Youth and varsity football helmets are currently designed similarly and tested to the same impact standards from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). Youth players have differences in anthropometry, physiology, impact exposure, and potentially injury tolerance that should be considered in future youth-specific helmets and standards. This thesis begins by investigating the current standards and relating them to on-field data. The standard drop tests represented the most severe on-field impacts, and the performance of the youth and varsity helmet did not differ. There likely is not a need for a youth-specific standard as the current standard has essentially eliminated the catastrophic head injuries it tests for. As more is known about concussion, standards specific to the youth population can be developed. The second portion of this thesis compares the impact performance between 8 matched youth and varsity helmet models, using linear acceleration, rotational acceleration, and concussion correlate. It was found that helmet performance did not differ between the youth and varsity helmets, likely attributed to testing to the same standard. The final portion of this feature is aimed at advancing STAR for youth and varsity football helmets by including linear and rotational head kinematics. For varsity helmets, an adult surrogate is used for impact tests which are weighted based on on-field data collected from collegiate football players. For youth helmets, a youth surrogate is used and tests are weighted based on data collected from youth players. / Master of Science / The research presented in this thesis is intended to provide a reference point towards youth-specific football helmets and test standards. Currently, youth football helmets are designed similarly to varsity football helmets and are tested to the same standard. It is known that differences exist between youth and adult players in terms of the impacts they experience, the proportions of their body, and the maturity of the nervous system. However, it remains unknown as to how these differences should be expressed in youth-specific helmet design and impact standards. This thesis investigates the current test standard and relates it to population-specific on-field data. This analysis of both a youth and varsity helmet, suggest that there is no current benefit for a youth-specific standard until differences in concussion tolerance are better understood. This thesis goes on to compare the relative impact performance between multiple matched youth and varsity helmets, using a more realistic test setup than the current impact standards. Through this investigation it was found that there were no differences in performance between the youth and varsity helmets tested. This thesis then concludes by advancing STAR for youth and varsity football helmets, using a separate protocol specific to each population. Each test protocol is able to identify helmets that most effectively reduce the severity of head impacts in football.

Recent applications of medical imaging, advanced polymers, and composites have led to the development of new equipment for athletes and soldiers. A desire to understand the performance of headgear that resists impacts ongoing since the 1970’s has found more traction in recent years with the usage experimental models that have a greater degree of bio-fidelity. In order to determine which features of helmets from different sports (Soccer, Lacrosse, Football, and Hockey) were tested on a Hybrid III 50th Percentile Male headform with an accelerometer rig at the center of mass.Testing was performed by administering impacts to the headform with an impulse hammer that provides transient force data in order to quantify inputs and outputs of the system to develop a non-dimensional transfer function. Helmet performance is compared by sport worn in order to determine desirable manufacturing features and develop prototype helmets that outperforms current athletic equipment.

Under en stor del av 2000-talet så har det debatterats och gjorts flera reportage i massmedia om ungdomars och föräldrars relationer inom idrottsvärlden. Forskningsfrågorna i denna studie är(1), På vilket sätt upplever fotbollsspelande ungdomar i åldern 15-16 engagemanget från deras föräldrar?  (2), Finns det någon skillnad mellan mammor och pappor i graden av engagemang och föräldrapress/stöd gentemot ungdomarna? Genom att använda oss av klusterurval valdes tre fotbollsföreningar i Örebro ut. Datainsamlingen bestod av enkätfrågor till 54 ungdomar och 72 föräldrar samt intervjuer med två tränare. Studien visade på att en högre grad av föräldraengagemang i ungdomens idrottande resulterade i att ungdomen upplevde mer stöd. Ungdomarna upplevde inte mycket föräldrapress. Resultaten i studien kan inte säkerställas utan får fungera som en anvisning för framtida studier. / Parent’s involvement in youth sport has in the majority of studies focused on two phenomenons, parental pressure and support, and so will this study. The study has two research questions: (1), In what way do young football-playing people in the age of 15-16 experience the involvement of their parents? (2), Is there a difference between mothers and fathers in the level of involvement and parental pressure/support on their youngsters? By conducting a cluster random sampling three clubs from Örebro were selected. The data collection consisted of questionnaires for 54 young people and 72 parents as well as interviews with two coaches. The study showed that a higher degree of parental involvement in youth sports resulted in the youth experiencing more support. Youth people did not experience much parental pressure. As a conclusion the findings in this study cannot be supported but instead work as a template for future studies.

Youth football players ages 8-12 may incur hundreds of repeated head impacts (RHI) each season. Evidence suggests concussive brain injury during childhood may disrupt normal developmental processes resulting in long-term impairments. However, little research has investigated the long-term effects of incurring RHI during critical periods of neurodevelopment. Rapid myelination and cerebral blood flow rates, peaks in regional cortical thickness and volumes of specific structures, refinement of regional connectivity, and other neurodevelopmental changes occurring in the brain from ages 10-12 could create a window of vulnerability to RHI. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between exposure to RHI prior to age 12, during a critical period of neurodevelopment, and later-life brain structure and function. Former National Football League (NFL) players ages 40-65 were divided into two groups based on their age of first exposure (AFE) to RHI through tackle football: AFE <12 and AFE ≥12. In the first study, we observed significantly lower scores on objective tests of executive functioning, memory, and estimated verbal IQ in those who began playing football prior to age 12 compared to those who began playing at age 12 or older. Next, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine the structural integrity of the corpus callosum (CC) and observed that the AFE <12 group had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) as well as a greater decline in FA with age in anterior CC regions than the AFE ≥12 group. Lastly, we used advanced DTI tractography techniques to examine seven CC regions. Significant differences between AFE groups in associations between CC diffusion measures and cognition, mood, and behavior were found. The results of this research suggest that incurring RHI through tackle football during a critical neurodevelopmental period prior to age 12 may result in later-life structural and functional consequences, including cognitive, mood, and behavioral impairments; alterations in white matter structure; and greater vulnerability of white matter to the normal aging process. If replicated with longitudinal designs, larger samples, and athletes whose highest level of play was youth, high school, or college, these findings may have implications for safety recommendations for youth sports.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa undersökning är att undersöka hur ledare i fotboll för ungdomar ser på sitt ledarskap och sin roll för integration i samhället, samt huruvida deltagarnas socioekonomiska bakgrund är en faktor som påverkar ledarskapet och deras fotbollslags sociala miljö. Studien är baserad på semistrukturerade intervjuer av aktiva ledare över 18 år gamla i fotboll för ungdomar mellan 11 och 16 år, som har insyn i verksamheten.Huvudsakliga teoretiska utgångspunkten för arbetet är Bourdieus begrepp habitus, som socioekonomisk bakgrunds påverkan relateras till. Kurt Lewins ledarskapsmodell beteendeskolan används för att relatera ledarnas syn på sitt ledarskap och bidrag till integration till etablerade teoretiska ledarskapsstilar. Även social och kommunikativ integration utifrån Diaz integrationsmodell används. Resultaten av studien visar att samtliga av respondenterna upplever att de har en betydande social roll för ungdomar både på och utanför planen, och att de är viktiga för integrationen i Sverige då de är förebilder för deltagarna, och ledarna kan föregå med gott exempel för acceptans mellan ungdomar i fotbollen. Dessutom att deltagarna anser att socioekonomisk bakgrund är en faktor att beakta i ledarskapet och för möjligheter till integration genom ungdomsfotboll, då det finns ett beroende för deltagare i fotbollsföreningar av sociala, ekonomiska och kulturella förutsättningar. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to see how leaders in youth football view their leadership and their role for integration in Sweden, and whether the participants socioeconomic background is a factor for their leadership and the social climate of their teams. The study is based on semi-structured interviews from active adult leaders who are responsible for young people in football between the ages of 11 and 16. The main theoretical perspective for this study is Bourdieu’s habitus, which relates to socioeconomic background. Kurt Lewin’s behavioral school is used to relate the leaders' views on their leadership’s addition to integration to established leadership styles. Social and communicative integration from Diaz integration model has been used, to be able to exemplify the leaders’ experiences regarding the role for integration. The results of the study show that all the respondents express the view that they are role models, and important for integration due to them being able to lead the way for young participants to be more accepting of each other. Results also show that socioeconomic backgrounds become important to consider as there is a need for good social, economic, and cultural conditions in sports organizations in Sweden.

No description available.

Nearly 3.5 million kids play youth football every year in the United States, many in independent organizations with few or no rules for limiting head impact exposure in practices or competition. Studies have found potential long-term effects of repetitive head impact exposure from a young age, even in the absence of concussion. The best methods for reducing head impact exposure include a multi-pronged approach: limiting contact through rules changes, teaching proper technique for contact when it does occur, and designing equipment with better protective capabilities. Four youth football teams were studied for one season each using helmet mounted accelerometer arrays. Head acceleration data indicated that youth teams often have a small subset of players who account for a disproportionately large number of high-risk head impacts. As few as six players (6%) accounted for over 50% of all high-risk impacts seen in practice sessions. Technique used during tackling and tackle-absorption had considerable effect on head acceleration. Both the tackler and ball carrier were found to be at greater risk for high magnitude head impacts when exhibiting poor form as defined by specific tackling recommendation criteria. These data suggest that individualized interventions encouraging proper form, especially for a subset of impact-prone players, may be beneficial in reducing high magnitude head impact exposure for an entire youth football team. This is especially critical because a majority of high-risk impacts are experienced in practice at the youth level. Results from this work could be applied by coaching staffs in youth football leagues to increase the safety of their athletes. / MS / Nearly 3.5 million kids play youth football every year in the United States, many in independent organizations with few or no rules for limiting head impact exposure in practices or competition. Studies have found potential long-term effects of repetitive head impact exposure from a young age, even in the absence of concussion. The best methods for reducing head impact exposure include a multi-pronged approach: limiting contact through rules changes, teaching proper technique for contact when it does occur, and designing equipment with better protective capabilities. Four youth football teams were studied for one season each using helmet mounted accelerometer arrays. Head acceleration data indicated that youth teams often have a small subset of players who account for a disproportionately large number of high-risk head impacts. As few as six players (6%) accounted for over 50% of all high-risk impacts seen in practice sessions. Technique used during tackling and tackle-absorption had considerable effect on head acceleration. Both the tackler and ball carrier were found to be at greater risk for high magnitude head impacts when exhibiting poor form as defined by specific tackling recommendation criteria. These data suggest that individualized interventions encouraging proper form, especially for a subset of impact-prone players, may be beneficial in reducing high magnitude head impact exposure for an entire youth football team. This is especially critical because a majority of high-risk impacts are experienced in practice at the youth level. Results from this work could be applied by coaching staffs in youth football leagues to increase the safety of their athletes.

Uppsatsen undersöker hur flick- respektive pojkspelare och deras idrottsutövande inom ungdomsfotbollen konstrueras i förhållande till varandra och till den stereotypa bild av kvinnligt och manligt idrottande som media upprättar. Vidare ämnar den besvara om fotbollsklubbarnas framställning av fotbollslagen genomsyras av Riksidrottsförbundets jämställdhetsmål om jämställt idrottande.   Tolv texter från sex fotbollsklubbar i Stockholms län har genomgått en textuell innehållsanalys med både kvantitativ och kvalitativ ansats. Analyserna har utförts med Hirdmans genussystem, Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys och Halls synsätt på stereotypisering som teoretisk utgångspunkt.   Resultatet visar på ett upprätthållande av det manliga könet som norm inom fotbollen och en reproduktion av de idrottsstereotypa bilder av manligt och kvinnligt idrottande som media tenderar att visa upp. Flickorna får inte bara mindre textuellt utrymme utan frånkopplas ofta en seriös fotbollssatsning i jämförelse med pojkarna. En del arbete tycks således finnas kvar innan jämställdhetsmålet är uppnått inom ungdomsfotbollens verksamheter.

Submitted by Arthur Sales Pinto (arthur@industriadebase.com) on 2018-11-09T16:12:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JOIA OU GENTE - Dissertação.pdf: 3056334 bytes, checksum: 4757a10dd780f1e29c795d0483596d2a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Aparecida Puerta null (dripuerta@rc.unesp.br) on 2018-11-12T12:52:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pinto_as_me_rcla.pdf: 3056334 bytes, checksum: 4757a10dd780f1e29c795d0483596d2a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-12T12:52:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pinto_as_me_rcla.pdf: 3056334 bytes, checksum: 4757a10dd780f1e29c795d0483596d2a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-05-23 / Na presente pesquisa, buscou-se entender como o treinador das categorias de base do futebol masculino no Brasil, na faixa etária sub-15, define o jovem jogador, levando em consideração as possíveis influências mercadológicas e midiáticas em seu ambiente de trabalho e, consequentemente, em seu olhar. No meio do futebol, é usual que jogadores sejam descritos como mercadorias. Um exemplo disso é a palavra joia, usada como referência a um jovem jogador de grande talento ou potencial. Também são frequentes relatos de que, nos ambientes de formação, jovens jogadores enfrentam situações como distanciamento escolar e familiar, além de diversos tipos de abusos conflitantes com o Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), uma lei federal que versa sobre os direitos básicos de crianças e jovens no Brasil. Por meio de entrevistas com 25 treinadores da categoria sub-15 de clubes de futebol filiados à Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF); da análise da Lei Pelé e do Certificado de Clube Formador (CCF), que regula a relação de trabalho entre clubes e jovens jogadores; da descrição de jogadores como “joias” em sites jornalísticos especializados; do ECA e de documentos balizadores da ética profissional na área da Educação Física, formação frequente dos treinadores de futebol no Brasil; e com o auxílio dos estudos de mídia e esporte de Bourdieu e Mauro Betti, verificou-se que o modo como os treinadores entrevistados definem os jovens jogadores se apresentou distanciado do praticado pela mídia, demonstrando uma baixa influência da segunda sobre as definições dos primeiros. Enquanto a mídia define, frequentemente, o jovem jogador como uma mercadoria, ou joia, o treinador o enxerga de maneira mais humanizada. As influências midiáticas apontadas na rotina do treinador se relacionam mais ao ambiente de trabalho. Em contrapartida, de acordo com as respostas dos entrevistados, os clubes enxergam os mesmos jovens muito mais como mercadorias do que como seres humanos, conceito próximo do que é apresentado na redação do artigo 29 da Lei Pelé, que versa sobre a relação de trabalho entre clube e jogador em formação. Em relação aos direitos básicos dos jovens jogadores, dados disponibilizados pela CBF sobre o CCF e pela Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF) sobre competições sub-15 reforçam a impressão de que as violações ao ECA são frequentes nos centros de formação e, por conta disso, o treinador se encontra atuando em um ambiente que o coloca em conflito tanto com o próprio estatuto quanto com documentos balizadores da ética de sua profissão. O desempenho profissional dos treinadores é avaliado majoritariamente por questões esportivas, sendo pouco observada a sua conduta ou o processo de formação humana dos jovens jogadores, de modo que, de acordo com as respostas dos entrevistados, os treinadores são pouco exigidos nesses dois aspectos pelos seus empregadores. / This study aims to understand how youth football coaches (U - 15) define young players, considering po s sible influences from media and market on those definitions and on the coaches’ work environment. In side the football environment, including all its agents, it is usual t o describe players as commodities, like the example: jewel is a word used to describe young talented players. Different sources indicate that young players face situations like: being held off school and family and many kinds of abuse, w h ich oppose to “Est atuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA)”, a Brazilian children ’ s rights federal law. By interviewing 25 U - 15 coaches working on “Confederação Brasileira de Futebol” (CBF) ’s filiated clubs, and through the analisis of “lei Pelé” and “Certificado de Clube Fo rmador” (CCF), which regulates the employee relationship between young players and clubs ; the use of the word jewel to describe players in sports websites ; the ECA and ethical profesional guidelines in Ph y s i cal Education ( most of the coach e s have this degr ee ) and support ed by Bourdieu and Betti’s media an d sport studies, it has been shown that the way coaches define the young players is not close to the one performed by the media, indicating its low influence on coaches’ young - player definitions. Media defi nes, usually, young players as c ommodities, or jewels, while coaches have a more humanized understanding about them. Media influences are more related to its impact over coaches’ work e nvironment. Otherwise, according to coaches’ answers, for the clubs, young players are much more like commodities than human beings . A very similar understanding is shown in lei Pele’s 29 th article. About the young players’ rights, data from CCF’s , CBF and Federação Paulista de Futebol ( FPF) from tournments reafirm the assumption that ECA’s violations happen oftenly in youth academies, w h ich indicates that the coaches’ work environment pushes them against ECA and Phisycal Education profes s ional ethical guidelines. According to coaches’ an swers, they are evaluated basically for sports results , players’ human development , and professional beha viour are almost not considered by their employers.

Föreliggande studie är en kvantitativ studie där syftet var att undersöka hur olika typer av tränarbeteenden och motivationsklimat påverkar samt predicerar psykologiskt välbefinnande hos ungdomsfotbolsspelare. I studien deltog 95 ungdomsfotbollsspelare, antingen tillhörande en SEF certifierad akademi eller ett ungdomslag vars representationslag tillhör någon av de fyra högsta divisionerna i Sverige. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med hjälp av digitala enkäter som skickades ut till ansvariga i sju olika fotbollsföreningar där deltagarna var i åldrarna mellan 16 och 19 år (M=16.97, SD=2.6). De enkla regressionsanalyserna visade att tränarbeteendet tävlings-/matchstrategier indikerade på störst positiv effekt på psykologiskt välbefinnande och var den typ av tränarbeteende som predicerade mest psykologiskt välbefinnande. Fortsättningsvis indikerar resultatet på en positiv effekt mellan uppgiftsorienterat motivationsklimat och psykologiskt välbefinnande, och en negativ effekt mellan resultatorienterat motivationsklimat. Studiens resultat skulle sannolikt kunna anses vara användbart för att facilitera psykologiskt välbefinnande och i förlängningen utveckling för ungdomsfotbollsspelare genom lämpliga tränarbeteenden och uppgiftorienterat motivationsklimat. / The present study is a quantitative study aimed at examining how different types of coaching behaviors and motivational climates affect and predict the psychological well-being of youth soccer players. The study included 95 youth soccer players, either belonging to a SEF-certified academy or a youth team whose representative team belongs to one of the four highest divisions in Sweden. Data collection was conducted using digital surveys sent to responsible parties in seven different soccer associations where the participants were between 16 and 19 years old (M=16.97, SD=2.6). The simple regression analyses showed that coach behavior of competition/match strategies indicated the greatest positive effect on psychological well-being and was the type of coaching behavior that predicted the most psychological well-being. Furthermore, the results indicate a positive effect between task-oriented motivational climate and psychological well-being, and a negative effect between result-oriented motivational climate. The study's results could likely be considered useful for facilitating psychological well-being and, in turn, development for youth soccer players through appropriate coaching behaviors and task-oriented motivational climate.