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

Athens, Greece - I am starting the writing of this President’s Column from a small island in the Aegean Sea, an hour out of Athens, and am enjoying the magnificent villa home of Joe and Mina Valyraki. Joe has served in the Greek government for more than 25 years. He was the Minister of Sport when they signed the agreement to bring the Athens Olympiad 2004 to its original home in Greece. He then served twice as a Minister of the Interior – security is a specialty of his. His beautiful wife, Mina, was the Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year in 2002 (see picture above).

Abstract

An extensive body of research examines the importance of a golfer’s shot-making skills to the player’s overall performance, where performance is measured as either tournament money winnings or average score per round of golf. Independent of the performance measure, existing studies find that a player’s shot-making skills contribute significantly to explaining the variability in a golfer’s performance. To date, this research has focused exclusively on the professional golfer. This study attempts to extend the findings in the literature by examining the performance determinants of amateur golfers. Using a sample of NCAA Division I male golfers, various shot-making skills are analyzed and correlated with average score per round of golf. Overall, the findings validate those dealing with professional golfers. In particular, the results suggest that, like professional golfers, amateurs must possess a variety of shot-making skills to be successful. Moreover, relative to driving ability, putting skills and reaching greens in regulation contribute more to explaining the variability in a player’s success.

INTRODUCTION

The high performance sport system of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was based on a well organized and supported search and support for talents. The “Sport Schools for Children and Youth,” which were invented in 1952 and extended into perfectly organized places of training for future Olympic winners, represented the main branch of this system. 80% of the Olympic participants of the GDR were “formed” in these 24 “Sport Schools for Children and Youth” and won the main part of the 572 Olympic medals reached by the GDR at Olympic Games.

Hooliganism has long been associated with soccer in England and has been a common occurrence from the late nineteenth century onwards. Yet following the end of the First World War, incidents of crowd disorder appeared to fall resulting in a period of calm and orderly behavior up until the Second World War. The purpose of this study is to focus upon the inter-war period, examining the theories proposed that explain the apparent calm amongst the spectators of English soccer.

Abstract

Prior research on service quality in the sport industry has focused almost exclusively on the satisfaction of sport spectators. The current study expands this literature by beginning exploration into service quality issues related to sport event participants. Specifically, we examine the effect of participant skill level on the expectations that event participants place on various service quality dimensions applicable to a participatory sport event. Specifically, we propose that relatively lower skilled players will place greater importance on peripheral event service dimensions (those attributes of an event that fall outside the actual competitive play of the sport and do not directly influence the athlete's performance, such as event parties, promotional giveaways to participants, and general ambiance surrounding the event). We also propose that relatively higher skilled players will place greater importance on play-related event service dimensions (those attributes that are directly associated with the competitive play of the sport and can directly influence athlete performance). Tests of these hypotheses are performed through survey data collected from participants at the United States Tennis Association's Southern Sectional Championships. Results indicate that lower skilled players indeed place greater emphasis on peripheral event service dimensions than do higher skilled players. However, lower skilled players did not place less emphasis on play-related event service dimensions than did higher skilled players. The importance of understanding the expectations of participatory sport event consumers is discussed, and directions for future research are provided.

Abstract

Few studies have been conducted to examine the effects of plyometrics on skating speed in junior hockey players. The present study was designed to look at the effects of a 4-week, eight session, plyometric training program intervention on skating speed. Six male subjects (18.8 ± .98 years) that engaged in the training program completed pre and post 40 meter on-ice sprinting tests. The training group showed significant time improvements (p<.05) in the 40 meter skating distance. The results suggested that plyometric training has a positive effect on skating speed in junior hockey players such that a reduction in on-ice sprinting times is evident.

Abstract

An extensive body of research examines the importance of a golfer’s shot-making skills to the player’s overall performance, where performance is measured as either tournament money winnings or average score per round of golf. Independent of the performance measure, existing studies find that a player’s shot-making skills contribute significantly to explaining the variability in a golfer’s performance. To date, this research has focused exclusively on the professional golfer. This study attempts to extend the findings in the literature by examining the performance determinants of amateur golfers. Using a sample of NCAA Division I male golfers, various shot-making skills are analyzed and correlated with average score per round of golf. Overall, the findings validate those dealing with professional golfers. In particular, the results suggest that, like professional golfers, amateurs must possess a variety of shot-making skills to be successful. Moreover, relative to driving ability, putting skills and reaching greens in regulation contribute more to explaining the variability in a player’s success.