Recent professionalization, the emergence of, and ever-increasing popularity of limited overs cricket, have resulted in traditional playing schedules evolving and expanding. Consequently, players now compete for much of the year, experiencing periods of condensed fixtures. To meet these increased demands, the aforementioned contribute to effecting team performance and player health. Thus, the prevalence of injuries, especially amongst fast bowlers, has been shown and attributed to rises in competition workloads. Therefore, the main aim of this thesis was to explore the application of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) to quantify the training load of fast bowlers. Furthermore, I sought to assess relationships between both internal and external training load variables and proposed markers of fatigue and recovery. The first preliminary descriptive research study (Chapter 4) aimed to prospectively quantify fast bowling workloads during a typical season of professional domestic county cricket (April – September). Data were collected from fixture scorebooks, with descriptive bowling workloads determined by calculating frequencies of overs and deliveries bowled. This was further calculated dependant on both bowler classification (opening [O-B; n = 2] or support [S-B; n = 6]) and competition format (multiday [MD], One-day [OD] or Twenty20 [T20]), respectively. Significant differences were found in total number of overs (296.1 overs; 95% CI 37.8 to 554.4; P = 0.03) and deliveries (1764.8 balls; 95% CI 183.0 to 3346.7; P = 0.03) bowled between O-B and S-B, respectively. Multiday cricket was the only format where, significant differences between bowlers were found; total number of overs (289.9 overs; 95% CI 88.2 to 491.6; P = 0.01) and deliveries (1739.3 balls; 95% CI 529.3 to 2949.3; P = 0.01) bowled. The aim of experimental study one (Chapter 5) was to assess the between-match and within-match between-over variability of external training load measures during T20 cricket competition. MEMS data were collected from eight fast bowlers in 17 matches of domestic T20 competition, spanning two seasons. MEMS variables were categorised into total distance (TD), low- (≤ 14.4 km.h-1) and high- (≥ 14.4 km.h-1) speed running distance, total sprint distance (≥18 km.h-1), number of sprint efforts and PlayerLoadTM ([PL] arbitrary units; AU). Data were log-transformed to provide the coefficient of variation (CV; expressed as percentages). The between-match variability was greatest in high-speed running distance (32.9% CV), total sprint distance (49.0% CV) and number of sprint efforts (48.0% CV). Similarly, within-match between-over high-speed running distance (12.8% CV), total sprint distance (17.1% CV) and number of sprint efforts (12.3% CV) elicited the greatest variability, yet, this was markedly reduced compared to between-match observations. However, TD and PL were found to be relatively stable measures of external training load (range; 5.5–13.3% CV), both between-match and within-match between-over. Experimental study two (Chapter 6) investigated short-term neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) of fast bowlers and relationships to match performance during a typical season of professional academy OD limited overs cricket. Baseline measures of lower body NMF were assessed via flight time (ms) from a countermovement jump (CMJ). These measures were repeated every morning of competition; NMF was additionally assessed within 30-min after the cessation of the bowling innings (CMJ-FIRST or CMJ-SECOND). MEMS data were collected from six fast bowlers, with supplementary descriptive fast bowling workloads classifications (LOW, MODERATE and HIGH). There were significant reductions in flight time pre to post bowling innings (Δ 19 ms; P = 0.008). Moreover, similar reductions in flight time were found in LOW – MODERATE (Δ 30 ms; P = 0.03) and LOW – HIGH bowling workload groups (Δ 43 ms; P = 0.003), respectively. Finally, experimental study three (Chapter 7) investigated neuromuscular, biochemical and endocrine markers of fatigue after four spells of simulated fast bowling. Eleven fast bowlers completed differing spells of simulated fast bowling based on the Cricket Australia-Australian Institute of Sport (CA-AIS) fast bowling skills test. NMF were assessed via flight-time from a CMJ; pre (-0.5-h) and post (+0.5 and +24-h) simulation, with blood (Creatine kinase; CK) and saliva (Cortisol; sCort) samples collected in parallel. During each simulated fast bowling trial (4-, 6-, RANDOM- & 10-overs), internal (heart rate exertion index [HREI]) and external (PL) training load was quantified using MEMS. There were small, significant reductions in CMJ flight time pre to post (Δ 21 ms; P < 0.01) and pre to 24-h post (Δ 8 ms; P = 0.001) simulation, respectively. Overs bowled appeared to significantly affect NMF for up to 24-h post simulation. Furthermore, changes in CK were found to best correlate with estimated TD (r = 0.48; P = 0.002) rating of perceived exertion (RPE r = 0.47; P = 0.002) session-RPE (r = 0.48; P = 0.002), HREI (r = 0.45; P = 0.003) and PL (r = 0.41; P = 0.009) 24-h post simulation, respectively. The findings of this thesis demonstrate that during limited overs cricket, high-speed locomotive activity is highly variable amongst fast bowlers. Furthermore, fast bowlers are shown to experience short-term NMF, which appears to be magnified based on descriptive fast bowling workload characteristics. Collectively, these findings have importance for practitioners, who seek to facilitate performance by informed training prescription based on replicating match and training demands.

Bone health is known to deteriorate with age, which can increase the risk of osteoporotic fractures and subsequently all-cause mortality. Current life expectancies are higher than ever before and with our ageing population, osteoporosis and low bone density levels are an ever growing problem that command a lot of medical attention and resources. Women are at a greater risk than men due to increased rates of bone loss that occur in the early years following the menopause. Mechanical loading in the form of exercise is known to reduce the rates of postmenopausal bone loss although an optimal exercise programme is yet to be established. Furthermore, investigations conducted with animals have found intermittent mechanical loading to provide a greater stimulus for bone adaptation than continuous mechanical loading, this has not been investigated in human populations to date. The aim of this thesis was to establish a sufficient exercise mode for stimulating bone adaptation in postmenopausal women and investigate the effects of continuous and intermittent exercise on postmenopausal bone loss. This was attempted with a 12 month randomised controlled trial with postmenopausal women. The first study gave a systematic review of the current literature that investigated continuous or intermittent exercise. The review found that as the studies were not designed to specifically analyse continuous or intermittent exercise, there were numerous problems regarding the control of previous exercise programmes with regards to defined exercise and rest intervals. This was due to the design of the included studies, as many of them were not specifically designed to analyse the different effects of continuous and intermittent exercise on bone mineral density (BMD). In addition, BMD outcomes were not reported in a standardized manner, which complicated the comparisons drawn. From this investigation, it was evident that well-controlled exercise interventions (using a single exercise), are required for the comparison of the effect of continuous and intermittent exercise on BMD in human populations. The second study investigated the feasibility of developing a non-motorised treadmill exercise intervention that included both continuous and intermittent exercise groups. Non-motorised treadmill (NMT) locomotion allows for the instantaneous quantification of ground reaction forces (GRF) and is well suited to both continuous exercise and intermittent exercise with the potential for the use of a range of intermittent running based protocols. In order to establish the osteogenic potential of this mode of exercise, it was necessary to quantify the mechanical loading parameters. This study found that loading parameters showed large reductions during NMT locomotion when compared to overground or motorised treadmill locomotion (24 to 29 %), which could potentially compromise the level of bone adaptation if this mode of exercise was used for intervention purposes. The third study investigated the loading parameters of more traditional high impact exercises in a population of postmenopausal women. All exercises were performed under both continuous and intermittent conditions to assess for consistency during the two conditions. This project showed that countermovement jumps (CMJ) and box drops (BD) produced the highest loading parameters when compared to heel drops (HD) and stamping (STP) (d = 0.83 – 2.38), along with no statistical differences between continuous and intermittent conditions (continuous: 10.7 ± 4.8 g for CMJ, 9.6 ± 4.1 g for BD; intermittent 10.0 ± 5.0 g for CMJ, 9.5 ± 4.0 g for BD). CMJ, BD and HD exercises all appeared to generate a sufficient level of peak acceleration and acceleration gradient for osteogenic adaptation however. For consistency purposes and the fact that no equipment was required, CMJs were selected as the most appropriate home-based exercise for use in a 12 month intervention to reduce postmenopausal bone loss. The fourth study investigated the effects of continuous and intermittent exercise on BMD in early postmenopausal women over the course of a 12 month randomised control trial. Unfortunately the study was underpowered and in addition, the findings showed no statistically significant differences in the bone response between groups. Only the control group experienced a statistically significant loss in both lumbar spine (-2.7% [95%CI: -3.9 to -1.4]) and femoral neck (-3.0% [95%CI: -5.1 to -0.8]) BMD, which exceeded the 95% least significant change at the lumbar spine and femoral neck in 57% of control group participants. There appeared to be no beneficial effect of continuous or intermittent exercise on BMD, hip structural analysis (HSA) parameters or muscular force characteristics when compared to a control group however. In conclusion, this thesis has identified that future research should further investigate the effects of continuous and intermittent exercise on BMD with appropriately controlled randomised control trials, with greater participant numbers. Whilst CMJ and BD provide adequate loading parameters, this does not translate into BMD adaptations. Continuous and intermittent CMJ exercises had no effect on reducing postmenopausal BMD loss at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck, although further investigation is required in an adequately powered study.

Whilst the benefits of physical activity have been well documented, many in the UK population remain insufficiently active to substantively benefit their health, placing individuals at greater risk of developing a range of non-communicable diseases and conditions. As a large percentage of the population accesses primary care, at least on an annual basis, the use of this health care sector to advocate increased physical activity has become widespread. Exercise referral schemes (ERSs) have enabled primary care professionals to refer their patients, typically to a local leisure facility, for supervised exercise. ERSs have seen prolific growth across the UK since their conception in the 1990s and yet their effectiveness has remained in question. Despite a variety of research designs being employed, evidence regarding schemes’ effectiveness continues to be inconclusive. Within the existing research literature, the complexity of context within which ERSs operate has remained largely overlooked; specifically, how individual interpretations of ERSs might be co-produced according to the interactions between those central to the service, and how this might influence both service delivery and impact. This study, therefore, aimed to address these lacunae by exploring participants’ understanding of ERSs, and how these perceptions contoured ERS service provision. The research focused on one case-study ERS in the East of England. Semi-structured interviews were employed through a combination of group and one-to-one interviews, with 27 participants (15 patients, 7 exercise practitioners, 5 health professionals) who were central to the ERS at a delivery level, and a further 5 (1 ii district manager, 2 representatives from the County Sports Partnership and 2 representatives from Public Health) one-to-one interviews were conducted with individuals who represented the strategic management of ERSs. A process sociological lens was adopted to provide novel insights into participants’ perceptions of ERSs, their role and their ability to influence ERS service provision. Data were also supported by self-elicited reflections born from the researcher’s ‘insider’ position to the County’s ERS. Thematic analysis generated salient themes that showed conflicting interpretations of ERS service provision, and perceptions of scheme receipt and impact. Data highlighted that the networks of relationships in which individuals were situated not only contoured participant experiences but shaped the delivery processes of ERSs. Individual ‘I’ identities were situated within interdependent networks of ‘we’ and ‘they’ relationships, where identifiable groups were formed according to individuals’ perceived role within the scheme. Relationships between individuals and groups were in a tensile state, marked by power balances that had impacted on service provision but also the associated meaning of ERSs, producing interesting, yet unexpected and unintended outcomes. Such findings could prove useful to policy-makers, those responsible for commissioning ERSs, and practitioners, as well as those in similar roles for other multi-agency interventions. By facilitating enhanced understanding of the complexities of this physical activity intervention, findings suggest how the actions and interpretations of those central to a service can fundamentally alter delivery mechanisms and receipt, potentially influencing the very existence of the intervention, or in this case ERSs.

It is commonplace for many high-performance coaches to be former elite athletes in the same sports they coach (Christensen, 2013; Mielke, 2007; Werthner & Trudel, 2009). In many cases, such individuals are ‘fast-tracked’ through formal coach accreditation structures into these high-performance coaching roles (Rynne, 2014). The reasons why former elite athletes dominate coaching roles in professional sports clubs and why a ‘fast-track’ pathway from elite athlete to high-performance coach is supported remain unclear. The project builds upon existing research on coach development to understand the social processes for how high-performance athletes negotiate the career transition into post-athletic high-performance coaching roles in men’s association football and rugby union. The project employed a Straussian grounded theory methodology which consisted of three iterations of empirical data collection and analysis. The first and second iterations respectively sampled eight senior club directors and 11 academy directors of men’s professional association football and rugby union clubs on why they appointed ‘fast-tracked’ coaches and how they valued particular sources of coaching knowledge. Data were abductively analysed (Blaikie, 2009) and signified Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital and hexis in addition to Foucault’s concepts of docile bodies, surveillance and technologies of power. The data suggested that elite athletes were drawn through within their clubs into high-performance coaching roles based on three main themes: a) to ensure the perpetuation of specific playing and coaching philosophies; b) clubs’ former athletes were regarded to act as docile bodies when embodying the clubs’ values in their coaching, and; c) ‘fast-tracked’ appointments were often based upon enhanced levels of symbolic capital and the perceived ability to gain player ‘respect’. Such appointment processes imposed symbolic violence onto other populations for whom competing in male elite sport is inaccessible, most distinctly women. The final iteration investigated how current or former elite athletes negotiated a ‘fast-tracked’ career trajectory when developing their coaching identities. Current or former elite athletes (n=15) were interviewed on two occasions over a 10-12 month period whilst registered onto their respective national governing body’s level three coach qualification. Both courses were designed only for senior professional athletes to attend. The resulting grounded theory provides an original contribution to the field of coach development by signifying a number of distinct social process for how the athletes negotiated the ‘fast-track’ coaching pathway for developing their coaching identities. The difficulties the coaches encountered in balancing the values imposed on them by their clubs during the process of consolidating their own coaching identities are critically discussed in alignment with Bourdieu and Foucault’s conceptual frameworks. Recommendations for the provision of formal coach education programmes are made concerning how coaches mediate developing their own coaching philosophies against imposed structural regimes of truth, along with conceptualising the value the coaches attributed to informal mentors over formal mentors. Recommendations are also provided to inform the policies surrounding coach recruitment at the high-performance level in the hope that directors’ recorded subconscious discriminatory practices are addressed.

Athletes can approach competition positively, as a challenge, or negatively, as a threat. The theory of challenge and threat states in athletes (TCTSA) outlines that a challenge state, contrary to a threat state, is characterised by high levels of self-efficacy and perceived control, approach goals, positive emotions, a helpful interpretation of emotional state and a cardiovascular reactivity pattern of increased cardiac output and decreased total peripheral resistance. The aim of this thesis was to examine relations between these cognitive, affective, and physiological components of challenge and threat states in a sport setting; research in sport have mostly examined these components separately. Five studies were conducted to examine this aim. These comprised a qualitative analysis of athletes‟ interviews about an upcoming competition, a cross-sectional questionnaire study, two studies where self-report data were associated with cardiovascular responses to an upcoming competition or previous competition, and a case study. Overall, the cognitive and affective components are somewhat supportive of the TCTSA, with a positive relation between self-efficacy, perceived control and approach goals. Threat appraisal and anxiety were positively predicted by avoidance goals. Most of the physiological findings, however, were not in line with the predictions of the TCTSA. Specifically, participants who had high levels of self-efficacy appeared to be physiologically threatened by an upcoming competition. There was no consistent relation between the cognitive, affective, and physiological components regarding previous competitions. Temporal patterning may be one of the main confounding factors for the inconsistent findings as the relations between physiological, cognitive, and affective components all change in the lead up to competition. This thesis makes an original contribution to stress research by exploring the combination of cognitive, affective, and physiological components outlined by the TCTSA using a holistic understanding of how athletes approach competition.

Obesity amongst children and young people is increasing, and it is predicted that over half of the UK population will be obese by 2050. Daily physical activity is effective in preventing and treating overweight and obesity, yet many children do not participate in enough physical activity to be beneficial to health. Behaviour change interventions to increase children‘s physical activity have demonstrated limited impact which is not maintained over the longer-term. The social ecology model recognises that interventions are unlikely to work in the absence of environmental supports. This has led researchers to recommend multi-component interventions in schools, with support through school policies and strategies. This research addresses four key research questions: 1. What are the relationships between the social, economic, physical and political elements of the school environment and physical activity? 2. What are the views, perceptions and experiences of physical activity and the school environment amongst a sample of primary school children? 3. Will an ecological physical activity intervention increase physical activity levels in primary school children in the immediate and longer term (6 months)? 4. Will an ecological intervention change the relationships between pupil perceptions, the school environment, and physical activity?

[From the introduction:] Within professional contact sports, injury has been reported frequently by athletes as causing stress (Anshel, 2001; Noblet & Gifford, 2002). Particularly within rugby union where injury has been reported as one of the top four stressors experienced by elite adolescent players (Nicholls & Polman, 2007), and the most frequent stressor by adult professional players (Nicholls Holt, Polman, & Bloomfield, 2006). A variety of coping strategies are utilized to manage these stressors, with the effectiveness varying per player (Nicholls et al., 2006). Although to date no research has found a causal relationship between injury as a source of stress and the actual incidence of injury such research suggest that injury can significantly increase the stress experienced by athletes. This is supported by the findings that following serious sports injury, elite athletes have reported this to be a stressful experience (Gould, Udry, Bridges, & Beck, 1997a) which is manifested by concerns related to career, physical rehabilitation, social interactions, further injury, and return to prior performance levels (Gould et al., 1997; Tracey, 2003).

No description available.

The concept of trust features prominently in research into interpersonal relations and effective leadership. Yet while references to trust are extensive, gaps regarding the conceptualisation and measurement of trust exist in a number of contexts in the psychological literature. This is particularly true in the context of sport, where the relevance and worth of trust in leaders is routinely acknowledged but rarely seen from the truster’s perspective; thus, little is known about how followers define, appraise and award trust. The present series of studies sought to examine perceptions of trust in the context of football, devising five distinctive investigations to explore trust in football leaders from the perspectives of both close followers (players) and distant followers (fans). Studies 1 & 2 explored academy football players’ views on trust, first through interviews, and then by employing a computer-based repertory grid technique. Findings demonstrated the relevance of trust to players in professional academy settings where both cognitive and affective sources of trust are employed in appraisals. Furthermore, results showed that within high-level football teams, both male and female players construct trust in a similar manner, differentiating trusted figures from others by appraising reliability, personal characteristics and interactions. Utilising online survey techniques, Studies 3 and 4 examined the perspective of football fans. Study 3 tracked the decline in trust of national leaders over the course of a World Cup competition, and explored fans’ reasons for awarding trust. Results demonstrate that appraisals of trust were based primarily on outcomes and observable role-related competencies such as selections and tactics. Study 4 examined fans’ trust in both club and national managers, testing the relevance of items from existing trust measures. Findings indicated that trust in more proximal distant leaders (club managers) was significantly higher than trust in national leaders. Furthermore the results showed that perceptions of likeability and reliability were the most consistent predictors of trust in both types of manager. Study 5 proposed a conceptual model of trust in football leaders which illustrates the trust appraisals made by both close and distant followers in Studies 1-4. Using the critical incident technique, the final study tested the adequacy of the proposed model for explaining ‘real-world’ incidents where trust had been gained or lost. Results demonstrated the efficacy of the model, as well as demonstrating similarities and differences among both player and fan appraisals, and incidents where trust was gained or lost. Importantly, this research presents a contribution to the understanding of trust in football contexts. Moreover, the work demonstrates the types of appraisals made by two distinct kinds of followers in this setting, and the value of employing mixed methods in research of this type.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pluripotent cytokine which has inflammatory properties. It is suggested to mediate a variety of processes including increased perception of fatigue during inflammatory states. In addition, prolonged exercise can cause a marked increase in circulating IL-6, and although there is a widely reported association between plasma IL-6 and fatigue in disease and inflammatory conditions, this relationship has remained relatively unexplored in healthy individuals during exercise. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were firstly, to develop a repeatable preload time trial in order to examine the variability of circulating IL-6 and other signalling molecules in response to an exercise challenge; secondly, to investigate the effect of plasma IL-6 and signalling molecules on fatigue and performance during a pre-loaded time trial; and thirdly, to evaluate the impact of nutritional interventions (glutamine intake during exercise, manipulation of pre-exercise diet and carbohydrate intake during exercise) on the response of circulating IL-6, IL-6 signalling molecules and biomarkers associated with IL-6 during exercise and their effect on preload time trial performance. Results from the studies determined that there was large variability in the plasma IL-6 and signalling receptors response to the pre-loaded time trial (8-20%) but that the exercise protocol was repeatable. Nutritional interventions did not alter the signalling receptor response, nor biomarkers associated with IL-6, including hepcidin. However, carbohydrate intake during exercise attenuated the circulating IL-6 response to exercise by 49% which correlated well with an improved time trial performance. Regardless of the intervention, a consistent finding in all studies indicated that a greater plasma IL-6 response to the preload exercise bout correlated well with a reduced relative exercise performance as a percentage of velocity at VO 2max during the subsequent time trial. To summarise, the findings from this thesis indicate that elevated levels of plasma IL-6 are associated with a decrement in exercise performance. Associated IL-6 signalling molecules are elevated in response to exercise but are not associated with performance and are unaltered by nutritional interventions.