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

Brazil is considered the premier soccer country. Soccer is a "way of
life" for millions of Brazilians and exerts an immense influence in
a social context. However, soccer could be used in a more appropriate
way by its inclusion in Brazil's schools. The purpose of this paper
is to understand the unique characteristics and social impact of soccer
in Brazil.

Understanding the History of Soccer in Brazil

Abstract

Most university athletic programs have a web site that provides information
about the individual sports and a Prospective Student-Athlete Form where
athletes can submit their academic and athletic information directly to
the coach. There has been no research done to date that provides insight
into how these recruiting tools are used by coaches and how important
the coaches feel they are in their recruiting. This study surveyed NCAA
Tennis coaches (N = 232) about this topic. Results indicated that
most coaches felt that these tools were useful in the recruiting process.
When comparing NCAA coaching Divisions I, II, and III, the results indicated
that the lower division coaches use and value these recruiting tools significantly
(p < .003) more than Division I coaches.

Pre-Revolution Cuba

Sport in Cuba before the revolution of 1953 was almost non-existent.
Where it did exist, it reflected the rural economy, so horse racing and
cock-fighting were popular, mainly due to the associated betting. Sport
also reflected Cuba's cultural background. For example, pelota,
a traditional Basque courtyard game for two players using slings and a
hard ball, was played. The influence of the United States (U.S.) was significant
in the establishment of boxing in Cuba, and it became very popular in
the cities among Cuba's poorer classes, most of whom were of African decent
(Sugden, 1996). Elite sports such as sailing, equestrianism, hunting,
tennis, and fencing were popular with "white" Cubans of Spanish decent.
Interestingly, fencing became a particular strength at the turn of the
century. In the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, Ramon Fonst won the gold

Abstract

Customer loyalty is of great value to the effectiveness and success of
recreational sport agencies. Students in the field of recreation and leisure
have paid growing attention to loyalty-related issues in recent decades.
In this paper, the authors review the development of the exploration of
consumer loyalty, especially in the field of recreation and leisure. The
authors find that the study of this concept has roughly gone through the
evolution of three stages: one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and multidimensional
approaches. They developed through the critiques of the former approaches
respectively. Looking at the process of development of the conceptualization
of consumer loyalty, the authors believe that the last approach is the
most comprehensive and thus promising perspective that future researches
should apply.

Abstract

Athletes who have experienced an upsetting competitive experience not
only may perceive competition negatively but relive the upsetting performance
event when they approach competition or contemplate competition which
results in an increase in anxiety. EMDR was performed with competitive
swimmers to aid them in reprocessing an upsetting swimming event. Their
coping beliefs were measured and level of anxiety prior and after the
EMDR. Vignettes are presented as examples of the changes in the athletes'
level of anxiety coping beliefs after three sessions.

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess how the sports segment within the local
television newscast is changing. Literature suggests that many stations
are eliminating or otherwise revising the sports segment in response to
industry conditions.

Abstract

The objective of this program was to improve the 40-yard sprint time
in junior varsity and varsity high school football players. A 4-½ week
speed-training program was designed for 38 high school athletes. The
athletes participated 3 days per week in the program. The program consisted
of specific form running on a 40-yard course at various downhill degrees
of slope in addition to the normal workout of agility and lateral speed
training. Each participant was timed on a flat track prior to the start
of the training program and upon its completion. The overall results showed
an average decrease in time in the 40-yard sprint of 0.188 seconds (range
+0.01 to -0.9). All but 5 participants demonstrated an improved time.
These results suggest that a standardized training program emphasizing
acceleration, starting ability, stride rate, speed endurance, and stride
length can improve performance in the 40-yard sprint.

Scope and Purpose

Cross country runners will improve their performance, and coaches can
experience the empowerment of their vocation when pinpointed physiological
methods and competitive focusing techniques are bonded together in periodically
based training schedules. This seasonal training guide contains a definitive
coaching approach to the sport of cross-country and includes a mental
awareness component that compliments the physical training. In many instances
an unforgettable season can occur not because the coach wins every contest
he enters but because the sport of cross-country itself is transformed
into a new form of interaction—one in which the composite of the
season’s experience is as important as the final team scores.

A Brief Evaluation of Development of Turkish Sport from 1839 to 1923

Although the modern Turkish Republic was officially established in 1923,
the liberalization, secularization and the democratization process of
the Republic was initiated in 1839. All of these three phases occurred
in conjunction with the Tanzimat reforms, which granted partial constitutional
rights to the Turkish people.

After the Tanzimat, the Turkish people reorganized their lives and established
organizations on voluntary and constitutional principles. The formation
of such organizations also provided leadership for sports activities within
the country. Eventually, the sport movement gained momentum. According
to Fisek, "Despite the discouragement of government, the popularity
and enthusiasm for sports were manifested" (p. 270). However, Turkish
sport had not yet set national objectives nor defined goals.

1 Introduction

"Olympic education" is a term which first appeared in sports education
and Olympic research only in the 1970s (cf, N. MOLLER 1975b). Does "Olympic
education" mean the revival of the educational ideals of ancient Greece,
or is its purpose merely to bring credibility to the marketing of Olympic symbols?
The question must be answered in terms of principles, and the answer ranges
deep into the history and concept of the modern Olympic Movement. Its founder,
the Frenchman Pierre DE COUBERTIN (1863-1937), saw himself first and foremost
as an educator, and his primary aim was educational reform (cf, RIOUX 1986).
His aim, initially restricted to France and the French schools, was to make
modern sport an integral part of the school routine, and so introduce into that
routine a sports education which would embrace both body and mind. He had learned
from modern sport in England, and especially from his knowledge of public school
education at Rugby, that the moral strength of the young can be critically developed
through the individual experience of sporting activity and extended from there
to life as a whole. COUBERTIN did not use the term "Olympic education",
but referred initially to "sporting education", and indeed that was
the title of the book he published in 1922, Pedagogie sportive. Since
as early as 1900, and not exclusively within schools, he had been encouraging
the idea of making sport accessible to adolescents and even to older people
as a newly discovered part of a complete education (cf. COUBERTIN 1972).