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The following thesis was written at the suggestion of Dr.A.S.Lamb, Director of the Department of Physical Education. McGill University. The object was :- (a) The securing of definite data regardarig the Academic Standing of Athletes and non-athletes throughout their whole college career. (b) The comparison of the Academic grade percentages of the Athletic and Non-athletic groups. [...]

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The purpose of this study was to investigate sources of knowledge acquisition of high school team sport coaches. Six teacher/coaches were interviewed using a semi-structured open-ended interview format. Cote, Salmela, and Russell's (1995) guidelines were used to inductively analyze and interpret the data. Results revealed three higher-order categories: (a) sources of knowledge acquisition, which highlighted the different ways coaches acquired their knowledge, including their physical education teacher training, observations and interactions with other coaches, as well as clinics and books; (b) personal and contextual factors, which included the internal and external factors influencing coaches' motivation and commitment to coach, including the challenges faced when teaching and/or coaching; (c) coaching tasks and duties which highlighted coaches' interactions with athletes, as well as their approach to training and competition. Interestingly, many of the findings in the current study were similar to those highlighted in previous studies pertaining to elite coach development, regardless of their undergraduate physical education teacher education (PETE) program or the fact that this sample was coaching high school athletes. However, results provided evidence to support the relative importance of practical coaching experience and interactions with other coaches as central in the development of these coaches. From a practical perspective, these findings could potentially enhance the quality and standard of formal coach education and PETE programs by incorporating more practical elements into the training of coaches and teacher/coaches.

<p> The continual decline in health and wellness and the potential impact on society, including the economic, social, physical, and emotional perspectives is a concern for health professionals. Specifically, there are concerns about the lifestyle habits as individuals' transition through the lifespan from childhood to late adulthood. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of high school varsity athletic participation on physical activity and wellness in the adult life stages: young, middle, and late. The researcher hypothesized that individuals that participated in high school varsity athletics would report higher levels of physical activity and higher wellness scores (social, physical, and emotional) in the adult life stages than individuals that did not participate in high school varsity athletics. </p><p> The researcher recruited, through electronic e-mail, 564 college alumni (69.1% female) to participate in the exploratory study. Participants completed the Godin Leisure-time Exercise Questionnaire and the Perceived Wellness Survey. Participants were then grouped by past high school athletic participation status (59.2% varsity athletes) and by adult life stage. </p><p> An ANOVA indicated significant differences between groups in all areas. Athletes in young adulthood showed the greatest differences in strenuous physical activity (p&lt;.001) when compared to non-athletes. Athletes in late adulthood showed the greatest differences in moderate physical activity (p&lt;.01) when compared to non-athletes. Non-athletes in young adulthood showed the greatest negative differences in emotional wellness (p&lt;.05) when compared to all groups. Additionally, the greatest differences in total wellness was between athletes (p&lt;.001) and non-athletes in young adulthood. Finally, athletes in young adulthood reported the greatest differences in total physical activity (p&lt;.05), physical wellness (p&lt;.05), and social wellness (p&lt;.05) when compared to other groups. </p><p> The findings from the study provide strong evidence that high school varsity participation can help individuals develop healthy habits that are carried into adulthood. The study provides a strong foundation for future research in physical activity, wellness, and sport behavior. In conclusion, school administrators and health professionals should consider providing more opportunities for more adolescents to participate in structured athletic programs to develop healthy habits that become lifelong behaviors.</p>

There is universal agreement that school physical education (PE) and school-community sports participation (SCSP) enhance adolescent health and well-being. However, virtually no study has objectively evaluated the effects for grade 11 and 12 high school students. The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of a newly implemented PE curriculum on health-related fitness, psychological well-being and academic performance for grade 11 and 12 students (n=101). Secondary aim was to evaluate the influence of students involved in SCSP (n=44) with those not involved in SCSP (non-SCSP) (n=57). In-school PE (IN, n=22); out-of-school PE (OUT, n=65); and no-PE (CONTROL, n=14) were assessed with the following tests [20-meter shuttle run (20MSR), push-ups (PU), sit-ups (SU), and modified pull-ups (MPU), body fat percent (BF%), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) and grade point average (GPA). Testing was conducted in September and again in December of 2008. Repeated measures ANOVA controlling for sex for IN revealed significant increases for 20MSR (p<0.001), PU (p=0.033), MPU (p=0.004), aggregate strength (AS) (p=0.017), and height (p<0.001); in addition to significant decreases for GPA (p=0.001) and BF% (p=0.003). OUT reported significant increases for 20MSR (p=0.002), PU (p<0.001), AS (p<0.001), height (p<0.001); and PSDQ variables of coordination (CO) (p=0.038), strength (ST) (p=0.043) and flexibility (FL) (p=0.013). CONTROL reported significant decreases in PA (p=0.006), WC (p=0.05), MPU (p=0.034) and GPA (p=0.028); and significant increases in PU (p=0.039) and height (0.039). The IN group scored significantly higher than both OUT (p=0.019) and CONTROL (p=0.019) groups with respect to the mean (95% CI) change in maxVO2. For testing in September, SCSP scored significantly higher (p<0.001) for the fitness variables of CVF, PU, SU, MPU and AS; and the PSDQ variables of CO, PA, BF, SP, GP, ST, EN and SE. PSDQ variable of appearance was also significantly higher (p=0.003) for SCSP. In addition, SCSP scored significantly lower for BF% (p<0.001) and WC (p=0.013). Follow up testing in December between SCSP and non-SCSP produced identical results except for WC becoming insignificant (p=0.058). Significant improvements in health-related fitness and psychological well-being warrant continued efforts to provide quality PE and SCSP programming for all high school students.

The early identification of talented individuals is considered increasingly important across many performance domains. Traditional concepts of talent have primarily emphasized genetically driven variables, proclaiming that exceptional abilities are the result of favourable genes matched to the required performance domain. Consequently, an oversimplified concept of sporting talent exists where the focus has typically been on discrete, one-dimensional measures at unstable periods in the athlete’s development. Talent identification processes adopted by several countries around the world have evolved from this oversimplified concept of talent and are unlikely to reflect adequately how talent emerges in sport. In fact, retrospective interviews with successful athletes emphasized that a range of factors impact success within sport and these are not solely governed by genetic determinants of performance. In particular, athletes highlighted the crucial role that psychology can have on the ability of an individual to translate potential to performance. It is concluded that TI models need to place a greater emphasis on the development of potentially talented performers rather than early identification. In this thesis, the concept of talent is revised as a complex, dynamical system in which future behaviours emerge from an interaction of key determinants such as psychobehavioural characteristics, motor abilities, and physical characteristics. A generic model of talent identification and development (TID) that addresses these issues, and resources that enable its practical application, is proposed. Initial findings from this pilot study are discussed and implications for further work are provided.

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