WHEN SPORT MEETS ART: HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

The paper refers to the history of Olympic art competitions which at one point were part of the Olympic Games competitions. In that vein, the author of the paper analyzes the Canadian short story Hockey Night in Canada, written by Diane Schoemperlen, which is inspired by sport as other sports stories are but, as a matter of fact, does not have much to do with hockey. The story illustrates how domestic objects could be turned into objects of art and how they help Schoemperlen reflect on her characters or apply her own technique of writing.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND MUSIC EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE POSSIBILITY OF USING THE INTEGRATED LEARNING APPROACH AS A REFLECTION OF MODERN SOCIETY

The goal of this paper is to find and examine an effective methodological model that would enable students to adopt the learning content of children’s folk dances accompanied by singing more successfully, and to develop a better sense of coordination, through the integration of Physical Education and Music Education. An experimental method with two parallel groups (EG – experimental and CG – control group) was applied. The experimental program was based on the recommended learning topics including children’s folk dances accompanied by singing for the subjects Music Education and Physical Education. The integrated approach was applied with the students from the EG in learning about children’s folk dances accompanied by singing, while the traditional learning approach was used with the students from the CG (they did not learn about the children’s folk dances accompanied by singing through the integrated learning approach). In this research, a testing technique was applied with the students from both the EG and CG in order to check the level of coordination, and the instruments used were the Coordination Ability Assessment. The results obtained indicate that the students from the EG showed better coordination skills compared to the students who were not included in the experimental program. It is important to emphasize that the results obtained proved the connection between physical abilities and movement techniques in children’s folk dances accompanied by singing, which supports the need to start with coordination practice as early as possible in primary school, which will bring good results in individuals’ life later on.

THE PREVALENCE OF FOOT DEFORMITIES IN ATHLETES WITH VARIOUS SPORTS BACKGROUNDS

Changes and deformities to the feet are frequent among athletes. The aim of this review paper is to determine the prevalence of foot deformities among athletes with various backgrounds, as well as to determine the influence of the deformities on motor task performance. The compiled studies were published between 2002 and 2018. The following electronic databases were used for the search: PubMed, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, EBSCO. The identified studies had to satisfy the following criteria: that they included athletes and that the subject of analysis were the differences in foot deformities in relation to performing motor tasks. Research papers on this topic were reviewed and analyzed. They are clearly organized in tabular form, with a clear outline of the details of the research. The results of 16 research papers are summed up. The most prevalent deformity among athletes is flat feet (pes planus). The studies indicate the various deformities which are prevalent in particular sports, and determine the changes in the feet of the athletes, in particular for the foot which plays a decisive role in certain sports. Individuals with flat feet scored lower results compared to individuals with normal arches in terms of time and reaction speed when performing motor tasks.

MUSCLE ACTIVATION DURING FOREHAND AND BACKHAND DRIVES IN THE SPORT DISCIPLINE OF TENNIS

Tennis is one of the most popular individual sports all over the world. Strength and trained muscles are required for a player in order to achieve a good backhand, forehand, volley or flat stroke. Especially while playing tennis are many kinds of muscles involved, including the lower body muscles, trunk muscles and upper body muscles. The purpose of this review is to present the activated muscles in the basic tennis movements of forehand and backhand and to improve the knowledge about their role in order to help tennis players and coaches to enhance their tennis performance and to reduce risk of injury. To support the present review, data were gathered from library and network databases using keywords such as tennis, muscles, forehand, and backhand for publications between 2015 and 2019. Overall, thirty-five references were detected and used. The literature showed that forehand and backhand drives are strokes that involve muscles not only of the upper limbs but also a series of more complex movements that start with the feet and end with the swinging of the tennis racket. The insight for the action of the muscles in tennis should be utilized in tennis players so as to better understand the muscular function which takes part in specific tennis movements and has a greater performance. In addition, this knowledge is considered strongly beneficial for the coaches and the favourable building of the training process.

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF CHANGE-OF-DIRECTION SPEED TESTS FOR JUNIOR BASKETBALL PLAYERS

The main goal of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of change-of-direction speed (CODS) tests for junior basketball players and to test the differences between the positions of players on the team. On a sample of 66 junior basketball players (18.2±3.18 years), the CODS was tested using the following tests: the Lane Agility Test (LAT), Zigzag Agility Test (ZAT), Agility T-test and Modified Agility T-test. Body height and body mass were used as control variables. α-Cronbach's coefficient was calculated to determine the reliability and internal consistency of the measurements, as well as the average correlation between the trials of each test. The difference between groups of players was tested by MANCOVA. CODS tests showed good to high reliability (interclass correlations ranged from 0.83-0.93 with a variability of 4.4% to 6.4% for the entire sample). The first principal component was determined, which included 83% of the total variance of the analyzed variables. Very high coefficients of internal validity of all the applied tests (0.93-0.98) were obtained on the common subject of defined measurements. Significant differences were found between groups of players by position in favor of outside players (guards) on two tests LAT and ZAT (F=18.023; 8.559 and p≤0.005) with control of the influence of body height and body mass. All tests can be rated as reliable and valid for junior basketball players. LAT proved to be the most suitable for assessing the CODS in young basketball players, with the best discrimination of players by position on the team.

MOTOR AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN: A REVIEW

The aim of this narrative review article is to present the effects of physical activity on the motor and cognitive development of children. Early childhood is one of the most critical periods in a child's physical and intellectual development. As much as seventy percent of the brain's connections develop during the pre-school years, these connections form the basis and framework for the child's later abilities and characteristics. A physically stimulating and varied environment undoubtedly has a significant impact on the mental functions of children. The brain is designed to learn and solve problems, initially simple, later complex. The earliest challenges that the brain needs to solve are related to movement. Children solve these problems spontaneously, intuitively, and in an unstructured manner. Later, with more organized movements, children acquire various motor skills, abilities, and sensory experiences, thereby gaining a new understanding of themselves and their surroundings. These insights and experiences will equip the child for the challenges and problems they will face later in life. Children enter into social interactions and group dynamics through movement and acquire a sense of autonomy and independence. A stimulating and varied motor environment undoubtedly has a significant impact on children's intellectual function and, thus, on the development of their potential abilities.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION: PRACTICE, CESSATION AND RESUMPTION IN UNTRAINED SAUDI COLLEGE STUDENTS

The aim of the present study was twofold: firstly, to verify whether two classes a week of Physical Education (PE) are sufficient to improve physical fitness in college students. Secondly, to ascertain the effect of PE practice, cessation and resumption on the mentioned students. Thirty (30) untrained Saudi college students attended PE lessons twice a week for nine weeks. Subsequently, they were inactive for nine weeks, and finally, they attended PE classes again another period of nine weeks. After the two nine-week periods of PE, the participants improved their strength, endurance, speed and agility. The period of inactivity implied the loss of all the adaptations attained during the first nine weeks of practice, except muscular endurance in the trunk flexor muscles. Two classes a week of PE during nine weeks improve physical fitness in untrained university students. These improvements almost entirely decay after nine weeks of inactivity, but can be recovered with another nine weeks of PE classes. Individuals who resume PE lessons after nine weeks of PE followed by a nine-week inactivity period, could attain higher improvements in specific physical capacities (muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, speed and agility).

SELF-PERCEPTION OF SPORTING ABILITIES OF FEMALE ATHLETES WHEN COMPARED WITH SAME-SEX AND OPPOSITE-SEX ATHLETES

The aim of this study is to determine how top-level female soccer and volleyball players, and young, cadet and junior female volleyball players view themselves, their abilities, and their specific motor skills for sport in relation to other female and male athletes. In Study 1, the sample consisted of 24 female top soccer and volleyball players of the highest sporting rank in Serbia. In Study 2, the sample consisted of 31 female cadet and junior volleyball players. They all filled out a brief questionnaire regarding self-perception about their sporting abilities, when compared with same-sex and opposite-sex athletes of the same rank, sport and age. The results of Study 1 show that female top soccer and volleyball players perceive themselves as less competent when compared with male athletes of the same sport and age (t(22)=5.97, p=.00). The results of Study 2 show that female cadet and junior volleyball players perceive themselves as less competent in Serve strength (t(29)=3.27, p=.030) and Physical endurance and strength (t(29)=2.52, p=.017) when compared with male volleyball players of the same age. The obtained results call for further examination of gender differences in perceived self-competence.

THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHER-STUDENT COMMUNICATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

During adolescence, there is a significant risk of sports abandonment associated with sedentarism and overweight. For this reason, Physical Education (PE) classes should be an opportunity to bring physical activity and sport closer to schoolchildren developing, and consolidating healthy lifestyle habits. Considering the importance that teaching communication procedures can have in the motivation of students, and given the lack of specific studies that investigate the influence of these processes on the motivation to practice sport in the context of PE, the aim of this study is to determine the effect of the teacher's communicational dimensions (challenging, encouragement and praise, non-verbal support, understanding and friendliness, and controlling) on the perception of the importance given to PE. The sample was composed of a total of 203 PE students between 10 and 16 years old. The mean (M), standard deviation (SD), skewness (S) and kurtosis (K) of the dimensions of the Teacher Communication (TC) and Importance of Physical Education (IPE) were analysed. In order to determine the relationship between the variables analysed, Pearson’s correlation is used. With an aim of determining the effect of the perception of the TC in the classroom on the students' IPE, linear regression is carried out. In data processing, the SPSS 23.0 software is used. The results obtained show that the TC has an effect of 19.7% on IPE. Understanding and friendliness, and controlling dimension are being analysed with the highest standardized regressions coefficient in students' perception of IPE.

THE VERTICAL JUMP AND SPRINT PERFORMANCE AS DETERMINANTS OF AGILITY AMONG MALE ADOLESCENTS

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the relationship between the vertical jump (VJ) and sprint performance with agility among male adolescents. The study was conducted on 42 male elementary school students, (age, 13±0.5 years). Among the predictor variables, the Squat Jump (SJ) and Countermovement Jump (CMJ) VJ height were assessed by the Optojump (Microgate, Italy) optical system, and sprint times at 5, 10 and 30 m were assessed using the photocells timing system Witty (Microgate, Italy). Agility as a criterion was assessed with the agility T-test, timed also with photocells. Obtained results showed a significant negative relationship between SJ, CMJ and agility (r=-0.52; -0.58, respectively) and a positive relationship between sprint times at 5, 10 and 30 m and agility (r=0.43; 0.53; 0.57, respectively). A backward stepwise regression analysis showed that the CMJ was the best single predictor of agility (R2=0.34). The results of this study illustrate that enhancing jump and sprint performance will bring better times in agility performance. Finally, the CMJ has best influence on agility among all the predictor variables.