United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Abstract

Wheelchair basketball met a rapid growth in recent decades and became one of the most popular and spectacular sports for people with disabilities. Researchers’ efforts to perform tests evaluating the physiological and technical characteristics of the disable athletes have been based on the adoption of tests, used for healthy athletes (7, 15). In addition, different types of disabilities obligated the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation to establish classification degree for the athletes, ranging from 1 to 4.5, according to their disability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Greek elite basketball players’ technical skills and to compare their performance, (a) with their classification degree and (b) with recent literature. Fourteen (N=14) Greek wheelchair basketball players, all members of the national team, volunteered to perform six skill tests: (a) 20m sprint, (b) free throws, (c) lay-ups, (d) obstacle dribble, (e) pass for accuracy, and (f) pass for distance. The high classification degree athletes, demonstrated significantly higher performance than those with low classification, only in obstacle dribble test (p <.01), but the trend indicated that athletes with high classification degree demonstrated better performance on tests requiring physical abilities (sprint, lay-ups, obstacle dribble, pass for distance), while those with low classification degree performed better on tests requiring skills and concentration (free throws, pass for accuracy). These results are in accordance with recent literature, although Greek basketball players, demonstrated lower performance compared with those of other countries, where wheelchair basketball is widespread (13). The difference between high and low classification players in obstacle dribble test, caused to the lack of abdominal muscles, while overall performance is affected by the frequency of training and years of involvement with the sport, before the time point of injury (9).

Key words: wheelchair, basketball, technical skills

Abstract

Work-family conflict (WFC) is defined as “the discord that arises when the time devoted to or time spent fulfilling professional responsibilities interferes with or limits the amount of time available to perform family-related responsibilities” (20, 21). A successful career in sports information requires long, demanding hours which can make finding balance between work and family difficult. Sports information professionals (SIDs) participate in public relations activities designed to promote the teams they represent (19, 26). Responding to increasing interest in college sports, the demand for information about collegiate athletic departments has increased (13). In order to meet this demand for information, SIDs are responsible for producing content for electronic and print media on a regular and timely basis. The work done by sports information professionals has been characterized as 24 hours a day, 7 days a week work (11). Therefore, balancing work and home life has become a topic of increasing interest for those working in this field.

Abstract

The countless health benefits of adopting healthy eating habits have been well documented. It is troubling then that studies examining dietary behaviors among minority women find that compared with European American women, African American women practice poorer dietary habits. Given this reality, and the knowledge that poor nutrition is a contributing risk factor for chronic, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, better understandings of minority women and their relationships with food are needed. This study aimed to contribute to this effort by surveying African Canadian women to explore both their eating habits and their perceptions of nutrition. Participants in this study were Canadian women of African ancestry who were 25 years old or older. Fifty of these women chose to participate and did so by completing a brief written survey and answering one open-ended question. Survey results revealed that the respondents rated their present eating habits as “excellent” (6%), “very good” (36%), “good” (40%), or “fair” (17%). Top dietary changes made by participants included reducing salt, fat and/or sugar intake, and/or increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. The open-ended question asked what supports could be put in place to encourage healthy eating and many of the respondents noted that nutritional classes/workshops for black women that could be offered through the community or the church would be beneficial. This study suggests increased efforts are required to further educate African Canadian women about healthy eating as poor nutrition is a significant risk factor for many of the diseases prevalent in black communities. It is imperative that any initiated nutritional education programmes be tailored to meet the cultural and linguistic background of the targeted group in question. Further research is warranted to expand our understandings of African Canadian women’s eating habits and how their food choices affect their overall health.

Key Words: minority women, nutrition, health status, diet-related illnesses

Abstract

This paper explores the playoff bonus system used by Major League Baseball. The unique incentive structure used is positively related to organizational success, and is studied using a Grounded Theory methodology. Exploration and analyses found that World Series winning teams prospectively distributed ten percent (10%) more shares than losing teams and repeat winners distributed still more. By developing an incentive structure as an intermediate step in the performance environment and linking the bonus’s value to future performance, decision makers may be able to positively impact organizational outcomes – particularly over repeated periods.

Key words: Major League Baseball, bonus system, payment, incentives

Abstract

Purpose

The popularity of NCAA football continues to rise at an exponential rate. As revenues increase, the difference between a BCS bowl berth and a non-BCS bowl berth can be millions of dollars. Thus, the process of how schools are selected to play in a BCS bowl game is very important. In this paper, we analyze one of the components of the BCS ranking system: the Coaches’ Poll.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate physical health-compromising behavior differences of sports fans (highly identified) to those of non-sports fans (less identified). The justification for the study was that if highly identified sports fans were found to engage in elevated health risk behaviors, targeting this group would represent a significant opportunity for health policy makers to achieve a significant impact on the health and wellness of a large segment of Americans while at the same time reducing the costs associated with obesity and unhealthy living practices. Electronic surveys were forwarded to individuals at an American University located in the mid-south region of the country. A sample of 515 participants responded. Highly identified sports fans had significantly higher health risk behaviors than non-sports fans on a range of health behavior measures, including: higher fat consumption, more fast food consumption, less vegetable consumption, greater consumption of refined as opposed to whole grains, and an increased amount of alcohol consumed on days they chose to drink. Additionally, using height and weight data to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI), highly identified sports fans were found to have a higher BMI. Recommendations for future research and applications of the findings to sport are presented.

Key words: health, behavior, identification, sport, marketing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the participation motives and goal orientations of participants in the Hong Kong Master Games. The participants were 108 men and 52 women (N=160). The age range of participants was 35 to 77 years old (M= 46.2, SD = 9.2). They were divided into three age groups (30-39 years old, n=32; 40-49 years old, n=96; above 50 years old, n=32). The Participation Motivation Inventory (Gill, Gross & Huddleston, 1983), and the Task and Ego Orientations Questionnaire (Duda & Whitehead, 1998) were utilized. The top five participation motives were fun, affiliation/friendship, fitness, skill development and achievement/status. The participation motives and the goal orientations for men and women were similar. The oldest adults had significantly higher scores on the eight participation motives: fun, skill development, fitness, team atmosphere, achievement/ status, affiliation /friendship, energy release and miscellaneous than the younger and middle age adults. The mean score on task orientation was higher than the ego orientation for all participants. The empirical results of this Hong Kong study support earlier studies (Vogel, Brechat, Leprete, Kaltenbach, Berthal & Lonsdorfer, 2009) that strongly encourage physical activity leaders to design sport and physical activity programs for adults in order to enhance their physical, social, psychological and mental well being.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate preferred shopping behaviors of golfers in the state of Tennessee. While much research has been done on retail shopping behavior in general, little exists regarding shopping behavior in sport retail, and more specifically golf retail. While golfer behavior has been researched in other areas such as tourism, it has not been fully researched in the sport or retail literature. Since this segment of consumer spends millions of dollars per year, this study was conducted to fill the gap in the literature regarding this unique consumer. An online survey was distributed among a state-wide professional golf organization regarding preferred shopping and golf course attributes. Results showed a significant relationship between some variables, including brands/designers offered. This research will be helpful to golf retailers, golf merchandisers, golf marketers and managers, who sell, buy or deal with golf apparel and/or related merchandise to better tailor marketing and promotional activities and ultimately increase revenue. This paper is unique and applicable in the fact that golf has not been fully researched in the marketing or retail area.

Key words: golf, marketing, consumer behavior, retail

Introduction

Abstract

The aim of this study was to define which coordination abilities are the most important in tennis and to identify whether a coordination training program will improve the learning process of tennis skills (backhand and forehand). Fifteen expert coaches in tennis completed a check list of five coordination abilities and suggested that the most important coordination abilities for tennis players are “kinaesthetic differentiation” and “reaction time”. Based on the results from the questionnaires, the program designed to practice the two most important coordination abilities. Participants were 48 novice children (age 11 ± 2 years). They were randomly divided into two group, the experimental group (EG, n=24) and the control group (CG, n=24). Both groups followed tennis training program 3 times/wk for eight weeks. Participants of the experimental group performed a specific coordination program for 20 min before the skills practice and participants of control group performed the traditional practice. The tennis skill performance and learning assessed using observation technique in five basic elements of every skill. There were three measurements, pre, post and retention test, one week after post test without practice. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures (2 group X 3 measures) revealed that there was significant interaction between groups and measures. The Bonferroni post hoc analysis revealed that experimental group perform better than the control group in the post test and in the retention test in the two skills. The results of this study indicated that coordination training program help athletes to learn and perform the forehand and backhand tennis skills better.

Key words: Coordination abilities, kinaesthetic differentiation, reaction time, tennis skill

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine if certain throwing techniques for the sport of Ultimate Frisbee were advantageous relative to other techniques. The defense can attempt to force a thrower to utilize a specific throw; knowing the advantages of different throws can influence a defender’s decision to force the thrower to use a certain throw.