The lifelong education of coaches is one of the priorities of the European Union. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate Italian elite coaches' motivation to engage in a ...sport-related academic education, and its demands, barriers, support, and relocation issues in relation to their dual career (DC) path. Sixteen Italian elite coaches (e.g., certified fourth-level national team coaches, senior team coaches) enrolled in a specifically tailored Bachelor's degree in sports sciences at the University of Rome Foro Italico (Italy) volunteered for this study. A qualitative approach integrating inductive and deductive reasoning, and thematic analysis was applied to participants' responses to an open-ended item survey. Independently from relocation, student-coaches' DC perceptions resulted in 15 lower-order themes further organized in 5 high-er-order themes (e.g., Benefit, Challenge, Expectation, Organization, and Support), each related to the contexts (e.g., Personal, Academic, Sport), the DC dimension (e.g., micro, meso, macro, and policy), and the DC push (e.g., facilitating) /pull (e.g., hindering) factors. The elite coaches' insights emphasize the complexity of the coach lifelong education at university level, and provide valuable information for promoting European and National (e.g., Italian) DC recommendations for elite sportspersons through a cooperation between sport bodies and higher educational institutions.
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To date, the scientific literature on socioeconomic correlates and determinants of physical activity behaviours has been dispersed throughout a number of systematic reviews, often focusing on one ...factor (e.g. education or parental income) in one specific age group (e.g. pre-school children or adults). The aim of this umbrella review is to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the scientific literature from previously conducted research by summarising and synthesising the importance and strength of the evidence related to socioeconomic correlates and determinants of PA behaviours across the life course.
Medline, Embase, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus were searched for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies investigating the association between socioeconomic determinants of PA and PA itself (from January 2004 to September 2017). Data extraction evaluated the importance of determinants, strength of evidence, and methodological quality of the selected papers. The full protocol is available from PROSPERO (PROSPERO2014:CRD42015010616).
Nineteen reviews were included. Moderate methodological quality emerged. For adults, convincing evidence supports a relationship between PA and socioeconomic status (SES), especially in relation to leisure time (positive relationship) and occupational PA (negative relationship). Conversely, no association between PA and SES or parental SES was found for pre-school, school-aged children and adolescents.
Available evidence on the socioeconomic determinants of PA behaviour across the life course is probable (shows fairly consistent associations) at best. While some evidence is available for adults, less was available for youth. This is mainly due to a limited quantity of primary studies, weak research designs and lack of accuracy in the PA and SES assessment methods employed. Further PA domain specific studies using longitudinal design and clear measures of SES and PA assessment are required.
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Participation in regular physical activity is associated with a multitude of health benefits across the life course. However, many people fail to meet PA recommendations. Despite a plethora of ...studies, the evidence regarding the environmental (physical) determinants of physical activity remains inconclusive.
To identify the physical environmental determinants that influence PA across the life course.
An online systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus. The search was limited to studies published in English (January 2004 to April 2016). Only systematic literature reviews (SLRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of observational studies, that investigated the association between physical determinants and physical activity outcomes, were eligible for inclusion. The extracted data were assessed on the importance of determinants, strength of evidence and methodological quality.
The literature search identified 28 SLRs and 3 MAs on 67 physical environmental characteristics potentially related to physical activity that were eligible for inclusion. Among preschool children, a positive association was reported between availability of backyard space and outdoor toys/equipment in the home and overall physical activity. The availability of physical activity programs and equipment within schools, and neighbourhood features such as pedestrian and cyclist safety structure were positively associated with physical activity in children and adolescents. Negative street characteristics, for example, lack of sidewalks and streetlights, were negatively associated with physical activity in adults. Inconsistent associations were reported for the majority of reviewed determinants in adults.
This umbrella SLR provided a comprehensive overview of the physical environment determinants of physical activity across the life course and has highlighted, particularly amongst youth, a number of key determinants that may be associated with overall physical activity. Given the limited evidence drawn mostly from cross-sectional studies, longitudinal studies are needed to further explore these associations.
PROSPERO CRD42015010616.
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Purpose One factor affecting successful performance in beach handball is the efficiency of shootings. As only few studies evaluated gender-related differences in shooting performance, the aim of this ...study was to analyse variations of shooting efficiency between males (M) and females (F) during beach handball matches. Methods Nine matches were analysed. Overall, there were 559 (M: 353; F: 206) shots, of which 54.7 ± 9.4% were successful and 19.9 ± 7.1% were goalkeepers’ saves. Type of shot, shooting area, and goal area were recorded. Percentages of differences between genders were also computed. Players’ efficiency was calculated as (frequency of goals*100)/frequency of shots. Goalkeepers’ efficiency was calculated as (frequency of goalkeepers’ saves*100)/frequency of shots. Gender differences were ascertained by Pearson’s chi-squared test for independence with Bonferroni corrections. Statistical significance of the results was accepted at p < 0.05. Results No statistically significant gender differences were found for any parameter. Goalkeepers were most efficient (M: 23.0 ± 6.1%; F: 25.9 ± 18.0%) when receiving inflight shots. The most frequent shooting area was the front (M: 328 shots; F: 194 shots) and most shots reached lower corners of the goal (M: 139 shots; F: 77 shots). Conclusions No differences between genders were found during semifinal and final phases of the tournament. Notational analysis proved to be a valuable tool for better coaching through the interpretation of shots in beach handball and it may be useful to examine all the aspects related to shooting, such as the shooting area and the goal area.
Water exercise provides a workload in every direction of motion for training in a reduced impact environment. The selection of an appropriate physical activity and an individual exercise prescription ...are essential to obtain training effects. The aim of the present study was to determine individualised relative exercise intensities at four speeds of motion for water cycling and water running. Running was tested both in buoyancy and with the feet in contact with the bottom of the pool. To this purpose, gas exchanges, heart rate, and blood lactate were measured in each test session. Fourteen active, healthy females (23.2 ± 1.6 years) underwent a dry land maximal incremental protocol to exhaustion on a treadmill and hydrobike (HB); they engaged in water running with ground contact (RC) and water running suspended (RS) tests in a swimming pool at 30, 40, 50, and 60 cycles per minute (cpm), submerged at the individual xiphoid level. The four motion speeds of the three water exercise modalities ranged from 50% to 95% of the maximal heart rate and the maximal oxygen uptake, representing a moderate-to-vigorous training stimulus. RS elicited the lowest oxygen consumption, whereas HB demanded the significantly highest oxygen consumption and presented the highest blood lactate accumulation, with vigorous intensity being reached at 50 cpm and near maximal intensity at 60 cpm. It appears that water cycling could be more suitable for athletic training, whereas water running could be more appropriate for health and fitness purposes.
Purpose The continuous migration of student-athletes to pursue their educational and sport careers (i.e., dual career) urges the scientific community to investigate this phenomenon. To provide a ...systematic literature review on migrating studentathletes, this review framed the research questions, identified relevant scientific contributions, assessed the quality of the studies, summarized evidence, and interpreted the findings. Methods A systematic review conducted in accordance with preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and metaanalyses guidelines returned 1208 records from 2007 to 2019. After screening for the set criteria, only 12 papers met the final inclusion criteria. Results Few eligible papers highlight limited interest in dual career athletic migration. Furthermore, a lack of a dual career friendly environment supporting the combination of educational (university or high school) and high-level sports opportunities in the native country emerged as the main reason for student-athletes migration. In fact, American colleges, offering optimal opportunities to accomplish education and sport, turned out to be the most represented migration sites, which also satisfy the student-athletes’ desire to attain high-quality education, their willingness to live in another country and to practise sports at high levels. Conclusions In the context of the pervasive globalization of sport and education, to contribute to the development of the European dual career sports culture, further research is needed to empirically examine the migration phenomenon of European student-athletes in Member States.
Despite Dual Careers (sports and education) and mobility of students being priorities in the funding policies of the European Commission, migrating student-athletes report severe challenges and ...decreased performance or dropouts at sport and academic levels. The objective of this study was to depict and assess the perceptions on challenges, support services, and their effectiveness in consideration of specific characteristics of participants and migrations. Based on a meta-synthesis and previous findings, a 50-items questionnaire was developed and completed by 245 student-athletes in 5 European countries. Participants with Dual Careers migration experience (n = 140) were considered for analyses of qualitative and quantitative (ordinal 5pt-Likert-scaled and metric) data on the Dual Career status, migration characteristics, received services, and outcomes. Chi-square-tests were conducted for differences between countries and genders at a significance level of p < .05. Country-related differences were found for experiences and intentions to migrate (X.sup.2 .sub.(12) = 50.52, p<0.001), duration of the migration (X.sup.2 .sub.(16) = 38.20, p = 0.001), financial support (X.sup.2 .sub.(8) = 29.87, p<0.001), and decreased performances in academics (X.sup.2 .sub.(16) = 56.12, p<0.001) and sports (X.sup.2 .sub.(16) = 31.79, p = 0.01). Gender-related difference emerged in financial support (X.sup.2 .sub.(4) = 10.68, p = 0.03), duration of the migration (X.sup.2 .sub.(4) = 14.56, p = 0.01), and decreased academic performance (X.sup.2 .sub.(4) = 10.57, p = 0.03). Tutoring and counselling support was ranked as the most effective support, especially when received from the academic field (4.0±1.0 pt) and others (4.1±0.8 pt), followed by online services from sport and academic sectors (both: 3.9±0.9 pt). Considering the pervasive globalization of sport and education, Dual Career migration can contribute to the development of a European sport culture. The high ratio of migrating student-athletes underlines the relevance of migrations in the field of Dual Careers. This study contributes to the literature by adding insights on practices, challenges, supports, and outcomes perceived by student-athletes migrating in Europe. Moreover, country- and gender-related differences support the consideration of specific characteristics and reveal critical factors in specific target groups. The findings contribute to identifying requirements and effective support measures in Dual Career migrations and can be used to improve support services.
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SuperJump is a high impact activity performed on an elastic trampoline that mixes aerobic and anaerobic exercises already proposed as home-based activity for preventing a sedentary lifestyle. We ...determined in a randomized controlled trial whether 20 weeks of SuperJump activity would promote bone formation and reduce resorption in eumenorrheic women. Twenty-four women were randomized to a non-exercise group (control group) or an exercise group that performed SuperJump activity three times a week for 20 weeks. Blood samples were collected in both groups at baseline and at the end of the 20 weeks and compared within and between the groups for C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), a marker of bone resorption, osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation, and the markers of bone metabolism parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin, albumin-adjusted calcium (Aa calcium), vitamin D, phosphate and potassium. After 20 weeks of SuperJump activity, levels of CTX were significantly reduced while levels of osteocalcin were increased. PTH, calcium and potassium were involved in the mechanism of action because PTH was reduced while calcium and potassium were increased. Calcitonin, vitamin D and phosphate levels did not change. These data suggest that SuperJump activity is able to reduce bone resorption and improve bone formation by acting on essential regulators of bone metabolism. They also suggest that SuperJump training may be used as a valuable intervention to prevent the occurrence of osteoporosis in aging because it improves bone homeostasis in favor of bone formation and could counteract a sedentary lifestyle, such as during COVID-19 home confinement, which could itself contribute to the variation of bone metabolism. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04942691 –retrospectively registered.
Physiological hand tremors appear to be one of the most common types of tremors that occur during the lifespan. Activities most prominently affected by hand tremors are those involving the movement ...of small muscles, such as fine motor skills, which in turn could be influenced by several factors, including lateral dominance. The difference in skills due to lateral dominance is defined as inter-limb imbalance or inter-limb asymmetry. When this asymmetry is attributed to the tremor and the difference in tremor between the limbs, it could be defined as the inter-limb asymmetry of tremors. This study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of wobble-board hand exercise training on the inter-limb asymmetry of tremors. Thirty-two (eighteen males and fourteen females) participants (age: 25.2 ± 2.6 years, weight: 63.9 ± 10.5 kg, height: 1.66 ± 0.8 m, and BMI: 22.8 ± 2.3 kg/m2) were involved in the study. Before (PRE) and after (POST) the wobble-board hand exercises, postural hand tremor was evaluated using a tri-axial accelerometer fixed under the palm. Recordings were taken for 15 s. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the effects of hand exercises on inter-limb (dominant vs. non-dominant) asymmetry of tremor in testing time (PRE vs. POST) in relation to sex (male vs. female). The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Significant differences were found in physiological hand tremors between limbs (dominant vs. non-dominant) in the PRE evaluation (p = 0.03) independently from sex while no differences were found in the POST evaluation. A significant difference emerged in the PRE evaluation for males (p = 0.04) and females (p = 0.03) in relation to the testing time and preferred hand. This difference was no longer present in the POST evaluation. In conclusion, wobble-board hand exercises could represent an effective strategy to reduce inter-limb asymmetry. These results emphasize the importance of task-specific training to maximize the reduction in inter-limb asymmetry of tremors following wobble-board hand exercises.
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