<p> The success of Chinese professional athletes is attributable to the government-run elite sport system; it is seen as one of the most effective and successful systems at nurturing high-skilled athletes. However, within the Chinese professional sport system, tensions between athletes' athletic skills and overall personal development have been widely documented. Among all studies, very few have employed in-depth interviews with professional wushu athletes. In this study, the researcher utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews with professional wushu athletes from three of the 25 professional wushu teams in mainland China. The study was conducted in order to understand the potential conflicts between athletes' athletic skills development and overall personal development. Findings revealed that athletes bear the training at great cost to their future potential as self-sufficient members of Chinese society. Their academic, social, and vocational skills are subject to deep neglect that negatively impacts their post-competition careers. The system considers investment in preparation for the post-competitive lives of the athletes to be a distraction from, or even an impediment to, their success in competition. It is suggested that the Chinese sport system undertake a review and reformation of its approach to wushu training to provide athletes with the skills needed to successfully navigate a life outside of athletics.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to test the full-range leadership theory and measure the relationship, if any, between team captains&rsquo; leadership styles and team outcome (by winning percentage). Analyzing the relationship between team captains&rsquo; leadership styles and performance would add knowledge to the existing research on leadership development in the area of sport. A review of literature yielded few studies of athlete leadership and performance compared to coach leadership. Discovering potential relationships between athlete leadership and performance may challenge beliefs that coach leadership is more important than other types of informal leadership. The study involved the surveying of student-athletes, team captains, and coaches of collegiate athletic programs from a single Division III College located in the Midwest. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x) was used to assess the four leadership constructs: transformational, transactional, passive-avoidant, and laissez-faire leadership of team captains. Results of the correlation indicated a significant relationship between transformational and transactional leadership mean scores and team performance via winning percentage. ANOVA regression results indicated that no significant differences existed between team captain&rsquo;s mean scores that could be attributed to the survey participant&rsquo;s role on their respective team. Recommendations for future research include replication with a larger sample, including more schools and various sports.</p>

This thesis has analyzed the roles of meet personnel responsible for the conduct of a collegiate style wrestling tournament. The personnel considered were the meet director, matchmaker, announcer, head scorer, assistant to the head scorer, individual statistics recorder, timekeeper, assistant timekeeper, match scorer, assistant match scorer, referee, head referee, and judge.The data were gathered through library research and collated into job descriptions. An analysis of the official rules of collegiate wrestling provided the edited rules section for each of the meet personnel.The findings of the study were presented in handbook form with each section providing a separate job description. The job descriptions were further organized into six areas of personnel function. The qualifications, location, assistants, equipment, duties, and governing rules of each official were reported.

<p> This purpose of this mixed model study was to ascertain the implicit leadership theory (ILT) content held by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I baseball teams. Data were collected during the 2012 baseball season from 34 Division I programs, and 1032 coaches and players participated in the research. </p><p> As an information-processing approach to understanding leadership, ILT is concerned with the knowledge structures persons maintain and utilize when identifying and interacting with leaders. Ample ILT research has examined such structures within the business context. This study, however, is believed to be the first in-depth exploration of ILT content within the sports domain. </p><p> Leadership categorization and connectionist architecture served as the theoretical bases for the study's four research questions, which addressed: the effect that the target cues <i>leader</i> and <i>coach </i> had on ILT (RQ1); the impact that team context (RQ2) and player tenure (RQ3) had on ILT; and whether a sports ILT existed&mdash;and if so, how it differed from a business ILT (RQ4). Research was conducted in four sequential steps using qualitative and quantitative methods. Importantly, no external or explicit measures were used to collect data, as such instruments can bias implicit perceptions. The primary tools for processing quantitative data were principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. </p><p> A 21-item, 5-factor ILT model for NCAA Division I baseball was derived from factor analysis processes and generalized across two separate data sets. This model demonstrated the existence of a sports ILT, as it differed noticeably from models that explain ILT content within the business domain. Data also indicated that team context had some correlation with ILT differences, whereas player tenure did not. Furthermore, results showed that players do delineate between the targets <i>leader</i> and <i>coach</i>; that is, being perceived as a leader within Division I baseball may not correspond with holding an official organizational/team position. </p><p> This study's findings strengthen the idea that leadership is social-cognitive phenomenon that differs according to context. Implications for applying these findings within Division I baseball are discussed. Additionally, this research might be cause for revisiting some of the previous models of leadership within sports studies.</p>

<p> Participation in youth sports is increasingly popular with estimates of 35&ndash;40 million U.S. children playing an organized sport each year. Current concussion education has not been shown to be consistently effective. The risk of concussion exposure is present in a number of youth sports. Much of the research surrounding concussion reporting has targeted older adolescents. A better understanding of the reporting process among younger athletes is needed. </p><p> <b>Purpose of the Study:</b> The purpose of this study was to generate a grounded theory that explained concussion reporting in youth sports from the perspective of the young athletes. </p><p> <b>Design and Methods:</b> A grounded theory approach was used to gather and analyze data from semi-structured interviews with soccer players ages 5 to 12. The sample consisted of eleven athletes (8 male, 3 female) from non-elite soccer leagues in two counties; Maricopa, Arizona and Santa Barbara, California. </p><p> <b>Results:</b> Data analysis induced four conceptual categories; trusted environment, self-monitoring, being a player and incentive structure. The resultant theoretical model explains injury reporting from the perspective of young athletes. This study suggests that there is an incentive structure related to injury reporting, that young athletes have a good understanding of the incentives in relation to their perception of self as a player. Athletes demonstrate self-agency in terms of self-monitoring, however important adult others provide a trusted environment that makes children feel safe with their decisions. </p><p> <i>Implications:</i> This study suggests that a better understanding of the incentive structure embedded in the reporting process is needed to design effective prevention and education strategies. Important other adults such as parents and coaches may play a pivotal role in injury reporting among younger athletes when compared to adolescents.</p><p>

<p> The majority of American high school students compete in school sponsored athletics (NCES, 2017; NFSH, 2017). Therefore, it is important for students, parents, educators and other pediatric professionals to be aware of the benefits and costs of participation. High schools and their associations are also often put in a position of determining what, if any, academic requirements should exist for athletic eligibility. This paper provides a thorough literature review of more than sixty references related to the benefits, costs, eligibility standards and legal issues associated with high school athletic participation. In addition, to gather and analyze input directly from the classrooms and playing fields, a novel survey on the topic was conducted with more than 130 high school employees at various high schools in Northern California, including teachers, coaches, athletic directors, administrators, psychologists, counselors and other staff. Findings from the literature and survey overwhelmingly support the immediate and long-term academic, occupational, social-emotional and health benefits of high school sports. More controversial, however, is suspending athletic participation for students who do not meet academic requirements. The author explores this issue taking into account the proven benefits of high school sports, procedural and legal concerns, and best practices for students. In particular, the effects are considered by gender, race, English-language status, socio-economic status and students with disabilities. Conclusions and recommendations are provided to assist stakeholders in understanding the role of high school athletics and developing fair and appropriate procedures and interventions for supporting all student-athletes. </p><p>

<p> Competing within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) involves an inherent risk of injury. For the student-athletes who experience serious injuries, the subsequent difficulties can be hard to navigate. While most research focuses on the athletic identity of recovering student-athletes, little is known about how they are affected within the classroom. This study utilizes qualitative methodology and Wiese-Bjornstal et al.&rsquo;s integrated model of response to sport injury (1998) to explore this gap in the literature, by looking at how the psychosocial effects of injury are related to student-athletes&rsquo; academic responsibilities, as well as the balance between their athletic and academic commitments.</p><p>

<p> Mental toughness, (MT), an inner focus and commitment to rise above challenges when facing adversity, has long been recognized as among the most important psychological attributes for achieving performance excellence in sport (Gould, Hodge, Peterson, &amp; Petlichkoff, 1987). It is widely believed that coaches play a key role in the development of essential MT attributes, and a study examining professional tennis players found that 81% of players cited their coach as the source of the MT strategies that they employ (Defrancesco &amp; Burke, 1997). The goal of this research was to investigate the main mental toughness attributes for tennis and strategies to achieve these attributes as recommended by NCAA Division 1 tennis coaches. Recorded phone interviews were conducted with eleven NCAA Division 1 coaches (10 male; 1 female) which ranged from 15&ndash;30 minutes in length. Interviews were semi-structured and included five main questions: defining MT as a term, determining MT&rsquo;s main attributes in regard to tennis, specific MT strategies to utilize, how the coach learned MT techniques, and resources needed to improve MT. </p><p> Results found that coaches defined MT as it relates to tennis as the ability to handle and respond to adversity, manage emotions and stress, and consistently maintain a high level of performance. The MT attributes listed by coaches were body language, hard work, consistency, emotional control, staying present, staying calm under pressure, and never giving up in a match. The top strategy suggested to develop MT qualities was making practice more difficult by utilizing conditioning, changing scoring rules, and increasing pressure by adding a consequence. Other strategies listed multiple times included utilizing breathing exercises/meditation, journaling body language and emotional states after matches and practice, utilizing match video, and establishing team goals and vision to refer back to in pivotal moments. Future directions in this field could include comparing coach and athlete perceptions of MT in tennis, looking at MT differences between levels of tennis players or coaches, and evaluating MT interventions in populations of tennis players.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant for a youth development boxing program for adolescent males in Long Beach, California. An extensive literature review was conducted to investigate the best ways to incorporate combat sports into a youth development program with the goals of increasing self-esteem, enhancing social relationships with peers and adults, and supporting the development of healthy male identity. The program consists of two components: 1) boxing program and 2) group discussion. As many as 20 adolescent males would be served from three high schools in the city: Cabrillo High School, Jordan High School, and Polytechnic High School. </p><p> The program was developed to address the potential impact of growing up in economically disadvantaged and high-risk neighborhoods. Program goals will be achieved with a boxing program that includes post-training discussions. The integration of sports and group discussions will allow for an environment that can both support and empower adolescent males. Long Beach United Boxing Club, the program site, has a strong standing reputation of providing a safe and open environment in which youth can thrive. The Foundation for Global Sports Development was selected as the best potential funder because of its commitment to promoting the well-being of underserved youth. </p><p> If funded, this program would be a model upon which other programs could build. Combat sports involvement is an innovative and dynamic way to reach hard-to-engage youth and provide a supportive space in which they can thrive. The thesis project did not require the submission of the proposal.</p><p>

<p> Over the past few decades, the money and attention associated with Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) has exploded. At the same time, however, many ICA departments claim to be at a financial crossroads with coaching salaries and operational costs soaring upwards. Not surprisingly, ICA departments are responding by focusing on increasing their fundraising in innovative ways. Perhaps the most interesting of these is in the area of hybrid&mdash;or blended&mdash;giving, which combines cash with a deferred gift. While these gifts have the potential to help generate substantially more revenue for ICA, unfortunately there is limited empirical research surrounding them. </p><p> In an effort to broaden this research base, this study examined hybrid gifts in Division I ICA at both the macro and micro levels. Specifically, an explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used to assess the state of hybrid-gift development among all 346 Division I ICA departments. This was accomplished through an online survey of the senior development director at every Division I ICA department; the 33-question survey had a 64% response rate and employed demographic, Likert-style, and open-ended questions. Following this mapping of the current Division I ICA hybrid-gift landscape, two purposely selected comparative case studies of Division I ICA departments were undertaken to better explain the complexity of hybrid gifts by digging deeper into the nuances of ICA philanthropy and hybrid-gift development. </p><p> Analysis of the data indicates hybrid-gift development is trending upward with a number of unique and new opportunities. Findings centered on building a culture of philanthropy and strategic process that includes education, communication, and collaboration; identifying the trajectory of hybrid-gift donors; and the new opportunities that hybrid gifts create, such as both short- and long-term approaches, re-cultivation of donors, and elevated partnerships. Further analysis used the lens of behavioral economics, specifically, framing, anchoring, loss aversion, and what you see is all there is to enrich the findings. </p><p> Taken together, the study responds to a yawning gap in the literature on philanthropy. In particular, the study informs best practices for ICA development, leaders, and donors, and generates potentially transferable philanthropic insights into higher education and nonprofit philanthropy.</p><p>