The Training of Medium- to Long-Distance Sprint Performance in Football Code Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background Within the football codes, medium-distance (i.e., > 20 m and ≤ 40 m) and long-distance (i.e., > 40 m) sprint performance and maximum velocity sprinting are important capacities for success. Despite this, no research has identified the most effective training methods for enhancing medium- to long-distance sprint outcomes. Objectives This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to (1) analyse the ability of different methods to enhance medium- to long-distance sprint performance outcomes (0–30 m, 0 to > 30 m, and the maximum sprinting velocity phase [Vmax]) within football code athletes and (2) identify how moderator variables (i.e., football code, sex, age, playing standard, phase of season) affected the training response. Methods We conducted a systematic search of electronic databases and performed a random-effects meta-analysis (within-group changes and pairwise between-group differences) to establish standardised mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals and 95% prediction intervals. This identified the magnitude and direction of the individual training effects of intervention subgroups (sport only; primary, secondary, tertiary, and combined training methods) on medium- to long-distance sprint performance while considering moderator variables. Results In total, 60 studies met the inclusion criteria (26 with a sport-only control group), totalling 111 intervention groups and 1500 athletes. The within-group changes design reported significant performance improvements (small–moderate) between pre- and post-training for the combined, secondary (0–30 and 0 to > 30 m), and tertiary training methods (0–30 m). A significant moderate improvement was found in the Vmax phase performance only for tertiary training methods, with no significant effect found for sport only or primary training methods. The pairwise between-group differences design (experimental vs. control) reported favourable performance improvements (large SMD) for the combined (0 to > 30 m), primary (Vmax phase), secondary (0–30 m), and tertiary methods (all outcomes) when compared with the sport-only control groups. Subgroup analysis showed that the significant differences between the meta-analysis designs consistently demonstrated a larger effect in the pairwise between-group differences than the within-group change. No individual training mode was found to be the most effective. Subgroup analysis identified that football code, age, and phase of season moderated the overall magnitude of training effects. Conclusions This review provides the first systematic review and meta-analysis of all sprint performance development methods exclusively in football code athletes. Secondary, tertiary, and combined training methods appeared to improve medium-long sprint performance of football code athletes. Tertiary training methods should be implemented to enhance Vmax phase performance. Nether sport-only nor primary training methods appeared to enhance medium to long sprint performance. Performance changes may be attributed to either adaptations specific to the acceleration or Vmax phases, or both, but not exclusively Vmax. Regardless of the population characteristics, sprint performance can be enhanced by increasing either the magnitude or the orientation of force an athlete can generate in the sprinting action, or both. Trial Registration OSF registration https://osf.io/kshqn/.

Breed se verstaan van ’n bybelse pastorale model: ’n Verkennende, beskrywende perspektief

Breed’s understanding of a biblical pastoral model: An exploratory, descriptive perspective. This article was aimed at providing a perspective on Professor Gert Breed’s theoretical contribution to pastoral studies by exploring and describing his understanding of a biblical pastoral model. Breed’s model is the product of decades of research, practical experience as a minister in the Reformed Churches in South Africa and over a decade of theoretical knowledge and experience in training and tertiary academic education. Breed’s model currently forms the foundation of and framework for Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA) (Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika [GKSA]) candidate students’ training in pastoral studies at the Theological School in Potchefstroom, as well as for equipping other prospective practitioners for pastoral ministry. Although Breed has been using this model with great success in his own ministry, as well as in tertiary training, a comprehensive perspective on his model had not yet been published.Contribution: The aim of this article was therefore to provide an explorative and descriptive perspective on the content of Breed’s understanding of a biblical pastoral model.

Quale università alle soglie del 2020?

The international debate on the physiognomy of higher education started more than twenty years ago, between reforms of organizational and didactic models and profound reflections on the epistemological statutes of every single discipline. However, at the threshold of 2020, the contours of the tertiary training cycle are still blurred. Is university following the rules of markets, in an attempt to keep up with globalization and the frenetic pace of the new economy, or is the homo oeconomicus who carefully observes, with an eye to the future, the changes in knowledge production approaches that are more functional to his interests? The article, starting from the current socio-economic framework, proposes a reading of some of the possible disciplinary approaches dedicated to the planning, production and transmission of knowledge. It also touches the theme of transdisciplinarity, observing it from a constructivist perspective and also semiological, taking up Lotman's theories on the semiosphere. Finally, it suggests the potential traits of a new physiognomy of the tertiary training cycle

Does God Want Me to Be a Teacher? Motives Behind Occupational Choice of Israeli Ultraorthodox Women

Motives behind occupational choice of graduates in two tertiary training programs for Israeli ultraorthodox (Haredi) women, practical engineering (PE) and teaching (T), are explored. Five hundred and twelve participants (278 PEs and 234 Ts) answered a questionnaire referring to 13 potential work motives. The main findings are as follows: (a) factor analysis reveals that the 13 components cluster into the four composite factors of “intrinsic motive,” “calling motive,” “extrinsic motives relating to job conditions,” and “extrinsic motives relating to effect of choice on society”; (b) t tests show that PEs express higher intrinsic motives than Ts and Ts express a higher sense of “calling” than PEs; and (c) t tests further show that for the whole sample, intrinsic motives are ranked higher than extrinsic motives (relating to both job conditions and society). Discussion suggests counseling and public policy that can lead to more successful integration of Haredi women into the world of labor.