Enhancing Team-Sport Athlete Performance

Spanish sports literature is devoid of studies investigating the voices of gay athletes. Using semi-structured interviews, the purpose of this research was to examine the contextually relevant experiences of the first-ever openly gay elite athlete in a Spanish team sport context. Our investigation covers multiple personal and institutional layers of the sporting complex, which are analysed in three ways: (a) using Troiden’s notions of identity; (b) using Anderson’s Inclusive Masculinity Theory; and (c) using McCormack’s theory of gay discourse. Our findings reveal that coming out was a more positive experience than the athlete had expected. He experienced inclusivity from his teammates, trainers, managers and supporters. There was no physical aggression or verbal harassment. He did, however, frequently hear antigay language spoken, which he reported as not being homophobic. Our findings provide one of the few examinations of this topic outside of the USA.

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When Is a Sprint a Sprint? A Review of the Analysis of Team-Sport Athlete Activity Profile

Frontiers in Physiology ◽

10.3389/fphys.2017.00432 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Alice J. Sweeting ◽

Stuart J. Cormack ◽

Stuart Morgan ◽

Robert J. Aughey

Keyword(s):

Team Sport ◽

Activity Profile ◽

Team Sport Athlete ◽

Sport Athlete

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Discovering frequently recurring movement sequences in team-sport athlete spatiotemporal data

Journal of Sports Sciences ◽

10.1080/02640414.2016.1273536 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (24) ◽

pp. 2439-2445 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Alice J. Sweeting ◽

Robert J. Aughey ◽

Stuart J. Cormack ◽

Stuart Morgan

Keyword(s):

Team Sport ◽

Spatiotemporal Data ◽

Movement Sequences ◽

Team Sport Athlete ◽

Sport Athlete

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Single-Item Self-Report Measures of Team-Sport Athlete Wellbeing and Their Relationship With Training Load: A Systematic Review

Journal of Athletic Training ◽

10.4085/1062-6050-0528.19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 55 (9) ◽

pp. 944-953

Author(s):

Ciara Duignan ◽

Cailbhe Doherty ◽

Brian Caulfield ◽

Catherine Blake

Keyword(s):

Data Extraction ◽

Well Being ◽

Team Sport ◽

Training Load ◽

Self Report ◽

Measurement Properties ◽

Single Item ◽

Athlete Monitoring ◽

Sport Athlete ◽

The Relationship

Background Single-item athlete self-report measures consist of a single question to assess a dimension of wellbeing. These methods are recommended and frequently used for athlete monitoring, yet their uniformity has not been well assessed, and we have a limited understanding of their relationship with measures of training load. Objective To investigate the applications and designs of single-item self-report measures used in monitoring team-sport athletes and present the relationship between these measures and measures of training load. Data Sources PubMed, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus were searched between inception and March 2019. Study Selection Articles were included if they concerned adult athletes from field- or court-sport domains, if athlete well-being was measured using a single-item self-report, and if the relationship with a measure of modifiable training load was investigated over at least 7 days. Data Extraction Data related to participant characteristics, self-report measures, training load measures, and statistical analysis and outcomes were extracted by 2 authors (C.D. and C.D.). Data Synthesis A total of 21 studies were included in the analysis. A narrative synthesis was conducted. The measures used most frequently were muscle soreness, fatigue, sleep quality, stress, and mood. All measures presented various relationships with metrics of training load from no association to a very large association, and the associations were predominantly trivial to moderate in the studies with the largest numbers of observations. Relationships were largely negative associations. Conclusions The implications of this review should be considered by users in the application and clinical utility of single-item self-report measures in athlete monitoring. Great emphasis has been placed on examining the relationship between subjective and objective measures of training load. Although the relationship is still unclear, such an association may not be expected or useful. Researchers should consider the measurement properties of single-item self-report measures and seek to establish their relationship with clinically meaningful outcomes. As such, further study is required to inform practitioners on the appropriate objective application of data from single-item self-report measures.

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Coaches’ Use of Positive Tactile Communication in Collegiate Basketball

International Sport Coaching Journal ◽

10.1123/iscj.2020-0001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 91-100

Author(s):

Inge Milius ◽

Wade D. Gilbert ◽

Danielle Alexander ◽

Gordon A. Bloom

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Team Sport ◽

Head Coach ◽

Systematic Observation ◽

Women's Basketball ◽

Effective Coaching ◽

Tactile Communication ◽

Perceived Impact ◽

Athlete Performance

There is a growing body of research on positive tactile communication and its impact on athlete performance and team dynamics. The purpose of the present study was to examine the profile and perceived impact of positive tactile communication as a coaching strategy in a high-performance team sport setting. Participants were members of a successful American collegiate women’s basketball team comprising the head coach, associate head coach, and 16 student-athletes. Methods of data collection included systematic observation and focus groups. Positive tactile communication was perceived to be an effective coaching strategy for enhancing relationships and athlete performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study to include both quantitative and qualitative data from multiple coaches on the same team, as well as athlete perceptions of coaches’ strategic use of positive tactile communication.

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