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This study examined whether adolescent athletes’ levels of sport burnout would be predicted by their level and type of both passion and athletic identity. Female high-school-aged athletes (N = 186) completed a series of questionnaires to measure study variables. The results of three hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that athletes’ levels of harmonious passion served as negative predictors for all three dimensions of burnout, while obsessive passion positively predicted scores only on the exhaustion subscale. In addition, the subdimensions of athletic identity contributed a unique amount to the prediction of some aspects of burnout. These results indicate that both passion and athletic identity are important correlates or predictors of burnout levels, with harmonious passion offering the most protective effects.

Jump height is a critical aspect of volleyball players’ blocking and attacking performance. Although previous studies demonstrated that creatine monohydrate supplementation (CrMS) improves jumping performance, none have yet evaluated its effect among volleyball players with proficient jumping skills. We examined the effect of 4 wk of CrMS on 1 RM spike jump (SJ) and repeated block jump (BJ) performance among 12 elite males of the Sherbrooke University volleyball team. Using a parallel, randomized, double-blind protocol, participants were supplemented with a placebo or creatine solution for 28 d, at a dose of 20 g/d in days 1–4, 10 g/d on days 5-6, and 5 g/d on days 7-28. Pre- and postsupplementation, subjects performed the 1 RM SJ test, followed by the repeated BJ test (10 series of 10 BJs; 3 s interval between jumps; 2 min recovery between series). Due to injuries (N = 2) and outlier data (N = 2), results are reported for eight subjects. Following supplementation, both groups improved SJ and repeated BJ performance. The change in performance during the 1 RM SJ test and over the first two repeated BJ series was unclear between groups. For series 3-6 and 7-10, respectively, CrMS further improved repeated BJ performance by 2.8% (likely beneficial change) and 1.9% (possibly beneficial change), compared with the placebo. Percent repeated BJ decline in performance across the 10 series did not differ between groups pre- and postsupplementation. In conclusion, CrMS likely improved repeated BJ height capability without influencing the magnitude of muscular fatigue in these elite, university-level volleyball players.

To determine the reliability of cardiovascular responses to isometric exercise of different intensities, and to compare adult versus child responses, 27 boys (7–9 years old) and 27 men (18–26 years old) performed static handgrip exercise at 10, 20, and 30% of previously determined maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) for three min each on different days, while heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured. HR reliability was moderately high at all intensities in both boys and men ranging from R = 0.52–0.87. BP reliability was moderate in men and boys at 30% MVC while at 10% and 20% MVC reliability was very low for boys and only moderate for men. HR response from pre- to 3-min of static exercise was not different between boys versus men at any intensity. At 30% MVC diastolic (20.2 vs. 29.3 mmHg), systolic (17.4 vs. 36.2 mmHg) and mean (19.2 vs. 31.6 mmHg) BP responses were lower in boys versus men, respectively. At 20% MVC SBP (6.8 vs. 14.3 mmHg) and MBP (8.4 vs. 12.6 mmHg) responses were lower in boys versus men, respectively. In conclusion, the reliability of cardiovascular response to isometric exercise is low at low contraction intensities and moderate at higher contraction intensities. Further, BP response in men at 30% MVC is higher than boys, while responses are similar at lower contraction intensities.

Because there is no single governing sport body in the United States devoted to coaching education, coaching requirements can vary greatly state-to-state and between organizations within the same state. Therefore, it often is up to club programs or universities to devise individual curriculum for coaching education. For those responsible for coaching education, utilizing backwards design can ensure programs meet the learning and professional development needs of coaches. In backwards design, identifying coaches’ needs and creating program-level learning outcomes occurs prior to specific content selection. Additionally, backwards design encourages instructors to select assessments and learning activities that align with the program-level learning outcomes. In this article, a group of faculty describe their experience utilizing backwards design in creating a college/university certificate program focused on sport coaching. Specifically, a description of the following is included: (a) the process used to create program-level learning outcomes, (b) how to emphasize the program-level learning outcomes throughout the program’s coursework, and (c) a specific example from one course in the curriculum. Finally, we provide lessons learned throughout the process and recommendations for program development in hopes that coach developers can utilize this process in designing their own curricula.

Sprint-cycling performance is paramount to competitive success in over half the world-championship and Olympic races in the sport of cycling. This review examines the current knowledge behind the interaction of propulsive and resistive forces that determine sprint performance. Because of recent innovation in field power-measuring devices, actual data from both elite track- and road-cycling sprint performances provide additional insight into key performance determinants and allow for the construction of complex models of sprint-cycling performance suitable for forward integration. Modeling of various strategic scenarios using a variety of field and laboratory data can highlight the relative value for certain tactically driven choices during competition.

Significant social agents are thought to play a vital role in youth development (Brustad, Babkes, & Smith, 2001). The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) commissioned a nationwide survey to examine the effect significant social agents had on youth sport behavior. In Phase I, initial data were collected and results were published in the Journal of Coaching Education (2011). The results of the previous analyses were largely descriptive, and further analyses were desired. Therefore, the current study (Phase II) is a secondary but more in-depth data analysis of the initial data collected by the USADA. Phase II analyses (n = 3379, M_age = 12.23, SD = 2.78) revealed that youth sport coaches have the greatest positive influence on youth followed closely by parents, but all of the significant social agents, to different extents, were seen as more positive than negative by youth. Results varied by developmental level, gender, and competitive level. Results, limitations, and practical implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of required remote work on work–family spillover within U.S. college sport. In particular, we examined the changes in work–family spillover (positive and negative), job commitment, and workaholism as employee’s work environment changed from traditional work expectations to work from home, and if these changes were, at least partially, due to parental responsibilities. Data were collected from full-time, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic department employees (n = 1,139) in November 2019 and again in May 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after the transition to remote work. Results showed that sport employees found a number of benefits associated with working remotely, including a significant decrease in negative work–family spillover. However, employees with children at home reported higher levels of negative family–work spillover after going to remote work. Workaholism was also higher after the move to remote work. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between perfectionism, motivation, burnout, and coaching satisfaction in high school and collegiate coaches (n = 311). Coaches completed the modified Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, and an investigator-designed survey to assess satisfaction. As predicted, perfectionism was related to both motivation and burnout. In particular, socially-prescribed perfectionism emerged as the most significant type of perfectionism, showing positive relationships with controlled forms of motivation and burnout and negative relationships with autonomous forms of motivation and feelings of personal accomplishment. Self-oriented perfectionism was related to motivation, but not directly related to burnout, and other-oriented perfectionism was not significantly related to motivation or burnout. Autonomous motivation was strongly associated with coaches’ satisfaction. The influence of socially-prescribed perfectionism on coaches is discussed in relation to the high expectations placed on coaches by programs and communities, perhaps contributing to feelings of low autonomy and external regulation. Controlling forms of social expectations and external regulation may act as a “slippery slope” in which the initial motivation of coaches may move toward burnout.

The purpose of this article was to provide a substantive-methodological synergy of potential importance to future research in sport and exercise psychology. The substantive focus was to improve the measurement of coaching efficacy by developing a revised version of the coaching efficacy scale (CES) for head coaches (N = 557) of youth sport teams (CES II-YST). The methodological focus was exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), a methodology that integrates the advantages of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the general structural equation model (SEM). The synergy was a demonstration of how ESEM (as compared with CFA) may be used, guided by content knowledge, to develop (or confirm) a measurement model for the CES II-YST. A single-group ESEM provided evidence for close model-data fit, while a single-group CFA fit significantly worse than the single-group ESEM and provided evidence for only approximate model-data fit. A multiple-group ESEM provided evidence for partial factorial invariance by coach’s gender.