Att samtidigt göra en satsning på sin idrott och skolan ställer krav på individen. Dessa krav kan leda till idrottsrelaterad utbrändhet. Att hitta faktorer som påverkar idrottsrelaterad utbrändhet är viktigt för att kunna förebygga och förhindra problemet. Många olika faktorer har visat sig påverka och en faktor som behöver undersökas noggrannare är den sociala faktorn. En sådan social faktor är tränare- aktiv relationen. Syftet var att undersöka om det finns något samband mellan symptom av idrottsrelaterad utbrändhet och den upplevda kvalitén på tränare- aktiv relationen. En enkätundersökning genomfördes av 107 idrottsgymnasieelever (34 tjejer och 73 killar) i åldrarna 15-18 år. Idrottsrelaterad utbrändhet visade sig vara negativt korrelerat med tränare- aktiv relationen. Underkategorin Complementary visade sig vara den som visade starkast samband med idrottsrelaterad utbrändhet. 16 procent av eleverna på skolan upplevde höga symtom. Instruktörer på skolan bör fundera igenom deras relationer med eleverna och hur dessa kan förbättras för att reducera problemet. Idrottsgymnasier borde fundera kring både hur kraven både inom skolan och inom elevernas respektive idrott ser ut under de tre gymnasieåren.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the different stereotypes that individuals, within a university’s general student population, held toward studentathletes and non-athlete students admitted to the university on a special admission basis (students admitted with requirements less than the stated minimum for admission). Two studies, one qualitative in nature and the other with a quantitative focus, were conducted to assess students’ perceptions of special admission students. The results of this study show that students from a university’s general population have more of a negative stereotype or perception of athlete special admissions, as compared to a non-athlete special admission student, when interacting in an academic setting. On the other hand, the general student population indicated a more positive perception for allowing special admission to athletes than they did for allowing special admission to non-athlete students.

This dissertation presents three experiments to investigate the general distribution of hand preference across a reachable working space, as well as the effect of sensory information about the reaching hand, and if this distribution is affected by long term practice. In addition, the underlying mechanisms of hand preference behavior were investigated with the obtained kinematic data. Experiment 1 explored the distribution of hand preferences across the workspace among non-athlete right-handed participants, as well as the role that visual feedback might play in this distribution. Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis, if occlusion of visual feedback influences hand preference, accordingly interlimb differences. The third final experiment examined the effect of long term practice on hand preference among right-handed elite fencers. The first study showed that the choice of arms is related to the energetic cost and dynamic efficiency of the movements. The results of the second experiment displayed that the choice of hands changes under no visual feedback condition, demonstrating that the choice is active and not habitual, depending on sensorimotor performance asymmetries. The final experiment demonstrated that elite athletes have different patterns of limb selection than non- athletes. Athletes, specifically fencers, show improved coordination in their non-dominant arms, which apparently increases the selection of this arm for reaching. Overall, it was concluded that hand preference depends on sensorimotor performance asymmetries and influenced by the long term practice.

<p>Användandet av kändisar i reklam är ingen ny marknadsföringsstrategi. I denna grupp av celebriteter ingår kända idrottspersonligheter. Att använda atleter i reklam har visat sig vara en effektiv strategi. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka sambandet mellan olika idrottspersonlighet och de produkter/varumärken de representerar. Den försöker även svara på ifall idrottspersonligheten framställs på ett speciellt vis samt om reklamen riktade sig till en speciell grupp i samhället. Detta har undersökts med hjälp av en reklambildsanalys av tretton bilder med såväl manliga som kvinnliga idrottare. Reklambildsanalysen är av kvalitativ karaktär och har som syfte att hitta den underliggande betydelsen i var och en av reklambilderna.Reklambildsanalysen visade att ett globalt företag i de flesta fall använder sig av en globalt känd idrottspersonlighet, medans ett nationellt känt varumärke istället väljer att använda sig av en nationellt känd idrottare. Undersökningen visade även att män och kvinnor i stort sätt framställdes på samma vis. Det lades dock extra stort fokus på att kvinnor skulle framställas som starka och självsäkra. Min studie visar att den befintliga forskningen och teorin till viss del inte stämmer överens med de resultat som min undersökning har givit. En stor del av resultatet i undersökningen bekräftar dock befintlig forskning.</p>

Collective case study (Creswell, 2014; Stake, 1995) was used to explore the journey of coach-athlete dyads who were able to successfully maintain their training and interpersonal relationships throughout the course of the athlete enduring a mental block. Three coach-athlete dyads, plus one additional athlete, completed in-depth one-on-one interviews, discussing their coach-athlete relationship before, during, and after the mental block. All dyads were same sex, nationally ranked coach-athlete pairs, from sports involving mandatory elements that include both twisting and flipping components. Categorical aggregation of participant statements lead to the formation of five main themes associated with dyads successfully overcoming a mental block (where success was defined as the athlete regaining the ability to perform the skill that they had previously been unable to do on account of the mental block and the dyad maintaining their training and interpersonal relationship): 1) Get to Know Your Athlete: The Need for High Quality Communication; 2) Be a United Front; 3) Mistakes and Miscommunications Happen: Recovery is Key; 4) Seek Outside Resources; 5) Be Patient. Results suggest that an environment for success can flourish when each party is open, honest, and self-aware of their own limitations. It is suggested that future research utilize the 3 + 1Cs Model of the coach-athlete relationship in exploring how dyads can successfully overcome a mental block.

Purpose: The purpose with this study is to find out and understand whether athlete's performance can be affected by destructive leadership in sports organizations, then weigh this together with theory. This is a try to contribute to the discourse on destructive leadership.   Method: This study is performed using a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews in which the interviewees are selected through a convenience sampling.   Theoretical framework: This investigation’s theoretical framework consists of theories dealing with leadership, leadership in sports organizations, power, destructive leadership, how destructive leadership can be positive and how it can be negative.    Empiricism: This investigation’s empiricism consists of 17 interviews with athletes who have experienced a destructive leader in sports organizations.  Conclusion: All athletes could express a negative influence on performance from destructive leadership, but the majority who expressed a positive influence expressed that it was a kind of fear, pressure or anger among the athletes that made the athletes perform better as the motivation and the desire to disprove the leader increased. How the destructive leader influence the athlete may depend on the athlete's personality and attitude. It is possible to discern in this study that athletes look, feel and respond differently to a destructive leadership, which can determine the positive and/or negative effects.

College’s revenue sports, football and men’s basketball, fuel the billion dollar intercollegiate athletics industry. Historically, those same two sports have maintained the lowest grade point average among all student-athletes. This inverse relationship begs the question, “what academic sacrifices are being made at the expense of college’s revenue sports?” Student engagement into educationally purposeful activities has been widely acknowledged as having influence on desirable college outcomes. The full extent of student engagement’s effect has yet to be determined. The purpose of this study was to conduct exploratory, qualitative research into the role of student engagement in educationally purposeful activities on the career transition of football student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference by answering the following research questions: how do SEC football players perceive their educationally purposeful engagement activities during college? To what extent do their perceptions of purposeful engagement activities influence career transitions? Results of this qualitative research uncovered the following four major themes: (a) Limited Purposeful Engagement Activities; (b) Desire for Internship Opportunities; (c) Undefined Career Path; and (d) Career Transition Regret. Results showed that former SEC football players in this study did not have enough experience with educationally purposeful engagement activities during college to make a determination. Additionally, student-athlete participants did not have the guidance or time required to participate in the only activity they perceived to be beneficial such as internships. Last, the former SEC football players did not perceive a positive relationship between their purposeful engagement activities and career transition. Creating a distinct set of student engagement criteria for student-athletes should be considered based on the study’s findings. Moreover, all stakeholders in student-athletes should collaborate effectively and share responsibility for their outcome.

The purpose of this study was to determine if fitness levels of individuals affect cognitive function. This study seeks to show how response inhibition and accuracy are affected following a mentally fatiguing task. Response inhibition refers to the suppression of actions that are inappropriate and that interfere with goal driven behavior. Response inhibition in reference to the continuous performance task (CPT) is measured in false clicks. The tasks for the CPT were completed after either a controlled period of rest or moderate-intensity exercise. Subjects were either Georgia Tech Division I track athletes or students leading a sedentary lifestyle. All subjects participated in two test protocols. Athletic subjects completed the resting protocol first, while sedentary subjects completed the exercise protocol first. Subjects reported to the lab following an overnight fast. They completed an initial set of paper work and signed a consent form, filled out a 24 hour history form and completed a Profile of Moods States (POMS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) form. Subjects then took a 20-minute (CPT). The CPT is a neuropsychological test that measures an individual’s sustained and selective attention. The length of the test is 20 minutes in order to induce mental fatigue. The goal of the test is to click in a white box when the letter T is seen. Immediately after subjects filled out a secondary set of paperwork. Once paper work was complete subjects either rested or exercised for 35 minutes. If subject was classified as an athlete, trial 1 was rest, while trial 2 was exercise. If subject was classified as a sedentary student, trial 1 was exercise, and trial 2 was rest. After the subject completed either the cycling or resting portion they repeated the CPT for five minutes. It was hypothesized that that the effects of moderate exercise positively affect the subject’s performance on the CPT. I expect false clicks following the 5 minute CPT to be lower after exercising. I hypothesize that for both groups their accuracy should be higher after moderate cycling and that higher fitness level should decrease the level of mental fatigue experienced throughout the CPT.

Few activities have the power to bring people together as sports; victory is contagious, defeat unifies, and the concept of a team can create common goals and unbreakable bonds among teammates, communities, and even an entire nation. In a sense, sport has the power to change lives. The lessons that athletics can teach--preparation, competitiveness, overcoming obstacles, persistence, mental and physical health, problem solving, and setting life goals--seem particularly apt for American Indian youth today. Athletics can serve as a pathway to college for American Indian students who participate in individual or team sports. Access to higher education, in turn, offers the opportunity for larger income and greater economic opportunities. The American Indian students' college experience, including statistics on enrollment, retention and drop-out rates, is prevalent in both quantitative and qualitative research. Moreover, research concerning the roles athletes and athletics have within higher education institutions is historically rich. The intersection of these two topics however, has received little to no attention. This dissertation will explore the impact of sports on American Indian collegiate athletes to determine the factors that both inspired and inhibited them from the pursuit of athletics in college. It will provide the first in-depth look at several American Indian collegiate athletes who can document how sports helped or failed to help them reach their educational aspirations.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka om visualiseringsträning kan minska nivån av upplevd stress hos kampsportare. I studien deltog 27 atleter (16-41 år) som var medlemmar i en utvald kampsportsförening lokaliserad i sydvästra Sverige. Deltagarna randomiserades in i en experimentgrupp och en kontrollgrupp där experimentgruppen erbjöds att vid tre tillfällen delta i visualiseringsträning. Det instrument som tillämpades i denna studie var K10 testet av Kessler et al. (2002) som mäter stressupplevelsen hos individer sett ur ett generellt hälsoperspektiv. Resultatet från studien visade ingen statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan grupperna (p = 0.053). Dock påvisades en moderat effektstorlek (Cohen´s d = 0.78) vilket gör att en praktisk signifikans mellan grupperna kan diskuteras (där experimentgruppen uppvisar en lägre nivå av upplevd stress i jämförelse med kontrollgruppen). Rekommendationer från studien är att atleter uppmuntras att involvera visualisering i sitt träningsupplägg för att på så sätt potentiellt minska de upplevda stressnivåerna och på så sätt minska risken för de negativa effekterna som höga stressnivåer visats kunna generera. / The purpose of this study was to investigate if imagery exercise can reduce the level of perceived stress among martial artist athletes. The study enrolled 27 athletes (age 16-41) who were members in a martial arts association located in southwestern Sweden. The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group in which the experimental group were offered to take part in three imagery-training classes. The instruments used were K10 test of Kessler et al. (2002), which measures self-perceived levels of stress seen from a general health perspective. The result showed no statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.053). However, results showed a moderate effect size (Cohen's d = 0.78), which suggest that there is a practical significant between (where the experimental group showed a lower level of perceived stress in comparison with the control group). Recommendation with this study was to urge athletes to involve imagery in their training programs to thereby potentially reducing the self-perceived levels of stress and to counteract the subsequent/following negative effects that high stress levels can contribute to.