This dissertation focuses on the digital presentation of athletification, a process through which non-athletes incorporate an athletic identity into their self-concept. Although many studies have explored consumer behavior driven by team identification and how athletes manage impressions on social media, extant literature has devoted little attention to the symbolic meaning of virtual athletic identity and its impact on consumption from a non-athlete’s perspective. Using a multimethod approach, this dissertation is divided into three standalone essays and examines the following in the context of influencer marketing: 1) the use and role of digital athletic identity in building a digital self-brand; 2) the motivation and consequences of constructing a digital identity; and 3) the impact of a digital athletic identity on consumers. This dissertation contributes to the literature by constructing a theoretical foundation for athletification as a self-branding tool on social media and uncovering its influence on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. These studies offer insights for social media influencers and marketers attempting to leverage their impacts on consumers. Findings also provide actionable strategies that could improve the promotional messages presented online. / Tourism and Sport

<p> Qualitative research exploring the development of coaching skills and knowledge suggests that this development begins with early athletic involvement. Unfortunately, the quantitative research exploring the association between athletic involvement and coaching abilities has not been able to identify a clear and causal relationship. This thesis investigates the relationship between previous athletic experience and current perceptual-cognitive coaching skills in novice and experienced gymnastics coaches using a quantitative experimental paradigm. Novice and experienced provincial and national level gymnastics coaches with and without experience competing at the provincial or national level participated in this study. In Experiment 1, twenty-three coaches completed a Knowledgebase Task and an Error Identification task. The data demonstrated that experienced coaches performed better on the knowledgebase task (F(1,19)=7.113, p. =0.016) and the Error Identification task than the novice coaches (F(1,18)=14.916, p. =0.001). While there were no performance differences on either task for experienced coaches with either significant or minimal athletic histories, novice coaches without previous athletic experience outperformed the novice coaches with previous athletic experience when asked to identify the initial error in a flawed gymnastics sequence (F(1,18)=5.338,p. =0.03). This counterintuitive result was further explored in Experiment 2. It was hypothesized that the nature of the knowledge on which the novice coaches rely differed based on their athletic histories. Specifically, novice coaches without athletic experience would rely to a greater degree on explicit knowledge whereas novice coaches with previous athletic experience would rely upon implicit knowledge acquired while an athlete. The results of Experiment 2 did not support this hypothesis. While this thesis was able to develop further insight into the relationship between previous athletic experience and current perceptual-cognitive coaching abilities, no clear and causal conclusions were drawn. Additional research is required to fully understand this complex and multi-dimensional relationship.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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Retirement from sport is a process that unfolds over time in which athletes have varied experiences, ranging from seamless transition to psychological distress. Researchers have sought to understand the variables (i.e., athletic identity, social support) that contribute to successful or unsuccessful transitions, with athletic identity being one of the most frequently mentioned. Athletes who strongly identify with the athlete role at the time of retirement are more at risk for adverse retirement outcomes (i.e., mental health concerns, identity concerns, substance use). To date, few studies have examined the moderating effect of coping resources, such as social support, on athletic identity at the time of retirement. The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, we found that student-athletes who graduated and retired had lower athletic identity, higher alcohol use, and less perceived social support than their peers who continued competing four months after graduation. Second, we longitudinally examined the relationship of athletic identity and social support to the psychological well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and binge drinking) of collegiate student athletes who retired from sport. Neither T1 athletic identity nor T1 social support, nor their interaction, were related to T2 life satisfaction or T2 alcohol use in the retired student-athletes after controlling for gender and the respective T1 variables. Further, being female and T1 life satisfaction were the only significant predictors for T2 life satisfaction; T1 alcohol use was the only predictor of T2 alcohol use. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Bakgrund: Svensk idrott med cirka tre miljoner medlemmar spelar en viktig roll i främjandet av god hälsa men medför även en risk för skador. Det kräver både preventiva och rehabiliterande åtgärder. En kartläggning av de vanligaste idrottsskadorna kan bidra till att identifiera kunskapsluckor samt underlätta implementering av förebyggande åtgärder inom fysioterapi. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att kartlägga och analysera skadepanoramat efter år 2000 inom de fem mest utövade idrotterna i Sverige, samt identifiera eventuella skillnader baserat på kön, ålder och idrott. Metod: En allmän litteraturöversikt genomfördes med fokus på epidemiologiska- och kohortstudier. 163 studier identifierades via sökningar i databaserna Pubmed (n = 78), Cinahl (n = 30) och SportDiscus (n = 55). Efter granskning av titel och abstrakt, återstod 17 studier för kvalitetsgranskning med Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Resultat: 15 studier (fotboll = 7, friidrott = 3, gymnastik = 2, innebandy = 4) inkluderades i litteraturöversikten med ett totalt deltagarantal på 3 635 628 aktiva, varav 69.7% män. Inga svenska studier om golf kunde identifieras. En hög frekvens skador i nedre extremitet noterades i alla idrotter, framförallt i fotboll och friidrott, medan skador i underarm/hand framträdde i gymnastik. Dessutom framkom en hög frekvens rygg- och huvudskador inom innebandy och gymnastik. Konklusion: Skademönstret varierar inte markant mellan könen men män uppvisar en högre skaderisk än kvinnor. Endast fotboll noterade ett varierande mönster mellan ungdomar och vuxna där ungdomar hade en lägre skadeincidens och fler frakturer. Generellt finns det ett behov av uppdaterad, könsrepresentativ forskning inom idrotterna. / Background: Swedish sports play a crucial role in promoting good health but also carry a risk of injuries. This requires both preventive and rehabilitative measures. A mapping of sports injuries can help identify knowledge gaps and facilitate the implementation of preventive measures within physiotherapy. Aim: The aim was to map and analyze the injury landscape after the year 2000 within the five most practiced sports in Sweden, and to identify any differences based on gender, age, and sport. Method: A literature review was conducted, focusing on epidemiological-, and cohort studies. 163 studies were identified through the databases Pubmed (n = 78), Cinahl (n = 30), and SportDiscus (n = 55). After reviewing title and abstract, 17 remained for quality review with the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Results: 15 studies (football = 7, athletics = 3, gymnastics = 2, floorball = 4) were included with a total of 3,635,628 participants, of which 69.7% were men. No studies on golf were identified. A high frequency of lower extremity injuries was noted in all sports, especially in football and athletics, while forearm/hand injuries were prominent in gymnastics. In addition, back and head injuries were noted within floorball and gymnastics. Conclusion: The injury pattern does not vary significantly between the sexes, but men show a higher risk of injury than women. Only football noted a varying pattern between youth and adults, where youth had a lower injury incidence and more fractures. There is a need for updated, gender-representative research within sports.

High school coaching is recognized by many to be a very difficult occupation. Many of the pressures in coaching center around the interactions which occur between coaches and the parents of the athletes they coach. Very little is known about what parents expect from high school athletic programs. In order to determine what parental expectations are of high school sports, parents from three schools within the same school division who had children who participated in a team sport during the 1997-1998 school year were surveyed by mail. The survey attempted to determine parental positions on various issues which included the relationship between athletic participation and self-esteem, responsible decision making, educational aspirations, participation in games, parental support for their children, and expectations of coaches. A response rate of over 40 percent was observed. In addition responses were disaggregated to determine if differences existed between schools and gender. Responses to the survey indicate that parents are very supportive of athletic activities and believe that athletics have a positive influence on the lives of their children. Substantial differences between gender and schools were not observed. Results from this survey can provide coaches with an abundance of information that can be used in establishing athletic programs and maintaining positive relationships with parents of their athletes. / Ed. D.

The injury recovery process is a tumultuous journey many athletes experience in their playing careers. Previous research highlights the importance of injury recovery for collegiate athletes, as a lack of social support leads to mental illness, decreases academic performance, and low levels of self-esteem. Utilizing the theoretical lenses of social support, memorable messages, and the sport ethic, the current study investigated how injuries affect athletic identity, the role that coaches, trainers, teammates, and family members play in the social support process, how injury affects athletes' experience with burnout, and the memorable messages that athletes received during their recovery. Themes emerged from data analysis, including (1) athletic injury affects identity, (2) coaches, trainers, teammates, and family members have a significant effect on the social support process, (3) injuries, long-term involvement in sports, and negative coach interactions are potential causes for athletic burnout, and (4) athletes remember positive feelings related to messages but are more likely to remember the specifics of negative messages. These findings suggest that multiple factors work in tandem to affect the overall injury recovery process for female college soccer players. The paper closes with theoretical implications and real-world practical applications for athletes.

The purpose of this study is to make a comparative analysis of a representative number of coaches in selected Class "A" and Class "B" high schools of North and East Texas.

The purpose of this study was to accumulate and interpret information relative to the duties, the responsibilities, the professional status, the academic status, and the social and personal relationships of the men high school physical education directors in a selected group of schools and to make certain recommendations to young men who might contemplate careers in this particular field.

While there has been ample research examining the relationship between an acute concussion on immediate neuropsychological performance, very little research has examined the relationship between lifetime concussion history with current neuropsychological performance. We collected preseason neuropsychological test performance (ImPACT) and a detailed lifetime concussion history questionnaire from 71 UCF football players. Stepwise linear regressions were conducted for each of the five ImPACT domain scores for the 18 participants that reported at least one lifetime concussion. The regressions used the following four concussion history predictors: total number of lifetime concussions, length of time between last concussion and lmPACT testing, severity of worst concussion, and severity of most recent concussion. Results revealed that only one ImpACT domain score had at least one predictor enter the model. For the domain of visual memory, the predictor of length of time between last concussion and ImPACT testing entered the model (and only that predictor),P = 4.07, t(l7) = 2.78,p = .01, R1 = .33, as a shorter length of time between the last concussion and the preseason testing related to lower performance on the visual memory tests. Many athletes and clinicians assume that the cognitive effects of a concussion are relatively brief in duration. However, the results of this study suggest that, at least for visual memory, these effects may last for several years following a concussion. The correlational design of this study precludes drawing conclusions about the causal direction of this relationship, but future longitudinal research may be able to clarify this important preliminary finding.