions of adolescents that were clearly related to race and gender and, as such, revealed their own personal stereotypes and prejudices. The findings demonstrated that the teacher candidates carried preconceived notions about the adolescents they were shown in the photos and that these notions were stratified clearly along gender and racial lines.

The purpose of this study was to determine if NCAA Division I women's volleyball programs were in compliance with suggested current pre- and post-activity stretching protocols. Questionnaires were sent to NCAA division I women's volleyball programs in the United States. Fifty six coaches (23 males & 33 females) participated in the study. Some results seemed to conflict with current suggested practices for pre-activity stretching. The results of this study indicate that certification may not influence how well research guidelines are followed. Further research is needed to delineate how these factors affect coaching decisions. (Contains 10 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the association between self-control (SC) variables and (a) sport-specific practice amounts, (b) engagement in various practice contexts, (c) threats to commitment to one's sport, and (d) skill development using the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) in a diverse sport sample. Method: Two hundred forty-four athletes (47% female; M[subscript age] = 21.96 years, SD = 6.98 years; 68.8% individual sports and 31.2% team sports; 13.77 [SD = 8.12] hr/week of sport-specific practice) completed a survey composed of the BSCS and practice-related measures. Three skill groups (basic/intermediate, advanced, expert) were informed by athletes' self-reported highest level of competition. Separate analyses were conducted for juniors (aged 12-17 years) and seniors (aged 18-43 years). Results: A 2-factor model (self-discipline and impulse control) fit the BSCS data. Fewer thoughts of quitting from one's sport were associated with higher self-discipline in juniors and seniors and were also related to higher impulse control in seniors. Greater practice amounts were associated with higher self-discipline; however, only seniors showed such associations in voluntary practice contexts. For juniors and seniors, impulse control was associated with more voluntary practicing. There were, however, no skill-group differences for levels of self-discipline or impulse control. Conclusions: Self-discipline and impulse control may be dispositional characteristics associated with how athletes engage in practice and avert conditions that threaten their sport commitment. SC dispositions may relate to practice amounts differently in juniors and seniors, depending on the requirements for self-regulation in a practice context.

Coed sport environments can be paradoxical settings where pre-existing gender biases influence participants' enjoyment and success. Furthermore, gendered messages and stereotypes as well as low expectations for females within coed sports can create participation barriers by reducing feelings of confidence and performance. Within university intramural sport programs, administrators have a significant role in determining participation opportunities and experiences. From a critical perspective, this investigation examined administrators' perspectives about coed intramural flag football gender modifications. Specifically, four research questions guided this study: (1) How do intramural sport administrators view coed flag football gender modifications?; (2) To what extent do intramural sport administrators perceive gender modifications to impact coed flag football environments?; (3) What level of awareness do intramural sport administrators have about the gendered messages of coed flag football gender modifications?; and (4) To what extent are intramural sport administrators willing to modify their perceptions of the rules in light of critical questioning? Qualitative interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of 12 intramural administrators from across the USA. Administrators reported that coed gender modifications impacted perceptions about female ability, often by sending messages of inequity. Moreover, administrators revealed that the modifications created competitive strategy that often diminished the integrity of the game and undermined perceptions of female ability. Findings also indicated that administrators were highly influenced by previously existing gender stereotypes, leading to an endorsement of the modifications. Endorsements were accompanied by questioning of the rules but reluctance to enact changes. These findings elucidate the importance of scrutinizing the existence and application of coed gender modifications. Furthermore, engaging flag football participant feedback on the specific attributes of the coed modifications is important to better understand the needs of female populations. Lastly, eliminating modifications may help diminish the gendered messages that currently exist within coed flag football.

Stigmatization consequent to anti-fat bias (AFB) may affect the services people who are obese receive from health professionals, including physical education and exercise science (PEX) professionals. In this study, we compared AFB levels of American and Mexican PEX students and Mexican athletes. We also investigated if socially desirable (SD) response tendencies threaten the validity of the explicit AFB measure used in this study. Participants (N = 118) completed measures of explicit and implicit AFB. Explicit AFB scores were not different between groups, but there were some subsample differences and interactions on the implicit AFB measure. Most implicit AFB subsample scores were significantly different from 0, indicating the participants were, to some extent, implicitly biased against fat people. The correlations between SD scales and the explicit AFB scales indicated no substantive threat to the validity of those scales. These results indicate AFB may be an issue with future PEX professionals, and thus, further research on incidence levels and prevention strategies is warranted. Also, because explicit and implicit AFB scores were not significantly correlated, researchers should investigate whether implicit bias affects an individual's explicit bias.

This article describes how the current Greek sport-education context seems to offer relatively poor dual-career support in comparison to other available structures in the world. This results in additional obstacles for Greek athletes who wish to educate themselves and an ambiguous prospect for their future. Consequently, the Greek sport-educational context raises serious doubts whether high performance sports and education are compatible.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the talk of older athletes, with particular focus on how the context of sport helps them negotiate the ageing process. It draws on personal stories provided by 44 World Masters Games competitors (23 women; 21 men; aged 56-90 years; "M" = 72). Four themes emerged: "There's no such thing as old" (a story of avoiding old age); "Keep moving" (a story of fighting the ageing process); "Fun, fitness, friendship... [and] competing" (a story of redefining self and "old age") and; "Making the most of your life... with the capabilities that you still have" (a story of adaptation and acceptance). Together, the four themes show how through sports participation older individuals can simultaneously resist, redefine and accept the ageing process. These stories of a "sporting later life" allow for alternative meanings to the dominant "declining body" narrative of ageing. Therefore, these narratives present the possibility for personal, pedagogical and social transformation.

Student affairs personnel are often charged with the task of creating a sense of community on campuses. Sports is among the many activities that historically have been used to meet this need for community among students. Yet, how and when a sense of community is created within a sports context has not been appropriately addressed in literature. Utilizing a community psychology theoretical framework for this study, we employed a qualitative approach to uncover the necessary factors for creating a sense of community within a sports club setting. The results revealed that Common Interest, Leadership Opportunities, Voluntary Activity, and Competition were the most critical components to creating a sense of community. The results advance community building theory and suggest practical application for improving the student experience. The implications for sports managers and student affairs administrators are also discussed. (Contains 1 figure.)

The present investigation sought to determine the extent to which collegiate student-athletes are susceptible to stereotype threat and the factors that predict it. We proposed a structural equation model (SEM) by which a perceived coach's positive regard for an athlete's academic ability, athletic identity, and academic identity predicts the degree of perceived stereotype threat while controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, type of sport, and division level. Also hypothesized, athletic and academic identities mediate the coach's attitude toward academics in predicting susceptibility to stereotype threat. Survey responses from 318 collegiate athletes showed the coach's regard for an athlete's academic ability emerged as a significant predictor of stereotype threat. A coach's regard for academic ability had a significant negative relationship with athletic identity, which, in turn, had a significant positive relationship with stereotype threat. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

This paper summarizes the responses of 103 student-athletes enrolled in a first-year experience course when asked, "What adjective best describes your first semester in college?" Not surprisingly, the most frequent descriptors were busy, fun, stressful, and different. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of collecting this type of data as a form of early warning system.

This article begins by examining the historical and social factors that led to 1901 being the "deafest" year in major league baseball history with four deaf players. In particular, the author discusses the career of William Ellsworth "Dummy" Hoy, a deaf man from Ohio who became the most celebrated deaf player in history and explores the reasons why he is not more celebrated in the mainstream culture. (Contains 47 notes.)

In the present study, we examined developmental and contextual factors that may increase the odds of reporting higher social physique anxiety (SPA) among 404 adolescent athletes 11 to 16 years old. Findings showed older, later maturing athletes past peak height velocity and with greater body mass index (BMI) reported higher SPA. Individual aesthetic sport athletes were older at menarche, had lower BMI, and reported higher SPA. The odds of reporting higher SPA were 4.5 times higher (odds ratio = 4.61) for individual aesthetic sport athletes than for nonaesthetic sport athletes. Team aesthetic sport contexts were not implicated in SPA risk. Results are discussed in terms of self-selection away from individual aesthetic sports and the relevance of physical size and puberty in the SPA construct. (Contains 5 tables and 1 note.)

In the United States, initiation or hazing activities in high school and university sport are increasingly being recognized as a serious issue facing coaches and sport administrators. These events include humiliation, degradation or abuse of new team members, presumed to enhance team bonding. This study is grounded in Waldron and Krane's conceptual framework linking social goal orientation and overconformity to team norms. We conducted focus group interviews with nine former male high-school athletes examining their hazing experiences. A narrative approach to the data analysis was used to provide a comprehensive account of their combined experiences. The data were integrated into monologues describing experiences of being hazed, one positively perceived and one negatively perceived experience. A third monologue presents the perspective of the athlete doing the hazing. These stories highlight the perceived rationale and acceptance of hazing, the emotional toll of being hazed and the power dynamics that allow hazing to continue.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether combining the two dimensions of anxiety (i.e., intensity and direction) by using a multiplicative model would strengthen the prediction of burnout. Collegiate athletes (N = 157) completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire as well as a trait version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2D. Three separate hierarchical regression analyses with four blocks were conducted to predict each one of the burnout subscales from anxiety intensity and direction while controlling for gender. The multiplicative variable for cognitive anxiety was a significant predictor of reduced sense of accomplishment (p less than 0.01). Self-confidence was the only directional scale that predicted reduced sense of accomplishment, emotional/physical exhaustion, and devaluation (p less than 0.01). In addition, gender was found to predict overall burnout in all three subscales as a control variable (p less than 0.05). Conclusions and applied implications are drawn based on the results. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper takes as its starting point that coaches' efforts at planning their athletes' training are a complex practice involving so many variables that the logic of how they all "fit together" to produce a peak performance is never obvious or clear. However, many coaches operate as if their athletes' training programmes can be assembled in a coherent, rational manner, or as if "systems" exist to make planning an orderly sequence of steps or stages. Drawing on the work of Foucault, and his call to problematise the development and formation of dominant practices, I examine in this paper the discursive construction of contemporary planning practices used by middle- and long-distance running coaches. Further, I discuss how coaches' knowledge of planning is enmeshed within relations of power, that weaved in discourses, and imprinted on athletes' bodies and bodily practices, attempt to assert the "truth" about the practice of planning.

Background: Coaches' knowledge and actions are both the product and manifestation of a personally experienced involvement with the coaching process; they are linked to the coach's history and both are attributable to how they were learned. Changing established coaching practice can be problematic, particularly as coaching lacks a critical tradition, and coaches are more likely to be seen sticking with "safer", "tried and tested", traditional methods. Butler recently noted in 2005 that approaches such as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) offer a way for practitioners to challenge their practice, move from a "comfort zone" and open themselves up to self-reflection. Purpose: With this in mind, the purpose of this study was to explore how two interscholastic soccer coaches incorporated TGfU into their coaching practice. Methods: Two interscholastic soccer coaches; Brad, an experienced Head coach of the program and coach of the varsity team (n = 18), and Jeff, a first-year coach in the program and the coach of the first-year team (n = 16) (both pseudonyms) and their players participated in the study. The study was conducted over the length of one 12-week interscholastic soccer season and involved a four-week pre-observation followed by an eight-session TGfU soccer unit focused on the defensive off-the-ball aspects of performance. Data collection was conducted in three stages: (1) participant observation of the two coaches and their players using Metzler's benchmarks as discussed in 2000; (2) data from these observations were used to construct questions for semi-structured interview schedules with the two coaches and players (n = 3) following each TGfU session; and (3) an end-of-unit interview with the two coaches. The data were analysed using the procedures and techniques of grounded theory. Following analysis, three overall themes emerged: (1) coach perceptions of using TGfU; (2) coach pedagogy; and (3) players' perceptions. Results and discussion: Findings showed that the two coaches' values, beliefs and dispositions were challenged by the TGfU approach, and TGfU was a way in which the coaches were able to recognize potential areas for improvement and development in their coaching practice. In addition, the institutionalized context of the coaching practice made it difficult for Brad to develop his use of TGfU while Jeff, in contrast, observed early in the intervention how TGfU could help develop not only his own coaching practice but advance player learning through the appropriate use of questioning and stepping back. Conclusions: (1) While this study showed that both coaches altered their coaching practice to a varied degree by using TGfU, neither coach totally adopted TGfU into their coaching practice and it had not influenced them sufficiently to impact their coaching identity. (2) There is scope for larger scale and/or longitudinal coaching interventions that attempt to move sports coaches toward more athlete-centred coaching practices. As a result, a case could be made for more TGfU/Game Sense within formal coach education, not only as a means to develop athlete-centred coaching, but also as a way for coaches to understand theories of learning that underpin practice. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

School leaders, parents and coaches are challenged to ensure the safety of athletes participating in interscholastic programs, including concussion management. With an estimated 300,000 sport-related concussions occurring annually in the United States and a public perception that bell ringers are not concussions, many head-injured children are being allowed to continue to play through their symptoms. That decision puts those athletes at additional catastrophic risk. While several states have passed legislation to set minimum concussion management guidelines, an alarming need still exists to better educate those on America's sport sidelines. This article provides school leaders, parents and coaches with a snapshot of appropriate concussion management practices by presenting policy recommendations for establishing uniform guidelines consistent with the current published literature. It also provides recommendations to teachers for making classroom accommodations for athletes with concussions. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Research has established that student-athletes drink more alcohol and experience greater consequences compared to their non-athlete peers, prompting many investigators to consider university athletes an "at risk" subpopulation of college students. However, a dearth of research exists on explaining drinking behavior among student-athletes in general, and among team leaders compared to nonleaders in particular. This article responds to calls in the literature for more explanatory research assessing differences in alcohol use between team members and team leaders. Specifically, the aim of this study was to investigate, in a multivariate assessment, the ability of normative beliefs, perceptions of risk, coaches' attitudes toward drinking, and socio-demographic variables to discriminate among four groups of student athletes classified across levels of drinking intensity and leadership status. An anonymous survey was administered to 211 student-athletes at a mid-size, southeastern university. Results indicated substantial drinking behavior among this group. A multiple discriminant function analysis revealed that student-athletes who were non-leaders and engaged in heavy, episodic drinking perceived greater risks associated with alcohol consumption, greater leniency from coaches, and greater levels of alcohol use among peers. Implications for university interventions are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)

Until recently, no self-report instruments have examined psychological skills use in both practice and competition. In light of the significant role of practice in sport performance outcomes, a need exists to measure these skills in both domains. This study was designed to investigate differences in performance strategies of US Olympians in both practice and competition. The Test of Performance Strategies was administered to 176 US participants in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Summer Games. Discriminant function analyses demonstrated significant differences between medalists and nonmedalists in both the competition and practice performance strategies. Furthermore, significant gender and age differences were identified for competition strategies only. The 16 subscales of the TOPS, with two exceptions, create an internally stable instrument with moderate predictive ability relative to quality of sport performance, gender, and age in this elite sample of athletes. (Contains 4 tables.)

In the United States, it has been reported that 4% to 12% of male adolescents and 0.5% to 2.9% of female adolescents have used anabolic steroids to enhance sports performance or favorably alter body size. Although medical, legal, and ethical issues related to the nonmedical use of anabolic steroids have been widely publicized, a growing number of adolescents appear to be using them for nonmedical purposes. This study examines the relationship between sports participation and steroid use among Black and White high school males using data from the Monitoring the Future Surveys: 1991-2007. Our specific aims were threefold: (1) to examine whether trends in high school male adolescent steroid usage was associated with the "steroids era" in major league baseball; (2) to compare Black-White adolescent usage patterns, and (3) to determine if participation in school sports served as a protective or risk factor for steroid use. Results indicate that adolescent male steroid use increased during the "steroids era", White males reported higher prevalence of steroid use than Black males, and sport participation served as a protective factor, but only for Black males. (Contains 3 tables.)

Methicillin-resistant "Staphylococcus aureus" (MRSA) was once thought to be a bacterium causing infections in only hospitalized patients. However, a new strain of MRSA has emerged among healthy individuals who have not had any recent exposure to a hospital or to medical procedures. This new strain is known as "community-associated MRSA". Studies have shown the rates of MRSA infection are increasing throughout the United States and that some populations are at greater risk of acquiring these infections. One population at greater risk is athletes. Educating student athletes, parents, coaches, and administrators about the seriousness of this infection and how to prevent and manage it in the school setting is an important role of the school nurse. The goal of this education is to prevent the spread of MRSA organisms, thereby reducing student absenteeism and the related costs of treating MRSA infections. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article examines the extent to which participation in high school interscholastic sports contributes to male violence. Deriving competing hypotheses from social control, social learning, and masculinity theories, I use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to test if (1) type of sport and (2) peer athletic participation, contribute to the risks of male serious fighting. Contrary to social control expectations, analyses suggest that athletic involvement fails to inhibit male violence. Moreover, there is a strong relationship between contact sports and violence. Football players and wrestlers, as opposed to baseball, basketball, tennis, and other athletes, are significantly more likely than nonathletic males to be involved in a serious fight. Additionally, the direct effect of football is explained by the football participation of individuals' peers. Males whose friends play football are more likely to fight than other males, supporting perspectives that emphasize peer contexts as important mediators. Overall, findings are consistent with the expectations of social learning and masculinity arguments. The theoretical and policy implications of these results are discussed. (Contains 8 footnotes, 2 tables, and 3 figures.)

Gambling on college and professional sports and the influence of attending colleges with differing levels of "sports interest" were examined among athletes, sports fans, and other students (N = 10,559) at 119 colleges in the United States using multilevel statistical analysis. Athletes and fans reported more sports gambling compared to other students, with no differences between athletes and fans. Male students were more likely to gamble than female students, but gender did not moderate the relationship between athletic participation and sports gambling. Students attending schools with a greater "sports interest" were more likely to gamble on college sports after adjusting for individual characteristics. Athletes, sports fans, and students attending schools with high "sports interest" are appropriate targets for prevention efforts. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Objective: The authors examined the national prevalence of gambling problems and sports wagering among US college student-athletes. Participants: A national sample of 20,739 student-athletes participated in the study. Methods: The authors used data from the first national survey of gambling among college athletes, conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Results: Men (62.4%) consistently had higher past-year prevalence of gambling than did women (42.8%). The authors identified 4.3% of men and 0.4% of women as problem or pathological gamblers. Among the most popular forms of gambling were playing cards, lotteries, and games of skill, with male-to-female prevalence ratio ranging 1.3-5.6 across various gambling activities. Athletes in golf and lacrosse were more likely to report sports wagering than were other athletes. Athletes in gender-specific sports wagered more prevalently than did athletes in unisex sports. Conclusion: Gambling prevalence may be underestimated in this population because respondents' athletics eligibility is at stake. This study provides important baseline data for future cohorts of athletes. Includes appendix: DSM-IV Gambling Screen: 10 Questions with Yes/No Answers (Past 12 Months). (Contains 4 tables.)

Objective: Prior research shows that college athletes have higher rates of substance use, especially alcohol, than do college students who are not involved in athletics. To augment the literature, the author sought to determine which sports/teams are at the greatest risk for substance use. Participants: The author used data from the 1999 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, a national survey of college and university students in the United States. Methods: A series of chi-square and logistic regression models examined variation in substance use among college athletes on the basis of sport/team affiliation. Results: Findings indicated that male hockey and female soccer athletes were the most likely to report substance use and that male basketball and cross-country/track athletes reported lower levels of substance use. Conclusion: There is variation in substance use on the basis of sport/team affiliation, and future researchers should examine why certain groups of athletes have higher rates of substance use. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study utilized critical race theory (CRT) as an epistemological framework and theoretical tool for understanding African American male student-athletes' perceptions of racism and the potential impact racism might have on their educational experiences and overall development. This qualitative case study included a single focus group and in-depth interviews with four African American male football players in a big-time college sport program at a predominantly White institution (PWI) in the Midwestern United States. These males felt that racism manifested itself in terms of African Americans (1) being denied access to leadership and major decision-making opportunities in college and professional sport, and (2) being treated differently than their White counterparts. These findings point to the need for further studies that are inclusive of the voices of this particular group and other groups of African American student-athletes. Further, these results have implications for administrators, coaches, academic support personnel, and other educators at American universities and colleges with big-time college sport programs.

Most people probably do not remember being coached to jump, or--more important--to land. Research on landing concentrates on the impact forces associated with landing, the consequential effect on the legs, and the subsequent injury potential. There is an abundance of literature on how to create stronger and more powerful muscles, which may be common knowledge among coaches. However, knowledge about the impact forces of landing is much less common. Landing is the focus of this article. The first section of this article discusses the forces involved with landing and the associated potential injuries. It is necessary to understand the nature of these forces in order to devise strategies to minimize injuries, which occupies the bulk of this article. Most of the examples given relate to volleyball and basketball, because these sports include a great number of jump-landing sequences and are played by many people throughout the world.

The United States prides itself on many things, but few are more prominent and visible than success at a sport, either locally, nationally, or internationally. Local sports are often a unifying factor in communities, and instances of success are the stuff of both fact and fiction. The 2001 Little League World Series highlighted the Rolando Paulino team and its largely immigrant players from a community that lionized them; later, the team was smeared by scandal. High school football in Texas or Ohio is often something that an entire community embraces. The movie Hoosiers was a fictionalized account of the success of a school in Milan. Indiana, in the 1954 Indiana State High School Basketball Tournament. These are readily recognized, but not unusual, examples of the prominent role that sports plays in local communities. National college football rankings spur alumni to support their alma maters; few school events provide such positive, or sometimes negative, publicity and stimulate such a flow of dollars as a highly successful football or basketball team. The most recognizable face in the world is that of basketball player Michael Jordan. The study of sports in American history is the story of great American themes--racism, sexism, responses to war, demagoguery, sudden economic success, immigration, urban growth, community life, advances in transportation, media hype, and so forth.