Abstract It is unknown what teaching styles (range of pedagogies) coaches are employing during coaching sessions and whether these teaching styles are associated with recommended pedagogical principles advocated by sport and coaching scholars. It is unknown whether twenty years of coach education has shifted coaching practice as the insights into the pedagogical diversity and preference of teaching styles that underpin and inform the coaches’ decisions to employ particular teaching strategies during coaching sessions are undetermined. This paper addresses these unknowns in the field of tennis coaching in Australia by reporting the findings of a study that address the lack of information on the teaching styles employed by tennis coaches by asking the following research question: What teaching styles are junior coaches in Australia actually using during coaching sessions? This study used The Spectrum (Mosston & Ashworth, 2008) of teaching styles as a tool to assess the observed teaching styles of twelve junior coaches. Contrary to the educational convictions of Australian sport coach education materials the results from this study indicated that the coaches in this study potentially did not offer players developmental opportunities beyond a limited range (i.e., motor skill development in the physical learning domain) due to a narrow pedagogical mix in their coaching.
Abstract Accelerometry is the de facto standard in objective physical activity monitoring. However traditional accelerometer units undergo proprietary pre-processing, resulting in the ‘black-box’ phenomenon, where researchers are unaware of the processes and filters used on their data. Raw accelerometers where all frequencies related to human movement are included in the signal, would facilitate novel analyses, such as frequency domain analysis and pattern recognition. The aim of this study was to quantify the mean, standard deviation and variance of the SlamTracker raw accelerometer at a range of speeds. Four tri-axial accelerometers underwent a one minute static condition test nine movement condition tests. Accelerometers were assessed for mean, standard deviation, sample variance and coefficient of variation throughout in all axes for all experimental conditions. The sample variance was <0.001g across all speeds and axes during the movement condition tests. In conclusion, the SlamTracker is shown to be an accurate and reliable device for measuring the raw accelerations of movement.
Abstract Because international elite football is concerned with talent identification, this has generated a great deal of knowledge about what it takes to become a professional footballer. This research has however primarily focused on individual development and how external factors affect athletic performance. In this article we sought to describe the characteristics of the developmental environment in the youth department of the Norwegian elite club Rosenborg BK. Our case study, using a holistic and ecological development perspective as a framework, we followed the club’s under-19 team for a total of 21 days, during 3 separate weeks in the 2014 season. The results showed that Rosenborg seems to offer an environment focusing on aspects highlighted by the ecological model athletic talent development environment (ATDE). The club seems to focus on giving players tools and resources both on and off the field, using a holistic and systematic methodology. Yet it appears that the club has a weak relationship between the youth department and its own senior team, even indicating a competitive relationship, also found in other elite academies. Furthermore, it may seem that the importance of developing players with local ties is downgraded because of the club’s need for short-term success.
Abstract This study reports the effects of a recovery intervention in young elite athletes in high school. The scissors model (Kellmann & Kallus, 2001) was used as a theoretical foundation for the intervention. An intervention group (n = 40) participated in 12 weekly intervention sessions, while the control group (n = 58) did not. A Danish version of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes measured recovery levels in the participants, at baseline and at the end of intervention. Qualitative interviews were conducted with four of the participants. Quantitative results did not show an improvement in recovery and stress levels. Qualitative results showed that the intervention had an effect on the participants, and also revealed areas, in which the intervention could be improved. Suggestions for future interventions are given.
Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of additional short and long running stride workouts on acceleration kinematics and jumping performances with respect to the competition phase. Thirteen voluntary male sprinters participated in this study (100 m PB: 10.45-11.30s). The sprinters were separated into three groups [control group (CG), short stride group (SSG), long stride group (LSG)] in a randomised order. Sprinters continued their competition phase training over a two-week period; however, the SSG and LSG run an additional 6 × 40 m three times per week. The pre- and post-training results regarding, acceleration kinematics and jumping performances were compared using the Kruskal Wallis test for several independent samples of intergroup and the Wilcoxon Two Related Samples Test for intragroup differences. If there were intergroup differences, the Mann Whitney U test was used for two related comparisons of the groups. The probability level for statistical significance was set to p≤0.05. Only the LSG showed significant pre- and post-training differences with respect to certain acceleration kinematics (sprint time, sprint velocity, stride length) (Z= −2.023, 2.032, 2.060, respectively; p<0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study show that there is no significant effect of a two-week training regimen involving additional long and short stride running workouts on Turkish sprinters in the competition phase; however, long stride running workouts may be useful for sprinters who have short stride sprint characteristics.
