Imagery : correlação entre o motor imagery e as habilidades técnicas de condução de bola no futebol

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Atividade Física.

Relação entre a coesão de grupo e a ansiedade pré-competitiva

Dissertação apresentada para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia do Desporto e Exercício.

Planeamento e controlo de treino no segmento de ciclismo do triatlo do Benfica com vista às provas ITU

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Efeito de um jogo de futebol sobre o equilíbrio dinâmico e as capacidades funcionais de um jogador

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciado em Fisioterapia

Caracterização do perfil lesional em futebolistas juniores da 2ª Divisão Distrital e análise do impacto do programa “FIFA 11+” na performance física e na prevenção de lesões

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciado em Fisioterapia

Efeito do encurtamento muscular dos flexores da anca na actividade muscular dos extensores da anca, durante uma tarefa de agachamento, em jovens jogadores de futebol

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciado em Fisioterapia

Managing pressure: patterns of appraisals and coping strategies of non-elite and elite athletes during competition

The purpose of this study was to compare moment-to-moment appraisals and coping strategies of 4 non-elite and 2 elite male trap shooters during competitions and in particular during periods of competition perceived as critical to performance. Appraisals and coping patterns of trap shooters were captured via verbal reports of thinking provided between sets of shots during major competitions. Verbal reports were coded according to an appraisal and coping typology. Coded data as well as shooting performance data were subjected to a sequential analysis of probabilities of pairs of events. Fewer reports of negative appraisals (NEGAs) and more frequent reports of problem-focused coping (PFC) were observed among both elite athletes compared to non-elite athletes. After making a NEGA, non-elite shooters often progressed to the next target without attempting to cope, whereas elite shooters used both PFC and emotion-focused coping (EFC) before proceeding to the next target. After missing a target, the non-elite athletes used more EFC than expected. These results indicate that elite athletes are more likely to cope with NEGAs than non-elite athletes using a wider variety of coping strategies. Athletes might benefit from increased awareness of the potentially detrimental impact of NEGAs on performance and by integrating coping strategies within preparatory routines.

Avaliação de desempenho dos treinadores desportivos: da inexistência de um instrumento estruturado à valorização dos resultados desportivos

Este estudo procurou compreender o processo e os critérios considerados na avaliação de desempenho dos treinadores pertencentes a nove clubes desportivos da Região Autônoma da Madeira, Portugal. Foi utilizada uma metodologia de carácter qualitativo, com recurso à análise documental da estrutura, dos recursos humanos dos clubes e a uma entrevista semiestruturada realizada aos diretores com responsabilidades na avaliação dos treinadores. Os resultados ilustram um processo de avaliação não estruturado, baseado em informações pouco sistematizadas e rigorosas. Os critérios de avaliação mais relevantes foram os resultados desportivos dos atletas, seguidos das competências de liderança e competências pessoais e sociais do treinador.

Cooperação desportiva e auto-conceito de competência : Um estudo em equipas de futebol

A cooperação apresenta-se como a base de qualquer organização, mas também das equipas desportivas. O comportamento cooperativo é influenciado pela estima e confiança que o indivíduo tem em si. A confiança entre os indivíduos resulta da mediação entre o comportamento de interesse próprio e o interesse pelo outro, promovendo desta forma a cooperação entre os membros. Vários autores referem as noções de competência relacionadas com comportamentos de confiança. Desta forma estudaram-se no presente estudo as correlações entre a cooperação desportiva e o auto-conceito de competência. A amostra foi constituída por 120 atletas do sexo masculino de equipas profissionais e semi-profissionais de futebol. Os instrumentos utilizados "Questionário de Cooperação Desportiva" e "Questionário de Auto-Conceito de Competência", revelaram possuir qualidades psicométicas aceitáveis. A análise dos resultados revelou correlações estatisticamente significativas entre a dimensão de cooperação situacional e as dimensões, cognitiva, social e criativa do auto-conceito de competência, assim como a dimensão de cooperação incondicionada com as dimensões cognitiva e social do auto-conceito de competência. /ABSTRACT: The cooperation comes as the foundation of any organization but also of sports teams. The cooperative behavior is influenced by the esteem and confidence that the individual has in himself. Trust between individuals result of mediation between the behavior of self-interest and concern for others, thereby promoting cooperation among members. Several authors refer to the notions of competence-related behaviors of confidence. Thus it was studied in the present study the correlations between the sporting cooperation and self-concept of competence. The sample was composed of 120 male athletes of professional teams and semi-professional football. The instruments used "Cooperation Sports Questionnaire" and "Self-Concept Questionnaire for Competence," have revealed qualities psicométicas acceptable. The results showed statistically significant correlations between the dimension of cooperation and situational dimensions, cognitive, social and creative self-concept of ability, as well as the size of unconditional cooperation with the cognitive and social dimensions of self-concept of competence.

Extreme sports as a precursor to environmental sustainability

Extreme sports have unfortunately gained a reputation for being risk focused and adrenaline fuelled. This perspective has obscured the place of the natural world, making extreme athletes appear to seek to conquer, compete against or defeat natural forces. In contrast, this paper explores findings from a larger hermeneutic phenomenological study that suggests extreme sports can initiate a positive change in participants’ relationships with the natural world. Data sources include first-hand accounts of extreme sports participants such as biographies, videos, papers and journals as well as interviews with ten male and five female extreme sports participants. Reports indicate that extreme sport participants develop feelings of connection to the natural world and describe themselves as being at one with the natural world or connected through a life enhancing energy. The paper draws on theoretical perspectives in ecopsychology which suggest that feeling connected to nature leads to a desire to care for the natural world and contributes to more environmentally sustainable practices.

The influence of instructions and body-scaling as constraints on decision-making processes in team sports

Team games conceptualized as dynamical systems engender a view of emergent decision-making behaviour under constraints, although specific effects of instructional and body-scaling constraints have yet to be verified empirically. For this purpose, we studied the effects of task and individual constraints on decision-making processes in basketball. Eleven experienced female players performed 350 trials in 1 vs. 1 sub-phases of basketball in which an attacker tried to perturb the stable state of a dyad formed with a defender (i.e. break the symmetry). In Experiment 1, specific instructions (neutral, risk taking or conservative) were manipulated to observe effects on emergent behaviour of the dyadic system. When attacking players were given conservative instructions, time to cross court mid-line and variability of the attacker's trajectory were significantly greater. In Experiment 2, body-scaling of participants was manipulated by creating dyads with different height relations. When attackers were considerably taller than defenders, there were fewer occurrences of symmetry-breaking. When attackers were considerably shorter than defenders, time to cross court mid-line was significantly shorter than when dyads were composed of athletes of similar height or when attackers were considerably taller than defenders. The data exemplify how interacting task and individual constraints can influence emergent decision-making processes in team ball games.

Increasing stochastic perturbations enhances acquisition and learning of complex sport movements

Traditionally, the aquisition of skills and sport movement has been characterised by numerous repetitions of presumed model movement pattern to be acquired by learners. This approach has been questioned by research identifying the presence of individualised movement patterns and the low probability of occurrence of two identical movements within and between individuals. In contrast, the differential learning approach claims advantage for incurring variability in the learning process by adding stochastic perturbations during practice. These ideas are exemplified by data from a high jump experiment which compared the effectiveness of classical and a differential training approach with pre-post test design. Results showed clear advantages for the group with additional stochastic perturbation during the aquisition phase in comparison to classically trained athletes. Analogies to similar phenomenological effects in the neurobiological literature are discussed.

The role of extreme sports in lifestyle enhancement and wellness

Alternative sports are fast becoming the physical activity of choice. Participation rates are even outstripping more traditional activities such as golf. At their most extreme there is no second chance, the most likely outcome of a mismanaged error or accident is death. At this level participants enjoy activities such as B.A.S.E. (Buildings, Antennae, Space, Earth) jumping, big wave surfing, waterfall kayaking, extreme skiing, rope-free climbing and extreme mountaineering. Probably the most common explanation for participation in extreme sports is the notion that participation is just a matter of some people‟s need to take unnecessary risks. This study reports on findings that indicate a more positive experience. A phenomenological method was used via unstructured interviews with 15 extreme sports participants (ages 30 – 72 years) and other firsthand accounts. Extreme sport participants directly related their experience to personal transformations that spill over to life in general. Athletes report feelings of deep psychological wellbeing and meaningfulness. The extreme sport experience enables a participant to break through personal barriers and develop an understanding of their own resourcefulness and emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual capabilities. Furthermore such a breakthrough also seems to trigger a change in personal philosophy or view on life. The extreme sport experience transforms a participant though not in terms of working towards an external (social or cultural) perception of identity or towards some constructed perception of an ideal self, but by touching something within.

Dancing with nature : rhythm and harmony in extreme sport participation

Research on extreme sports has downplayed the importance of the athletes' connection to the natural world. This neglect stems, in part, from the assumption that these activities derive their meaning primarily from risk. The authors' long-term research reveals that the interplay between adventure athletes and the natural world is, in fact, crucial for many participants. This study used hermeneutic and phenomenological analysis of first-hand accounts of these sports and interviews with 15 veteran participants. These included BASE jumpers, big-wave surfers, extreme skiers, waterfall kayakers, extreme mountaineers and solo rope-free climbers. Participants spoke extensively about developing a deep relationship with the natural world akin to an intimate 'dance' between actively engaged partners. Our experience-based analysis has found that extreme sports aficionados do not simply view the natural world as a commodity, a stage for risk taking, or vehicle for self-gratification. On the contrary, for veteran adventure athletes the natural world acts as a facilitator to a deeper, more positive understanding of self and its place in the environment. For some, nature was described as omnipresent and ubiquitous, and a source of innate power and personal meaning. The authors explore how these findings may augment the delivery of more 'ecocentric' programmes in the outdoor adventure field.

What shapes player performance in soccer? Empirical findings from a panel analysis

In this article, we investigate the pay-performance relationship of soccer players using individual data from eight seasons of the German soccer league Bundesliga. We find a nonlinear pay-performance relationship, indicating that salary does indeed affect individual performance. The results further show that player performance is affected not only by absolute income level but also by relative income position. An additional analysis of the performance impact of team effects provides evidence of a direct impact of team-mate attributes on individual player performance.