Comparing High School Sport Specialization Trends Between Division I and Club Collegiate Athletes

Background: Adolescent athletes report that sports specialization improves their ability to receive a collegiate athletics scholarship, though this is not well-understood. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported trends in high school specialization and influences for sport participation between Division I (D-I) and college-aged club (club) athletes. Hypothesis: There would be no difference in high school sport specialization or sport participation influences between D-I and club athletes. Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: A survey included specialization classification (low, moderate, and high) for 9th to 12th grade, age that the athlete started organized sport and his or her collegiate sport, and several influential factors for participation in one’s primary high school sport (1 = no influence to 5 = extremely influential). Chi-square analyses were used to compare specialization classifications between groups. Nonparametric tests were used to determine significant differences in age-related variables and influential factors between D-I and club athletes. All analysis were also conducted with boys and girls separately. Results: Participants included 266 D-I (girls, 155; 58%) and 180 club (girls, 122; 68%) athletes. Club athletes were more likely to be classified as low specialization at every grade in high school, and this difference was more pronounced between D-I and club female athletes than male athletes. The number of years an athlete was classified as highly specialized in high school was not different between D-I and club athletes. Club athletes were more influenced by playing with friends than D-I athletes and D-I athletes were more influenced by pursuing a collegiate scholarship than club athletes. Conclusion: High levels of specialization in high school sport may not be necessary for playing at the collegiate level, though some level of specialization in high school might be necessary. Clinical Relevance: Clinicians should advocate for healthy long-term athlete development, which does not support high specialization in high school sports.

A Systematic Review of Co-Educational Models in School Handball

This study aims to address the characteristics presented by the co-educational models that have been put into practice in school handball, showing a general overview, after providing a systematic review of the literature on the topic published over the last ten years on co-educational paradigms in the practice of handball as a school sport. For the description and recording of the process of selection and filtering of documentary sources to be analyzed, use was made of the PRISMA flowchart. After the elimination of duplicates and entries not compliant with the criteria for time limits and type of document, the final sample surveyed was composed of thirty academic articles. The results considered (n = 26) showed a presentational pattern divisible into three segments or groups. These were: technical and sporting aspects of handball, highlighting the benefits of this sport in schools relative to other options (n = 7), co-education (n = 8), and results based on differences between the sexes (n = 11). Co-education stresses significant improvements in skills, together with perceived effort, enjoyment, and participation. These lead to improvements in the social climate and group cohesion, thanks to the practice of sports. Handball within schools, seen from a co-educational angle, should be approached with an eye to its predisposition for the development of social and civic skills. These include respect for the rules of a game, teamwork and solidarity, fair play, commitment, and responsibility. This paper lays out precisely and exhaustively the lines of investigation undertaken in the area of co-education, and, more specifically, how this is handled within the practicing of a confrontational team sport like handball.

Transformational Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness in Wellington Secondary School Sport Coordinators

<p><b>Leadership is one of the most commonly observed yet least understood constructs in management. Despite this, many will contend that an effective leader will precede an effective organisation. Of the various theories on leadership, the transformational-transactional model has been promoted as a most desirable and effective style (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Northouse, 2012). This leadership style has been shown to positively enhance followers’ job satisfaction, extra effort and perceived leader effectiveness. Within the New Zealand sporting landscape, and more specifically secondary school sport, a sportscoordinator who exhibits transformational leadership may have the potential to overcome a scarcity of resources and empower coaches to perform beyond the resources available and beyond their expectations.</b></p> <p>This research followed a mixed-methods research design by collecting data through self-administered surveys and semi-structured interviews. At the first stage, a convenience sample of twenty-six Wellington sport coordinators completed a self-rater version of the Multifactoral Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), in order to determinine their leadership profile, their predominant leadership style and related perceptions of organisational effectiveness. As a second stage, semi-structured interviews with four sport coordinators provided a richer and deeper understanding of the school sport environment and how leadership can positively affect outcomes.</p> <p>More than a decade earlier, Pope (2002) claimed that secondary school sport had seldom been the subject of attention for researchers, particularly within New Zealand educators. To this day, there is still a limited knowledge base; therefore, the aim of this research was therefore to determine what constitutes an effective leader in the New Zealand Secondary School Sport context. In addition, findings are intended to provide insight about which leadership attributes are valued as contributing to a sports coordinators’ ability to manage their school’s sporting provision effectively.</p> <p>Findings show that the transformational leadership behaviours of secondary school sports coordinators are significantly related in several ways to aspects of organisational effectiveness. By contrast, the research also finds that coordinators who exhibited management-by-exception and laissez faire leadership styles and behaviours were perceived as less effective, whilst also having minimal positive impact on coach job satisfaction and exertion of extra effort by followers and others in the system. Of particular interest are findings that indicated transformational leaders are perceived as most effective, especially in attracting and retaining coaches, whilst specific behaviours such as contingent reward behaviours may also impact coaches to exert extra effort in executing their roles.</p> <p>Practical implications are drawn from the findings and are provided to assist secondary schools in considering how to ensure quality and sustainability in sporting provision, and how to seek, recruit, promote, and retain sports coordinators who exhibit transformational leadership behaviours. The insights provided may also allow researchers and educators to better understand the relevance of leadership styles in influencing different aspects of organisational effectiveness in secondary school sport.</p> <p>The research was necessarily limited to secondary school sport in the Wellington region of New Zealand, and generalisability is only possible to the extent that the research complements other studies. The research was also limited by time, and access to relevant secondary school sport coordinators. Nevertheless, the research was intended to explore a previously under-researched domain, and succeeds in this matter. However, future research would benefit from increasing sample size, greater cross-sectional representation of schools, and employing ethnographic research methodology to assist in explaining the phenomenon further and to a greater depth. Additionally, it is recommended to utilise alternative and more comprehensive conceptions of organisational effectiveness to more fully understand the consequences of leadership behaviours.</p>

Transformational Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness in Wellington Secondary School Sport Coordinators

<p><b>Leadership is one of the most commonly observed yet least understood constructs in management. Despite this, many will contend that an effective leader will precede an effective organisation. Of the various theories on leadership, the transformational-transactional model has been promoted as a most desirable and effective style (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Northouse, 2012). This leadership style has been shown to positively enhance followers’ job satisfaction, extra effort and perceived leader effectiveness. Within the New Zealand sporting landscape, and more specifically secondary school sport, a sportscoordinator who exhibits transformational leadership may have the potential to overcome a scarcity of resources and empower coaches to perform beyond the resources available and beyond their expectations.</b></p> <p>This research followed a mixed-methods research design by collecting data through self-administered surveys and semi-structured interviews. At the first stage, a convenience sample of twenty-six Wellington sport coordinators completed a self-rater version of the Multifactoral Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), in order to determinine their leadership profile, their predominant leadership style and related perceptions of organisational effectiveness. As a second stage, semi-structured interviews with four sport coordinators provided a richer and deeper understanding of the school sport environment and how leadership can positively affect outcomes.</p> <p>More than a decade earlier, Pope (2002) claimed that secondary school sport had seldom been the subject of attention for researchers, particularly within New Zealand educators. To this day, there is still a limited knowledge base; therefore, the aim of this research was therefore to determine what constitutes an effective leader in the New Zealand Secondary School Sport context. In addition, findings are intended to provide insight about which leadership attributes are valued as contributing to a sports coordinators’ ability to manage their school’s sporting provision effectively.</p> <p>Findings show that the transformational leadership behaviours of secondary school sports coordinators are significantly related in several ways to aspects of organisational effectiveness. By contrast, the research also finds that coordinators who exhibited management-by-exception and laissez faire leadership styles and behaviours were perceived as less effective, whilst also having minimal positive impact on coach job satisfaction and exertion of extra effort by followers and others in the system. Of particular interest are findings that indicated transformational leaders are perceived as most effective, especially in attracting and retaining coaches, whilst specific behaviours such as contingent reward behaviours may also impact coaches to exert extra effort in executing their roles.</p> <p>Practical implications are drawn from the findings and are provided to assist secondary schools in considering how to ensure quality and sustainability in sporting provision, and how to seek, recruit, promote, and retain sports coordinators who exhibit transformational leadership behaviours. The insights provided may also allow researchers and educators to better understand the relevance of leadership styles in influencing different aspects of organisational effectiveness in secondary school sport.</p> <p>The research was necessarily limited to secondary school sport in the Wellington region of New Zealand, and generalisability is only possible to the extent that the research complements other studies. The research was also limited by time, and access to relevant secondary school sport coordinators. Nevertheless, the research was intended to explore a previously under-researched domain, and succeeds in this matter. However, future research would benefit from increasing sample size, greater cross-sectional representation of schools, and employing ethnographic research methodology to assist in explaining the phenomenon further and to a greater depth. Additionally, it is recommended to utilise alternative and more comprehensive conceptions of organisational effectiveness to more fully understand the consequences of leadership behaviours.</p>

School Sport, conceptual and operational realities: A Systematic Review

Review question / Objective: What is the concept of School Sport in different countries and how they operationalize it? Condition being studied: The School Sports in several countries, are a crucial element of the educational system and assumes an increseally importance for the physical activity and health programs. In this pandemic period, the physical activity and the wellbeing of children and young adults have come to the center of a large discussion. The school sports, in this context, are assumed as player in consideration, but as countries discuss it, are noted different understandings of the school sports concept in each country as well different approaches and applications of it.

An Analysis of Coaches’ Perceptions of Inappropriate Coaching Behaviors

The use of inappropriate coaching behaviors has been an ongoing concern for many years. However, not yet well researched is the use of inappropriate and bullying behaviors by coaches toward student-athletes. The purpose of this study was aimed at gathering relevant information on coaches’ use of inappropriate behaviors towards athletes, as reported by coaches. Participants for this study included 488 public/private school sport coaches, males (N=332) and females (N=153), from eight states. Data were gathered via an on-line survey in which participants identified if they had engaged in any of 22 listed actions among three types of bullying (physical, relational, verbal). Participants identified three actions (‘poking fun at an athlete’, ‘embarrassed an athlete in front of others’, and ‘name calling without hurtful intent’) as having been done by at least 30% of them. In summary, most actions were reported to have not been used by most coaches, three-fourths of the actions were considered inappropriate, and less than half were considered bullying. Keywords: coaching, bullying, sports