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To validate the modified System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time to measure teacher practices related to physical activity promotion (SOFIT+) in physical education (PE) amongst 5-6-year-old-children. Participants (n = 162, 53% female, 6.0 ± 0.3 yrs) were recruited from 9 schools. Video-recordings of 45 PE lessons from 9 teachers/coaches were coded using a modified SOFIT+. Accelerometers measured children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Validity was assessed via multinomial regression measuring the relationship of both SOFIT+ index score and individual teaching practices with children's MVPA. Inter-rater reliability was examined. A 1 unit increase in the SOFIT+ index was associated with increased likelihood to engage in 10-19 sec, 20-29 sec and 30-40 sec of MVPA, compared to 0-10 sec. Most of the observed teaching practices were significantly related to children's MVPA. Inter-rater percentage of agreement ranged between 88.8% and 99.7%. SOFIT+ is a valid and reliable assessment of teaching practices related to MVPA promotion in PE amongst 5-6-year-old-children.

The aim of this study was to achieve consensus from leading sport and exercise science practitioners in professional soccer academies surrounding (i) motivations for maturity-related data collection (ii) maturity-related injury risk factors (iii) how maturity-related data informs injury prevention practices and (iv) the use of bio-banding as an alternative injury prevention strategy. The study adopted an iterative three round online Delphi method, where a series of statements were rated by expert panellists. Consensus agreement was set at ≥70% for all statements. Nine panellists participated in all three rounds (69% response rate). Consensus was achieved for a total of sixteen statements. Panellists agreed that the period during and 12-months post peak height velocity, muscle strength/flexibility imbalances and maturity status (% predicted adult height) as the most important maturity-related injury risk factors. Panellists also agreed that maturity-related data collection is important for injury prevention as well as physical and performance-related purposes, but not for recruitment or retain/release purposes. It was also evident that variability and misunderstanding of key language terms used within the growth and maturation literature exists. It was agreed that practitioners who are responsible for conducting maturational assessments require additional training/education to enhance their application, delivery and outcomes. The findings indicate that maturity-related data collection is part of a multidisciplinary process, dedicated towards the long-term development of players. Greater training and education are required along with increased dissemination of research findings surrounding the full uses for bio-banding. This study provides guidance on maturity-related injury risks and prevention in youth soccer for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in North American soccer is re-emerging following the multiple announcements that major club (e.g., 2025 FIFA Club World Cup) and international tournaments (e.g 2026 FIFA World Cup) will be held on the continent in the coming years. However, there is a dearth of evidence on talent identification and development originating from this part of the world. The top-tier domestic league in the United States and Canada, Major League Soccer, operates as a single-entity business model and its clubs have gradually expanded their organizational structures, assembling youth academies and reserves teams, to help streamline a talent pathway into their first teams. The overall growth in Major League Soccer has ultimately created greater opportunities for homegrown domestic talents in North America, particularly the US. The present commentary highlights the evolution of the talent pathway within Major League Soccer, particularly during the better part of the previous two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport coaching is increasingly acknowledged as a stressful activity, especially for those coaching in community contexts. This highlights the significant need to identify the diverse sources of key stressors. The aim of this research was to explore the recurrent stressors experienced by novice coaches to better inform their coping strategies and reduce the dropout rate caused by stress. The novelty of this research lies in its longitudinal exploration of the daily hassles experienced by community sport coaches within their coaching role. Ontologically and epistemologically positioned within the interpretivist paradigm, we interviewed eight recently qualified cycling coaches over an 18-month period. Reflective thematic analysis developed three themes highlighting sources of stress over time: at the start of their participation, coaches discussed the hassles of accessing facilities and struggling to fit in; toward the end of their participation, coaches discussed feeling isolated. Results from this study can better inform the education and support delivered by national governing bodies of sport across the community and club landscape and increase sport psychology practitioners' awareness of the daily hassles experienced by coaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]