Implementation of concussion guidelines in community Australian Football and Rugby League– the experiences and challenges faced by coaches and sports trainers

Objectives

While guidelines outlining the appropriate management of sport-related concussion have been developed and adapted for use within community sport, it remains unknown how they are experienced by those responsible for implementing them.
Design

Longitudinal study.
Methods

111 coaches and sports trainers from community-level Australian Football and Rugby League teams completed pre- and post-season surveys assessing their attitudes towards using concussion guidelines. Participants also provided post-season feedback regarding their experiences in using the guidelines.
Results

71% of participants reported using the guidelines in the preceding season. Post-season attitude was related to pre-season attitude (p = 0.002), football code (p = 0.015), and team role (p = 0.045). An interaction between team role and guideline use (p = 0.012) was also found, with coaches who had used the guidelines, and sports trainers who had not, reporting more positive post-season attitudes towards using the concussion guidelines. Implementation challenges included disputing of decisions about return-to-play by players, parents, and coaches, and a perceived lack of time. Recommendations for improved guideline materials included using larger fonts and providing for witnessing of advice given to players.
Conclusions

This is the first study to examine the implementation of concussion guidelines in community sport. Training of coaches/sports trainers needs enhancement. In addition, new education should be developed for parents/players about the importance of the return-to-play advice given to them by those who follow these guidelines. Information provided by those who attempted to use the guidelines will assist the refinement of implementation and dissemination processes around concussion guidelines across sports.

Examining sports coaching philosophy: implications for policy, pedagogy and practice

This thesis showed that philosophy in coaching lacks the theoretical foundations of other helping professions, with a lack of guidance by formal coach education programs resulting in coaches adopting their own “sport philosophy”, which enabled coaches to operationalize it in ways that assisted their practice (observed through consistent coach behaviour).

Agressão no futebol

o presente tema - "Agressão no jogo de futebol” - teve primeiramente como objetivo investigar o problema da agressão no esporte popular brasileiro. Assim sendo o trabalho oferece uma visão introdutória, exploratória e descritiva dos aspectos principais com relação ao problema. Desta forma a análise está ligada a várias opiniões e posições que já foram expressas por um número de autores, e esta nossa análise está intimamente ligada a tudo que já foi publicado sobre este tema. Contudo, apresentamos uma ligeira inovação, uma contribuição muito especial. Ao dissertarmos de uma maneira, a mais clara possível, nos limitamos num ponto especifico que é o de vivermos a realidade do jogo de futebol. Cuidadosamente, conduzimos o tema principal do trabalho em direção ao papel fundamental dos dirigentes, treinadores, médicos desportistas, juizes de campo, preparadores físicos, advogados desportistas e psicólogos. Em suma, nós conduzimos nossa atenção ,para as pessoas diretamente envolvidas com a prática do esporte em geral na sociedade contemporânea, assim como da luta para combater os problemas cria dos pela agressão, aspecto particularmente relevante para os jogadores de futebol em situações de forte competição. Na segunda parte do trabalho, nós tivemos a oportunidade de fazer alguns contatos diretos 'e pessoais com vários jogadores conhecidos do futebol no Brasil, assim como outros tipos de profissionais que lidam com este esporte. Podemos dizer, que tal ordem de contatos foi desenvolvida através de, várias observações não só na hora dos treinos, mas também durante um número de jogos eliminatórios (finais), juntamente com algumas entrevistas individuais que depois eles concederam. Quando todas as peças foram colocadas nos próprios lugares é que o quadro ficou mais completo, expondo os fatores mútuos e interativos nos jogos. Falando de maneira geral, o modelo de melhor compreensão proposto para este trabalho foi detalhado de forma que pode ser baseado na observação direta da pesquisa de campo mas com um número especifico de dados para este tipo de· pesquisa, cujos principais objetivos foram as simples situações corriqueiras (significatiyas). Com este material, em nossas mãos, nós pudemos reformular algumas questões vitais que poderiam enriquecer o dia-a-dia da psicologia neste campo de conhecimento. Sem dúvida, essa ênfase atual da questão da agressão - e um problema crescente. O significado do combate a agressão não é fácil, digamos, de enquadrar numa simples elaboração de palavras. Na pesquisa que fizemos a conclusão é de que a agressão deve ser combatida desde muito cedo nos estágios das "escolas de futebol".

Knowledge about sports-related concussion: is the message getting through to coaches and trainers?

Aim The need for accurate diagnosis and appropriate return-to-play decisions following a concussion in sports has prompted the dissemination of guidelines to assist managing this condition. This study aimed to assess whether key messages within these guidelines are reflected in the knowledge of coaches and sports trainers involved in community sport. Methods An online knowledge survey was widely promoted across Australia in May–August 2012 targeting community Australian Football (AF) and Rugby League (RL) coaches and sports trainers. 260 AF coaches, 161 AF sports trainers, 267 RL coaches and 228 RL sports trainers completed the survey. Knowledge scores were constructed from Likert scales and compared across football codes and respondent groups. Results General concussion knowledge did not differ across codes but sports trainers had higher levels than did coaches. There were no significant differences in either concussion symptoms or concussion management knowledge across codes or team roles. Over 90% of respondents correctly identified five of the eight key signs or symptoms of concussion. Fewer than 50% recognised the increased risk of another concussion following an initial concussion. Most incorrectly believed or were uncertain that scans typically show damage to the brain after a concussion occurs. Fewer than 25% recognised, and >40% were uncertain that younger players typically take longer to recover from concussion than adults. Conclusions The key messages from published concussion management guidelines have not reached community sports coaches and sports trainers. This needs to be redressed to maximise the safety of all of those involved in community sport.

Exploring How Well UK Coach Education Meets the Needs of Women Sports Coaches

Inclusive and equitable processes are important to the development of sports coaching. The aim of this study was to explore how well UK coach education meets the needs of women sports coaches in order to make recommendations to further enhance the engagement of, and support for, aspiring and existing women coaches. The national governing bodies (NGBs) of four sports (Cycling, Equestrian, Gymnastics and Rowing) volunteered to participate and semi-structured interviews using the tenants of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) within a Self Determination Theory (SDT) framework were undertaken with 23 coaches, eight coach educators and five NGB officers. The data themed into an analytic structure derived from SDT comprising ‘Autonomy: Freedom to coach’, ‘Coaching competence’, and ‘Relatedness and belonging’. The coaches perceived potential benefit from enhanced relatedness and belonging within their sport with the findings suggesting that NGBs should embrace coach-led decision making in terms of the developmental topics which are important and should adopt the development of competence, rather than assessing technical understanding, as the foundational principle of more inclusive coach education. Future research should investigate the impact of the inclusive practices which are recommended within this investigation such as the softening of the technocratic focus of formal coach education.

Nonlinear pedagogy underpins intrinsic motivation in sports coaching

A key challenge for sports coaches is to provide performers with learning environments that result in sustainable motivation. In this paper, we will demonstrate that programmes based around the principles of Nonlinear Pedagogy can support the three basic psychological needs that underpin self-determined motivation. Coaches can therefore ensure that practice sessions provide for intrinsic motivation with its associated motivational and emotional benefits.

Acquisition of expertise in cricket fast bowling : perceptions of expert players and coaches

Objectives: Experiential knowledge of elite athletes and coaches was investigated to reveal insights on expertise acquisition in cricket fast bowling. Design: Twenty-one past or present elite cricket fast bowlers and coaches of national or international level were interviewed using an in-depth, open-ended, semi-structured approach. Methods: Participants were asked about specific factors which they believed were markers of fast bowling expertise potential. Of specific interest was the relative importance of each potential component of fast bowling expertise and how components interacted or developed over time. Results: The importance of intrinsic motivation early in development was highlighted, along with physical, psychological and technical attributes. Results supported a multiplicative and interactive complex systems model of talent development in fast bowling, in which component weightings were varied due to individual differences in potential experts. Dropout rates in potential experts were attributed to misconceived current talent identification programmes and coaching practices, early maturation and physical attributes, injuries and lack of key psychological attributes and skills. Conclusions: Data are consistent with a dynamical systems model of expertise acquisition in fast bowling, with numerous trajectories available for talent development. Further work is needed to relate experiential and theoretical knowledge on expertise in other sports.

Experiential knowledge of expert coaches can help identify informational constraints on performance of dynamic interceptive actions

Coordination of dynamic interceptive movements is predicated on cyclical relations between an individual's actions and information sources from the performance environment. To identify dynamic informational constraints, which are interwoven with individual and task constraints, coaches’ experiential knowledge provides a complementary source to support empirical understanding of performance in sport. In this study, 15 expert coaches from 3 sports (track and field, gymnastics and cricket) participated in a semi-structured interview process to identify potential informational constraints which they perceived to regulate action during run-up performance. Expert coaches’ experiential knowledge revealed multiple information sources which may constrain performance adaptations in such locomotor pointing tasks. In addition to the locomotor pointing target, coaches’ knowledge highlighted two other key informational constraints: vertical reference points located near the locomotor pointing target and a check mark located prior to the locomotor pointing target. This study highlights opportunities for broadening the understanding of perception and action coupling processes, and the identified information sources warrant further empirical investigation as potential constraints on athletic performance. Integration of experiential knowledge of expert coaches with theoretically driven empirical knowledge represents a promising avenue to drive future applied science research and pedagogical practice.

Performance analysis in team sports : advances from an ecological dynamics approach

Capacity to produce data for performance analysis in sports has been enhanced in the last decade with substantial technological advances. However, current performance analysis methods have been criticised for the lack of a viable theoretical framework to assist on the development of fundamental principles that regulate performance achievement. Our aim in this paper is to discuss ecological dynamics as an explanatory framework for improving analysis and understanding of competitive performance behaviours. We argue that integration of ideas from ecological dynamics into previous approaches to performance analysis advances current understanding of how sport performance emerges from continuous interactions between individual players and teams. Exemplar data from previous studies in association football are presented to illustrate this novel perspective on performance analysis. Limitations of current ecological dynamics research and challenges for future research are discussed in order to improve the meaningfulness of information presented to coaches and managers.

Autonomy-supportive pedagogical approach to sports coaching: Research, challenges and opportunities

There has been an increasing body of research on autonomy- or need-support specific to a coaching context that warrants some review of what we know and don't know, and what might be generative for future research. The previous studies reviewed within this article have shown consistent support for Self-determination theory with autonomy-supportive environments linked with adaptive outcomes, such as superior performance, enhanced self-worth, increased effort, and self-determined motivation; while controlling environments have been linked with increased attrition and extrinsic motivation or amotivation. In this way, much of the research in autonomy-supportive coaching has focused on the impact of coaching behaviours on athlete outcomes. While this is an important focus of inquiry, there has been a dearth of research examining those causal factors that impact coaches' pedagogical behaviours in the first case. This review underscores the need for future research to examine the antecedents to coaching behaviours, which is central to understanding the complexity and challenges in promoting an autonomy-supportive approach to sport coaching.

Understanding mental toughness in Australian soccer: Perceptions of players, parents, and coaches

We explored mental toughness in soccer using a triangulation of data capture involving players (n = 6), coaches (n = 4), and parents (n = 5). Semi-structured interviews, based on a personal construct psychology (Kelly, 1955/1991) framework, were conducted to elicit participants' perspectives on the key characteristics and their contrasts, situations demanding mental toughness, and the behaviours displayed and cognitions employed by mentally tough soccer players. The results from the research provided further evidence that mental toughness is conceptually distinct from other psychological constructs such as hardiness. The findings also supported Gucciardi, Gordon, and Dimmock's (2009) process model of mental toughness. A winning mentality and desire was identified as a key attribute of mentally tough soccer players in addition to other previously reported qualities such as self-belief, physical toughness, work ethic/motivation, and resilience. Key cognitions reported by mentally tough soccer players enabled them to remain focused and competitive during training and matches and highlighted the adoption of several forms of self-talk in dealing with challenging situations. Minor revisions to Gucciardi and colleagues' definition of mental toughness are proposed.