Extending validity evidence for multidimensional measures of coaching competency

This study extended validity evidence for multidimensional measures of coaching competency derived from the Coaching Competency Scale (CCS; Myers, Feltz, Maier, Wolfe, & Reckase, 2006) by examining use of the original rating scale structure and testing how measures related to satisfaction with the head coach within teams and between teams. Motivation, game strategy, technique, and character building comprised the dimensions of coaching competency. Data were collected from athletes (N = 585) nested within intercollegiate men's (g = 8) and women's (g = 13) soccer and women's ice hockey (g = 11) teams (G = 32). Validity concerns were observed for the original rating scale structure and the predicted positive relationship between motivation competency and satisfaction with the coach between teams. Validity evidence was offered for a condensed post hoc rating scale and the predicted relationship between motivation competency and satisfaction with the coach within teams.     

The Effects of Age and Number of Demonstrations on Modeling of Form and Performance

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of age and number of demonstrations on both form (strategy employed) and physical performance on a Bachman ladder-balance task. College age (n = 60) and elementary age females (n = 60) were compared under four modeling conditions consisting of no, four, eight, and 12 demonstrations in an Age Group × Demonstration Group (2 × 4) MANOVA. Results indicated that college age students had higher performance and form scores than elementary age students. Only form differentiated the four demonstration groups. Participants receiving 12 demonstrations had higher form scores than the control participants. Form scores were analyzed in a discriminant function analysis to determine which of five form components differentiated the four demonstration groups. Results also revealed that climbing quickly was the component of form that differentiated the groups the most. It was concluded that matching form by the learner may be a more effective measure of modeling effects rather than inferring modeling from performance, especially in the initial stages of learning. In addition, it appears that the number of demonstrations needed to create modeling effects is task specific and dependent on the length of the practice period.     

The Future of Graduate Education in Sport and Exercise Science: A Sport Psychology Perspective

The direction of graduate education in sport psychology has changed considerably since its emergence as a recognizable subdiscipline within exercise and sport science in the late 1960s. This paper describes (a) the structure of current sport psychology specializations within graduate programs based on a survey of 33 programs with sport psychology specializations in the United States, (b) trends in sport psychology graduate education, and (c) concerns regarding the future of graduate education in sport psychology in terms of coursework, research, and applied service provision.     

Training patterns of athletes during pregnancy and postpartum

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine exercise patterns and psychological variables mediating a return to training and competition after pregnancy. Competitive female athletes who had given birth within the last 10 years completed surveys concerning (a) training patterns before, during, and after childbirth, (b) childbirth complications and training advice, (c) perceptions of success in their postpartum comebacks to training, and (d) self-efficacy, social support, and perceived barriers to training during pregnancy and after childbirth. Results indicated that women decreased both cardiovascular and resistance training during pregnancy. Additionally, training efforts during pregnancy were independent of those during the pre- and postpartum periods. This finding suggests that athletes may be able to alter their training patterns during pregnancy without a significant impact on their postpartum training program.     

Proposed modifications to the conceptual model of coaching efficacy and additional validity evidence for the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams

The purpose of this study was to determine whether theoretically relevant sources of coaching efficacy could predict the measures derived from the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams (CES II-HST). Data were collected from head coaches of high school teams in the United States (N=799). The analytic framework was a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis with ordered-categorical indicators and observed covariates. Applying this framework to the conceptual model of coaching efficacy (CMCE) resulted in a statistical model equivalent to a multiple-group multivariate regression with latent outcomes. Results provided evidence for the ability of measures derived from the CES II-HST to be predicted by theoretically relevant sources of coaching efficacy and suggested modifications to the CMCE.     

The Impact of Girls' Interscholastic Sport Participation on Academic Orientation

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the influence of athletics and other extracurricular activities on the academic orientation of female high school students. Senior girls were categorized into groups—labeled athlete-only (comprising students who participated only in athletics as an extracurricular activity), service-only (students who participated in service activities only), athlete-service (students participating in both) and neither (students whose extracurricular activities included neither athletics nor service activities). Categorizations were based on listings from their high school yearbooks. Those taking the ACT college entrance exam (N = 487) were compared on composite and English scores to the other groups, and to national and state averages. Analyses of covariance, controlling for SES and extent of activity involvement revealed that the athlete-only group recorded the lowest average scores, but these could not be attributed to the participation category to which they belonged. Rather, socioeconomic level and extent of activity involvement were factors contributing to most of the differences between groups in which higher SES levels and higher levels of involvement were predictive of higher ACT scores. Moreover, none of the groups' scores were significantly different from national or slate averages. These results refute the notion that involvement only in athletics is detrimental to educational achievements for females, and lead to certain recommendations for longitudinal, multi-measure investigations of academic orientations.     

Exploring the relationships between collective efficacy, perceptions of success, and team attributions

We examined the influence of collective efficacy and subjective interpretations of success/failure on team causal attributions. The participants were 71 male and female high school athletes on 20 track relay teams. Before a selected competition, participants completed a collective efficacy questionnaire. Then, immediately after their race, they were administered a modified version of the revised Causal Dimension Scale-II. A multi-level framework was employed to assess collective efficacy as an individually held perception and as a shared team belief. The individual perceptions of team success/failure significantly predicted the locus of causality and stability dimensions, whereas aggregated collective efficacy emerged as a significant team level predictor of average stability. Individual perceptions of collective efficacy were significantly related to team control and this relationship was moderated by the sex of the team. The findings indicate that collective efficacy beliefs held by athletes and teams prior to a competition influence the formation of post-competition team attributions in sport.