Includes bibliographical references. / Introduction: Rugby Union is a sport where physical size matters and the bigger, stronger and better conditioned players have an advantage over smaller and less powerful opponents. Research of adolescent rugby players in South Africa showed that Coloured and Black players weighed 8 kg less than their White counterparts. A possible explanation for the difference in size was the lack of weight training facilities in the disadvantaged areas. Therefore to address the potential handicap for these players having to compete against bigger players, the South African Rugby Union and the High Performance Centre at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa developed a mobile schools training system (MSTS). These are fully equipped units with sufficient weight training equipment for an entire team. The aim of this study was to determine whether the fitness characteristics associated with rugby, changed in players after the MSTS was given to a school for several months. Training of players was not controlled or supervised by any personal outside the infrastructure of the school. A secondary aim was to interview the staff member at each school responsible for the MSTS to enquire about their perceptions of the MSTS and whether there were any barriers to the uptake by the schools and players. Methods: Schools with a “rugby ethos” and from a previously disadvantaged background were selected by SARU for the MSTS Programme. Players (U16 and U18 age groups) at these schools participated in the study. A total of 382 players were tested both before they had exposure to the MSTS and approximately 16 weeks later. They were divided into two age groups; U18 (n = 224 forwards and backs) and U16 (n = 158 forwards and backs). The following characteristics were measured; stature, body mass, body % body fat, muscular strength (bilateral grip strength and bench press), muscular endurance (1min push-ups), sprint times (10 m and 40 m) and aerobic capacity (multi-stage shuttle run test). All Tests were conducted during February and October of 2013. A rating of the extent to the players used the MSTS was also calculated and this was used to categorise schools. Data are represented as means ± standard deviation. A repeated measures of analysis of variance (repeated measures of ANOVA) was used to determine whether there were significant differences between the ‘pre and post’ round of testing using either ‘age’, ‘provinces’ and whether the ‘gym was used or not’ as main effects. The interaction between ‘age x time’ and ‘province x time’ and ‘gym usage x time’ was calculated. If any interactions were significant, a Tukey post hoc test was used to identify specific differences. Statistical significance was accepted when p < 0.05. Coaches at the schools participated interviews to determine the barriers to implementation of the programme, and which areas need to be improved. Results: Changes over time was only shown for body mass (p < 0.037) and bench press (p < 0.001) in schools where the gym was used compared to schools who did not use the gym. When comparing U16 vs. U18 age groups, the U18 players were significantly taller, and heavier, had less % body fat, and a better performance for grip strength, bench press, push-ups, 10 m and 40 m sprint time and Multi-stage shuttle test (MSST) compared to the U16 players (p < 0.04 ). There was also a significant interaction (age x time) for stature (p < 0.002), body mass (p < 0.011), % body fat (p < 0.002). When comparing the 5 provinces of the U16 age group, pre-post differences where noted for stature, body mass bench press and the multi stage shuttle test (MSST) between provinces p < 0.00 01. Interactions (province x time) for changes over time between the 5 provinces was shown for stature, body mass, % body fat, bench press, push-up’s, 10 m sprint time and MSST. There were significant pre-post differences between provinces (U18) for stature, body mass, skinfolds, % body fat, bench press and the multi stage shuttle test (MSST) for all p < 0.0001 except skinfolds showed p < 0.041. Interactions (province x time) change over time between the 5 provinces was shown for stature, body mass, % body fat, bench press and push-up’s. An interaction for the age groups was determined for a variable if a level of significance was p < 0.05. The interviews with the coaches raised various issues which comprised the usage of the MSST with the most important being lack of resources at the school , inadequate knowledge of strength and conditioning training, lack of facilities to store the mobile gym and poor nutrition of the players. Conclusion: There is overwhelming evidence in the literature about the benefits of resistance training for youth, from the perspective of improving performance to reducing the risk of injury. The results from the MSTS programme were not as overwhelming as one would believe from the literature. This can be attributed to various reasons; inadequate facilities to house the MSTS, inadequate coaches ’ knowledge and experience in strength and conditioning, and poor nutrition. With increased provision of equipment at schools without adequate support of trained strength and conditioning specialists at each school the programme will be ineffective. To ensure future success of the programme it is recommended that; (i) a needs analysis is done at each school to determine which school has the correct facilities to house the mobile gym so that regular training sessions can take place, (ii) SARU employs qualified trainers at the schools involved in the MSTS programme to supervise all strength and conditioning sessions, (iii) there are regular follow up visits at schools to check on compliance, (iv) objective and subjective assessments are conducted at regular intervals to determine if there are improvements in the targeted variable.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/13339 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Van Aarde, Roedolf Frederik |
| Contributors | Lambert, Michael I |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Human Biology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MPhil |
| Format | application/pdf |
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