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A central goal of physical education (PE) is to empower students to be physically active in a health-enhancing way. Therefore, using a competence-based approach, the objective of the health- and fitness-related PE intervention 'Promotion of physical activity-related health competence in PE' (GEKOS) was to address practical and theoretical content regarding training, fitness, and health. The aim of this person-oriented study was to examine differential effects of the GEKOS intervention on control competence and related knowledge, skills, abilities, and motivation. A total of 860 ninth graders were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Intervention group students received six PE lessons that combined practical and theoretical content regarding training, fitness, and health. Measurements were taken before, directly after, and with a follow-up after 8-12 weeks. Students completed a knowledge test and a fitness test, and filled out scales considering motivation and perceived control competence. Latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression were estimated. Five patterns of outcome measures were found. Intervention group students transitioned significantly more often to patterns with improved outcome values. The intervention was especially effective for a subgroup of students who initially had rather low outcome values. For a small proportion of students, the intervention entailed a loss of health-related motivation. The study indicated that students with low control competence and related knowledge, skills, abilities, and motivation can benefit from the GEKOS intervention. Future studies should investigate modes of actions and interventions that explicitly address motivation and vary the content and methods used in PE.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of players' relative age, maturation-related characteristics, and motor performance tests on two different stages of talent selection (regional and national level) in youth elite basketball. Methods: Relative age, maturation-related variables (height, weight, maturity offset, maturity timing) and motor performance (Countermovement jump, Standing long jump, Modified agility T-test, Linear sprint 20 m) of N = 68 male youth basketball players (Mage = 14.39 ± 0.28 years) were assessed during the initial selection tournament for the German U15 national team. Pre-selection biases regarding relative age and maturity timing on the regional level were investigated utilizing one-sample t-tests. Differences in relative age, maturation-related characteristics and motor performance between players selected (n = 27) and non-selected (n = 41) for the youth national team were examined via independent samples' t-tests and logistic regression analyses. Results: Strong pre-selection biases toward early-born and early-maturing players were confirmed on the regional level. Significant advantages in height and weight and higher values in maturity offset and maturity timing were found for selected players. Among the motor variables, only Countermovement jump performance was significantly better in selected players. When controlling for relative age and biological maturation regression models including motor performance variables did not significantly discriminate players' selection status. Conclusion: Coaches working in national, but also preceding selection stages (regional and club level) should raise their awareness to relative age and biological maturation when evaluating players' potential and current (motor) performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In soccer substantial work has been invested to identify factors predicting future performance and success. As it concerns psychological characteristics, quantitatively and qualitatively limited research restricts insights on potential differences due to moderating variables such as players' age and developmental stage within the talent pathway. Thus, the purpose of this study was to extend the empirical evidence on psychological characteristics by (a) validating the prognostic power of potential talent predictors for adult success in U17 "elite promotion" stage players and by (b) comparing these results to the group of U12 "talent development" stage players of the former study by Höner and Feichtinger using the same methodological approach. For both, an online survey was utilized to assess psychological variables across the domains of motivation, volition, self-concept, and emotions. Further, players' performance level was determined four years after the assessment (i.e., U12 success criteria: admission to youth academy; U17 success criteria: achieving professional status). The statistical analyses revealed notable differences in the expression and prognostic value of psychological characteristics between the two samples. Among U17 players, dysfunctional (e.g., fear of failure, competitive anxiety) and functional attributes (e.g., hope for success, ego-orientation, competitiveness) significantly predicted individuals' professional status. The results are discussed within the light of potential environmental demands which may influence the role of psychological dispositions and skills throughout talent development. Additionally, the significance of reliable assessments for applied practice is highlighted regarding sport psychological diagnostics and interventions. Lay summary: To optimally support talent development in soccer, researchers and practitioners seek to understand factors which facilitate players' successful progression through talent pathways up to a professional level. The current study highlights psychological characteristics (e.g., hope for success, competitiveness) which predict future performance and should thus be nourished in young players. The results highlight distinct psychological characteristics which seem to be relevant for a successful progression through the talent development pathway of the German FA and should therefore be facilitated within sport psychological service delivery. The results further suggest age/developmental stage dependent differences in the expression functional and dysfunctional psychological attributes and their potential relevance for performance development mid-term. Such moderators need to be considered when planning to implement sport psychological diagnostics and interventions. Long-term monitoring of youth athletes in institutionalized talent pathways (e.g., FAs) can contribute to an optimization of talent development on a local level (e.g., youth academies). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While sporting research has focussed on the performance factors and activities contributing to elite performance, there is still limited acknowledgement of the athlete's voice on the specific experiences and milestones that shaped their development into elite athletes. Therefore, the current study, used qualitative first-hand experiences of international level players to understand their developmental stories. In total, 17 players who represented the Australian National Soccer team during the "Golden Generation" Australian soccer (i.e. represented the Australian National Soccer Team during the Qualification period and subsequent 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup competitions) participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants, with the analysis identifying six key themes which described the developmental story of players. The themes included, Passion; Family; Mentality; Environment; Practice; and Pathway. The findings provide a detailed description of the environmental and socio-cultural factors the players perceived as critical in their journey to representing their nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory factor analysis is a widely used framework in the social and behavioral sciences. Since measurement errors are always present in human behavior data, latent factors, generating the observed data, are important to identify. While most factor analysis methods rely on linear relationships in the data‐generating process, deep learning models can provide more flexible modeling approaches. However, two problems need to be addressed. First, for interpretation, scaling assumptions are required, which can be (at least) cumbersome for deep generative models. Second, deep generative models are typically not identifiable, which is required in order to identify the underlying latent constructs. We developed a model that uses a variational autoencoder as an estimator for a complex factor analysis model based on importance‐weighted variational inference. In order to receive interpretable results and an identified model, we use a linear factor model with identification constraints in the measurement model. To maintain the flexibility of the model, we use normalizing flow latent priors. Within the evaluation of performance measures in a talent development program in soccer, we found more clarity in the separation of the identified underlying latent dimensions with our models compared to traditional PCA analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers consider motivation a key determinant of physical activity. In physical education (PE) and youth sport, the more children and adolescents evaluate their teachers and coaches to be autonomy supportive, as opposed to controlling, the more self-determined they are in their motivation. Therefore, it appears valuable to help PE teachers and youth sport coaches optimize their interactions with the individuals they work with. This study was designed to systematically review the literature related to autonomy support interventions with PE teachers and youth sport coaches. After relevant databases were searched and duplicates were removed, 1,523 potentially pertinent articles were found. These were subsequently screened based on specific inclusion criteria. This systematic review process helped identify 21 studies that were included for further analyses. Overall, the interventions were frequently successful in enhancing PE teachers' and youth sport coaches' behavior. Additional research appears justified to foster self-determined motivation among children and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]