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The pronounced muscle size of long-term resistance trained individuals is typically attributed to greater muscle fiber size. Whether muscle fiber number is also greater, which could be explained by hyperplasia, remains controversial, and a paucity of data exists about myofibrillar structure. In “Long-Term Resistance Trained Human Muscles Have More Fibers, More Myofibrils, and Tighter Myofilament Packing than Untrained," Maeo and colleagues found that larger biceps brachii muscles (+70%) of long-term resistance-trained individuals exhibited more fibers in cross-section (+34%) and larger muscle fibers (+29%), which contained substantially more total myofibrils (+105%). A novel finding of this study was the greater myofilament packing density (+7%) of long-term resistance-trained individuals, suggesting that skeletal muscle ultrastructure may be adaptable and could contribute to changes in specific tension and strength.

In “NHANES 2011-2014: Objective Physical Activity Is the Strongest Predictor of All-Cause Mortality," Leroux and colleagues demonstrate that objectively measured physical activity, assessed using wrist-worn accelerometers, is the strongest predictor of all-cause mortality in a nationally representative sample from the United States population, validating previous findings from the UK Biobank. Accelerometry data were collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) continuously for up to seven days between 2011 and 2014, with mortality tracked through 2019. The analysis focused on participants aged 50 and 80 years (N=3653, 24298 person-years of follow-up, 416 deaths). The findings underscore the critical role of physical activity in human health; highlight its importance as a modifiable risk factor; and emphasize the need for innovative, objective ways of measuring it and the potential utility of incorporating wearable-derived measurements in clinical practice.   In “Predicting Musculoskeletal Loading at Common Running Injury Locations using Machine Learning and Instrumented Insoles," Van Hooren and colleagues evaluated the accuracy of a commercially available wearable for predicting musculoskeletal loading and damage at three common running injury sites. They achieved this by combining machine learning with instrumented insoles and musculoskeletal modelling to provide real-time, individualized insights into biomechanical stresses and strains. This may revolutionize running injury prevention by allowing personalized gait retraining outside of the lab, and by assisting in a more gradual build-up of training load when commencing running, or after injury. The work lays the groundwork for future research to enhance our understanding of injury mechanisms by allowing continuous in-field measurement of tissue loading.

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Long-Term Resistance Trained Human Muscles Have More Fibers, More Myofibrils, and Tighter Myofilament Packing Than Untrained

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• 31 March 2021

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The competition to be crowned the fastest, strongest or most technically proficient sportsperson on the planet will once again reach its peak this summer when athletes descend on Tokyo for the Olympic Games. The global pandemic might rule out the throng of enthusiastic spectators that are typical of such an event, but millions will eagerly watch on television as the very best go toe-to-toe.

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Research Article

Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America, Education Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Roles Data curation, Methodology, Writing – original draft

Affiliation Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

Roles Data curation, Methodology

Roles Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management, Honors College, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America

Roles Data curation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Faculty of Education, Health and Well-Being, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Division of Research & Innovation, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

• Marc Lochbaum, 
• Elisabeth Stoner, 
• Tristen Hefner, 
• Sydney Cooper, 
• Andrew M. Lane, 
• Peter C. Terry

• Published: February 16, 2022
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408
• Peer Review
• Reader Comments

Sport psychology as an academic pursuit is nearly two centuries old. An enduring goal since inception has been to understand how psychological techniques can improve athletic performance. Although much evidence exists in the form of meta-analytic reviews related to sport psychology and performance, a systematic review of these meta-analyses is absent from the literature. We aimed to synthesize the extant literature to gain insights into the overall impact of sport psychology on athletic performance. Guided by the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews, we reviewed relevant articles identified via the EBSCOhost interface. Thirty meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 met the inclusion criteria, covering 16 distinct sport psychology constructs. Overall, sport psychology interventions/variables hypothesized to enhance performance (e.g., cohesion, confidence, mindfulness) were shown to have a moderate beneficial effect ( d = 0.51), whereas variables hypothesized to be detrimental to performance (e.g., cognitive anxiety, depression, ego climate) had a small negative effect ( d = -0.21). The quality rating of meta-analyses did not significantly moderate the magnitude of observed effects, nor did the research design (i.e., intervention vs. correlation) of the primary studies included in the meta-analyses. Our review strengthens the evidence base for sport psychology techniques and may be of great practical value to practitioners. We provide recommendations for future research in the area.

Citation: Lochbaum M, Stoner E, Hefner T, Cooper S, Lane AM, Terry PC (2022) Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature. PLoS ONE 17(2): e0263408. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408

Editor: Claudio Imperatori, European University of Rome, ITALY

Received: September 28, 2021; Accepted: January 18, 2022; Published: February 16, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 Lochbaum et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Sport performance matters. Verifying its global importance requires no more than opening a newspaper to the sports section, browsing the internet, looking at social media outlets, or scanning abundant sources of sport information. Sport psychology is an important avenue through which to better understand and improve sport performance. To date, a systematic review of published sport psychology and performance meta-analyses is absent from the literature. Given the undeniable importance of sport, the history of sport psychology in academics since 1830, and the global rise of sport psychology journals and organizations, a comprehensive systematic review of the meta-analytic literature seems overdue. Thus, we aimed to consolidate the existing literature and provide recommendations for future research.

The development of sport psychology

The history of sport psychology dates back nearly 200 years. Terry [ 1 ] cites Carl Friedrich Koch’s (1830) publication titled [in translation] Calisthenics from the Viewpoint of Dietetics and Psychology [ 2 ] as perhaps the earliest publication in the field, and multiple commentators have noted that sport psychology experiments occurred in the world’s first psychology laboratory, established by Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig in 1879 [ 1 , 3 ]. Konrad Rieger’s research on hypnosis and muscular endurance, published in 1884 [ 4 ] and Angelo Mosso’s investigations of the effects of mental fatigue on physical performance, published in 1891 [ 5 ] were other early landmarks in the development of applied sport psychology research. Following the efforts of Koch, Wundt, Rieger, and Mosso, sport psychology works appeared with increasing regularity, including Philippe Tissié’s publications in 1894 [ 6 , 7 ] on psychology and physical training, and Pierre de Coubertin’s first use of the term sport psychology in his La Psychologie du Sport paper in 1900 [ 8 ]. In short, the history of sport psychology and performance research began as early as 1830 and picked up pace in the latter part of the 19 th century. Early pioneers, who helped shape sport psychology include Wundt, recognized as the “father of experimental psychology”, Tissié, the founder of French physical education and Legion of Honor awardee in 1932, and de Coubertin who became the father of the modern Olympic movement and founder of the International Olympic Committee.

Sport psychology flourished in the early 20 th century [see 1, 3 for extensive historic details]. For instance, independent laboratories emerged in Berlin, Germany, established by Carl Diem in 1920; in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, established respectively by Avksenty Puni and Piotr Roudik in 1925; and in Champaign, Illinois USA, established by Coleman Griffith, also in 1925. The period from 1950–1980 saw rapid strides in sport psychology, with Franklin Henry establishing this field of study as independent of physical education in the landscape of American and eventually global sport science and kinesiology graduate programs [ 1 ]. In addition, of great importance in the 1960s, three international sport psychology organizations were established: namely, the International Society for Sport Psychology (1965), the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (1966), and the European Federation of Sport Psychology (1969). Since that time, the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (1986), the South American Society for Sport Psychology (1986), and the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (1989) have also been established.

The global growth in academic sport psychology has seen a large number of specialist publications launched, including the following journals: International Journal of Sport Psychology (1970), Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (1979), The Sport Psychologist (1987), Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (1989), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2000), International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2003), Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2007), International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2008), Journal of Sport Psychology in Action (2010), Sport , Exercise , and Performance Psychology (2014), and the Asian Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (2021).

In turn, the growth in journal outlets has seen sport psychology publications burgeon. Indicative of the scale of the contemporary literature on sport psychology, searches completed in May 2021 within the Web of Science Core Collection, identified 1,415 publications on goal setting and sport since 1985; 5,303 publications on confidence and sport since 1961; and 3,421 publications on anxiety and sport since 1980. In addition to academic journals, several comprehensive edited textbooks have been produced detailing sport psychology developments across the world, such as Hanrahan and Andersen’s (2010) Handbook of Applied Sport Psychology [ 9 ], Schinke, McGannon, and Smith’s (2016) International Handbook of Sport Psychology [ 10 ], and Bertollo, Filho, and Terry’s (2021) Advancements in Mental Skills Training [ 11 ] to name just a few. In short, sport psychology is global in both academic study and professional practice.

Meta-analysis in sport psychology

Several meta-analysis guides, computer programs, and sport psychology domain-specific primers have been popularized in the social sciences [ 12 , 13 ]. Sport psychology academics have conducted quantitative reviews on much studied constructs since the 1980s, with the first two appearing in 1983 in the form of Feltz and Landers’ meta-analysis on mental practice [ 14 ], which included 98 articles dating from 1934, and Bond and Titus’ cross-disciplinary meta-analysis on social facilitation [ 15 ], which summarized 241 studies including Triplett’s (1898) often-cited study of social facilitation in cycling [ 16 ]. Although much meta-analytic evidence exists for various constructs in sport and exercise psychology [ 12 ] including several related to performance [ 17 ], the evidence is inconsistent. For example, two meta-analyses, both ostensibly summarizing evidence of the benefits to performance of task cohesion [ 18 , 19 ], produced very different mean effects ( d = .24 vs d = 1.00) indicating that the true benefit lies somewhere in a wide range from small to large. Thus, the lack of a reliable evidence base for the use of sport psychology techniques represents a significant gap in the knowledge base for practitioners and researchers alike. A comprehensive systematic review of all published meta-analyses in the field of sport psychology has yet to be published.

Purpose and aim

We consider this review to be both necessary and long overdue for the following reasons: (a) the extensive history of sport psychology and performance research; (b) the prior publication of many meta-analyses summarizing various aspects of sport psychology research in a piecemeal fashion [ 12 , 17 ] but not its totality; and (c) the importance of better understanding and hopefully improving sport performance via the use of interventions based on solid evidence of their efficacy. Hence, we aimed to collate and evaluate this literature in a systematic way to gain improved understanding of the impact of sport psychology variables on sport performance by construct, research design, and meta-analysis quality, to enhance practical knowledge of sport psychology techniques and identify future lines of research inquiry. By systematically reviewing all identifiable meta-analytic reviews linking sport psychology techniques with sport performance, we aimed to evaluate the strength of the evidence base underpinning sport psychology interventions.

Materials and methods

This systematic review of meta-analyses followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [ 20 ]. We did not register our systematic review protocol in a database. However, we specified our search strategy, inclusion criteria, data extraction, and data analyses in advance of writing our manuscript. All details of our work are available from the lead author. Concerning ethics, this systematic review received a waiver from Texas Tech University Human Subject Review Board as it concerned archival data (i.e., published meta-analyses).

Eligibility criteria

Published meta-analyses were retained for extensive examination if they met the following inclusion criteria: (a) included meta-analytic data such as mean group, between or within-group differences or correlates; (b) published prior to January 31, 2021; (c) published in a peer-reviewed journal; (d) investigated a recognized sport psychology construct; and (e) meta-analyzed data concerned with sport performance. There was no language of publication restriction. To align with our systematic review objectives, we gave much consideration to study participants and performance outcomes. Across multiple checks, all authors confirmed study eligibility. Three authors (ML, AL, and PT) completed the final inclusion assessments.

Information sources

Authors searched electronic databases, personal meta-analysis history, and checked with personal research contacts. Electronic database searches occurred in EBSCOhost with the following individual databases selected: APA PsycINFO, ERIC, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SPORTDiscus. An initial search concluded October 1, 2020. ML, AL, and PT rechecked the identified studies during the February–March, 2021 period, which resulted in the identification of two additional meta-analyses [ 21 , 22 ].

Search protocol

ML and ES initially conducted independent database searches. For the first search, ML used the following search terms: sport psychology with meta-analysis or quantitative review and sport and performance or sport* performance. For the second search, ES utilized a sport psychology textbook and used the chapter title terms (e.g., goal setting). In EBSCOhost, both searches used the advanced search option that provided three separate boxes for search terms such as box 1 (sport psychology), box 2 (meta-analysis), and box 3 (performance). Specific details of our search strategy were:

Search by ML:

• sport psychology, meta-analysis, sport and performance
• sport psychology, meta-analysis or quantitative review, sport* performance
• sport psychology, quantitative review, sport and performance
• sport psychology, quantitative review, sport* performance

Search by ES:

• mental practice or mental imagery or mental rehearsal and sports performance and meta-analysis
• goal setting and sports performance and meta-analysis
• anxiety and stress and sports performance and meta-analysis
• competition and sports performance and meta-analysis
• diversity and sports performance and meta-analysis
• cohesion and sports performance and meta-analysis
• imagery and sports performance and meta-analysis
• self-confidence and sports performance and meta-analysis
• concentration and sports performance and meta-analysis
• athletic injuries and sports performance and meta-analysis
• overtraining and sports performance and meta-analysis
• children and sports performance and meta-analysis

The following specific search of the EBSCOhost with SPORTDiscus, APA PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and ERIC databases, returned six results from 2002–2020, of which three were included [ 18 , 19 , 23 ] and three were excluded because they were not meta-analyses.

• Box 1 cohesion
• Box 2 sports performance
• Box 3 meta-analysis

Study selection

As detailed in the PRISMA flow chart ( Fig 1 ) and the specified inclusion criteria, a thorough study selection process was used. As mentioned in the search protocol, two authors (ML and ES) engaged independently with two separate searches and then worked together to verify the selected studies. Next, AL and PT examined the selected study list for accuracy. ML, AL, and PT, whilst rating the quality of included meta-analyses, also re-examined all selected studies to verify that each met the predetermined study inclusion criteria. Throughout the study selection process, disagreements were resolved through discussion until consensus was reached.

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.g001

Data extraction process

Initially, ML, TH, and ES extracted data items 1, 2, 3 and 8 (see Data items). Subsequently, ML, AL, and PT extracted the remaining data (items 4–7, 9, 10). Checks occurred during the extraction process for potential discrepancies (e.g., checking the number of primary studies in a meta-analysis). It was unnecessary to contact any meta-analysis authors for missing information or clarification during the data extraction process because all studies reported the required information. Across the search for meta-analyses, all identified studies were reported in English. Thus, no translation software or searching out a native speaker occurred. All data extraction forms (e.g., data items and individual meta-analysis quality) are available from the first author.

To help address our main aim, we extracted the following information from each meta-analysis: (1) author(s); (2) publication year; (3) construct(s); (4) intervention based meta-analysis (yes, no, mix); (5) performance outcome(s) description; (6) number of studies for the performance outcomes; (7) participant description; (8) main findings; (9) bias correction method/results; and (10) author(s) stated conclusions. For all information sought, we coded missing information as not reported.

Individual meta-analysis quality

ML, AL, and PT independently rated the quality of individual meta-analysis on the following 25 points found in the PRISMA checklist [ 20 ]: title; abstract structured summary; introduction rationale, objectives, and protocol and registration; methods eligibility criteria, information sources, search, study selection, data collection process, data items, risk of bias of individual studies, summary measures, synthesis of results, and risk of bias across studies; results study selection, study characteristics, risk of bias within studies, results of individual studies, synthesis of results, and risk of bias across studies; discussion summary of evidence, limitations, and conclusions; and funding. All meta-analyses were rated for quality by two coders to facilitate inter-coder reliability checks, and the mean quality ratings were used in subsequent analyses. One author (PT), having completed his own ratings, received the incoming ratings from ML and AL and ran the inter-coder analysis. Two rounds of ratings occurred due to discrepancies for seven meta-analyses, mainly between ML and AL. As no objective quality categorizations (i.e., a point system for grouping meta-analyses as poor, medium, good) currently exist, each meta-analysis was allocated a quality score of up to a maximum of 25 points. All coding records are available upon request.

Planned methods of analysis

Several preplanned methods of analysis occurred. We first assessed the mean quality rating of each meta-analysis based on our 25-point PRISMA-based rating system. Next, we used a median split of quality ratings to determine whether standardized mean effects (SMDs) differed by the two formed categories, higher and lower quality meta-analyses. Meta-analysis authors reported either of two different effect size metrics (i.e., r and SMD); hence we converted all correlational effects to SMD (i.e., Cohen’s d ) values using an online effect size calculator ( www.polyu.edu.hk/mm/effectsizefaqs/calculator/calculator.html ). We interpreted the meaningfulness of effects based on Cohen’s interpretation [ 24 ] with 0.20 as small, 0.50 as medium, 0.80 as large, and 1.30 as very large. As some psychological variables associate negatively with performance (e.g., confusion [ 25 ], cognitive anxiety [ 26 ]) whereas others associate positively (e.g., cohesion [ 23 ], mental practice [ 14 ]), we grouped meta-analyses according to whether the hypothesized effect with performance was positive or negative, and summarized the overall effects separately. By doing so, we avoided a scenario whereby the demonstrated positive and negative effects canceled one another out when combined. The effect of somatic anxiety on performance, which is hypothesized to follow an inverted-U relationship, was categorized as neutral [ 35 ]. Last, we grouped the included meta-analyses according to whether the primary studies were correlational in nature or involved an intervention and summarized these two groups of meta-analyses separately.

Study characteristics

Table 1 contains extracted data from 30 meta-analyses meeting the inclusion criteria, dating from 1983 [ 14 ] to 2021 [ 21 ]. The number of primary studies within the meta-analyses ranged from three [ 27 ] to 109 [ 28 ]. In terms of the description of participants included in the meta-analyses, 13 included participants described simply as athletes, whereas other meta-analyses identified a mix of elite athletes (e.g., professional, Olympic), recreational athletes, college-aged volunteers (many from sport science departments), younger children to adolescents, and adult exercisers. Of the 30 included meta-analyses, the majority ( n = 18) were published since 2010. The decadal breakdown of meta-analyses was 1980–1989 ( n = 1 [ 14 ]), 1990–1999 ( n = 6 [ 29 – 34 ]), 2000–2009 ( n = 5 [ 23 , 25 , 26 , 35 , 36 ]), 2010–2019 ( n = 12 [ 18 , 19 , 22 , 27 , 37 – 43 , 48 ]), and 2020–2021 ( n = 6 [ 21 , 28 , 44 – 47 ]).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.t001

As for the constructs covered, we categorized the 30 meta-analyses into the following areas: mental practice/imagery [ 14 , 29 , 30 , 42 , 46 , 47 ], anxiety [ 26 , 31 , 32 , 35 ], confidence [ 26 , 35 , 36 ], cohesion [ 18 , 19 , 23 ], goal orientation [ 22 , 44 , 48 ], mood [ 21 , 25 , 34 ], emotional intelligence [ 40 ], goal setting [ 33 ], interventions [ 37 ], mindfulness [ 27 ], music [ 28 ], neurofeedback training [ 43 ], perfectionism [ 39 ], pressure training [ 45 ], quiet eye training [ 41 ], and self-talk [ 38 ]. Multiple effects were generated from meta-analyses that included more than one construct (e.g., tension, depression, etc. [ 21 ]; anxiety and confidence [ 26 ]). In relation to whether the meta-analyses included in our review assessed the effects of a sport psychology intervention on performance or relationships between psychological constructs and performance, 13 were intervention-based, 14 were correlational, two included a mix of study types, and one included a large majority of cross-sectional studies ( Table 1 ).

A wide variety of performance outcomes across many sports was evident, such as golf putting, dart throwing, maximal strength, and juggling; or categorical outcomes such as win/loss and Olympic team selection. Given the extensive list of performance outcomes and the incomplete descriptions provided in some meta-analyses, a clear categorization or count of performance types was not possible. Sufficient to conclude, researchers utilized many performance outcomes across a wide range of team and individual sports, motor skills, and strength and aerobic tasks.

Effect size data and bias correction

To best summarize the effects, we transformed all correlations to SMD values (i.e., Cohen’s d ). Across all included meta-analyses shown in Table 2 and depicted in Fig 2 , we identified 61 effects. Having corrected for bias, effect size values were assessed for meaningfulness [ 24 ], which resulted in 15 categorized as negligible (< ±0.20), 29 as small (±0.20 to < 0.50), 13 as moderate (±0.50 to < 0.80), 2 as large (±0.80 to < 1.30), and 1 as very large (≥ 1.30).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.g002

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.t002

Study quality rating results and summary analyses

Following our PRISMA quality ratings, intercoder reliability coefficients were initially .83 (ML, AL), .95 (ML, PT), and .90 (AL, PT), with a mean intercoder reliability coefficient of .89. To achieve improved reliability (i.e., r mean > .90), ML and AL re-examined their ratings. As a result, intercoder reliability increased to .98 (ML, AL), .96 (ML, PT), and .92 (AL, PT); a mean intercoder reliability coefficient of .95. Final quality ratings (i.e., the mean of two coders) ranged from 13 to 25 ( M = 19.03 ± 4.15). Our median split into higher ( M = 22.83 ± 1.08, range 21.5–25, n = 15) and lower ( M = 15.47 ± 2.42, range 13–20.5, n = 15) quality groups produced significant between-group differences in quality ( F 1,28 = 115.62, p < .001); hence, the median split met our intended purpose. The higher quality group of meta-analyses were published from 2015–2021 (median 2018) and the lower quality group from 1983–2014 (median 2000). It appears that meta-analysis standards have risen over the years since the PRISMA criteria were first introduced in 2009. All data for our analyses are shown in Table 2 .

Table 3 contains summary statistics with bias-corrected values used in the analyses. The overall mean effect for sport psychology constructs hypothesized to have a positive impact on performance was of moderate magnitude ( d = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.58, n = 36). The overall mean effect for sport psychology constructs hypothesized to have a negative impact on performance was small in magnitude ( d = -0.21, 95% CI -0.31, -0.11, n = 24). In both instances, effects were larger, although not significantly so, among meta-analyses of higher quality compared to those of lower quality. Similarly, mean effects were larger but not significantly so, where reported effects in the original studies were based on interventional rather than correlational designs. This trend only applied to hypothesized positive effects because none of the original studies in the meta-analyses related to hypothesized negative effects used interventional designs.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.t003

In this systematic review of meta-analyses, we synthesized the available evidence regarding effects of sport psychology interventions/constructs on sport performance. We aimed to consolidate the literature, evaluate the potential for meta-analysis quality to influence the results, and suggest recommendations for future research at both the single study and quantitative review stages. During the systematic review process, several meta-analysis characteristics came to light, such as the number of meta-analyses of sport psychology interventions (experimental designs) compared to those summarizing the effects of psychological constructs (correlation designs) on performance, the number of meta-analyses with exclusively athletes as participants, and constructs featuring in multiple meta-analyses, some of which (e.g., cohesion) produced very different effect size values. Thus, although our overall aim was to evaluate the strength of the evidence base for use of psychological interventions in sport, we also discuss the impact of these meta-analysis characteristics on the reliability of the evidence.

When seen collectively, results of our review are supportive of using sport psychology techniques to help improve performance and confirm that variations in psychological constructs relate to variations in performance. For constructs hypothesized to have a positive effect on performance, the mean effect strength was moderate ( d = 0.51) although there was substantial variation between constructs. For example, the beneficial effects on performance of task cohesion ( d = 1.00) and self-efficacy ( d = 0.82) are large, and the available evidence base for use of mindfulness interventions suggests a very large beneficial effect on performance ( d = 1.35). Conversely, some hypothetically beneficial effects (2 of 36; 5.6%) were in the negligible-to-small range (0.15–0.20) and most beneficial effects (19 of 36; 52.8%) were in the small-to-moderate range (0.22–0.49). It should be noted that in the world of sport, especially at the elite level, even a small beneficial effect on performance derived from a psychological intervention may prove the difference between success and failure and hence small effects may be of great practical value. To put the scale of the benefits into perspective, an authoritative and extensively cited review of healthy eating and physical activity interventions [ 49 ] produced an overall pooled effect size of 0.31 (compared to 0.51 for our study), suggesting sport psychology interventions designed to improve performance are generally more effective than interventions designed to promote healthy living.

Among hypothetically negative effects (e.g., ego climate, cognitive anxiety, depression), the mean detrimental effect was small ( d = -0.21) although again substantial variation among constructs was evident. Some hypothetically negative constructs (5 of 24; 20.8%) were found to actually provide benefits to performance, albeit in the negligible range (0.02–0.12) and only two constructs (8.3%), both from Lochbaum and colleagues’ POMS meta-analysis [ 21 ], were shown to negatively affect performance above a moderate level (depression: d = -0.64; total mood disturbance, which incorporates the depression subscale: d = -0.84). Readers should note that the POMS and its derivatives assess six specific mood dimensions rather than the mood construct more broadly, and therefore results should not be extrapolated to other dimensions of mood [ 50 ].

Mean effects were larger among higher quality than lower quality meta-analyses for both hypothetically positive ( d = 0.54 vs d = 0.45) and negative effects ( d = -0.25 vs d = 0.17), but in neither case were the differences significant. It is reasonable to assume that the true effects were derived from the higher quality meta-analyses, although our conclusions remain the same regardless of study quality. Overall, our findings provide a more rigorous evidence base for the use of sport psychology techniques by practitioners than was previously available, representing a significant contribution to knowledge. Moreover, our systematic scrutiny of 30 meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 has facilitated a series of recommendations to improve the quality of future investigations in the sport psychology area.

Recommendations

The development of sport psychology as an academic discipline and area of professional practice relies on using evidence and theory to guide practice. Hence, a strong evidence base for the applied work of sport psychologists is of paramount importance. Although the beneficial effects of some sport psychology techniques are small, it is important to note the larger performance benefits for other techniques, which may be extremely meaningful for applied practice. Overall, however, especially given the heterogeneity of the observed effects, it would be wise for applied practitioners to avoid overpromising the benefits of sport psychology services to clients and perhaps underdelivering as a result [ 1 ].

The results of our systematic review can be used to generate recommendations for how the profession might conduct improved research to better inform applied practice. Much of the early research in sport psychology was exploratory and potential moderating variables were not always sufficiently controlled. Terry [ 51 ] outlined this in relation to the study of mood-performance relationships, identifying that physical and skills factors will very likely exert a greater influence on performance than psychological factors. Further, type of sport (e.g., individual vs. team), duration of activity (e.g., short vs. long duration), level of competition (e.g., elite vs. recreational), and performance measure (e.g., norm-referenced vs. self-referenced) have all been implicated as potential moderators of the relationship between psychological variables and sport performance [ 51 ]. To detect the relatively subtle effects of psychological effects on performance, research designs need to be sufficiently sensitive to such potential confounds. Several specific methodological issues are worth discussing.

The first issue relates to measurement. Investigating the strength of a relationship requires the measured variables to be valid, accurate and reliable. Psychological variables in the meta-analyses we reviewed relied primarily on self-report outcome measures. The accuracy of self-report data requires detailed inner knowledge of thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Research shows that the accuracy of self-report information is subject to substantial individual differences [ 52 , 53 ]. Therefore, self-report data, at best, are an estimate of the measure. Measurement issues are especially relevant to the assessment of performance, and considerable measurement variation was evident between meta-analyses. Some performance measures were more sensitive, especially those assessing physical performance relative to what is normal for the individual performer (i.e., self-referenced performance). Hence, having multiple baseline indicators of performance increases the probability of identifying genuine performance enhancement derived from a psychological intervention [ 54 ].

A second issue relates to clarifying the rationale for how and why specific psychological variables might influence performance. A comprehensive review of prerequisites and precursors of athletic talent [ 55 ] concluded that the superiority of Olympic champions over other elite athletes is determined in part by a range of psychological variables, including high intrinsic motivation, determination, dedication, persistence, and creativity, thereby identifying performance-related variables that might benefit from a psychological intervention. Identifying variables that influence the effectiveness of interventions is a challenging but essential issue for researchers seeking to control and assess factors that might influence results [ 49 ]. A key part of this process is to use theory to propose the mechanism(s) by which an intervention might affect performance and to hypothesize how large the effect might be.

A third issue relates to the characteristics of the research participants involved. Out of convenience, it is not uncommon for researchers to use undergraduate student participants for research projects, which may bias results and restrict the generalization of findings to the population of primary interest, often elite athletes. The level of training and physical conditioning of participants will clearly influence their performance. Highly trained athletes will typically make smaller gains in performance over time than novice athletes, due to a ceiling effect (i.e., they have less room for improvement). For example, consider runner A, who takes 20 minutes to run 5km one week but 19 minutes the next week, and Runner B who takes 30 minutes one week and 25 minutes the next. If we compare the two, Runner A runs faster than Runner B on both occasions, but Runner B improved more, so whose performance was better? If we also consider Runner C, a highly trained athlete with a personal best of 14 minutes, to run 1 minute quicker the following week would almost require a world record time, which is clearly unlikely. For this runner, an improvement of a few seconds would represent an excellent performance. Evidence shows that trained, highly motivated athletes may reach performance plateaus and as such are good candidates for psychological skills training. They are less likely to make performance gains due to increased training volume and therefore the impact of psychological skills interventions may emerge more clearly. Therefore, both test-retest and cross-sectional research designs should account for individual difference variables. Further, the range of individual difference factors will be context specific; for example, individual differences in strength will be more important in a study that uses weightlifting as the performance measure than one that uses darts as the performance measure, where individual differences in skill would be more important.

A fourth factor that has not been investigated extensively relates to the variables involved in learning sport psychology techniques. Techniques such as imagery, self-talk and goal setting all require cognitive processing and as such some people will learn them faster than others [ 56 ]. Further, some people are intuitive self-taught users of, for example, mood regulation strategies such as abdominal breathing or listening to music who, if recruited to participate in a study investigating the effects of learning such techniques on performance, would respond differently to novice users. Hence, a major challenge when testing the effects of a psychological intervention is to establish suitable controls. A traditional non-treatment group offers one option, but such an approach does not consider the influence of belief effects (i.e., placebo/nocebo), which can either add or detract from the effectiveness of performance interventions [ 57 ]. If an individual believes that, an intervention will be effective, this provides a motivating effect for engagement and so performance may improve via increased effort rather than the effect of the intervention per se.

When there are positive beliefs that an intervention will work, it becomes important to distinguish belief effects from the proposed mechanism through which the intervention should be successful. Research has shown that field studies often report larger effects than laboratory studies, a finding attributed to higher motivation among participants in field studies [ 58 ]. If participants are motivated to improve, being part of an active training condition should be associated with improved performance regardless of any intervention. In a large online study of over 44,000 participants, active training in sport psychology interventions was associated with improved performance, but only marginally more than for an active control condition [ 59 ]. The study involved 4-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson narrating both the intervention and active control using motivational encouragement in both conditions. Researchers should establish not only the expected size of an effect but also to specify and assess why the intervention worked. Where researchers report performance improvement, it is fundamental to explain the proposed mechanism by which performance was enhanced and to test the extent to which the improvement can be explained by the proposed mechanism(s).

Limitations

Systematic reviews are inherently limited by the quality of the primary studies included. Our review was also limited by the quality of the meta-analyses that had summarized the primary studies. We identified the following specific limitations; (1) only 12 meta-analyses summarized primary studies that were exclusively intervention-based, (2) the lack of detail regarding control groups in the intervention meta-analyses, (3) cross-sectional and correlation-based meta-analyses by definition do not test causation, and therefore provide limited direct evidence of the efficacy of interventions, (4) the extensive array of performance measures even within a single meta-analysis, (5) the absence of mechanistic explanations for the observed effects, and (6) an absence of detail across intervention-based meta-analyses regarding number of sessions, participants’ motivation to participate, level of expertise, and how the intervention was delivered. To ameliorate these concerns, we included a quality rating for all included meta-analyses. Having created higher and lower quality groups using a median split of quality ratings, we showed that effects were larger, although not significantly so, in the higher quality group of meta-analyses, all of which were published since 2015.

Conclusions

Journals are full of studies that investigate relationships between psychological variables and sport performance. Since 1983, researchers have utilized meta-analytic methods to summarize these single studies, and the pace is accelerating, with six relevant meta-analyses published since 2020. Unquestionably, sport psychology and performance research is fraught with limitations related to unsophisticated experimental designs. In our aggregation of the effect size values, most were small-to-moderate in meaningfulness with a handful of large values. Whether these moderate and large values could be replicated using more sophisticated research designs is unknown. We encourage use of improved research designs, at the minimum the use of control conditions. Likewise, we encourage researchers to adhere to meta-analytic guidelines such as PRISMA and for journals to insist on such adherence as a prerequisite for the acceptance of reviews. Although such guidelines can appear as a ‘painting by numbers’ approach, while reviewing the meta-analyses, we encountered difficulty in assessing and finding pertinent information for our study characteristics and quality ratings. In conclusion, much research exists in the form of quantitative reviews of studies published since 1934, almost 100 years after the very first publication about sport psychology and performance [ 2 ]. Sport psychology is now truly global in terms of academic pursuits and professional practice and the need for best practice information plus a strong evidence base for the efficacy of interventions is paramount. We should strive as a profession to research and provide best practices to athletes and the general community of those seeking performance improvements.

Supporting information

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263408.s001

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the work of all academics since Koch in 1830 [ 2 ] for their efforts to research and promote the practice of applied sport psychology.

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What We’ve Learned Through Sports Psychology Research

Scientists are probing the head games that influence athletic performance, from coaching to coping with pressure

Tom Siegfried, Knowable Magazine

Since the early years of this century, it has been commonplace for computerized analyses of athletic statistics to guide a baseball manager’s choice of pinch hitter, a football coach’s decision to punt or pass, or a basketball team’s debate over whether to trade a star player for a draft pick.

But many sports experts who actually watch the games know that the secret to success is not solely in computer databases, but also inside the players’ heads. So perhaps psychologists can offer as much insight into athletic achievement as statistics gurus do.

Sports psychology has, after all, been around a lot longer than computer analytics. Psychological studies of sports appeared as early as the late 19th century. During the 1970s and ’80s, sports psychology became a fertile research field. And within the last decade or so, sports psychology research has exploded as scientists have explored the nuances of everything from the pursuit of perfection to the harms of abusive coaching.

“Sport pervades cultures, continents and indeed many facets of daily life,” write Mark Beauchamp, Alan Kingstone and Nikos Ntoumanis, authors of an overview of sports psychology research in the 2023 Annual Review of Psychology .

Their review surveys findings from nearly 150 papers investigating various psychological influences on athletic performance and success. “This body of work sheds light on the diverse ways in which psychological processes contribute to athletic strivings,” the authors write. Such research has the potential not only to enhance athletic performance, they say, but also to provide insights into psychological influences on success in other realms, from education to the military. Psychological knowledge can aid competitive performance under pressure, help evaluate the benefit of pursuing perfection and assess the pluses and minuses of high self-confidence.

Confidence and choking

In sports, high self-confidence (technical term: elevated self-efficacy belief) is generally considered to be a plus. As baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan once said, “You have to have a lot of confidence to be successful in this game.” Many a baseball manager would agree that a batter who lacks confidence against a given pitcher is unlikely to get to first base.

And a lot of psychological research actually supports that view, suggesting that encouraging self-confidence is a beneficial strategy. Yet while confident athletes do seem to perform better than those afflicted with self-doubt, some studies hint that for a given player, excessive confidence can be detrimental. Artificially inflated confidence, unchecked by honest feedback, may cause players to “fail to allocate sufficient resources based on their overestimated sense of their capabilities,” Beauchamp and colleagues write. In other words, overconfidence may result in underachievement.

Other work shows that high confidence is usually most useful in the most challenging situations (such as attempting a 60-yard field goal), while not helping as much for simpler tasks (like kicking an extra point).

Of course, the ease of kicking either a long field goal or an extra point depends a lot on the stress of the situation. With time running out and the game on the line, a routine play can become an anxiety-inducing trial by fire. Psychological research, Beauchamp and co-authors report, has clearly established that athletes often exhibit “impaired performance under pressure-invoking situations” (technical term: “choking”).

In general, stress impairs not only the guidance of movements but also perceptual ability and decision-making. On the other hand, it’s also true that certain elite athletes perform best under high stress. “There is also insightful evidence that some of the most successful performers actually seek out, and thrive on, anxiety-invoking contexts offered by high-pressure sport,” the authors note. Just ask Michael Jordan or LeBron James.

Many studies have investigated the psychological coping strategies that athletes use to maintain focus and ignore distractions in high-pressure situations. One popular method is a technique known as the “quiet eye.” A basketball player attempting a free throw is typically more likely to make it by maintaining “a longer and steadier gaze” at the basket before shooting, studies have demonstrated.

“In a recent systematic review of interventions designed to alleviate so-called choking, quiet-eye training was identified as being among the most effective approaches,” Beauchamp and co-authors write.

Another common stress-coping method is “self-talk,” in which players utter instructional or motivational phrases to themselves in order to boost performance. Saying “I can do it” or “I feel good” can self-motivate a marathon runner, for example. Saying “eye on the ball” might help a baseball batter get a hit.

Researchers have found moderate benefits of self-talk strategies for both novices and experienced athletes, Beauchamp and colleagues report. Various studies suggest that self-talk can increase confidence, enhance focus, control emotions and initiate effective actions.

Moderate performance benefits have also been reported for other techniques for countering stress, such as biofeedback, and possibly meditation and relaxation training.

“It appears that stress regulation interventions represent a promising means of supporting athletes when confronted with performance-related stressors,” Beauchamp and co-authors conclude.

Pursuing athletic perfection

Of course, sports psychology encompasses many other issues besides influencing confidence and coping with pressure. Many athletes set a goal of attaining perfection, for example, but such striving can induce detrimental psychological pressures. One analysis found that athletes pursuing purely personal high standards generally achieved superior performance. But when perfectionism was motivated by fear of criticism from others, performance suffered.

Similarly, while some coaching strategies can aid a player’s performance, several studies have shown that abusive coaching can detract from performance, even for the rest of an athlete’s career.

Beauchamp and his collaborators conclude that a large suite of psychological factors and strategies can aid athletic success. And these factors may well be applicable to other areas of human endeavor where choking can impair performance (say, while performing brain surgery or flying a fighter jet).

But the authors also point out that researchers shouldn’t neglect the need to consider that in sports, performance is also affected by the adversarial nature of competition. A pitcher’s psychological strategies that are effective against most hitters might not fare so well against Shohei Ohtani, for instance.

Besides that, sports psychology studies (much like computer-based analytics ) rely on statistics. As Adolphe Quetelet, a pioneer of social statistics, emphasized in the 19th century, statistics do not define any individual—average life expectancy cannot tell you when any given person will die. On the other hand, he noted, no single exceptional case invalidates the general conclusions from sound statistical analysis.

Sports are, in fact, all about the quest of the individual (or a team) to defeat the opposition. Success often requires defying the odds—which is why gambling on athletic events is such a big business. Sports consist of contests between the averages and the exceptions, and neither computer analytics nor psychological science can tell you in advance who is going to win. That’s why they play the games.

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EDITORIAL article

Editorial: advances in sport science: latest findings and new scientific proposals.

• 1 Department of Science of Physical Activity and Sport, Pontifical University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
• 2 Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
• 3 Department of Science of Physical Activity and Sport, Catholic University of Valencia “San Vicente Mártir”, Valencia, Spain
• 4 Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
• 5 Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e Educação Física, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
• 6 Department of Physical and Sports Education, University of A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
• 7 Institut Nacional d'Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC). University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Editorial of the Research Topic Editorial: Advances in Sport Science: Latest Findings and New Scientific Proposals

Although sport as an activity has been practiced for much of modern history, sports sciences were not considered a discipline of academic tradition until the 20th century ( Fernández and García, 2018 ). The purpose and function of sport sciences are to investigate questions about motor behavior and performance, which must be solved on a scientific basis.

According to data from PubMed, scientific research on sport sciences has increased in the last 10 years. Specifically, it is possible to affirm that more scientific studies were published in the 2010–2020 decade than in the entire previous period (1945–2009) ( Maneiro, 2021 ). This brings us closer to the idea that this area of knowledge is in full expansion and apogee, in which sports scientists have a fundamental role.

Analyzing more specifically the different fields of study, it is possible to affirm that some fields have more robust growth, while in others their growth is more moderate. Specifically, areas such as rehabilitation, exercise, or biomechanics show very notable growth, while others such as sports injuries, motor behavior analysis, performance analysis, or strength training show less notable growth ( González et al., 2018 ).

This special Research Topic entitled “ Advances in Sport Science: Latest Findings and New Scientific Proposals ” began with a double objective: on the one hand, to offer a space where scientists can continue to delve into the most consolidated scientific disciplines; and on the other hand, to open a path where those areas that still need more research could have a place. As a result, the great impact it has had on the community is noteworthy, to the extent that 27 articles have been published by 130 authors, and with a total global impact of almost 61,000 visits from multiple different countries, which has increased and improved knowledge on the following topics: performance analysis in individual and team sports (15 articles), the impact of COVID-19 on performance (3 articles), executive functions and physical fitness at an early age (3 articles), physical activity in older people (1 article), and psychological profiles in performance athletes (6 articles).

Overview of Contributions

The analysis of sports performance has been the subject that research has most concentrated on. This is no coincidence, since the abundance of currently existing sports disciplines demands research that results in potential recommendations with empirical support. More specifically, football is the sport that has been the subject of most research, specifically with five studies, and they have focused on the comparison of goal scoring patterns in the main European leagues ( Li and Zhao ), the peak performance age of top-level soccer players ( Oterhals et al. ), differences in technical and space management actions in three UEFA Champions League finals ( Amatria et al. ), the analysis of one of the most important rules of the game in soccer, such as offside ( Zhao ), and the opinion of game analysts on different aspects of the game ( Aguado-Méndez et al. ). All these studies have allowed us to increase our knowledge about different variables that may be modulating success in performance football. The analysis of other team sports, such as volleyball, assessed the efficiency of the training process with different methodologies ( Fernández-Echevarría et al. ), the influence of the yips (psycho-neuromuscular disorder characterized by involuntary movements that disrupt the execution of automatic fine motor behavior) in college baseball players (Aoyama et al.), the analysis of ultimate frisbee from different criteria such as where more passes are made and what behaviors differentiate the winning teams from the losers ( Lam et al. ) and, finally, it has been shown that in sports such as rowing ( Gavala-González et al. ) there is a relationship between the academic record of athletes and sports performance. Specifically, rowers who obtain better academic grades have higher levels of involvement in the tests, and therefore better sports results.

On the other hand, individual sports have also had a special space within the topic. An example is the study by León-Guereño et al. , where they analyze the influence of different variables such as age, sex, or marital status on the motivation toward endurance sports such as athletics; on the other hand, badminton (an individual or dual sport) has also had a special mention with two articles: the study by Torres-Luque et al. has proposed the design and validation of an observation instrument for the analysis of technical and tactical behaviors in badminton; and the study by Guo et al. , where they analyzed the effect of combined balance and plyometric training on change of direction performance in a 6-week program. Finally, the work of Núñez-Barriopedro et al. , with a sample of 682 karate fighters, analyzed the strategies of karate federations to attract and retain competitors through variables such as happiness and how it modulates performance.

Of course, this special Research Topic could not ignore the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the training and sports performance of athletes. In this sense, three studies have focused their efforts on the impact not only of COVID, but also the performance within the bubble in world championships. More specifically, the work of Gentile et al. analyzes how the pandemic influenced different psychological variables such as stress and the ability to fall asleep in the “bubble” at the 2020 World Samboo Championships; on the other hand, the work of McLean et al. , using the STS (sociotechnical systems) theory shows that the sports teams of the Australian Football League can take advantage of the circumstances of the pandemic to improve the efficiency of their departments; and finally, the study by Bobo-Arce et al. collects 302 interviews with rhythmic gymnastics coaches from 26 different countries, where they conclude that although gymnasts continued training during confinement, almost 3 out of 4 reported some abandonment of sports practice, also proposing training advice for future lockdowns.

A novel feature of this Research Topic has been the attention paid to early ages from two perspectives: the assessment of physical fitness in boys and girls, as well as their related executive functions. In this sense, the work of Escolano-Pérez et al. examined the influence of early environmental variables such as the type of feeding or the mode of delivery and some biological variables (sex and age) on pre-school motor skills, finding notable differences between them based on sex and type of delivery, among others. The study by Veraksa et al. , with a sample of 261 boys and girls from 5 to 6 years of age, tried to identify the possible different levels of physical fitness among them, in addition to an analysis of their executive functions. Lastly, the ambitious study by Iglesias-Soler et al. , entitled “Percentiles and principal component analysis of physical fitness from a big sample of children and adolescents aged 6–18 years: the DAFIS Project” with more than 15,000 young people from Galicia, concluded that the physical condition was better in boys than in girls, and that the distribution of fat mass and muscle performance had a high proportion of variation in physical fitness. On the other hand, physical activity in older people has also had a special place in this Research Topic with the article “Physical activity and life satisfactions: an empirical study in a population of senior citizens” by Wöbbeking et al. , where, with a sample of 300 older subjects, the influence of various sociodemographic variables (age, sex, institutionalization, and level of education) on the performance of physical activity is analyzed, demonstrating that people with a higher level of education present differences in physical and motivational reserves, and that the latter affect healthy cognitive aging.

Another novel research focus in the current Research Topic has been the inclusion of studies on eye fixation and the “quiet eye” effect. The study of Dahl et al. monitored eye behavior and vision in a similar context to e-sports in more than 2,600 trials, stating that increased cognitive load delayed the onset of gaze fixation, and that the duration of the last fixation before a motor action predicted performance outcome.

Finally, the psychological approach in performance analysis was addressed in five different studies, and four different sports. In the first place, the study by Uriarte et al. focused on judo, and found that the performance indicators that made the greatest difference were psychological aspects such as motivation, stress, and team cohesion, with the motivation variable being the most important for success. On the other hand, there have been two studies that have focused on psychological aspects in archers. The study by Wu et al. studied the effects of a mindfulness intervention program (mindfulness-based peak performance, MBPP) on sports performance in 23 archers, showing that the MBPP program significantly improved shooting performance, multiple cognitive functions, and the level of negative ruminations decreased significantly. On the other hand, the investigation of Li et al. (43 archers and shooting specialists were analyzed) intended to investigate the relationship between the level of experience and interoceptive attention capacity in shooting and archery, concluding that elite athletes outperformed amateurs in different aspects and variables considered. Likewise, Peng et al. studied the relationship between competitive cognitive anxiety and motor performance in Chinese college basketball players, concluding that ego and task orientations and the “goal profile” moderate the relationship between competitive anxiety and motor performance. Finally, in the work of Mitic et al. , the differences in the psychological profiles of elite and non-elite athletes are analyzed, stating that the former are characterized by a positive score toward self-efficacy, emotionality, low negative past time perspective, emotional competence, and future time perspective, while the latter have completely opposite features. Finally, in the study entitled “Use of Stroop Test for sports psychology study: cross-over design research” by Takahashi and Grove , they used the Stroop psychological test to investigate the benefits of exercise on cognitive function, finding that there was no significant effect on the exercise mode for both Stroop and reverse Stroop interference.

Future Lines of Research

In view of the large number of published articles, all of them of high methodological and substantive quality, the present Research Topic has responded to those objectives that the editors have aspired to: to help increase scientific support around sport from different disciplines and perspectives, with the ultimate objective that these studies result in better decision-making in the practical field.

From this editorial, scientists are encouraged to continue focusing their efforts on consolidating the areas of research that have the most outstanding growth, but without forgetting areas of study that do not yet have robust scientific development, and which also need the support provided by empirical data.

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: editorial, sport science, methodology, performance analysis, high performance

Citation: Maneiro R, Losada JL, Casal CA, Papadopoulou S, Sarmento H, Ardá A, Iglesias X and Amatria M (2022) Editorial: Advances in Sport Science: Latest Findings and New Scientific Proposals. Front. Psychol. 13:891906. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.891906

Received: 08 March 2022; Accepted: 01 April 2022; Published: 28 April 2022.

Edited and reviewed by: Barkat A. Khan , Gomal University, Pakistan

Copyright © 2022 Maneiro, Losada, Casal, Papadopoulou, Sarmento, Ardá, Iglesias and Amatria. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Rubén Maneiro, rmaneirodi@upsa.es

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Edward Hebert, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Southeastern Louisiana University. His research interests include exercise motivation and adherence; and morale, efficacy, and burnout among health and wellness professionals.

Jada McGuin, MS, MHA is a health and wellness professional and the Owner/Operator of The Fitt House in Baton Rouge. Her professional interests focus on the implementation of preventative measures such as health screening, exercise, and lifestyle interventions to reduce the prevalence of chronic illness and diseases.

This study describes attitudes of adult exercisers toward female and male personal fitness trainers, and compares responses of male and female, younger vs older exercisers, and those with varying levels of exercise experience. Recruited from 4 fitness gyms, 201 adults aged 18 to 77 completed an anonymous survey where they provided relative attitude ratings toward female vs. male fitness trainers specific to the trainer’s knowledge, helping meet personal fitness goals, following their directions, comfort discussing struggles with exercise, working with the trainer for an extended time, and referring others to them. Participants rated male trainers higher for fitness knowledge, and were more willing to follow their directions, work with them for an extended time, and refer clients to them, but perceived a female trainer more favorably for discussing their struggles with exercise. Significant gender, age, and experience differences were found. Gender-biased perceptions were highest among male, older, and inexperienced exercisers, who had more positive attitudes toward male fitness trainers. Attitudes of women, younger, and experienced exercisers tended to be more neutral, and favor female trainers for meeting personal goals and discussing struggles. The results of this exploratory study suggest gender-biased exercise attitudes are influenced by participant gender, as well as age and experience, and provide impetus for additional research on exercise attitudes.

Keywords : personal training, beliefs, perceptions, biases

INTRODUCTION

Recent decades have seen a great expansion of the fitness industry signaled by an increase in the number of adults exercising in fitness centers around the world. This rise has been attributed to a number of factors including global recognition of the benefits of physical activity, endorsement of exercise by the medical community, and growth of the fitness industry (1, 29). Yet, exercise adherence remains problematic (9, 25, 37, 38, 41) and fitness clubs tend to have low retention rates (7, 17, 18, 29, 36, 42). The practice of exercising with a personal fitness trainer (PFT) has increased in popularity and personal training has become a standard feature in many settings (5, 27, 29, 43, 44). PFTs design and supervise exercise programs, and help clients set and reach personal goals. In addition, they engage in practices to promote an active lifestyle, motivate clients, and facilitate their exercise competence and self-efficacy, which can play an important role in exercise adherence (29, 35, 44). Studies of consumers consistently identify a fitness club’s staff, and fitness leaders’ instruction, feedback, and support as among the most important factors in customer satisfaction (19, 33). In addition, satisfaction with individualized training is positively associated with exercise motivation and self-efficacy (44). Consistent evidence points to the benefits of exercising with a PFT. Studies show that individuals who train with a PFT are more likely to attend exercise sessions and adhere to programs (2, 14, 22, 32). Those who train with a PFT have been found to exercise at higher intensities (31, 40) and make greater strength and fitness gains (30, 31) than those who exercise independently. These results are similar to findings comparing individuals who train alone vs. under the supervision of a fitness professional (11, 16).

Studies of fitness settings have often concluded that gender plays a role in gym-related attitudes and behaviors. In their review, Håman et al. (20) suggested fitness gym spaces are strongly associated with male bodies and norms, and gender norms influence social practices and behaviors there. Exercise motivation has been tied to weight loss for women and enhancing muscularity among men (24). Certain types of exercise are considered masculine or feminine, and exercisers have been shown to use gendered language to refer to areas of the gym (8). Interview-based studies of PFTs indicate that a clients’ gender influences their advice (20) and they recognize that gender plays a role in clients’ selection of a trainer (35).

The results of previous interview-based studies (27, 34) indicated that women prefer a female PFT. This preference is based on perceptions of being less self-conscious about their bodies with a female trainer, and the beliefs that a female trainer would better understand and empathize with their struggles with exercise and comfort levels in the gym. Survey-based research comparing perceptions of male and female fitness trainers have studied the attitudes of college students, and produced mixed results. In their study of 402 undergraduates, Fisher et al. (15) found no clear preference for a male or female PFT, yet hypothetical female PFTs received higher ratings for general perceptions of competence, and participants’ willingness to discuss progress and take instructions/corrections from them, compared to male trainers. Boerner et al. (5) similarly found that college undergraduates perceived female PFTs as more competent and knowledgeable than males. However, male students preferred to work with a male fitness trainer, while female students had no gender preference. Similarly, Magnusen and Rhea (28) found female college Division I athletes had no preference for a male or female strength coach, whereas males preferred a male coach.

Thus, research to date on attitudes toward male vs. female PFTs has provided mixed results, and survey-based studies to date have exclusively examined perceptions of college students, which may be different from non-college aged adults. In addition, research has yet to examine how attitudes toward male/female fitness trainers may vary with other potentially-influential factors such as age and exercise experience. Thus, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine attitudes toward male and female PFTs in a sample of adult members of fitness gyms, and compare responses with respect to participant gender, age, and exercise experience.

Participants

Participants were 201 (144 female; 57 male) adult members of four fitness centers from one city in the southeast United States who responded to an online survey. They ranged in age from 18 to 77 years (mean = 35.87, SD = 14.87 years). Self-reported experience levels were Beginner (n=59), Intermediate (n=91) and Advanced (n=51). Over half of the sample indicated exercising four or more times per week (54.9%), with 25.3% indicating three times per week, and 20.1% once a week. Table 1 provides the number and percent of male and female participants in age and exercise experience groups.

Prior to data collection, the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the authors’ university. Participants were recruited from fitness centers via email with the cooperation of the managers. Two facilities were small gyms that offered only individual and small group training, and two were larger traditional fitness centers that housed a variety of equipment and amenities, and provided personal training services and group exercise classes as well as independent exercise. A recruiting email with a link to an anonymous online survey was sent to all members of the two small gyms, and members of the larger gyms who had expressed interest in personal training. Participants were assured of anonymity and informed their participation was voluntary and they were providing consent to participate by completing the survey.

Data were collected February-March 2021 using a survey created for the study. Survey items were based on and relatively similar to those used in previous research on attitudes toward female/male fitness trainers (15). Item content was guided by previous research examining criteria for selecting a PFT (20, 29, 35) and on reasons people may prefer a male/female PFT (27, 34). After initial development, the survey was reviewed by researchers with expertise in fitness who provided feedback and recommendations.

The first section sought demographic information including gender, age, level of fitness experience (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), and frequency of exercise during the last month. The next section focused on participant’s attitudes about working with a PFT, specifically how their attitudes would be influenced by the trainer’s gender. It included 6 face-valid items: (1) “My belief about the trainer’s knowledge about fitness,” (2) “My belief in the trainer’s desire for me to meet my personal fitness goals,” (3) “My willingness to follow the trainer’s directions about exercise,” (4) “My level of comfort discussing my struggles with exercise with the trainer,” (5) “My willingness to continue working with the trainer for an extended length of time,” and (6) “My willingness to refer clients to the trainer.” Participants responded to teach item on a 5-option scale: Higher for a female trainer, slightly higher for a female trainer, the same for a female or male trainer, slightly higher for a male trainer, or higher for a male trainer.

Data Analysis

For data analysis, ratings were translated to a numerical scale from -2 to 2 with the neutral response in the center: (-2) Higher for a female trainer), (-1) Slightly higher for a female trainer), (0) The same for a female or male trainer, (1) Slightly higher for a male trainer, and (2) Higher for a male trainer. Responses were also coded categorically as neutral, or favoring a male or female trainer. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and percent of responses indicating a neutral response or favoring a female/male PFT) for responses to each item are reported for the entire sample.

Responses were also analyzed with respect to three independent variables (gender, age group, and fitness experience). Three levels of fitness experience were self -reported Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. For the purpose of the study, participants were divided into two age groups operationally defined as younger (18-39 years) and older (40 years and older) exercisers. Numerical responses were analyzed using three separate MANOVAs with the 6 survey items as dependent measures. Significant main effects were further analyzed using independent t-tests or one-way ANOVA. Partial Omega Squared ( η p 2 ) and Cohen’s d were reported as indicators of effect size. In addition to these analyses, the percent of participants whose responses were neutral or favored a male or female PFT were reported for groups.

As shown in Figure 1, as a whole, participants tended to have higher ratings of male PFTs relative to fitness knowledge, willingness to follow their directions, working with the trainer for an extended time, and referring clients to them. However, they tended to perceive a female PFT more favorably for discussing their struggles with exercise. The percent of responses that were neutral or favored a male/female trainer yielded similar patterns. Overall, more people indicated positive attitudes toward a male than a female PFT for expectations of fitness knowledge (31.3% vs. 5.5%), as well as willingness to follow the trainer’s directions (29.9% vs. 10.9%), working with the trainer for an extended time (20.9% vs. 11.9%), and referring other clients to the trainer (17.4% vs. 5.5%). For comfort discussing struggles with exercise, 41.8% indicated a preference for a female trainer with only 24.4% preferring a male trainer. For most items, 50-60% of participants indicated a neutral response (the same for a male or female trainer), with the exception of comfort discussing concerns for which only 33.3% indicated no preference.

Attitudes of Male and Female Respondents

As shown in Figure 2, responses of male and female exercisers showed clear gender differences. Mean values indicated men rated a male PFT higher than a female PFT for all items. By comparison, female exercisers’ responses tended to vary more across items, and average responses were near neutral for several items. The MANOVA indicated significant differences between male and female respondents were present [Wilks’ Lambda=.845, p <.001, η p 2 = .16]. Follow up comparisons indicated significant differences for four items: expectations for the trainer to help meet personal fitness goals [ t (199)=4.20, p <.001, Cohen’s d =1.14], willingness to follow the trainer’s directions [ t (199)=2.71, p <.01, Cohen’s d =1.00], comfort discussing exercise struggles [ t (199)=5.24, p <.001, Cohen’s d =1.24], and willingness to work with the trainer for an extended time [ t (199)=2.01, p <.05, Cohen’s d =.93].

Gender-biased patterns were also evident in the percent of ratings which were neutral vs. favored a male or female PFT (see Table 2). A higher percent of male exercisers indicated they would be more comfortable discussing their struggles with a male (43.9%) than a female trainer (17.5%), whereas female exercisers indicated a preference for a female (51.4%) over a male PFT (16.9%). A similar same-gender preference was indicated for perceptions of the trainer’s desire to help meet personal fitness goals, and working with them for an extended time.

Attitudes of Younger vs. Older Exercisers

Older exercisers (aged 40 and over) tended to favor a male PFT for all items, whereas younger exercises (18-39 years) had more varied responses and were near neutral for several items (see Figure 3). Responses were found to vary significantly by age group [Wilks’ Lambda= .884, p <.05, η p 2 = .06]. Follow-up comparisons indicated significant differences for two items: meeting personal goals [ t (197)=2.88, p <.01, Cohen’s d =0.45], and discussing struggles [ t (197)=3.18, p <.01, Cohen’s d =0.49]. As indicated in Table 3, for these items, older exercisers tended to have either neutral attitudes or favor a male trainer, whereas younger exercisers more often favored a female trainer.

Variation as a Function of Exercise Experience

Mean scores for individuals varying in exercise experience are shown in Figure 4. The MANOVA comparing responses was significant [Wilks’ Lambda=.839, p <.001, η p 2 = .08]. One way ANOVA follow-up comparisons indicated a significant difference for only one item: expectations for the PFT’s knowledge [ F (2,198=7.14, p <.001, η p 2 =.086]. Post-hoc Student-Newman-Keuls comparisons indicated beginning exercisers had significantly greater expectations of fitness knowledge for male trainers ( p <.05), whereas knowledge expectations of male vs. female trainers were similar for exercisers with intermediate or advanced experience. Examination of response percentages (Table 4) shows a clear pattern of reduced gender-bias as exercise experience increased. For example, only 35.6% of beginner-level exercisers indicated expectations for a trainer to help them meet personal exercise goals would be the same for a male or female trainer, but this neutral rating increasing to 53.8% of intermediate exercisers, and 64.7% of advanced exercisers. This same pattern of increasing neutral response with higher exercise experience was observed for all items.

Research supports the benefits of exercising with a PFT (2, 14, 22, 30, 32, 40), and evidence suggests that gender plays a role in exercise attitudes and behaviors, including selection of a trainer (20, 26, 35, 39). Previous survey-based research on attitudes toward male and female PFTs have studied undergraduate students; attitudes of adult fitness center members have not been investigated. An additional limitation of existing research is the failure to examine variables that may play a role in these attitudes. This study examined attitudes toward male and female PFTs among 201 adult fitness center members. Perceptions were reported for the entire sample, and analyzed relative to participant gender, age group, and exercise experience.

As a whole, more participants favored a male over a female trainer for expectations of fitness-related knowledge, willingness for follow the trainer’s directions, working with the trainer for an extended time, and referring other clients to them. However, adults tended to be more comfortable discussing struggles and concerns with exercise with a female trainer. Fisher et al. (15) similarly reported college students had a more positive attitude about discussing progress with female than male trainers.

Age Differences

Our results showed age-related attitudinal differences. Specifically, older exercisers favored a male PFT, whereas younger respondents favored a female PFT primarily with respect to two items: assistance achieving personal goals and discussing exercise-related struggles. These findings are different from those reported in studies of college students, who overall, viewed female PFTs as more competent and knowledgeable than males (5, 15). Thus, these age-related attitudinal differences may be one of the more notable findings of this study, and may reflect changes in broader gender role-related attitudes among generations (10, 13).

Differences among Male and Female Exercisers

Comparisons between the responses of male and female exercisers revealed two important findings. First, men rated a male PFT higher than a female PFT for all items, while female exercisers’ ratings were more neutral. This is consistent with previous research on college students (5) and Division I university athletes (28) that indicated males preferred to work with a male PFT or strength coach, while females had no clear preference. Second, large and significant differences were observed between responses of men and women for several attitudes including those associated with knowledge, help meet personal goals, following directions, discussing concerns, and working with the trainer for an extended time. While men rated a male PFT higher for all items, women had more favorable perceptions of female PFTs for two specific items: discussing their struggles with exercise, and expectations regarding the trainer’s desire to help them meet personal fitness goals.

These findings align favorably with the results of previous interview-based studies indicating that women who choose a female PFT attribute this decision to beliefs that a female would have a greater empathy for them, and a better understanding of their bodies, struggles, and comfort levels (27, 34). These findings are also consistent with gender-preference research in healthcare. Drummond et al. (12), for example, found that college athletes felt more comfortable when provided care by an athletic trainer of the same gender, and a same-gender healthcare provider preference has been found for physicians and nurses when interactions are of an intimate nature (6, 23). When providing reasons for a healthcare provider of the same gender, women indicate it is due to comfort levels discussing problems and the perception that a female provider will take more personal interest in them (23).

Experience as a Mediator of Gender-Bias

We also examined attitudes toward male/female PFTs as a function of exercise experience, and used self-ratings as the basis for group formation. Comparisons indicated that, as exercise experience increased, gender-biased ratings decreased. Among beginning exercisers, 37% indicated their expectations for a PFT’s knowledge was neutral (the same for a male or female), whereas 65% of intermediate and 90% of advanced exercisers indicated so. This pattern of increasing gender-neutrality with exercise experience was observed for all items. These results suggest that gender-biased attitudes toward male/female PFTs may reduce with experience. This interpretation is consistent with the ideas that, while fitness-based attitudes and practices are influenced by gender norms and expectations, they are not fixed, but are fluid and can be changed with experience (3, 4, 20).

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The results of this study indicate that many adult exercisers have gender-biased perceptions of PFTs with higher expectations for a male trainer’s fitness-based knowledge, and willingness to follow a male trainer’s directions and refer clients to him, yet are more comfortable discussing their struggles with a female trainer. Consistent with prior research on college students, these attitudes vary with participant gender. Men had stronger preferences for a same-gender PFT than women did, yet many women tended to favor a female PFT for interest in their personal goals and discussing their struggles and concerns. In addition, potentially important findings from this study are that gender-biased attitudes varied by age and exercise experience. Further research examining how these and other factors and experiences influence gender-referenced perceptions of fitness and fitness professionals is warranted, as is extending research on fitness-related attitudes beyond that of college students.

Previous research on this topic (5, 15) has primarily surveyed convenience samples of undergraduate students whose participation and experience in exercise was unknown, whereas participants in this study were adult fitness center members primarily between 20 and 39 years of age, most who identified as having intermediate or advanced exercise experience, and who exercised 3 or more times a week. Thus, the findings of this study may be more generalizable to typical adults who exercise on a regular basis. However, it should be acknowledged that, while data were derived from a sample of adults from multiple fitness centers, all gyms were from the same region of the U.S., and respondents were primarily female. Age-related differences were examined among two groups with an arbitrary dividing point. Thus, future research on this topic using more varied samples, more adult males, among varying age groups, and additional potentially influential variables is recommended.

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT

Fitness professionals should recognize that gender plays a role in exercise attitudes and behaviors, including the selection of PFTs and exercise leaders to work with. Data from this study highlight specific beliefs that may play a role in PFT preferences, and how these preferences vary with exerciser’s gender, age, and level of exercise experience. As a result, fitness professionals can strive to behave and communicate in ways that both support clients’ preference, but also seek to overcome biases that may exist.

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An examination of studies related to Brazilian jiu-jitsu in enhancing mental and physical health among veterans and first responders: A scoping review

George Minoso 2024-08-27T15:53:24-05:00 August 30th, 2024 | General , Sport Training , Sports Exercise Science |

Authors: Richard O. Segovia PhD, EdD 1 , Alexander Buelna, PhD 2 , and Brian Sunderman, MA 3

1 School of Education, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, USA 2 College of Social and Behavioral Health, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA 3 School of Security and Global Studies, American Military University, Charles Town, WV, USA

Richard O. Segovia, PhD, EdD

1971 University Blvd

Lynchburg VA, 24515

[email protected]

737-330-6288

Richard O. Segovia, PhD, EdD, is an adjunct professor and dissertation chair at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, and an academic evaluator at Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Segovia’s research interests focus on learning and teaching, combat sports, law enforcement practices, and educational leadership.

Alexander Buelna, PhD, is currently a deputy associate commissioner with Texas Health and Human Services. Dr. Buelna’s areas of research interest includes post-traumatic stress’s impact on veterans and efficient business processes.

Brian Sunderman, MA, is the officer in charge of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Arrest and Control Tactics Unit. Lieutenant Sunderman’s research interests include the utility of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in law enforcement as a law enforcement force option

Purpose: This scoping review explores the many benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) on veterans and first responders, focusing on physical health improvements, psychological benefits, and social integration. The purpose is to synthesize existing literature to identify research gaps and suggest directions for future studies. By examining both qualitative and quantitative research, this review seeks to show the utility of BJJ as a therapeutic modality option and propose it as a comprehensive intervention for enhancing the overall well-being of veterans and first responders. Methods: PubMed and Google Scholar searches were conducted to capture a broad range of studies involving BJJ with veterans or first responders. This review adheres to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, focusing on studies discussing physical, mental, and social outcomes. Results: The initial search yielded numerous qualitative and quantitative studies. This review categorizes the findings into themes of physical health improvements, psychological benefits, and social integration, highlighting the variability and scope of the existing literature. Conclusions: The review highlights the need for well-structured research to substantiate BJJ’s therapeutic benefits. It recommends areas for in-depth exploration in future systematic reviews or primary studies, especially longitudinal studies on BJJ’s effects and specific therapeutic contributions. Application in Sport: For coaches and trainers, integrating BJJ into programs for veterans and first responders enhances physical fitness and mental health. BJJ improves cardiovascular health, strength, and endurance and reduces PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. BJJ supports mental resilience and provides a supportive community, helping in social integration and reducing isolation. Incorporating BJJ can holistically enhance the recovery and effectiveness of veterans and first responders.

Key Words: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, veteran rehabilitation, PTSD management, therapeutic exercise, community integration

In examining the multi-layered impacts of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) on enhancing veterans’ and first responders’ mental and physical health, this scoping review examines a significant, emergent area of therapeutic practices. BJJ, a martial art known for its detailed focus on ground fighting and submission holds, offers more than physical training. It is a dynamic intervention that promotes psychological resilience and aids in social reintegration. By synthesizing various studies [6, 13], this review illuminates how BJJ improves physical mobility and mental health outcomes and facilitates the reintegration of veterans into civilian life. Through structured training sessions, BJJ fosters a supportive community environment, addressing the complex rehabilitation needs of veterans and first responders by bridging physical exertion and focus with mental health support. This review explores BJJ’s profound benefits across rehabilitative settings, substantiating its therapeutic value with empirical evidence and detailed analysis.

Although primarily a fighting style and a sport, many are beginning to embrace BJJ as a powerful therapeutic intervention for various purposes. Current research confirms potential scientific benefits from the use of BJJ in physical rehabilitation, psychological resilience, and social integration for populations experiencing high levels of stress – specifically, veterans and first responders. This review is essential at a historical moment when BJJ seems to have a place in therapeutic settings, yet anecdotal evidence essentially underpins current practice. At the same time, an emerging body of empirical literature supports its effectiveness as a sport and work of art. Drawing from qualitative and quantitative research metrics, this scoping review intends to synthesize and expand on the current understanding of BJJ’s multifaceted benefits. This review is relevant because the populations best served by BJJ’s transformative power experience complex physical, mental, and social challenges. These challenges significantly affect vulnerable populations, such as veterans and first responders, due to the cumulative (and sometimes unique) occupational stressors in their working environments.

The purpose of this scoping review is (1) to consider BJJ’s effect on physical health, (2) to assess the psychological benefits of BJJ, (3) to assess BJJ’s social integration utility, and (4) to identify research gaps and potential future studies as it applies to veterans and first responders.

Literature Review

As BJJ gains recognition not only as a martial art but also as a valuable tool for rehabilitation and recovery, it is important to critically examine the breadth and depth of its impact through scholarly research. This review examines the role of BJJ in enhancing the mental and physical health of veterans and first responders, drawing on a rich array of literature that spans clinical studies, systematic reviews, and observational research. This review aims to bridge the gap between theoretical approaches and practical applications in BJJ by synthesizing evidence from diverse academic sources, highlighting its efficacy in fostering physical resilience and psychological and social well-being. The literature discusses how BJJ contributes to rehabilitation processes, supports mental health recovery, and facilitates community reintegration, offering a comprehensive analysis of its benefits.

Rehabilitation and Recovery for Veterans

In recent years, BJJ has emerged as a pivotal intervention for enhancing veterans’ and first responders’ mental and physical well-being. As previously mentioned, this martial art is known for its emphasis on ground fighting and submission. It offers more than just physical training; it provides a structured environment that fosters psychological resilience and social reintegration. For example, studies [3, 16] have documented the significant benefits BJJ offers in rehabilitating soldiers and aiding veterans with PTSD, highlighting improvements in both physical mobility and mental health outcomes. Furthermore, a separate study [5] discusses BJJ’s role in easing veterans’ transition into civilian life, leveraging the discipline’s community-centric nature to combat isolation and build lasting social networks. These collective findings underscore BJJ’s unique position as a therapeutic modality capable of addressing the complex spectrum of veterans’ needs by bridging rigorous physical challenges with psychological and social support.

Physical Rehabilitation and Psychological Recovery

An article on the benefits of BJJ for solider rehabilitation [6] discusses the significant role of BJJ in soldiers’ physical rehabilitation and mental recovery. BJJ’s comprehensive approach helps improve physical mobility and flexibility, often compromised during active-duty service. Engaging in BJJ aids in building both strength and endurance, which is critical for the comprehensive recovery of injured soldiers. Moreover, the mental aspects of BJJ, such as focus and discipline, contribute significantly to psychological resilience, helping soldiers overcome trauma and stress-related challenges.

Additionally, BJJ provides a supportive community for soldiers, fostering a sense of belonging and mutual understanding among peers, which is vital during rehabilitation. This social support, combined with physical training, makes BJJ an effective rehabilitation tool, addressing recovering soldiers’ physical and psychological needs. By participating in BJJ, soldiers work on their physical rehabilitation and gain confidence and mental strength, which are vital for their successful reintegration into everyday life.

PTSD Management and Community Integration

BJJ provides veterans a therapeutic environment that fosters mental discipline and builds a strong community. Engaging in BJJ allows veterans to experience controlled physical interactions, which can be crucial for regaining trust in their bodily responses and reducing hyperarousal associated with PTSD [8]. The structured setting of BJJ classes offers a predictable and safe environment where veterans can learn new skills in a supportive atmosphere. This aspect of predictability and control is essential for helping veterans manage PTSD symptoms effectively.

In addition, the communal aspect of BJJ encourages veterans to form supportive relationships with peers who may share similar experiences. These social connections are invaluable as they help combat the isolation often felt after leaving military service [12]. Through regular training, veterans develop physical strength and emotional resilience, bolstered by the camaraderie found in BJJ gyms [12]. Participants frequently cite this community support as critical to their recovery and civilian life adjustment.

Sustained PTSD Relief

A study on BJJ training as a possible therapeutic modality [13] explored the specific benefits of BJJ for service members and veterans who have PTSD. The research [13] shows significant improvements in PTSD symptoms among participants attributed to the physical exertion and mental focus required in BJJ training. The study highlights how BJJ helps in developing coping strategies for stress and trauma, which are critical for long-term mental health recovery. The repetitive nature of drills and the controlled physical engagements provide a therapeutic outlet for aggression and pent-up emotions.

The study also emphasizes the sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem from progressing in BJJ. These psychological benefits are crucial for veterans and service members who often struggle with self-worth after leaving service. Training in BJJ offers a structured environment to measure growth through skill levels, providing a tangible sense of progression usually needed after military service.

Reintegration and Social Reconnection

BJJ has also been studied [5] as a powerful tool for veterans’ reintegration into civilian life. The study [5] suggests that BJJ’s disciplined environment helps veterans transition by providing a structured routine similar to that experienced in the military. This similarity helps mitigate the culture shock many veterans experience post-service. Additionally, the physical demands of BJJ provide a healthy outlet for stress and aggression, which are common challenges for veterans adjusting to civilian life.

Furthermore, BJJ fosters a sense of community and brotherhood among its practitioners, which mirrors the camaraderie found in the military. This aspect of social support is crucial for veterans who may feel isolated after their service [5]. The shared experiences in training can lead to lasting friendships and a support network that assists with reintegration, making BJJ an influential social and psychological tool for veterans.

Enhancing Law Enforcement Capabilities

BJJ is also proving to be a transformative tool for law enforcement, offering a multifaceted approach to officer training that extends beyond physical tactics to include significant mental and emotional benefits. BJJ training enhances mental acuity, decision-making under pressure, and interpersonal skills, which are essential in the high-stress context of law enforcement work [9]. These skills help officers manage stressful encounters more effectively, promoting a mindset geared toward de-escalation and controlled responses rather than aggression.

Furthermore, another study [7] highlights the practical impacts of BJJ on use of force protocols, showing how these techniques help maintain calm and control during confrontations, reducing the likelihood of unreasonable or excessive force. This aspect of BJJ training not only improves officer safety but also the safety of the community by minimizing potentially harmful physical interactions. Meanwhile, positive changes in the Marietta Police Department, where BJJ training has reduced injuries and complaints regarding force use, demonstrate BJJ’s potential to enhance team morale and effectiveness [10].

Mental Acuity and Interpersonal Skills Improvement

Research [9] shows the extensive benefits of BJJ, emphasizing its impact beyond just physical techniques to include mental and emotional enhancements. BJJ training can significantly improve mental acuity and decision-making under pressure in law enforcement, where officers often encounter high-stress situations. The practice also fosters resilience and patience, skills that are beneficial in both personal and professional settings. BJJ’s focus on mindfulness and present-moment awareness helps officers handle stressful encounters more calmly and with greater understanding.

Furthermore, the training enhances interpersonal skills, essential for officers who must de-escalate tense situations without resorting to excessive force. BJJ teaches control and restraint, promoting a mindset of protection rather than aggression. Officers trained in BJJ are often better equipped to maintain their safety and that of others while minimizing harm and managing physical confrontations effectively [7]. This holistic approach to training makes BJJ an invaluable tool for law enforcement agencies.

Police Use of Force

An article on the impact of BJJ training on improving use-of-force protocols within law enforcement concluded that training helps officers maintain calm and control in high-stress situations, reducing the likelihood of excessive force [7]. BJJ provides officers with effective yet non-lethal techniques, crucial in safely managing physical confrontations. Additionally, the discipline and mental focus developed through consistent BJJ practice enhance officers’ decision-making abilities, allowing them to assess situations more accurately and respond appropriately. The article suggests that BJJ improves individual officer performance and fosters greater trust and cooperation between law enforcement and the communities they serve, ultimately contributing to safer and more effective policing practices.

The article also discusses the psychological benefits of BJJ training, such as increased confidence and reduced anxiety, which can significantly affect how officers perceive and respond to threats. The enhanced decision-making skills and better judgment officers develop through BJJ training can lead to more positive outcomes in policing encounters, promoting safer community interactions.

Improved Outcomes in Law Enforcement

Research [10] reports on successfully implementing a BJJ program in the Marietta Police Department. The program has led to measurable improvements in officer outcomes, including reduced injuries and fewer complaints regarding the use of force. The training emphasizes skill over strength, equipping officers with the knowledge to control situations effectively without escalating violence.

Furthermore, the program has been instrumental in building team morale and solidarity among officers. The shared experience of training and improving together has strengthened the department’s internal community, which translates into more effective teamwork in the field. This solidarity is crucial for maintaining high standards of police work and ensuring the safety of both officers and the community they serve.

Injury Prevention and Safety Enhancement

The 2021 BJJ Training Data Documents a Reduction in Injuries report from the Marietta (GA) Police Department (MPD), highlighting the tangible benefits of BJJ training in reducing injuries among police officers. The MPD report concludes that comprehensive physical training enhances flexibility, strength, and overall body awareness, leading to this reduction [10]. Officers trained in BJJ are better prepared to handle physical confrontations safely and efficiently, protecting themselves and the individuals with whom they interact. The skills learned in BJJ allow officers to apply force in a controlled manner, significantly lowering the risk of injury.

The data from MPD [3] also underscores the potential for BJJ training to transform standard police training protocols. By incorporating BJJ, departments can ensure that their officers are not only physically capable but also mentally prepared to handle the stresses of law enforcement. This proactive approach to training can reduce workers’ compensation claims, decrease sick leaves due to injuries, and improve overall morale within the department.

Enhancing Physical Fitness and Mental Health

BJJ is a profound physical discipline and a significant enhancer of mental health and community building [1]. This unique martial art offers physiological benefits and underscores how regular BJJ training improves cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and endurance [1]. The mental advantages, such as increased focus and stress reduction, are pivotal in making BJJ a holistic practice for personal health and fitness.

Further insights from the benefits of BJJ in managing PTSD [12] and BJJ as a form of social and psychological therapy [4] deepen our understanding of BJJ’s impact. One longitudinal study demonstrates the sustained effectiveness of BJJ in managing PTSD symptoms, offering a potential therapeutic pathway for veterans and others suffering from chronic stress disorders [12]. Parallelly, a review of BJJ’s social and psychological benefits emphasizes its role in forging strong community ties and enhancing cognitive functions through strategy formulation and problem-solving challenges [4]. Together, these studies [12, 4] present a compelling case for integrating BJJ into wellness and therapy programs to bolster physical robustness and foster a supportive social environment.

Physiological and Psychological Benefits

One systematic review [1] of the extensive physical and physiological demands placed on individuals who practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu suggests that BJJ is effective in enhancing cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and endurance. The review also notes the mental benefits of regular, intense physical activity, such as improved focus and stress reduction. The comprehensive nature of BJJ training makes it an excellent form of exercise for improving overall fitness and health.

Furthermore, the review discusses how BJJ athletes develop unique physiological adaptations that enhance their performance. These include increased aerobic capacity, better body composition, and superior muscular endurance. The insights provided by this review suggest that BJJ could be beneficial in cross-training for various activities due to its all-encompassing physical demands and the mental toughness it develops.

Longitudinal Insights

Research provides compelling evidence through a longitudinal study that BJJ has sustained benefits in managing PTSD among veterans [12]. This longitudinal study followed participants over a period, noting significant and lasting decreases in PTSD symptoms among those who regularly engage in BJJ. The work suggests that the combination of physical activity, mental focus, and social interaction inherent in BJJ practice contributes to these positive outcomes.

In addition, the study also highlights how the repetitive and immersive nature of BJJ training can serve as a form of exposure therapy, where participants gradually face and gain control over stress triggers in a controlled environment. Although the work focused on PTSD management among veterans, PTSD is not exclusive only to that group (e.g., law enforcement officers or others who have PTSD after a traumatic event). This method of coping can lead to profound changes in how individuals who suffer from PTSD process and react to stress, potentially providing a blueprint for integrating BJJ into broader PTSD treatment programs.

Building Resilience and Community

In a systematic review, a researcher examined the role of BJJ as both a social and psychological therapy [4]. The review consolidates findings from multiple studies, illustrating how BJJ aids in building strong community ties, which is essential for mental health. The physical closeness and mutual trust required in BJJ training create a unique social dynamic that fosters interpersonal relationships and a supportive network, offering a sense of belonging and community that is often therapeutic. Moreover, the review details how the mental challenges presented in BJJ—such as strategy formulation and problem-solving—enhance cognitive functions and contribute to psychological resilience. These mental benefits complement the physical aspects of BJJ, creating a holistic therapy modality that addresses multiple facets of psychological health.

A scoping review of the literature was appropriate to meet the objectives of this study and answer the research question: What benefits does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) training provide for veterans and first responders in terms of physical, mental, and social health?

This study’s protocol was developed using the scoping review methodological framework [2]. The draft protocol for this review was analyzed by research colleagues and implemented. The protocol consisted of a series of five stages, details of the search strategy and steps of the review process included:

Identifying and collecting relevant studies: Literature searches were conducted across four electronic bibliographic databases: PubMed and Google Scholar. An initial search using the search terms “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” “veterans,” “first responders,” “rehabilitation,” “physical health,” “mental health,” and “community integration” was conducted. This search established salient parameters and eight key search terms to conduct additional searches across the four databases. Those eight critical terms included: (i) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and veterans; (ii) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and first responders; (iii) BJJ and PTSD; (iv) BJJ for physical rehabilitation; (v) BJJ and conflict resolution; (vi) mental health benefits of BJJ; (vii) physical health benefits of BJJ; and (viii) social integration through BJJ. The collected literature was then screened for relevance to the research question. After removing duplicates, studies were assessed for eligibility. Reference lists of eligible studies were further screened for additional relevant studies.

Study selection: Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established to filter and guide searches for relevant literature. To be included, literature from searches had to meet four inclusion criteria: (i) be from a peer-reviewed journal, a conference presentation, or a published thesis; (ii) published in the English language; (iii) include documented interventions or analysis related to BJJ; and (iv) be quantitative or qualitative. The literature was not restricted by time frame, study population, geographical publication, or type/design of journal article. Collected literature that did not meet all criteria was excluded. However, two colleagues analyzed conflicting literature to reach a consensus for inclusion. By applying the eligibility criteria, two reviewers screened the articles for selection. Blinding was applied at this stage to ensure no bias between reviewers in the selection process. All conflicts between the two reviewers, generated through screening, were discussed to reach a consensus. When conflict remained, the opinion of a third reviewer was sought to reach a consensus. Initially, articles were selected from the title and abstract screening. A second, more in-depth selection was then conducted through full-text screening. December 3, 2023, was the last date that the search was executed.

Charting the data: Once included articles were selected, data was extracted and charted according to author, title, journal, publication year, geographical location, purpose, sample size and type, methodology, intervention type, outcomes, key findings, and barriers. One author extracted and grouped the data, and another validated the data to ensure accuracy. Data were organized and grouped into subtopics according to the identified study purposes: (i) physical health benefits of BJJ; (ii) mental health benefits of BJJ; (iii) social integration through BJJ; (iv) PTSD and BJJ; (v) conflict resolution skills through BJJ; and (vi) physical rehabilitation through BJJ.

Summarizing and synthesizing the results: Authors collectively compared and discussed the charted data. Descriptive statistics were performed to characterize the research literature and to identify the breadth and gaps. Trends across geographic locations and decades of publication of included studies were evaluated. The study results were examined and discussed within each thematic area to determine trends and commonalities. Barriers and gaps were identified within the literature to suggest future areas of study. A consensus between all three authors regarding the critical information generated from the review was reached.

In addition to the scoping review methodological framework proposed by leading scholars in the scoping review methodologies [2]. The researchers for this review followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist [11]. No risk of bias assessment, summary measures, or additional analyses were conducted in this scoping review following the PRISMA-ScR [11]. No formal review protocol exists.

Figure 1 . PRISMA 2020 Flow Diagram. 

Physical Health Benefits

The studies reviewed consistently demonstrated that BJJ training significantly enhances physical fitness, mobility, and injury rehabilitation. According to one study [1], participants showed marked improvements in cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and endurance. These findings align with the report from MPD, which documented a reduction in injuries among law enforcement officers engaged in BJJ, attributing these benefits to the increased physical conditioning that BJJ provides [3]. This comprehensive approach to physical health not only aids in immediate injury recovery but also contributes to long-term physical wellness.

In one example, the graph below adapted data from a study of physical and physiological profiles of BJJ athletes [1] and shows the peak and mean power values for those who train in BJJ, highlighting its intense physical demands.

The graph displays anaerobic power values from two distinct studies. The study of physical and physiological profiles of BJJ athletes [1] dataset provides measurements for both peak power and mean power: 

• Peak Power : This represents the highest instantaneous power output achieved by the athletes during the test. 
• Mean Power : Reflects the average power maintained throughout the Wingate test, typically 30 seconds. 

The colors differentiate the types of power measured: 

• Red Bars : Peak power values from two studies. 
• Green Bars : Mean power values from the same studies. 

The graph highlights variations between studies, underscoring the need for consistent testing methodologies to compare anaerobic capacity accurately across different research. However, the researcher concluded that BJJ athletes possess considerable anaerobic capacity, with peak power outputs exceeding 10 W/kg and mean power outputs close to 10 W/kg. These values demonstrate the athletes’ proficiency in generating and sustaining high levels of power, essential during competitive grappling engagements, such as executing takedowns, resisting submissions, or applying forceful maneuvers. 

In another example, the chart below adapted data from MPD. It showed three distinct bars, each representing the percentage reduction in incidents due to BJJ training within the Marietta Police Department in 2020. 

• The first bar shows a 48% reduction in injuries to officers who used force, indicating significant safety improvements for the officers involved. 
• The second bar illustrates a 53% reduction in injuries to persons who required force during arrest, highlighting the training’s role in protecting the officers and those they encounter. 
• The third bar indicates a 23% reduction in Taser use , demonstrating a shift towards less reliance on electronic control devices, which can be critical in high-tension situations. 

Mental Health Benefits  

The mental health improvements associated with BJJ are particularly significant. Researchers who explored BJJ training for U.S. service members and veterans with symptoms of PTSD found substantial reductions in PTSD symptoms among veterans participating in BJJ, with benefits extending to decreased levels of depression and anxiety [13]. Interestingly, researchers who studied BJJ benefits in managing PTSD further supported these findings in their longitudinal study [12], which noted lasting mental health benefits from regular BJJ practice. The mental discipline and focus required in BJJ training foster an environment conducive to psychological healing and emotional stability, making it a valuable tool in mental health therapy. 

For example, this review adapted data from research on BJJ training for U.S. service members and veterans with symptoms of PTSD [13] and graphs the effect sizes calculated from PCL-5 assessments for veterans participating in BJJ training. The graph illustrates the effect sizes at two key intervals of their study: pre-treatment to mid-treatment and pre-treatment to post-treatment. To assess the impact of BJJ on PTSD symptoms among veterans and first responders, researchers measured changes in PTSD symptomatology using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and concluded decreased levels of depression and anxiety. 

Effect Sizes and Confidence Intervals  

The graph depicts effect sizes (Cohen’s d) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals to illustrate the magnitude and precision of changes in PTSD symptoms from pre-treatment to mid-treatment and from pre-treatment to post-treatment. 

Statistical Significance  

The p-values associated with these findings underscore the statistical significance of the observed improvements, suggesting that the effects are attributable to the BJJ intervention. 

Social and Community Aspects  

The findings illustrated BJJ’s role in enhancing social interactions and building community ties. For example, one researcher examined BJJ as a possible social and psychological therapeutic modality and underscored how BJJ promotes camaraderie and supports systems among participants, creating a sense of belonging and mutual trust [4]. This community aspect is crucial, especially for veterans and first responders, who often experience isolation in their professional roles. The shared experience of BJJ training fosters solid interpersonal relationships and provides a supportive network that enhances the social well-being of its members. 

These results collectively illustrate BJJ’s comprehensive benefits, affirming its effectiveness across physical, mental, and social domains. Integrating BJJ into therapeutic and training programs offers a holistic approach to health and wellness, supporting individuals’ physical conditioning and psychological and social rehabilitation. 

For instance, this work adapted data from a study on BJJ as social and psychological therapy [4] and crafted a thematic map to illustrate the complex relationships between various aspects of BJJ and their outcomes.  

Reduces Negative Behaviors

he thematic map distinguishes between direct benefits and the pathways that facilitate these benefits, using color coding to enhance readability and understanding. It effectively encapsulates how BJJ is a multifaceted enhancer of psychosocial health. By detailing both the outcomes and the mechanisms, the map serves as a tool for understanding BJJ’s broad and nuanced impacts beyond the mat, supporting its integration into psychological and social rehabilitation programs.  

THEMES  

Multiple themes emerged from the outcomes assessed in the literature. One researcher with expertise in BJJ identified and categorized these themes, and studies were grouped into key categories inspired by different domains related to veterans and first responders. Most studies evaluated one specific theme within the context of BJJ while acknowledging others to a lesser degree; however, some overlap of themes emerged in studies. Table 1 groups all studies by theme, variable, citation, and geographical region. 

Table 1 . Summary of all themes, the variable(s) assessed in each theme, and the studies that assessed the variable(s). 

From the included literature: (1) physical health benefits of BJJ; (2) mental health benefits of BJJ; (3) social integration through BJJ; (4) BJJ’s role in PTSD management; (5) BJJ for conflict resolution skills; and (6) BJJ for physical rehabilitation, all occupied the primary purpose of the greatest number of studies. Other pertinent topics included: (7) BJJ’s impact on law enforcement training; (8) psychological resilience through BJJ; (9) community building and support systems through BJJ; and (10) strategies for implementing BJJ in therapeutic settings, which were the secondary focus of some studies and integrated into studies with another primary focus. 

DISCUSSION  

This scoping review aimed to define and evaluate the quantitative and qualitative data regarding the effects of BJJ on veterans and first responders. It was conducted through standard methods outlined by leading scholars in the field [2] to identify, select, and synthesize the findings from 11 studies. The current knowledge of BJJ was documented by analyzing the geographic scope of studies, the year of publication, and the specific themes that emerged from the literature. Provided below are significant results of this review that can be relevant for future researchers, practitioners, and BJJ instructors. 

The included studies revealed evidence of BJJ’s physical health benefits. Participants showed marked improvements in cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and endurance [1]. These physical health benefits were consistent across different populations and settings, highlighting BJJ’s utility in enhancing overall fitness and aiding injury rehabilitation [10]. Despite these positive findings, further research is needed to establish standardized protocols for measuring these benefits across diverse groups. 

The literature also prominently discussed BJJ’s mental health benefits. Substantial reductions in PTSD symptoms, depression, and anxiety were reported among veterans participating in BJJ [12, 13] These findings suggest that BJJ provides a supportive environment conducive to psychological healing and emotional stability. The mental discipline and focus required in BJJ training foster an environment that encourages mindfulness and stress reduction. However, the mechanisms underlying these mental health benefits are not fully understood and warrant further investigation. 

Social integration emerged as a significant theme, with BJJ promoting camaraderie and support systems among participants. Studies highlighted how BJJ fosters a sense of belonging and mutual trust, crucial for veterans and first responders who often experience isolation in their professional roles [4]. The communal aspect of BJJ training helps build strong interpersonal relationships and provides a supportive network that enhances social well-being. Future research should explore how these social benefits can be optimized further to support the reintegration of veterans into civilian life. 

BJJ’s role in enhancing law enforcement capabilities was another key finding. BJJ training improves mental acuity, decision-making under pressure, and interpersonal skills, which are essential in the high-stress context of law enforcement work [7, 9]. The practical impacts of BJJ as a response to resistance option were also noted, with reduced injuries and complaints regarding the use of force in departments that implemented BJJ training programs [10]. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating BJJ into law enforcement training to enhance officer safety and effectiveness. 

Technological advancements in BJJ training were less frequently discussed but are becoming increasingly relevant. Integrating AI and other technologies to enhance training and performance tracking could revolutionize how BJJ practitioners train and improve [12]. Future research should explore the potential of these technologies in providing more precise and individualized training programs. 

Comparisons across gender and skill levels revealed essential insights into how different populations benefit from BJJ training. Differences in physical and psychological responses to BJJ were noted, suggesting that tailored training programs may be necessary to optimize benefits for diverse groups [1]. Future studies should continue to explore these differences to develop more inclusive and effective training methodologies. 

The inclusion of wheelchair BJJ and adaptive training for individuals with disabilities was minimal but highlighted the need for more inclusive research. Studies focused on the biomechanics of BJJ for wheelchair users and its potential benefits in promoting physical and mental health [6]. Expanding research in this area could lead to better support and training for individuals with disabilities. 

Future Research  

Understanding the many benefits of BJJ for veterans and first responders is unquestionable. Continued research should aim to standardize measurement protocols and explore the long-term impacts of BJJ training. Future studies should also consider integrating technological advancements and developing adaptive training programs to support diverse populations. By expanding the scope of research to include mixed-double formats and other variations of BJJ, researchers can develop a more comprehensive understanding of its benefits and applications. 

Strengths and Limitations of this Scoping Review  

This scoping review applied a systematic and rigorous search strategy to retrieve a comprehensive range of articles addressing the benefits of BJJ for veterans and first responders. Considering both peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature, the review captured a broad spectrum of knowledge, including unpublished theses and conference presentations. However, some studies were unintentionally omitted due to limited access, and the exclusion of non-English language studies may have skewed the geographic analysis of the literature. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported data in many studies introduces potential biases that should be addressed in future research. 

CONCLUSIONS  

This study sought to review the literature on the benefits of BJJ for veterans and first responders, focusing on physical, mental, and social health outcomes. It answers this study’s research question and presents the current knowledge for each identified theme, providing opportunities for future research. This scoping review will aid in building a more comprehensive understanding of BJJ’s therapeutic mechanisms and significantly contribute to optimizing its application in rehabilitative and therapeutic settings. A growing body of research is being conducted globally on BJJ’s benefits. The current literature reveals substantial evidence of BJJ’s positive impact on physical fitness, mental health, and social integration. However, the varying methodologies and outcomes of the included studies indicate that more rigorous research is needed to elucidate BJJ’s mechanisms of action fully. This scoping review provides an impetus for further research on BJJ’s effects on specific populations, including adaptive training for individuals with disabilities and integrating technological advancements in training. Studies included in this scoping review only scratched the surface of these variables and their impact on the well-being of veterans and first responders. Future research should aim to expand on these findings to develop a more comprehensive understanding of BJJ’s potential as a therapeutic tool.  

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT  

Integrating BJJ into training programs for veterans and first responders provides a versatile approach to enhancing their physical, mental, and social well-being. Coaches and trainers can leverage BJJ to significantly improve cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and endurance, which are essential for the physically demanding roles of these professionals. The mental health benefits of BJJ are particularly noteworthy; the studies in this review show it reduces symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, thereby promoting emotional resilience and effective stress management. Furthermore, BJJ’s structured and strategic nature supports mental acuity and decision-making under pressure, which are necessary skills for operational effectiveness. Socially, BJJ offers a sense of community and mutual support, aiding in the social integration of veterans and first responders and mitigating feelings of isolation. By incorporating BJJ into their training regimes, coaches and trainers can deliver a holistic program that enhances physical fitness and supports psychological health and social connectivity, ultimately improving the overall recovery, resilience, and operational readiness of veterans and first responders. This comprehensive approach underscores BJJ’s value as a therapeutic intervention in sports training programs for these populations. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  

The authors confirm that all the research in this work has met ethical guidelines and adhered to the legal requirements of the United States of America. In addition, the principal investigator is compliant with the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program on social and behavioral researchers and social and behavioral responsible conduct of research training. Furthermore, this work was not funded, the authors declare no conflict of interest, and it did not contain studies with human participants or animals performed by the principal investigator. 

1 Andreato, L., Lara, F., Andrade, A., & Branco, B. (2017). Physical and physiological profiles of Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes: A systematic review. Sports Medicine – Open, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-016-0069-5

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The Youth Olympic Games Educational Program

Qshequilla Parham Mitchell 2024-09-05T09:14:19-05:00 August 23rd, 2024 | Olympics , Research |

Through Experiential Learning Theory Lens

Authors:  Jannicke Staalstroem OLY 1,2  , Marina Iskhakova  3 , Alex C. Gang  4 , and Zack P. Pedersen  5

1 School of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

2 Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

3 Research School of Economics, Australia National University, Canberra, Australia

4 College of Education, Washington State University

5 Department of Kinesiology & Sport Management, Texas Tech University

Purpose : The Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the largest international sport event for young athletes, allows athletes to take part in an Olympic educational program. These programs have never been examined through the lens of Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). The purpose of this study is to provide in-depth analysis and evaluation of all YOG educational programs design by date (2010 – 2020) through the lens of ELT and to uncover the areas of where the strengthening of the programs impact is feasible and encouraged.

Methods : A thorough YOG documents analysis was performed on the six YOG`s educational programs by examining the place and role of each of the four elements of ELT and how prevalent they were.

Results : Results of our analysis show that YOG educational programs are not properly balanced and that concrete experiences turned to be the mostly and overly covered in the six games by the price of other critically important ELT stages. Reflective observations and abstract conceptualizations come into play sporadically and also only in later games, although still underwhelmingly. Active experimentations are covered through media activities in most of the games and the whole potential of the stage is due to be fully utilised.

Conclusions : YOG educational program impact on YOG athletes could be significantly enhanced by embracing and sufficiently incorporating all 4 ELT stages into the program design and delivery.

Applications in Sport : This study highlights the potential of ELT as a theoretical tool for addressing the impact learning and change the educational program can have on the YOG participants. The performed document analysis suggests on how learning can be enhanced for the YOG athletes. Suggestions for the future YOG educational program designers are formulated and provided.

Keywords : Educational Program, Youth Programs, Olympic Education, Experiential learning, Young Athletes

Examining The Youth Olympic Games Educational Program Through Experiential Learning Theory

 The educational purpose of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is delivered to the athletes through the YOG educational program (IOC, 2016, 2019), founded on the concept of Olympism (Naul & Binder, 2017). The YOG was established to be more than a sporting event, whereby through the Olympism perspective and Olympic values (i.e., excellence, friendship, respect) young athletes could be instructed on topics like healthy lifestyles, doping issues, global challenges, and their potential role as sport ambassadors (IOC, 2011). Additionally, the YOG was intended to reignite Olympic ideals, which were perceived to be lacking in the contemporary Olympic Games (Naul, 2010, p. 23). The IOC hoped that the YOG athletes would carry positive values throughout their sporting event, and in their working and private lives (IOC, 2011).

Therefore, the Olympic movement saw the YOG as a way of instilling health, sport, and social values, in addition to Olympism (Parry, 2012). To accomplish this, the educational program was crucial for the IOC and the YOG, given that the young athletes are at such an important developmental stage in life. YOG educational programs have been modified to meet the four learning pillars stipulated by the IOC and the YOG Organizing Committee (i.e., learning to know, to do, to be, and to live together; YOGOC). Each YOGOC exercised its autonomy to establish various educational formats, which reveal limited consistency from one YOG to the next. Although the educational programs of the YOG carry significant importance in instilling positive values in the lives of young athletes, its effectiveness is hindered by inconsistencies within the learning formats and the network of partner organizations. This reveals an absence of a reliable mechanisms capable of adequately scrutinizing the foundations of the programs as well as their learning potentials. Reflecting on the need to better understand the educational programs, we suggest that Kolb’s Experimental learning theory (Kolb, 1984) is a valuable theoretical tool to assess and strengthen learning for the athletes who are in a critical developmental stage. According to Newman et al. (2018), historically this method of ELT programming and its related practises have found to be effective when working with youth (Conrad & Hedin, 1982; Gosen & Washbush, 2004; Kolb & Kolb 2008). Therefore, the IOC and the YOGOC educational program developers have the opportunity to implement experiential learning methods to increase youth athlete’s knowledge (Kolb & Kolb 2009a). Additionally, these programs have the chance to develop the young athletes’ skills on and off their field of play by highlighting their values and developing their capacities, such as contributing not only to themselves but to their communities as well (Kolb, 1984; 2015; Kolb & Kolb, 2005; 2008).

Experiential Learning Theory

Experiential learning theory (ELT) highlights the critical role that experience has on impacting learning and change (Kolb, 1984; 2015). ELT defines learning as a continuous process of adapting to an environment by acquiring new information, challenging existing knowledge, and re-learning/integrating new knowledge into action. Kolb (1984) defines it as “a dynamic process whereby knowledge is created through transformation of experiences” (p. 41). This theory postulates learning as a holistic process for the student (Kolb & Kolb, 2009b) adapting to the world, which requires the integrated functioning of the total person, such as thinking, feeling, perceiving, behaving, and interacting (Kolb, 2015). Some educational sport studies applying ELT have shown success with this model (Bethell & Morgan, 2012; Sato & Laughlin, 2018). Additionally, more studies within the broader spectrum of sports, encompassing areas such as sports education, management, psychology, and sociology, have utilized Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of sporting activities on individuals, groups, and organizations (Newman et al., 2017). Although most of the existing research has focused on evaluating the educational potentials inherent in diverse sport activities, scholarly inquiry has swiftly expanded to encompass sport-related learning platforms (e.g., sport internships, sport-for-development programs) that leverage sport as a mechanism for effective learning (e.g., Brown et al., 2018; Sattler, 2018). It is noteworthy that ELT has not been applied in the context of the YOG or the Olympic athlete (Cisek, 2023).

Ultimately the holistic nature of ELT will fit well with the complexity and holistic nature of learning in the YOG educational program formats. Indeed, the way in which athletes conduct their learning through the YOG educational programs (i.e., activities), shapes the course of their professional and personal development. The YOG educational programs offer an ideal immersion environment that facilitates intense experiential learning by impacting athletes and their multifaceted professional and personal development (see the full details in Appendix 1).

We suggest that the YOG’s educational programs are designed and capable of bringing participants through the four stages of the experiential learning cycle identified by Kolb and Kolb (2005), as shown in the ELT framework in Figure 1. The ‘ concrete experiences’ are the cornerstone of each of the YOG educational program offerings, and are where the students (i.e., athletes) can participate in new learning (Sato & Laughlin, 2018). Furthermore, the ‘ reflective observation’ stage is facilitated by reflection and feedback sessions to review the experiences (Kolb & Kolb, 2015). The ‘ abstract conceptualization’ is enforced by analytical reflection during the duration of the program through the post-event stage. ‘ Active experimentation ’ occurs during the post-event stage and is where the individuals’ (i.e., athletes) experiences are formed through the realization of increased cultural abilities according, to Kolb et al. (2015).

Figure 1 . Application of Experiential Learning Theory framework to YOG educational program (YOG EP). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development.

This completes the ELT cycle when new knowledge is applied to real-life tasks for the participants (Chan, 2012; Roark & Norling, 2010; Sato & Laughlin, 2018). Kolb (1984; 2015) claims that learning occurs through the combination of grasping (i.e., taking in information) and transforming (i.e., interpreting and acting on the information) experiences. Foundational experiences provide opportunities for observation and reflection for the YOG athlete. Reflection leads to new ideas or modification of old ideas. Changing ideas lead to new implications and form the basis for experimentation. The process of actively testing ideas through experimentation creates new experiences and the cycle continues for the athlete. The continual process of experience, reflection, thought, and action creates new knowledge and new behaviour (Sato & Laughlin, 2018). This means that athletes’ learning abilities must be involved in a continuous and cyclical learning process which focuses on experience and reflection in a holistic perspective (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). Additionally, according to Kolb et al. (2001), the learner can enter any of the four stages in the learning cycle, although for effective learning all four abilities of the ELT must be present. Arguably for a young athlete who takes part in one YOG in their life over a time of 10-14 days, it may be challenging to “act and reflection at the same time in a new environment and take some experience” (Lehan, 2020, p. 243). Although with the right implementation (and some previous learning experience in the athlete’s own life) the transition of the programs activity and learning has the potential to be meaningful (Lehan, 2020).

Therefore, through a document analysis we demonstrate which facets of ELT are most utilized, thereby allowing suggestions on how the educational programs of the YOG may benefit in the future with the implementation of a holistic ELT approach.

YOG Educational Themes and Principles

The educational programs that the YOG constructs for the athletes at each of the Games are based on Olympism and Olympic education (Naul & Binder, 2017; Staalstroem, 2021), and are optional for any of the athletes. These Olympic learning activities are grounded in five key educational themes (i.e., Olympism, skill development, well-being and healthy lifestyle, social responsibility, and expression) and are carefully selected by each host nation’s YOGOC in cooperation with the IOC (IOC, 2015). The skill development theme encourages athletes to develop new skills throughout life and in doing so also forge positive friendships based on mutual respect. The well-being and healthy lifestyle theme not only focus on athlete-centric health issues but also goes beyond the athletes’ immediate needs as they are encouraged to develop healthy living habits which will always remain with them. The social responsibility theme introduces the athletes to the idea of being role models in society for not only sport but also for environmental and/or humanitarian issues by drawing on the positive experiences they have gained from participating in the YOG education program. The expression theme encourages the athletes to fully appreciate that their pursuit of excellence in sport and life is a valuable contribution to society. Therefore, it is important for the athletes to be able to share their experiences in a responsible manner across all mediums (IOC, 2015, pp. 60–62; Staalstroem, 2021, p. 8).

Based on UNESCOS educational strategy and recommendations (IOC, 2008, p. 106), the IOC developed the YOG educational program learning strategy to address the five key themes with four fundamental learning pillars, conceptualized as the “4 pillars of Education.” These four pillars are classified as learning to know (e.g., educational sessions), learning to do (e.g., educational activities), learning to be (e.g., educational forums), and learning to live together (e.g., synergetic events consisting of celebrating cultures and traditions). Here we can see that the IOC and YOGOC program developers can set the athletes up for the opportunity to challenge their learning with activities that combine different learning modes representing Kolbs learning cycle. Through these four pillars there are opportunities to accommodate the different learning preferences for each individual (Kolb & Kolb, 2022).

Each YOGOC had to ensure the five themes were introduced through fun-filled activities to provide learning and development opportunities blended with sports and culture (IOC, 2012). The educational programs have continually developed into a more focused educational learning program for the elite athletes (IOC, 2019). Furthermore, the educational activities in the program are divided into two parts (IOC, 2015). First, the IOC includes a number of activities for the athletes which involve international partners such as the World Anti-Doping Agency, for example. Topics covered by these activities include Olympism, Olympic history, fair play, anti-doping, anti-betting, injury prevention, ethics in sport, abuse in sport, sexual harassment, healthy body image, athlete career management, the environment, humanitarian issues, peace, children’s rights, and social media. The second group of activities are proposed by the YOGOC with content based on the expertise of the local national organising committee and their partners.

Reflecting on the gap in current literature as described above, this study utilizes ELT to conduct a systematic analysis of all YOGs educational programs offered since their introduction in 2010. The following research question was established to guide the researchers through the research process:

RQ: How can the educational programs in the six YOG (and the way they evolved over time) be assessed and advanced through the experiential learning theory?

Methodology

Materials and design.

Before starting this section, a personality statement: It is important to acknowledge when this article was in its infancy one of the researchers is a three-time Olympian and had been involved in several YOGs in various roles over a decade (coaching and attaché). This researcher`s positionality influences this research including the choice of topic. Therefore, detachment and objectivity were a requirement for producing reliable knowledge during data collection (Bowen, 2009). Additionally, the rational for choosing one method was to suggest ELT in a practical setting for future research to add more value to the program.

To examine the research question stated above, a document analysis was conducted, which included all documents published by the IOC (see Appendix) that provided critical information (e.g., formats, designs, activities) on the educational programs implemented at the six previous YOGs. Viewed as a qualitative research method, document analysis entails a systematic process to review and assess both printed and online documents (Bowen, 2009). Documents are comprised of words and images that are created and shared independently from researchers’ involvement and interest in the YOG and its Olympic educational program. Scholars, such as Atkinson and Coffey (1997) consider documents as social facts to indicate that their usage and dissemination are compounded upon socially organized contexts. Through utilizing document analysis as the methodological lens, researchers aim to examine documents to elicit meaning and establish empirical knowledge (e.g., Corbin & Stratus, 2008) about the YOG educational programs activities over the six games in the history. While document analysis is often used in conjunction with other qualitative methods (e.g., interviews, participant observation) for the purpose of triangulation, it can be employed as the sole method, if its limitations are properly addressed. A common critique on employing a document analysis as the only method is related to its tendency to incur biased data selection and limitations on retrievability (Yin, 1994). However, these constraints were mitigated through applying a rigorous data collection strategy, wherein official documents and articles related to all YOG educational programs were collected in their entirety. Moreover, employing a document analysis is a suitable method to this research context, as it offers a sound way of tracking changes and developments of the phenomenon under scrutiny, which aligns with researchers’ intention to observe how the YOG educational programs have evolved over time.

We used various databases to start with (e.g., PubMed, Google search, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost) searching for Youth Olympic Game AND education /educational/ program / programme and focused it inn on the Olympic World Library. To secure a comprehensive pool of documents to review and analyse, researchers identified official documents in the first round of the YOGs’ educational programs published by the previous YOGOCs and the IOC. The screening process excluded non-English documents, all per review articles (as non has used ELT in any YOG studies), Paralympic Games and duplicates.  Such an approach allowed the researchers to include a diverse focused range of documents (e.g., YOGOCs’ official report, IOC documents on candidature procedure, event manuals, press release on educational programs, post-event reports, program description, YOGOCs’ pre-event promotion materials).

Through data extraction and analysis, we followed a thorough review of documents, data were organized into distinct formats from each YOG according to the activities held, and by reflecting on the research question. The use of thematic analysis enabled identification of emerging themes within each YOG context. This process entailed two authors individually coding the refined data and subsequently engaging in discussions to actively share their interpretations until a consensus was reached, which, in turn, ensured intercoder reliability (Creswell, 2012). Each author carefully examined the data and conducted coding and category construction (six YOG in total) to uncover formats used. They represented various contents from each of the six YOGs’ educational activities, which were then scrutinized through the four elements of ELT.

Results and Discussion

The YOG educational programs have constantly evolved since their inception in Singapore 2010, as they have become more complex and ambitious regarding what they hope to accomplish. Based on the analysis, a shift away from philosophical cantered objectives to more practical elite athlete focused, and individual personal development objectives has occurred over the course of 10 years. Within the following sections, the results of the document analysis and the specific educational formats offered by the YOG are introduced and then compared based on their fulfilment of ELT criteria.

YOG Singapore 2010 Educational program

Singapore held the inaugural YOG in 2010 focusing on the Olympic movement, athletes’ development, and their roles and responsibility in sports practice and society (IOC, 2011, p. 5). During the 13 days, 3,524 athletes from 205 nations were exposed to the five key themes implemented through 50 different activities in seven educational formats described hereafter (IOC, 2012, p. 7; SYOGOC, 2010). The activity, ‘Chat with Champions’ consisted of athlete role models sharing their experiences and mentoring athletes during competition and at other activities. The forums offered different topics for athletes to share the athlete role models’ experiences of excellence, friendship and respect, in addition to answering the young athletes’ questions in a talk show format. ‘Discovery Activities’ were interactive exhibitions and workshop activities that were held for athlete to learn about important topics to use in personal development. ‘World Culture Village’ was a booth area hosted by local Singaporeans where athletes were able to interreact with cultures of the countries represented in the YOG, and included dancing, singing, body paining and traditional games. ‘Community Project’ was where athletes could participate in activities together with local organizations to learn the importance of social responsibility and to be inspired to take part in their own local community at home. ‘Arts and Culture’ was a group of activities aimed at celebrating Olympic themes such as youth, culture, and friendship through the mediums of dance, art, and music. ‘Island Adventure’ was utilized for athletes to learn the values of mutual respect, friendship, and teamwork in sport through confidence building courses with water activities and other challenging physical activities. Finally, ‘Exploration Journey’ was a “green day” experience with a terrarium workshop and garden tour, as the athletes learned about the ecosystem.

YOG Innsbruck 2012 Educational program

Innsbruck 2012 in Austria, the inaugural games for winter sports, aimed to deliver lasting benefits and develop enthusiasm for sport among young people, building on the Olympic Spirit and using the Olympic values of excellence, respect, and friendship for the 1,022 athletes representing 69 nations (IOC, 2016, p. 4). Athletes were introduced to the education program by young ambassadors and athlete role models. The Innsbruck program delivered 27 activities based around six formats, described hereafter (IOC, 2012, p. 9: IYOGOC, 2012). An innovation at Innsbruck 2012 was the introduction of the Yogger, a USB device with information about the program and activities. The Yogger was created to build awareness of the education program and thereby increase attendance (IYOGOC, 2012). An activity called ‘Media Lab’ was available for athletes to become educated on how to create media content (including four workshops), how to express themselves, and how to safely use social media. ‘World Mile Project’ educated athletes on tradition in art, sport, music, culture, lifestyles, clothing, language, and famous personalities. Interactive workshops and exhibitions by the IOC’s partners on global topics were utilized. ‘Sustainability Project’ taught athletes about environmental issues and sustainable developments, such as being waste wise, saving water and electricity, mountain awareness, and minimizing nature risks. ‘Art Project’ allowed athletes to share experiences and express themselves through modern art, music and dance. A ‘Competence Project’ was used to facilitate interaction between athlete role models allowing them to educate the athletes on aspects that professional athletes need to balance and be aware of. Finally, a ‘Youth Olympic Festival’ educated athlete through teambuilding activities in hopes for new friendships and networking.

YOG Nanjing 2014 Educational program

The slogan for Nanjing 2014 in China was “Share the Games, Share our Dreams” for all the 3,759 athletes from 202 countries (NYOGOC, 2014). The vision of Nanjing YOG was “to praise young people, advocate for a balanced development of blending education and sport, and to raise awareness about Olympic spirit and the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect,” (IOC, 2016, p. 2) which all linked back to the core of the YOG. The 50 educational activities in five different formats are described below, “embodying the Olympic values” (NYOGOC, 2014, 2015, p. 17). The program was introduced to the athletes in a “Let’s Get Together” gathering to inspire them to be active and magnify their learning opportunities (NYOGOC, 2014). At Nanjing 2014, the Yogger innovation from Innsbruck 2012 was upgraded to online access. Nanjing 2014 also introduced the Learn and Share environment to describe the areas where the educational activities took place (NYOGOC, 2015). The ‘Youth Festival’ activity was used to educate athlete through experiencing different traditions and cultures with sport activities from the Chinese culture in dance, music, opera, and martial arts. ‘Boost Your Skills’ combined forums, discussion, mentoring and sharing to allow athletes to learn more about social issues through being exposed to global issues, workshops on fair play and peace promotion among others. This activity emphasized the importance of a supportive network to help athletes maintain a dual career, with a stronger understanding of time management to help them throughout their daily life as young athletes. ‘World Culture Village’ again hosted booths about cultural diversity around the world. ‘Discover Nanjing’ allowed athletes to visit interesting historical and cultural attractions, as athletes visited the famous Ancient City Wall. More trips were used to educate athletes on not just the Chinese culture but the importance of taking care of the environment as well. Finally, ‘Digital and Social Media’ was an activity for media training by experts, and the introduction of new technologies.

YOG Lillehammer 2016 Educational program

Lillehammer in Norway hosted the second YOG for winter sports in February 2016, with 1,060 athletes from 71 countries and the slogan of “Go beyond and create tomorrow”. The Lillehammer YOGOC wanted the educational activities to be the foundation of the YOG to offer the sports community the option “to share experiences for the local young people, athletes and other participants, equip them with the key skills to become sports champions on the field of play, and life champions off the field of play” (IOC, 2016, p. 6). The 33 interactive activities once again centred on the five key themes and were delivered by five formats summarised below (LYOGOC, 2016). The ‘Your Career’ activity allowed athletes to see what they would need to know after their sporting career had come to an end by teaching them about time management and networking. ‘Your Body and Mind’ educated athlete on injury prevent, clean sport without doping, safe sport, in addition to the emphasis on understanding the importance of motor skills, mental training, and good nutrition. ‘Your Stories’ gave insights into athletes on how to tell their own story (via media training). Finally, ‘Your Discovery’ educated athletes on Norwegian winter sport culture through the Olympic history.

YOG Buenos Aires 2018 Educational program

Buenos Aires hosted in 2018 with the motto feel the future. Doing so by implementing the vison to bring sport closer to the people in sport, cultural and educational celebration by celebrating younger and more urban games (BAYOGOC, 2018). It was also an event with a focus on gender equality with participation of 3997 YOG athletes with equal gender split from 206 nations. During these Games the educational program and formats had been developed further by representatives from the IOC and Olympic stakeholders by having less locations and comprised of activities that are focused on the athletes’ sports career and individual development” (IOC, 2018a, p. 97). The Athlete365 digital platform was also being actively seen for the first time at the games with hands on activities incorporated in Learn and Share education program area, Athlete365 Space,  a program geared towards conveying the importance of clean (non-doping) athletes, good sportsmanship, and fair play in sport. ‘Performance Accelerator’ educated athlete on how to be responsible by learning more about injury prevention and strength training techniques. ‘Gamechangers Hub’ was a media training activity on how to maximize digital and social media in professional and personal lives. This activity allowed athletes to understand the best way to express their point of view and how to create awareness about themselves. ‘IF Focus Day’ was an activity with selected objectives linked to the young athlete’s development of new abilities and skills for personal and career development using the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect. ‘Chat with Champions’ was again introduced by having young athletes interreact with Olympians on personal, sport, and professional endeavours.

YOG Lausanne 2020 Educational program

The city of Lausanne held the 2020 YOG with the slogan “Start Now.” This was now the third winter YOG in the history, with 1788 athletes from 79 nations competing in the city of the IOC headquarters in Switzerland. For the first time we see that the education program is called “Athlete365 Education Programme” with activities that link to the IOCs Athlete365 universal digital platform developed by athletes for athletes in cooperation with the IOC (IOC, 2020a, p. 181). It incorporated Olympians, five educational formats, and around 20 educational activities (LAYOGOC, 2020; IOC, 2020b, pp. 3-6).

The activity named ‘Awareness’ educated athletes on how to be responsible young ambassadors of their sport by playing without doping, fighting against corruption, and learning to prevent abuse. Additional components of this activity allowed athletes to be taught how to balance sport and education, time management, and networking. The ‘Health for Performance’ activity educated young athletes to be aware of how to develop their performance, learn about injury prevention, and who to talk to in tough situations. ‘Game Changer HUB’ educated athletes on how to produce and show their own video content and prepared them to participate in a live TV show on the Olympic Channel. ‘Chat with Champions’ and ‘IF Focus Day’ were again introduced, highlighting the perceived benefit and success of running these types of educational program activities.

Using the Educational Learning Theory (ELT) as its foundational framework, this research rigorously investigates the extent to which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is effectively accomplishing its objectives, delineated through the five fundamental themes that underpin the educational programs during their implementation. With new and former Olympians, it is important to continue to inspire development and monitor the YOG athletes’ educational needs as it is a valuable place for learning and sharing knowledge. The next section discusses the key application of the theoretical ELT (Kolb, 1984, 2015, 2022) concept to the YOG educational program.

YOG Educational Programs Comparison and Evolvement

The investigation revealed an imbalance in experiential educational activities within the YOG and that were offered to the 15,157 athletes, as this part of the ELT process was absent from most of the Games . It was also discovered that experiential educational YOG activities were not fully balanced as a majority of the formats and activities were the activities that utilized concrete experiences . Reflection observations became more prevalent with each iteration of the YOG, as was the same for abstract conceptualizations . The only active experimentation came from the ‘Game Changer HUB’ (former media and social activities), which obviously saw enough success and was easy enough to facilitate that it was worth incorporating in two separate Games. Although the athlete can enter Kolb’s learning cycle at any time, this activity shows opportunities to align new knowledge out in real life (Kolb, 2015). While the concrete experiences are clearly covered, as the other components of ELT are examined, demonstrated by the presence of certain dimensions are missed, indicating a gap between what has been seen as successful and beneficial constructions of ELT and what is currently utilized. The mapping of 6 YOGs educational programs formats across corresponding ELT components is presented in Table 1.

Mapping of learning formats for YOG EP 2010-2020 through the lens of ELT.

Note: CE = Concrete Experience, RO = Reflective Observation, AC = Abstract Conceptualization, AE = Active Experimentation.

Active conceptualisation sessions (like sessions or activities capable of stimulating analytical reflection or challenging the current stereotypes and mind views) unfortunately are fragmented and cannot be described as equally represent in the curricula. With respect to the active experimentation stage, initiatives like Athlete365 activities in later games created actual opportunities for athletes to continue the developmental journey on the Athlete365 digital platform after the YOG. Meaning, the IOC have an opportunity to continue to influence the experiential learning to increase athlete’s knowledge (Kolb & Kolb 2009a). The only suitable example which we identified was the Gamechangers Hub format during 2018 and 2020, where the opportunity for reflection, awareness of unique selves, and experimenting with new conceptualizations was minimal. Still, though, active experimentation was undervalued and not utilized properly. We could conclude from the mapping in Table 1 above that predominant attention is given to unique memorable and diverse experiences, and to some extent physical tests for health and injury training prevention, with a slowly increasing number of reflection and conceptualisation opportunities.

Theoretical and Practical Applications

ELT has been employed in many academic disciplines, such as studying abroad (Iskhakova et al., 2020), music education (Russell-Bowie, 2013), physical education (Bethell & Morgan, 2012), sport psychology (Sato & Laughlin, 2018), engineering (Chan, 2012) and hospitality (Fallon & Daruwalla, 2004), including outdoor education (Roark & Norling, 2010) and global leader development (Fey, 2020).

Furthermore, previous results have demonstrated that when university courses utilize the ELT framework, students develop a deeper knowledge of the subject matter (Bethell & Morgan, 2012), increase their sense of competence in target skills (Roark & Norling, 2010; Iskhakova et al., 2020), gain a better understanding of the link between theory and practice, and achieve greater personal development (Sato & Laughlin, 2018; Chan, 2012; Fallon & Daruwalla, 2004; Russell Bowie, 2013; Fey, 2020). Despite the high potential that ELT has, as previously discussed, it has scarcely been utilized in in the context of Olympic athletes (Cisek, 2023).

The current investigation examined ELT and discovered a lacking adherence to each of the dimensions in this theory by the YOG educational programs, as is critical for learning to occur (Kolb, 2015). This novel finding aids literature pertaining to ELT as the document analysis clearly indicates the dimensions of the theory that are more heavily, or easily, incorporated in YOG educational programs. The goal of this investigation was to examine the application of ELT in a practical setting, in the YOG context, thereby allowing future researchers to evaluate which facets of the theory (Kolb, 1984, 2015) are underutilised and can be enhanced in the YOGs context. Utilizing a document analysis, Table 1 was constructed to illustrate and map the learning formats of past YOG educational programs through the lens of ELT. Examining each of the four stages of ELT (Kolb, 1984, 2015) in the context of the YOG educational programs indicates an underutilization of certain key stages across all YOGs programs. With the benefits that are derived from a full utilisation of ELT, it is posited that further incorporation of activities within certain stages would make the YOG educational programs more impactful in both the short and long term. In ELT studies development and change is essential, as the programs should be flexible and creative as they explore ways of facilitating athletes’ learning effectiveness (Kolb, 2001; Kolb, 2015; Sato & Laughlin, 2018). Demonstrably, at the inception of the YOG in 2010 very few reflection opportunities existed in the educational program, juxtaposed to the current prevalence of this activity.

As Sato and Laughlin (2018) state, a successful integration of ELT allows athletes to take control and responsibility of their learning, instead of passively receiving experience and knowledge. Kolb (2015, p. 299) call this to take active ownership and responsibility of their learning cycle. Therefore, more ‘reflective opportunities’ at each timepoint should be created. With a greater emphasis on experiential activities, accommodations such as time for in-depth reflections should be implemented. More ‘abstract conceptualizations’ and ‘active experimentations’ should be incorporated and facilitated. An increase in these stages means athletes will be given more opportunities to assimilate their lived experiences and reflections into abstract concepts, thereby challenging and evaluating their own world views and values and advancing own development for a long-term horizon (Kolb & Kolb, 2009a; Kolb, 2015).

If the IOC (2019) wants the YOG to be a steppingstone for these athletes before the Olympic Games and a developmental platform that focuses on the holistic athletic development, the IOC should implement Kolb’s theory to a greater extent.

Limitations and Future Studies

As majority of studies, our study is not free of limitations. The first limitation relates to the methodology. While novel findings pertaining to the usage of certain stages of ELT were discovered, the benefit of these activities were not measured. As the analysed documents were produced by the YOGOC and the IOC, understanding from the educators, administrators, and athletes viewpoint are not observed. While the methodology was purposefully selected to accomplish the desired analysis (Bowen, 2009), this limitation is present. Furthermore, there may have also been selected educational learning activities that were adjusted when they were presented. We suggest future scholars to examine the unique impact of the YOG educational programs through various other lens, such as other learning theories, social theories (Parent et al., 2019), personal development theories, and cultural theories.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare. 

A description of the 14 core documents that were included in the data analysis.

• Atkinson, P. A., & Coffey, A. J. (2011). Analysing documentary realities. In D. Silverman (ed.) ,   Qualitative Research (pp. 56-75). Sage.
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• Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method.  Qualitative research journal ,  9 (2), 27-40.
• Brown, C., Willett, J., Goldfine, R., & Goldfine, B. (2018). Sport management internships: Recommendations for improving upon experiential learning. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 22 , 75-81.
• Chan, C. K. Y. (2012). Exploring an experiential learning project through Kolb’s Learning Theory using a qualitative research method.  European Journal of Engineering Education ,  37 (4), 405-415.
• Cisek, E., Mignano, M., & Coles, J. (2023). Rally with the Rapids: An experiential learning project with Special Olympics athletes. Findings in Sport, Hospitality, Entertainment, and Event Management, 3 (2), 1-8.
• Conrad, D., & Hedin, D. (1982). The Impact of Experimental Education on Adolescent Development. Child & Youth Services, 4 (3-4), 57–76.
• Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research . Thousand Oaks.
• Creswell, J. W. (2011). Controversies in mixed methods research.  The Sage handbook of qualitative research ,  4 (1), 269-284.
• Fallon, W., & Daruwalla, P. (2004). Enjoy! – Creating knowledge through experiential learning. In C. Chris (ed.), CAUTHE 2004: Creating Tourism Knowledge (pp. 208-218). Common Ground Publishing.
• Fey, N. (2020). How Global Leaders Learn from International Experience: Reviewing and Advancing Global Leadership Development. In J. S. Osland, B. Szkudlarek, M. E. Mendenhall, and B. S. Reiche (eds.), Advances in Global Leadership (pp. 129-172). Emeral.
• Gosen, J., & Washbush, J. (2004). A Review of Scholarship on Assessing Experiential Learning Effectiveness. Simulation & Gaming, 35 (2), 270–293.
• IOC. (2008). International Olympic Committee. The YOG . In International Olympic Academy, 9th Joint International Session for Presidents or Directors of National Olympic Academies and Officials of National Olympic Committees: Proceedings, May 12-19th, 2008, p. 106.
• IOC. (2011). International Olympic Committee. Factsheet. YOG . Update May, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2022
• IOC. (2012). International Olympic Committee. Factsheet: YOG . Update July 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2023
• IOC. (2015). International Olympic Committee. YOG Event Manual . 7th Edition. May 2015. [Unpublished material]. Received from the Olympic Study Centre, Lausanne: The International Olympic Committee.
• IOC. (2016). International Olympic Committee. Factsheet: YOG . Updated January 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2022
• IOC. (2018a). International Olympic Committee. Chef de Mission Manual Buenos Aires 2018 YOG . Retrieved May 29, 2022
• IOC. (2019). International Olympic Committee. Factsheet: YOG . Updated December 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2023
• IOC. (2020a). International Olympic Committee. Lausanne 2020 Chef de Mission Manual , p. 181. Retrieved May 10, 2022
• IOC. (2020b). International Olympic Committee. Athlete365 Education Programme: Lausanne 2020 YOG , pp. 3-6. Retrieved May 29, 2022, from Athlete365 education programme: Lausanne 2020 YOG / Lausanne 2020 – Olympic World Library (olympics.com).
• Iskhakova, M., Bradly, A., Whiting, B., & Lu, V. N. (2021). Cultural Intelligence Development during Short-term Study Abroad Programmes: The Role of Cultural Distance and Prior International Experience. Studies in Higher Education, 47 (8), 1694-1711
• IYOGOC. (2012). Innsbruck YOG Organizing Committee. BE PART OF IT! Official report of the Innsbruck 2012 Winter YOG . International Olympic Committee. Retrieved May 30, 2022
• Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4 (2), 193–212.
• Kolb, A. Y., & D. A. Kolb. (2008). Experiential Learning Theory: A Dynamic, Holistic Approach to Management Learning, Education and Development. Journal of Education and Development, 17 (9), 312–317.
• Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2009a). Experiential learning theory. In S. J. Armstrong, C. V. Fukami (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Management Learning (pp. 42-68). SAGE.
• Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2009b). The Learning Way.  Simulation & Gaming ,  40 (3), 297–327.
• Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2022). Experiential Learning Theory as a Guide for Experiential Educators in Higher Education. Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, 1 (1), 38.
• Kolb, D. A. (2015). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (2nd ed.). Pearson Education.
• Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as a Source of Learning and Development . Prentice Hall.
• Kolb, D. A., Boyatzis, R. E., & Mainemelis, C. (2001). Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions. In R. J. Sternberg & L. Zhang (eds.), Perspectives on Thinking, Learning, and Cognitive Styles (pp. 227–248). Routledge.
• LAYOGOC. (2020). Lausanne YOG Organizing Committee. Official report of the Lausanne 2020 Winter YOG . International Olympic Committee. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from
• Lehane, L. (2020). Experiential Learning—David A. Kolb. In B. Akpan & T. J. Kennedy (eds.), Science Education in Theory and Practice (pp. 241–257). Springer International Publishing.
• Naul, R., & Binder, D. (2017). Historical Roots of the Educational Idea of Pierre de Coubertin. In R. Naul, D. Binder, A. Rychtecky, & I. Culpan (eds.), Olympic Education: An International Review (pp. 9-15). Taylor & Francis.
• Naul, R. (2010). Olympic Education (2nd ed.). Meyer & Meyer Verlag.
• Newman, T. J., Alvarez, M. A. G., & Kim, M. (2017). An Experiential Approach to Sport for Youth Development. The Journal of Experiential Education, 40 (3), 308–322.
• Newman, T. J., Kim, M., Tucker, A. R., & Alvarez, M. A. G. (2018). Learning through the adventure of youth sport. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 23 (3), 280–293.
• NYOGOC. (2014). Nanjing YOG Organizing Committee. International Olympic Committee. Chef de Mission Manual . Olympic World Library. The Olympic Studies Centre. Retrieved June 7, 2022
• NYOGOC. (2015). Nanjing YOG Organizing Committee. SHARE THE GAMES SHARE OUR DREAMS . Official Report of the 2nd Summer YOG Nanjing 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2022
• Parent, M. M., MacIntosh E., Culver, D., & Naraine, M. L. (2019). Benchmarking the Buenos Aires 2018 Athletes’ Perspective for a Longitudinal Analysis of YOG Athlete Experience and Learning. Lausanne, Switzerland: International Olympic Committee.
• Parry, J. 2012. Olympic Education and the YOG. Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Kinanthropologica, 48 (1), 90–98.
• Roark, M. F., & Norling, J. C. (2010). An Application of a Modified Experiential Learning Model for a Higher Education Course: Evidence of Increased Outcomes. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 2 (1), 59-73.
• Russell-Bowie, D. (2013). Mission Impossible or Possible Mission? Changing Confidence and Attitudes of Primary Preservice Music Education Students Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory. Australian Journal of Music Education, 2 (1), 46-63.
• Sattler, L. A. (2018). From classroom to courtside: An examination of the experiential learning practices of sport management faculty. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, 22 , 52-62.
• Sato, T., & Laughlin, D. (2018). Integrating Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory into a Sport Psychology Classroom Using a Golf-Putting Activity. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 9 (1), 51-62.
• Schellhase, K. C. (2006). Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory in Athletic Training Education: A Literature Review. Athletic Training Education Journal, 1 (2), 18-27.
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• SYOGOC. (2010). Singapore Youth Olympic Organizing Committee. Blazing the Trail. Official report of the YOG Singapore 2010 . International Olympic Committee. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from
• Yin, R. K. (1994). Discovering the future of the case study. Method in evaluation research.  Evaluation practice ,  15 (3), 283-290.

Perceptions of Former Collegiate Athletes on Career Transition Programs in the NCAA

Qshequilla Parham Mitchell 2024-08-23T10:19:26-05:00 August 16th, 2024 | Research , Sport Education , Sports Studies and Sports Psychology |

Authors: Cameren Pryor 1 and Lindsay Ross-Stewart 2

1 Department of Psychology, University of North Texas 1

2 Department of Applied Health, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Corresponding Author: Dr. Lindsay Ross-Stewart Campus Box 1126 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL, 62026 [email protected] (618) 650-2410

Cameren Pryor: Cameren Pryor is a third-year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Sport Psychology at the University of North Texas. Cameren’s research interests focus on athletic career transition/sport retirement, athletic transition psychoeducation/programming, and student athlete mental health.

Lindsay Ross-Stewart: Dr. Ross-Stewart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Health at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr. Ross-Stewart’s research is grounded in Bandura’s concept of self- efficacy and its role in behavior change. Dr. Ross-Stewart is an Association for Applied Sport Psychology Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC®) and a Canadian Sport Psychology Association Mental Performance Consultant (MPC).

Many student athletes experience feelings of grief, sadness, loss of motivation, and depressive symptoms due to improperly preparing for sport retirement (1). Past literature encourages practitioners to incorporate psychoeducational programming into NCAA athletic programs that better prepare athletes for transition. However, it has been found that there is a lack of consensus on when and what is being advised to student athletes about the transition process (2). Additionally, little research has investigated the overall effectiveness of NCAA collegiate career transitioning programs through the perceptions of student athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate if current career transition programs in NCAA Athletic Departments were using best practices, as defined by the current research in the field, based on former collegiate athlete’s perceptions of their experience with career transition programming. A secondary and equally important purpose was to investigate the overall impact athletic career transition had on former collegiate athletes’ current lives. Former collegiate student athletes completed semi – structured interviews via Zoom to assess their experience with career transition programming during their time as an athlete and the level of effectiveness they felt the program offered. The findings of this study suggest that NCAA athletic departments need to implement effective athletic career transition programming that better prepares student athletes to transition from collegiate sport.

Keywords: career transition, qualitative research, sport psychology

College student athletes dedicate approximately 70 hours per week to athletic and academic demands (3). With less than two percent of National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) student athletes competing on the professional level (4), most student athletes will transition out of athletics when they graduate from university. This transition time led to increased feelings of grief, sadness, loss of motivation, and depressive symptoms for some athletes (1). To prevent these negative experiences, career transition researchers have encouraged athletic departments to implement psychoeducational programming that better prepares student athletes for the psychological, behavioral, and social outcomes of sport retirement (5). However, it has been found that there is a lack of consensus on when and what is being advised to student athletes about the transition process (2). Additionally, little research has investigated the overall effectiveness of NCAA collegiate career transitioning programs through the perceptions of student athletes.

A recent literature review of career transition research (6) found there were very few studies conducted in the United States concerning athletic transition, with the limited findings highlighting retirement planning, identity loss, coping skills and support systems as the core areas that have been investigated. They reiterated the importance of psychoeducational interventions; however, they acknowledged that more research is needed to better understand the transition process and how to effectively implement career transition programing.

Past research has also highlighted the findings that career transitions appear through social, developmental, and psychological factors (5) and the importance of starting career transition education at the earliest stages of sports participation. The importance of social support has been supported by the work of Adams et al. (7) who found participants experienced a more positive transition if they felt cared for by the people that they believed understood them and what they were going through. Thus, a sense of closeness and trust between the recipient and the person providing support appeared to be crucial for support during career transitions. Of importance was the finding that athletes perceived coaches to provide more social support than parents and teammates indicating coaches should be a central part of career transition programming. Cummins and O’Boyle (8) found that athletes perceived their universities as unable to support them during the transition process with support, career advice and information on the professional role and guidance from past student athletes. Thus, the lack of career control was shown by all participants. Cummins and O’Boyle (8) recommended implementing mentoring into university programs from former student athletes to current student athletes on the transition process and potential career opportunities.

Along with social support, one’s athletic identity has been highlighted as impacting an athlete’s experience with career transition. Specifically, the more an athlete identifies with their athletic role, the less likely they are to have a well-defined career plan (9) and therefore struggle during career transition. Furthering this finding, researchers found that athletic identity was positively correlated to retirement outcomes and negatively correlated with decreased self-esteem, feelings of uncontrollability and ‘vagueness’ about the future (10). It has also been shown that athletes who retired due to injury have greater adjustment difficulties (10). Furthermore, researchers found that the strength and exclusivity of the athletic role during sport participation increased an athlete’s potential vulnerability to psychiatric distress after leaving sport (11), and higher levels of emotional adjustment difficulties (12). In contrast to these negative connections to athletic identity, Cabrita et. al, (13) found that athletes with higher athletic identity have higher levels of career decision making self- efficacy. They suggested this may be due to the efficacy they gain from sport transferring to their career decision making efficacy. Further research is needed to better understand these potentially conflicting findings on the relationship between athletic identity and career transition.

Menke and Germany (14), identified consistent themes athletes identified when discussing their feelings and thoughts related to coping with transition out of sport including the positive of gains or strength of transferable skills as well as the negative experiences of a loss of identity, feelings of loss, sadness, anxiety, loss of motivation and depressive symptoms. It has been shown that global self-esteem and physical self-perceptions decreased during the transition out of elite sport (15). Additionally, it was found that retired athletes that experience difficulties with their bodies have decreased feelings of pride, satisfaction, happiness, and confidence regarding their physical selves. These experiences can contribute to stressful reactions to retiring out of sport. Of extra importance is the finding that sport individuals that experience bodily changes accompanied with high athletic identity can experience increased psychiatric distress and self-esteem issues when transitioning (15).

Taken together, the above information highlights the need for career transition programming and combining a plan for post-sport retirement with talking about the emotions experienced during the transition process. Past researchers have suggested that sport psychology practitioners and mental health professionals work with athletic teams to encourage the development of the student athlete by consistently speaking to them about career related topics and encouraging student athletes to explore and engage in expanding their interests outside of sport as well as supporting the use of health care resources for former high-level athletes (16).

During sport retirement, many athletes cognitively make the decision to grieve the loss of their sport by participating in healthy and unhealthy coping behaviors for extra support. Acceptance, account making, positive reinterpretation, planning, active coping, mental disengagement and seeking social support for emotional reasons are all strategies that have been reported (12). Account-making (the construction of a story about a traumatic event (i.e., it’s nature, what happened, how one feel’s about it, and what it means for the future; citation) and confiding (portions of one’s account, are revealed to others) has also been shown to be an effective tool as it helps athletes to understand their retirement experience, understand their emotions and to acknowledge an identity that is outside of sport.

Recent literature reviews have encouraged viewing transition from a lifespan perspective involving pre-career, post-career, and other domains of an athlete’s life (17), and preparing for retirement before it happens, creating a strong alliance with trust (client and counselor), exploring the emotions accompanied with the transition, interventions, and knowledge of transferable skills, addressing athlete’s overall competency of transferable skills, developing a support network, and evaluating the effectiveness of the athletes transitions out of sport and the effectiveness of counseling interventions. Based on the literature review, the researchers recommended that counselors may be effective in assisting athletes to plan for life after sport by helping them understand and realize that the skills they have acquired through sport can help them be successful in other areas of life (18).  

Furthering our understanding of best practice, researchers have recommended empathy and attentive listening need to be utilized to help athletes make sense of their experiences and it has been recommended that programming should look at the development of interventions from different psychological perspectives for athletes in transition (5). Overall, researchers suggest the need to examine the effectiveness of these models and devote attention to interventions from different psychological perspectives. Lastly, they highlight the finding that helping athletes become aware of the transferrable skills can help facilitate successful career planning. 

Researchers have continuously suggested the need for psychoeducational interventions that address the psychological, behavioral, social effects and the loss of athletic identity has on a sport individual when transitioning from sport and the need to start this programming early in an athlete’s college career (e.g., 5). Being that there is a lack of consensus on when and how to speak to athletes about career transition, and a lack of connection between research suggested guidelines and applied programming at the college level, further understanding of this area is needed. Thus, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate former NCAA athlete’s perceptions of current career transition programs in NCAA Athletic Departments. A secondary purpose was to investigate former collegiate athlete’s perceptions of their experience transitioning from sport and how these experiences affected their current lives.

Materials and Methods Methods Setting, Recruiting, Sampling, and Consent

            All participants were recruited via social media. Posts were made on both researchers’ Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages, as well as shared on their program social media sites. People were encouraged to share the posts with people they may have known who would be interested. Potential participants were instructed on how to reach the primary researcher if they were interested in participation. The primary researcher then spoke with each potential participant to make sure they were a former NCAA athlete who finished their career within the last five years but did not suffer a career ending injury or quit their college career (which were the exclusion criteria). Those that qualified were interviewed over zoom for this study. Zoom was chosen as it allowed for participants from across the United States and increased the accessibility of the study to participants. Prior to the interview the participants were sent the informed consent form and gave consent to participate. They then gave verbal consent on zoom while the session was being recorded. Participants were also given the opportunity to ask any clarification questions about the study they may have had after reading the informed consent.

  Participants

The participants of this study were six retired collegiate student athletes who previously competed in NCAA athletic programs and completed their athletic careers in the five years. The participants were two males and four females. Participants were represented from various sports consisting of basketball, track & field, softball, baseball, and golf. The athletes were from Division I (n=four), Division II (n=one), and Division III (n=one).

Data Collection Tools

Career Transition Interview

As there is a lack of set tools for assessing the psychological impact of career transition for college athletes, and to hear the voices of those who have experiences career transition, – semi structured, questions (some open and some closed based on need) were developed for this study. The goal was to allow the participants to reflect on their personal experiences with career transition programming at the universities they competed in and their overall transition experience. The important themes recognized in previous athletic career transition literature were used to develop questions for the interviews focused on their career transition program experience and their experiences post-tradition career. A specific focus was made to keep the questions neutral in language so as not to lead the participants in any direction. During the interviews, based on the participant’s comments, follow up questions were asked, and discussion was encouraged with the athlete to gain their views outside of the predetermined questions, as needed the closed questions were aimed at understanding the organization of any career transition programing they may have had during their athletic career (e.g., “Did your university have an athletic career transition program or workshop? And “How often did this program occur at your university?”) as well as understanding their demographics (e.g., “What is your age” “What sport did you play”).  year were you when you participated in this program?). To better understand their experiences and truly give the participants a chance to process their experiences in their own words, open-ended questions were used. Example questions included “What was your athletic career transition experience like?,” “How did transitioning from sport make you feel?” and “During your transition experience, what did you do/not do to cope?

Data Analyses

 A six phase Reflexive thematic approach was used with the essentialist/realist method for qualitative data (19-22). This method is used to identify, analyze, and report patterns (themes) within a given data set. Additionally, it is used to describe and interpret the meaning and importance of the patterns (themes) found. The Essentialist/Realist method is used to report experiences, meanings, and the reality of participants (19), which was used to analyze the perceptions and personalized experiences from former collegiate athletes. Of importance for this approach is to acknowledge that we all perceive the environment and impact it through those perceptions. Therefore, giving as much room for the exact voice of the participants is needed to minimize the participants experiences being reported through the researcher’s lens alone. Therefore, this paper gives significant space to each participant’s voice, which is possible due to the sample size of six people. Utilizing the ‘top-down approach’ also known as deductive approach (23), this study analyzed semantic themes that are suggested within previous career transition literature to implement into athletic career transition programming for student athletes However, ideas that emerged that did not fit within current literature were also noted and coded to add to the already existing literature. In qualitative research, the researchers and coders must assess their biases and perceptions as it relates to the research topic. In this study, the data was coded by two coders, the primary researcher, a former collegiate athlete whose career ended two years before data analysis recognized that her own experiences were a potential bias to the study. Therefore, several methods of checking trustworthiness were used (See Trustworthiness section below). The second coder was not involved in the study at all and was not a former collegiate athlete, nor were they familiar with the literature in the area.

Following the guidelines of Braun and Clarke (19-23) both coders followed a six-step process. Prior to coding all interviews were electronically transcribed using zoom transcription services, and all transcriptions were checked for accuracy against the recorded interviews. To start the coding process both coders familiarized themselves with the data by reading all the transcripts. The coders then independently recorded points of interest in the transcripts as they began to generate the initial codes, making sure to code each piece of data available. Data could be an individual word (e.g., the answer “yes” to a closed question) or as long as a few sentences (e.g., “ Even though I did not struggle a lot, I think it still would have been nice to have a transition program in those later years of college just to learn how to be an adult on your own without sports ruling your life” ). Focusing on the context of a comment opposed to the length when deciding on a code was done in line with the recommendations of past researchers (e.g., 20). Next, coders began to develop themes with past research in career transition in mind. Again, this deductive approach did not mean discarding data that did not fit in a prior identified theme, but instead recognized past information while new themes that emerged were also identified and titled with this new information being an addition to our current understanding of the career transition experience in the field. The coders then compared their codes and themes and when in disagreement engaged in thoughtful discourse explaining their rationale for their coding choice, while being cognizant of their potential biases. This process led to agreement between the coders in the few places where there was initial disagreement. Finally, the overall themes and codes are explained in detail in this manuscript as is noted as an important step in thematic analysis.

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness was assessed in multiple ways to increase the credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability of the study (19-22;24, 25). In addition to an acknowledgement of the researcher’s viewpoint and the reality that all researcher’s perspective’s impact their analysis, both coders of the data assessed their own views and were systematic in assessing the impact of these views throughout the research. Furthermore, as the lead researcher of this study was a former NCAA athlete, and as such recognized that this may have led to potential biases peer debriefing was used to increase credibility. Furthermore, a third coder, who was familiar with the research in the field but did not conduct the interviews or participate in the original data analysis was brought in to engaged in negative case analysis to assess any divergent data and discuss these findings to make sure they were appropriately accounted for in the data coding. Internal auditing was also done by two researchers who were not a part of this study, nor familiar with the research on career transition in sport, to highlight and address any potentially biased interpretations of the data. The detailed documentation of the procedures used for this study at each stage following the guidelines of the APA Journal Article Reporting Standards for Qualitative Research (2018), along with using thick description in this manuscript was done to increase dependability and transferability. Results The major themes that emerged throughout the data were lack of athletic career transition programming, high athletic identity, lack of psychological support, social support, coping mechanisms and the Covid-19 pandemic. Note that participants’ names have been changed to maintain confidentiality. Pseudonyms given are representative of names that match the self- reported gender and race of each participant.

Lack of Athletic Career Transition Programming

It was found that four out of six participants experienced a positive overall career transition from athletics and described their experience as ‘easy’ and ‘smooth sailing.’ However, two of the participants in this study experienced a negative overall career transition from athletics. When it came to access to career transition programming, only two of the participants had access to transition programs from their universities. Example comments related to this are included Leah commenting, ‘I don’t even know where to begin, I felt so unprepared to go out into the world.’ and Andrea stating, ‘My transition experience was a little rocky and it had an effect on how I was mentally.’ Mary said, ‘ Even though I did not struggle a lot, I think it still would have been nice to have a transition program in those later years of college just to learn how to be an adult on your own without sports ruling your life.’ Two participants recalled their athletic departments referring them to their on-campus career center for career assistance. For example, Kelly noted, ‘The programs that were available to me via the career center were focused on interviewing skills, portfolio/resume building and career fairs; none of these events catered to my athletic experience .’ Andrea who did have access to career transition programming, indicated that their school had the NCAA Life Skills Program (NCAA, 1994). She stated, ‘I definitely found this program to be helpful and I felt as though I needed those skills to be able to transition from college into the outside world.’ Although Andrea spoke highly of the Life skill program at her previous university, she still reported a negative transition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chance recalled his previous athletic department hosting optional career transition programming that he did not attend due to the programs conflicting with his schedule. ‘I felt like it would have been helpful, I just did not feel like I had the time to do it with athletics and my class schedule.’ When looking at the differences between programming across the three different division levels present in this study, both Andrea and Chance were in Division I programs. Chelsea, who participated within Division III stated, ‘We weren’t provided with a lot of resources being the lower level and I think it had to do with finances as well as compliance.’

When asked what participants would value within athletic career transition programming, participants noted the importance of programming on financial topics (budgeting, taxes, financing vehicles and homes), programs for juniors and seniors on resources for transition. For example, Chelsea stated, I think a big topic that needs to be talked about in depth is financials because as an athlete, you spend a lot of your time on the road, and you don’t necessarily go out all of the time to spend money because you are giving per- diem and gear etc. When you are not an athlete, you are not provided with those things anymore.

As well as making programming more accessible,

  I think it would be helpful to make the programs more available for everybody else. I wasn’t able to attend some of the programs because I had night classes during the times, they had the events. ‘I also think having programs that teach athletes about finances could be helpful; specifically on financing things, insurance and buying a home. (Chance)

Implementing mentorship programming was noted by the athletes with this quote by Kelly being a good representation of the athletes’ comments ‘ I think having talks that help athletes learn how to speak about their skills and how to speak about that when interviewing for jobs.’ ‘I also think it would be great to bring back sport alumni and have them speak to current athletes about their careers.’ Additionally, it was also recommended that athletic departments speak to athletes about degrees and course choices that suit that athletes’ interests. Leah noted ‘I wish my academic advisor helped me more with what I could do with my degree after I graduated.’ ‘I feel like the focus was for me to get classes that worked around my practice schedule mostly.’

High athletic identity

             With years devoted to excelling within sport, many athletes find themselves identifying as an athletic individual even when their sport career ends (9). This finding was supported by the reflections from the participants in this study. Five out of six participants indicated they still identify as an athlete and considered themselves athletic. Chelsea noted, ‘I still try to live an athletic style similar to how I was when I was a competitive athlete’, while Chance noted ‘I still identify as a former athlete who still does athletic things.’ – and Leah said, ‘I still resemble as an athlete just because I’m still in shape and I’m still basically active.’ Of note, half of the participants in this study transitioned out of sport and into a career within or surrounding athletics. These participants openly discussed how this allowed them to stay identified within sport culture. For example, Kelly said ‘I now identify as a coach, which gives me sport identity; making it easier to take away the athlete part of me, but that identity is still very much part of who I am.’ Chelsea commented ‘ I work within an athletic department and am still around sport every day. I enjoy that part of my job’ and Mary said,

After college I became a graduate assistant for an athletic department and it’s nice to still being in the sports world because I am still constantly around athletics.’ ‘The best thing about being a college athlete is you definitely have like a foot up; I feel like in a lot of the career world.

Two participants discussed the transferability of the skills they learned as athletes, and how these gave them an advantage throughout the job search process. For example, Chance said ‘Just from my experience playing in college athletics, it helped me in terms of interviews and getting in the position to get a job.’ When asked what skills from sport helped him get his current position, he discussed leadership, communication, teamwork/collaboration, and confidence. He commented, ‘ Leadership and communication; these were big for coming out of college athletes. I think it helped. As well as just like you get the confidence for like playing in front of people, so that helped with confidence and interviews and everything like that.’ ‘Being able to do team work as well; a lot of jobs like that as you obviously have to work in teams and collaborate with other people within your company.’

Lack of Psychological support

Although the strength and exclusivity of the athletic role during sport participation may increase an athlete’s potential vulnerability to psychiatric distress after leaving sport (11), none of the participants reported experiencing athletic career transition programming that addressed the psychological effects that a transition can have on a sport individual. Although only one participant expressed experiencing mental health difficulties during her transition, five out of six participants spoke on the need for mental health to be addressed in athletic career transition programming. For example, Kelly noted,

“I think having a mental health professional to provide tools and be real with athletes, like hey it is not going to be a smooth sailing process once you finally hang up the cleats, here are some tools to help you cope with this process better.”

 Leah on the other hand focused on the importance of wellness checks, ‘I do believe that for athletes who will transition, psychologists should come in and do a wellness check or just be an ear for somebody would be an amazing thing because college athletics is a mental trip.’

Coping strategies are used to help student athletes better adjust to sport retirement. Participants in this study reported that they coped with their transition out of sport by finding ways to get their mind off this process. Chelsea said, ‘I definitely did try to find ways to get my mind off of the fact that I’m not going to practice.’ Mary noted, ‘You try and find outlets you know, to still be competitive and find other ways to use your talents but it takes a little bit of time to find those things’ while Andrea stated, ‘I exercised to relieve the stress I had and that helped a lot.’ Although some of the participants found positive ways to cope with their transition, one participant utilized negative ways to cope with their transition. Leah said, ‘ I was being real nonchalant. I was trying to like mask it with everything will work out fine, but I was panicking.’ During this time, she mentioned that she participated in drinking alcohol and smoking. She said, ‘ another way that I coped truthfully during that time in all honesty; was drinking and smoking. I was like a spiral, like I did not know what to do.’ None of the participants indicated experiencing programming that spoke on positive ways to cope with transitioning out of athletics. By implementing this in programming, negative coping mechanisms during transitions can be prevented.

Social Support

             During athletic transitions, the participants utilized social support and informal information given to them about the transition process before and during their journey. It was found that the participants recalled receiving support from coaches, athletic advisors, family, and friends. Although the participants in the study did not receive as much support within their athletic departments, it was noted that they all utilized their social networks as support systems during their transitions. Andrea said, ‘I definitely needed some social support and I talked to my coach. He would hit me and just ask me if I was doing okay and stuff like that.’ Kelly stated, ‘I connected with my coaches a lot about the transition process as a player and my plans to pursue coaching as a career’ and ‘My coaches had a good grasp on what transitioning was like especially when they have played sport for so long.’ Kelly also noted the importance of friends and family , ‘My friends and family were also a good support system.’ The role of professors was also noted, ‘ The professors I interacted with were very helpful to prepare me for what comes next, and I had an older sibling that played college sports, so I definitely relied on help from him.’

Covid-19 Pandemic

             The final theme that emerged from the data and affected two out of six participants in the year 2020 was the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic for the year 2020 ended college sports prematurely causing more athletes to experience a traumatic end to their athletic season and for some, a traumatic end to their athletic careers. The participants in this study who experienced this expressed not being supported by their athletic departments which increased their feelings of not being prepared for what was next for them. For example, Leah stated, ‘ We were told that we weren’t going to get our season and that was it; our season was stripped away.’ When asked if there were any resources or emotional support provided for her, she said she could not recall any. She did reflect on being offered an extra season, which would grant her a fifth year of eligibility. She said she declined this opportunity in hopes of being able to put more time towards starting her career. Andrea, whose transition experience was also affected by the pandemic described her athletic career as ending suddenly, which took a toll on her mental health. She stated, ‘I never had anybody to talk to about how to move forward or continue on with the degree I earned.’ ‘I just remember thinking, what am I going to do next?’ ‘We never had a good closing statement.’ When asked if there were any resources or emotional support available to her, she recalled her athletic advisor reaching out to her via email and text message but decided to not respond due to feeling overwhelmed.

             This study examined athletic career transition programming within the NCAA through the perceptions of former student athletes. Additionally, the impact of an athletic career transition was further explored. The results from this study provide evidence that athletic departments may not be using best practices to better support student athletes in their transition out of collegiate athletics (2). From these findings, participants received little to no programming specific to how retiring from sport affects an individual psychologically, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially as well as how it affects their overall identity (5,7,8,9). The data further shows that athletic departments may not be listening to what the research says (5) should be implemented into programming; thus, demonstrating that athletic departments may not be prioritizing the overall well-being of student athletes. Past literature has continuously encouraged practitioners within athletic departments to include programming to provide student athletes the tools to adjust to sport retirement (4) and with the lack thereof, student athletes can potentially experience more negative reactions to retiring from collegiate sport (1,11,12).

 The findings of this study were consistent with previous research with there still being a lack of consensus of what is told to student athletes about the transition process (2) shown throughout the perceptions of the former student athletes in this study. The themes (i.e., athletic career transition programming, athletic identity, psychological impact, and coping) from past research re-emerged when the participants were asked to reflect on their overall transition experience. Two additional themes that emerged were social support and the Covid-19 pandemic. Social support was not surprising as past literature has suggested it to be a positive coping mechanism for athletes in transition (7). However, the Covid-19 pandemic was a unique theme that has not often been discussed regarding athletic retirement. This provides a unique perspective to the overall findings. The perceptions of participants personal athletic transition experiences from collegiate sport were also consistent with previous literature in that most participants still resonated with the athletic role (athletic identity) (e.g., 9, 11,12), experienced mixed feelings about transitioning support and would have appreciated psychological support (8,12); utilizing positive and negative coping mechanisms and used social support networks that were available to them (7,8). With the difficulties and challenges of the unprecedented pandemic, this may have further exacerbated the lack of proper resources for student athletes transitioning from collegiate sport. This further provides evidence that proper exit strategies must be implemented within athletic departments for collegiate student athletes (5).

Limitations & Future Research

There were limitations to this study that should be discussed. The findings were derived from a participant sample consisting primarily of women or individuals that competed within the Division I level. The lack of participants from other divisions did not allow for comparison across divisions. Furthermore, although interviewing only six participants led to the ability to give each participant a voice in this paper, it was a small sample making it impossible to make set inferences on this data alone. Instead, these results should be seen as an additional piece of information, along with past research findings, that can be used for best practice in career transition. With the structured interviews conducted primarily over zoom, this may have impacted the participants openness to disclose sensitive information due to the interview format. This was demonstrated by one participant disclosing confidential information related to their mental health after the interview process was completed, and the recording of the zoom appointment stopped. Future research should consider replicating this study with an in-person structured interview, with a more diverse and larger participant sample. Future studies should consider looking at the differences in athletic career transition programming implemented within all division levels of the NCAA qualitatively.

Conclusions Implications for Practice

The purpose of this present study was to investigate if current career transition programs in NCAA Athletic Departments are using best practices, as defined by the current research in the field, based on former collegiate athlete’s perceptions of their experience with career transition programming. A secondary and equally important purpose was to investigate the overall impact athletic career transition has on former collegiate athletes’ lives. The findings of this study provided evidence on the overall impact transitioning from collegiate sport has on an athletic individual and along with past research highlight the lack of athletic career transition programming implementation into athletic departments. These findings add to the evidence that suggests that professionals should be creating programs and psychoeducational interventions that include how the transition affects an athlete psychologically, socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and how it affects their overall athletic identity, per previous athletic career transition literature. Furthermore, professionals should implement psychological support for athletic career transitions from qualified staff, programming that gives student athletes tools on mental health resources, programming on positive coping mechanisms, programming to student athletes on financial topics (e.g., budgeting, financing, housing, taxes) and implementing mentorship programs that feature student athlete alumni. Additionally, these findings support the recommendation that practitioners should consider making programming accessible to all student athletes with various schedules by having programming for student athletes in person and virtually if possible. Lastly, practitioners within athletic departments should consider receiving feedback from former student athletes like this study, to ensure that the programming implemented is using best practices to better support student athletes. It is with hope that the findings of this study encourage practitioners within NCAA athletic departments to implement effective athletic career transition programming that will provide student athletes the tools to properly prepare for the transition out of collegiate athletics.

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Effective use of Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality in Pitch Recognition and Sport Imagery Ability Development

George Minoso 2024-07-18T10:12:55-05:00 August 2nd, 2024 | Research , Sport Training , Sports Coaching |

Authors: Lindsay Ross-Stewart 1 , Landon Braun 2 , & Victoria Hardcastle 3

1 Department of Applied Health, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2 College of Health Professions and Sciences, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee 3 Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Savannah State University

Lindsay Ross-Stewart, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Health at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr. Ross-Stewart is a CMPC® and a Canadian Sport Psychology Association Mental Performance Consultant (MPC).

Landon Braun, M.S., is a Doctoral Student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the College of Health Professions & Sciences. At UWM Landon works as a Teaching Assistant in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences & Technology where he teaches courses related sport and performance psychology to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Victoria Hardcastle, M.S., is an Assistant Softball Coach at Savannah State University.

Abstract: Imagery can be described as experience that mimics real world experiences through the combination of using different sensory modalities in the absence of actual perceptions (43). One uses visual, auditory, kinesthetic (touch), smell, and taste to create a picture simulating real world environments and scenarios. Imagery can be used to enhance various aspects of performance by mentally preparing someone for an upcoming competition or helping an athlete focus specifically on a task (19). Virtual reality, understood in this study as a first-person filmed, computer presented, immersive simulation of a real environment (32), has become increasingly more utilized in sport performance settings (7, 37, 44). Combing these two elements, the purpose of this study was to investigate an applied Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality (IAVR) intervention on imagery ability and pitch recognition in a sample of eleven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One softball players at a Midwestern University. This study’s results indicated a significant increase in global imagery ability as well as in four of the five functions of imagery (CS, CG, MG-A, MG-A) and in pitch type recognition. Practically, the results from this study suggest that the IAVR intervention can create an impactful experience to assist athletes in improving their performance and psychological skills.

Keywords: Psychological Skills, Pitching Ability, Softball, Virtual Reality, Collegiate Sport

Virtual reality technology has become an increasingly common tool used in sport (e.g., 3 – 4, 7, 14, 17, 24, 26; 28, 31, 37, 44) with application in areas such as injury rehabilitation (31), and performance enhancement (2, 27, Wood et al., 2020). In fact, virtual reality has been labeled the next step forward for athletic training (47) and has been the subject of several states of the field (e.g., 7, 26).

Virtual reality was originally defined as a computer-generated, artificial, or simulated environment created by technological software (38). Within sport, it has been defined as instances when individuals are engaged in a sport that is represented in a computer-simulated environment which aims to induce a sense of being mentally or physically present and enables interactivity with the environment (28). One important aspect that virtual reality training is lacking is a focus on how virtual reality can assist in increasing an athlete’s psychological skill development (32). While virtual reality can impressively replicate environments and simulate real-world reactions; it still lacks the ability to capture an emotional response to the environment (32). As we know that how one feels and their perceptions of the sporting environment are necessary for performance, past research has shown this to be a challenge in traditional VR interventions (11) Research on the incorporation of imagery into a virtual reality training program has shown it to be a promising way to gain the advantages of VR and to overcome this potential challenge (32, 33; 34).

In the context of sport, White and Hardy (45) defined mental imagery as: an experience that mimics real experience. We can be aware of “seeing” an image, feeling movements as an image, or experiencing an image of smell, tastes, or sounds without actually experiencing the real thing (23). One approach to the application of imagery in sport is the revised applied model of imagery, which states that athletes may use it to achieve different outcomes (10). To achieve desired outcomes, imagery type, what athlete’s images and imagery function, the why or the purpose of an athlete’s image should be considered (29). Imagery type is split into two categories, cognitive and motivational, with each operating at specific and general levels (43). Cognitive refers to performance enhancement while motivational focuses on confidence enhancement (5). Imagery types and functions have been defined as: Cognitive specific (CS) helps an athlete to work on skill learning, development, and execution. Cognitive general (CG) affords the athlete the ability to image different strategies and routines. Motivational specific (MS) imagery focuses on enhancing motivation through goal setting and goal achievement. Motivational general arousal (MGA) imagery focuses on somatic and emotional experiences such as regulating stress and arousal. Motivational general mastery (MGM) imagery concentrates on coping, gaining, and maintaining self-confidence, and staying focused (10, 18) identify. Athletes might use each of the imagery types alone or in combination with one another, depending on the meaning an athlete applies to the image (29). For example, an athlete can use cognitive specific imagery (CS type) to image themselves executing a skill successfully (CS function), but this image may also increase their confidence, which would be for the function type MG-M (10).

Focusing on the way in which Imagery and Virtual Reality could be used together, Ross-Stewart and colleagues developed Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality (IAVR), a training protocol that involves an immersive virtual reality experience for users in which kinesthetic awareness is incorporated with users being able to see a first-person simulated scenario coupled with an individualized imagery script aimed at enhancing psychological skills and performance (32). IAVR entailed a first-person filmed batting environment from an on-deck position all the way up to batting and taking swings. This video was then followed by a blank screen with an individualized guided imagery script tailored to each individual player that was either audio recorded in the video itself or written down. In their initial study they found that participants who completed an IAVR intervention increased their skills imagery (CS), goal imagery (MS) and mastery imagery (MG-M) as measured by the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; 43). Furthermore, results suggested an increase in overall imagery use, positive self-talk and automaticity in both practice and competition through the length of the study. Additionally, negative thinking during competition decreased, as measured by the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; 39). The finding that imagery and virtual reality used together can impact psychological constructs was supported by Frank et al (2022) who found self-efficacy to increase in a physical activity task using imagery and virtual reality. Furthering the support for IAVR, a recent study on the impact of VR on imagery ability and emotional affect found that VR can “induce emotional arousal and affect the mental imagery skills and positive affect of athletes” (46).

Baseball hall of famer Ted Williams referred to batting as “the hardest thing to do in sports” (35). If a softball pitcher throws a 60-mph fastball, it will reach Homeplate in .45 seconds. However, if she throws a changeup at 50 mph, it will reach Homeplate in .55 seconds. Batters have a brief window of opportunity in which they must recognize the pitch and decide to swing or not swing (20). Pitch recognition is the batter’s ability to recognize which way the seams on the ball are spinning/rotating and the trajectory of the ball (20). These two components can be categorized by pitch type (fastball, change-up, drop ball, rise ball) and prediction of eventual location of the pitch (strike, ball, inside, outside) (13). Being able to recognize pitches is an essential aspect of batting. However, there exists little agreement on what the skill of pitch recognition consists of and how to improve it (13). Each pitch is comprised of different combinations of velocity, rotation, and trajectory cues. Outside of rotation and trajectory cues, there are other sources of information a batter might be receiving information from without being aware of it. These cues include knowledge of the pitcher, game situation, and batter’s count (20). A batter’s ability to recognize which pitch is being thrown will allow them to conduct their swing accordingly and increase performance. This recognition will allow a batter to make more solid hits and recognize the difference between a ball and strike. This recognition will also allow them to either look for pitches they want to hit or draw more walks. Therefore, pitch recognition is a pivotal skill for softball players to obtain if they want to achieve top performance.

The use of VR has been shown to be an effective tool for the increase of strike zone and pitch recognition (16). Virtual reality training has also been shown to lead to a greater sensitivity to visual information provided by the ball trajectory, seam rotation, and improved ability to use monocular cues to determine whether a pitch would cross the plate in the strike zone or not (16). Furthermore, Ranganathan and Carlton (30) found that VR was effective when baseball players had visual information of an entire pitch in their VR environment and ball trajectory yielded a higher prediction accuracy.

Based on both past research in VR and IAVR, merging imagery and virtual reality may enhance the psychological skill and strategy development of athletes more than if they are used alone. Taken with recent suggestions for more research on the effectiveness of VR on both skill acquisition and psychological change in sport (e.g., 7 17, 26, 28 31, 41), specifically, Cotterill’s assertion that “there is also a need for more applied case studies that outline the procedures adopted and reflect on the outcomes obtained using VR in sport psychology–relevant ways”(7, p.22). The purpose of this paper is to highlight an applied Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality intervention that was used with a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I softball team. Specifically, hitters were given the opportunity to participate in an intervention that designed individualized imagery assisted virtual reality video for them and then they were assessed to see how it impacted their imagery ability, and pitch recognition. Based on past research, it was hypothesized that both global imagery ability and pitch recognition would increase from baseline to post intervention. Furthermore, based on past research on IAVR (32) it was hypothesized that CS, CG, and MG-M imagery would significantly increase from baseline to post intervention. No hypothesis was made related to MS and MG-A imagery due to lack of past research, at the time of data collection, supporting the use of this imagery increasing using IAVR.

Materials and Methods

Participants Participants were 11 NCAA Division One female softball players at a Midwestern University. Of the 11 participants five were right-handed batters and six were left-handed batters. Their ages ranged from 18-24 years old.

Measures Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (43; SIAQ): The SIAQ was designed to measure an athlete’s ability to image different content (i.e., strategies, skills, feelings, and goals) and the frequency that an athlete images. The questionnaire has 15 questions rated from 1 (very hard to image) to 7 (very easy to image). The questions are divided into five different subscales; skill imagery ability (e.g., defining a specific skill), strategy imagery ability (e.g., making/executing strategies), goal imagery ability (e.g., winning the game), affect imagery ability (e.g., positive emotions connected with the sport), and mastery imagery ability (e.g., positive outlook when things are not going well). An overall sport imagery ability score and all subscales were calculated separately. To score each of the five subscales, questions for the subscale were summed and divided by the number of questions for each source. The SIAQ has been found to have good validity and reliability (43)

Pitch recognition test: A Pitch Recognition test was designed for this study to assess a participant’s ability to recognize a pitch type (fastball. change-up, etc.) and pitch location (strike/ball). Participants viewed twelve pitches via GoPro film from a pitcher. The film the participants viewed was from the same film they viewed in their IAVR. There were five seconds between each pitch allowing for the participants to circle both the pitch type and pitch location of the previously viewed pitch. The pitch recognition test had twelve different pitches for the baseline testing and the post intervention testing. The number of pitches they correctly identified for both type and location divided by twelve was their total pitch recognition scores. Both pitch type and pitch location were scored as subscale.

Procedure Institution IRB was obtained. Players were recruited from an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I softball team. Eleven players signed up to participate in the intervention. Participants who gave consent were assigned a time to film their first-person VR film. Filming was done both on the players’ field and in their indoor hitting facility to make sure it properly mimicked where they were currently practicing. During filming, participants wore dual mounted GoPro headsets on top of their batting helmets to gain first person filming perspectives. Participants were instructed to go through their whole routine starting with preparation for the on-deck circle by stepping into the batter’s box. Filming was also done to gain a third person perspective using a dual mounted GoPro headset strapped to a tripod and placed in the batter’s box. For this film day, three pitchers from the same team, who volunteered to help with the study were filmed pitching from the mound (one left-handed, two right-handed). All three of the pitchers threw their pitches (fastball, change-up, rise ball, etc.) for both right-handed batter and left-handed batter viewpoints. Ninety-six pitches were filmed to allow for a variety of options for the pitching videos. After the filming was complete the research team used Shotcut to edit the film into two pitch recognition videos, and an individualized VR video for each participant. Videos of the pitches were made to assess pitch recognition at baseline and time 2. To make these videos, the third-person video was edited by clipping each pitcher’s pitch into its own. This allowed the researchers to integrate all three pitchers’ pitches into a specific order. Researchers then went through and selected twelve pitches out of the right-handed batter’s film and a separate twelve out of the left-handed batter’s film. These clips were arranged to simulate two full at bats, with a five second black screen between each pitch. This method was replicated to make the pitch recognition video that would be used for the post test.

To make the IAVR videos, first-person perspective film was edited to start when participants start their pre-at bat routine. The clip ended when the batter received a pitch from the pitcher while they were in the batter’s box. In these videos pitch clips were aligned to simulate a real world at bat, including timing between bats. To develop the guided imagery scripts that would be recorded as audio into the Virtual Reality videos, participants individually met with the research team to discuss their experiences at bat. The imagery scripts were written according to the guidelines suggested by (42) making sure to incorporate both stimulus and response propositions (8, 22) to the imagery scripts. The imagery scripts were broken down and recorded into two audio files. The first recording consisted of each participant’s rituals and routines starting when they are “in the hole” all the way to being in the batter’s box. This included getting equipment on (batting gloves, elbow guard, etc.), walking to the on-deck circle, on deck circle rituals, walking to the batter’s box, and pre at bat rituals. Some participants opted to have their walk-up song playing in the background during their imagery script when walking from the on-deck circle to the batter’s box.

The second recording started when each participant was in the batter’s box. Depending on how the participant wanted their imagery script written, they might receive a ball or strike first. Then, hitting to a designated spot of their choosing. Participants then had a choice of running through first, running to second, or sliding into second. The scenarios and cues they picked up from the first base coach were all individualized to each participant. These individual imagery scripts were turned into audio files and then embedded into the participants corresponding virtual reality film to make the Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality interventions for each participant. The IAVR was set up as the following: imagery script of preparation for an at bat, 3rd person pitch film, first person film from the dugout to the batter’s box, and then imagery script of hitting the ball and making it to a base safe. Before being given their IAVR film, participants watched the baseline pitch recognition video and marked the pitch type and location of each video. Each player was provided with a pair of virtual reality goggles and a locked cell phone loaded with their individualized video. Instructions were also provided to participants on how to download the videos onto their personal phone if they preferred to have it on their own phone. Participants were instructed to watch their IAVR video at least once a day using virtual reality goggles. Participants were also informed that if they requested any changes to their IAVR (i.e., imagery speed, tone, pitch order) the research team would make the changes at any time during the intervention. After participants had the IAVR video for six weeks they completed a post intervention pitch recognition test where they watched the second pitching video that had been made and once again recorded what type and location, they believed they saw for each pitch. They also completed the SIAQ at this time.

Results Review of the data indicated that two participants had missed one question each. The means for each question were used as a replacement so the participants data could still be used in the analysis, as deemed appropriate in inferential statistics (21). Next descriptive statistics for baseline and post intervention were calculated for each of the five imagery ability subscales and global imagery ability score, as well as total pitch recognition, pitch type and pitch location. Paired samples t-tests were run to assess mean changes from baseline to post intervention for all imagery ability subscales and total imagery score as well as for the three pitch assessments. As the data were expected to increase from baseline to post intervention across all variables a one tailed test was employed with an alpha level of 0.05. Cohens d were calculated for all pairs with 0.21 – 0.59 considered a small effect .60 – .79 a medium effect and 0.80 to 100 a large effect (6).

Imagery Participants’ global imagery ability was higher at post-testing (m = 5.69, sd = 0.79) as opposed to baseline (m = 5.02, sd = 0.69), which was found to be a statistically significant difference, t(10) = -2.70, p = .01, d = 0.91). Skill imagery ability change from baseline to post intervention was also significant (t(10) = -2.51, p = 0.02, d = 0.73), indicating that the participants increased their skill imagery ability from baseline (m = 4.79, sd = 1.12) to post intervention (m = 5.63, sd = 1.20). Strategy imagery ability was found to have a statistically significant change (t(10) = -2.05, p = .03, d = 0.63). Means indicated an increase from 4.73 (sd =0.94) at baseline to 5.30 (sd =0.88) at post intervention. The affect imagery ability increase was statistically significant (t(10) = -2.07 p = 0.03, d = 0.81). Means indicated a change from 5.55 (sd = 0.83) at baseline to 6.22 at post intervention (sd = 0.79). Mastery imagery ability from baseline (m = 4.88, sd = 0.86) to post test (m = 5.60, sd = 0.79) was also statistically significant (t(10) = -2.05, p = 0.02, d = 0.88). Goal imagery did not have a statistically significant change from baseline (m = 5.15, sd = 1.02) to post intervention (m = 5.70, sd = 1.03, (p = 0.07, d = 0.53).

Pitch Statistics Pitch type recognition was found to be statistically significant from baseline (m = 6.60, sd = 3.13) to post intervention (m = 9.10, sd = 2.08), t(10) = -2.28, p = .04) with a large effect size (d = 0.94). Pitch location recognition and total pitch recognition both increased, however neither were statistically significant changes (p >0.05). Percentage change was also recorded for pitch type as that is the common way to assess these statistics in applied softball scenarios. See Table 1 for full statistics for Pitch.

Table 1. Average Number and percentage of pitches accurately identified at baseline and Post Intervention

Discussion This study investigated the effect of an applied Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality intervention on NCAA Division I softball players’ imagery ability and pitch recognition. This study hypothesized an increase in global imagery ability, pitch recognition as well as increases in skill (CS), strategy (CG), and Confidence (MG-M) imagery. Overall, the hypotheses were supported by the findings of this study.

This study’s results indicated a significant increase in the participants’ global imagery ability with this change indicating a large effect size. Furthermore, of the five imagery subscales all showed increases from baseline to post intervention, with Skill, Strategy, Mastery and Affect imagery ability increasing from baseline to post intervention. The increase in global imagery ability and subscale increases equates to the athlete’s ability to image being easier in real sport situations (49). This is of applied significance as this increase in global imagery could assist athletes in mental preparation before engaging in sport specific performance endeavors. It is also of importance as we have few studies demonstrating how to increase imagery ability even though we know the ability to image is important for athletes who want to use imagery to increase their sport performance. As imagery has been shown over and over again to increase sport performance (e.g., 9), knowing how to increase imagery ability is an important step in pursuit of maximizing the benefits of this psychological strategy. This study demonstrates how virtual reality can assist a person’s imagery ability when showing real world video in correlation to their imagery script. We can postulate that global imagery ability increased in part due to the IAVR increasing the functional equivalency of the intervention (32). These results align with research on functional equivalence (22 and the PETTLEP model of imagery which states that all senses need to be engaged to be fully immersed in an imagery script (e.g., 1, 19; 36, 40).

The results indicated significant increases in confidence (MG-M) and affect (MG-A) imagery ability which equates to an athlete’s ability to image and be in control and cope during difficult sporting situations, and image positive content withing their sport (43). It may be that these motivational imagery subscales had a significant increase due to cue words (e.g., calm, focus, confidently) that were inserted into each participants imagery script to stimulate an emotional response. These cue words, chosen by each participant, were combined with repeated phrases such as “take a deep breath,” “feel yourself,” and “you are confident” were also used to stimulate an emotional response from participants. Some participants also opted to have their walk-up song play during their imagery assisted virtual reality. This auditory connection between virtual reality film and real-world stimulus may have allowed participants to emotionally connect to the IAVR and use it to regulate arousal. It should be noted that although it was not hypothesized that affect imagery (MG-A) would increase due to lack of research at the time of study, this finding is supported by recent research that has come out since data was collected for this study (46). The increase in MG-A imagery ability indicates that athletes experienced some type of realistic emotion within the imagery experience. This finding coincides with previous research (25, 27) that posits increases in affect imagery within virtual reality films may be attributed to social presence within these virtual reality films. Lee and colleagues (25) believed that responses to social presence within virtual environments may be due to the players’ expectations of interactions during an actual game. Within this study, social presence was maintained throughout virtual reality film by incorporating the presence of teammates in the videos. Finally, there were significant increases in skill (CS), and strategy (CG) imagery ability, which supported the hypothesis and is in line with past research (32). This makes sense as the IAVR gave the players extra opportunities to see themselves engaging in the skill of hitting and through imagery incorporated their individual strategies for how they were going to hit the ball.

Pitch Statistics The hypothesis that pitch recognition would increase was partially supported. Pitch type recognition was found to be significantly increased from pre to post intervention. However, although pitch location recognition and total pitch recognition both increased, neither change was statistically significant. Percentage change was also recorded for pitch type as that is the common way to assess these statistics in applied softball scenarios and gave real world application information when it came to pitch recognition change. Of particular importance in this study was the finding that pitch type recognition increased by over 20% (from recognizing 6.6/12 – 9.1/12) from baseline to post intervention. Although not statistically significant the change in total pitch recognition increased by two pitches (4.1/12 to 5.9/12, 15%) which in an applied setting is a noteworthy performance increase. As the IAVR in this study was not filmed with 360-degree cameras it may be that this affected the batter’s sense of where the pitch was over the base, leading to a lack of pitch location increase. However, the IAVR focus on first person perspective of the pitch coming at them just as it would in a real game essentially gave them more reps “reading” the pitch where they did not have to think about anything else (what they were going to do), which may be part of why their pitch type recognition increased. These findings are important for those within the softball world as we know that recognizing a pitch can predict accuracy of an at bat (e.g., 30, 16). Although it is noted that pitch recognition is an essential aspect to batting, there is little agreement on how to improve it (13). This study’s results demonstrate the effectiveness of IAVR on increasing pitch type recognition and could therefore be a low-cost tool used by teams to increase the skill of pitch recognition, and therefore batting percentages.

While this study is an important addition to the new area of Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality, there are limitations to consider. The first limitation of this study was the sample size. Although the small sample size is acknowledged as a limitation it should be noted that even with this small sample size, the effect sizes in this study were medium to high indicating that with a larger sample these findings may be even more pronounced. As this was an applied study using players who were in season, it was considered unethical to make some of them a control group. Specifically, having some players given an advantage over others, an advantage that is not shown to disappear over time, would be unfair to those in the control group, impacting both individual athletes and the team as a whole. Therefore, not having a control group, although a deliberate decision, does lead to the lack of knowledge as to whether another unexpected variable may have impacted these results.

As IAVR is a new strategy for increasing imagery ability and sport performance, there are several areas future researchers should consider. Current research on IAVR has focused on the effect of IAVR on imagery ability it may be useful to focus on imagery use (facilitative and debilitative) as the ability to image is of importance only in that it effects imagery use effectiveness (12). Therefore, future research should focus specifically on the effect of IAVR on amount of deliberate imagery use both during and after they complete the IAVR protocol. To that point, future applied research on IAVR would benefit from tracking season performance post intervention, or by athletes who use IAVR throughout a season. Additionally, the impact of IAVR on pitch recognition during in game would be a worthy pursuit. At this time, we do not know what the optimal length of an IAVR protocol would be for athlete imagery, psychological skill, or athletic performance. All these areas are ripe for future research to investigate.

Conclusion Overall, the results of this study further support the value of an Imagery Assisted Virtual Reality protocol being used in sport. Specifically, this study showed that IAVR can increase performance statistics (pitch recognition) and imagery ability.

Applications in Sport These findings have practical significance as they lend support for IAVR to be used by softball players to further both their in-game skills and psychological skills development. Furthermore, these findings add to the existing literature that indicates IAVR may be a cost effective and impactful tool for athletes in various sports.

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Author : Paul Sabin, Senior Sports Analytics Fellow, Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative Published : July 9, 2024 Research focus : College football; Football

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While attempts have been made to further define CTE, there remains debate about what the different observed changes in the brain mean.

The challenge of agreement on CTE was highlighted in a 2021 publication when the United States' national institutes of neurological disorders and stroke, and biomedical imaging and bioengineering, brought experts together to establish agreement on how to assign cases to one of four proposed "CTE stages."

Among eight neuropathologists looking at the same tissue slides, three different stages of CTE were reported for 11 of the 17 cases, and all four stages were reported against one case.

This means, among experts, the definition of CTE is not agreed on, and there is not yet an accurate way to measure it.

Signs and symptoms in people later identified as having CTE have been described as similar to neurodegenerative diseases , such as Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Clarity on causes of these other diseases is also largely unknown despite years of investigation by researchers and clinicians.

A Lancet standing commission recently presented an update on dementia prevention intervention and care. In it they describe 14 potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia, including traumatic brain injury but also education, smoking, obesity, alcohol and physical inactivity.

It is important that research into CTE also considers a range of potential contributory factors, such as those above for dementia , and not just focus on one factor (such as repetitive head impacts in contact sports).

What are repetitive head impacts?

The authors of the 2022 review that we investigated defined repetitive head impacts as "the cumulative exposure to recurrent concussive and subconcussive events."

It is not clear what was meant by a repetitive head impact or subconcussive event, and measuring them accurately is also difficult.

As an example, researchers might ask injured athletes or their relatives about their history of sport and any head injuries they sustained, as well as how long they played and the level they played at.

These questions are often asked many years after participation, and therefore rely on memories of past events that can be hard to recall.

While these methods can help them understand a little about athletes' experiences, the accuracy of details is questionable, which is why they are unsuitable measures for causal claims.

We are learning more about athletes' exposure to head injury by collecting data at the time of injury (such as "smart" mouthguards ), in the lead up to a potential injury (such as through video analysis ) or shortly after an event (such as reporting to a medical doctor for review).

Studies making use of findings from these types of investigations will be helpful to better understand long-term health outcomes in relation to concussion or repetitive head impacts.

What our research found, and next steps

In our review, we conclude it is incorrect to say repetitive head impacts are the cause of CTE on the basis of the evidence presented in the 2022 article and what we know about this issue to date.

There is not yet widespread agreement among scientists or clinicians on the definitions of repetitive head impacts or CTE, and neither can be accurately or consistently measured.

Our findings do not mean repetitive head impacts are not a potential contributory factor to any long-term changes. Rather, the current evidence isn't suitable to be making any conclusions.

More rigorous studies, with agreed definitions and measurements, are needed to explore a wide range of risk and protective factors.

It is important the research community is cautious about how they communicate findings.

The public should recognize the science is far from being well established.

The public should also recognize that for the everyday athlete, the risks of concussion are not the same as those of a professional athlete .

Sports that have risks of head injury continue to make changes to protect athletes from harm through new measures for prevention, better identification of concussions and better management when they do occur.

The vast majority of people involved in contact sports live happy, fulfilling lives without neurological issues.

Keeping physically active through sport remains an important part of a healthy lifestyle and is protective against many long-term, chronic diseases.

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Research Brief: Students with multiple marginalized identities face barriers to sports participation

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (09/16/2024) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030 plan sets a national objective to increase youth sports participation from 50% to 63% over the next five years. For adolescents, staying active offers benefits to their overall health and their social and academic lives. However, the number of youths participating in physical activity and sports is on the decline. While participation gaps based on single social identities are well-studied, little research has examined adolescents’ multiple, intersecting marginalized social identities. 

Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health examined the inequities that exist at the intersection of multiple identities — including assigned sex, gender modality, sexual identity, racial and ethnic identity, access to economic resources, weight status, and mental health, behavioral and emotional problems — and their impact on sports and physical activity participation. 

The study, led by Sarah Kaja , PhD, of the Equitable Sport and Physical Activity Innovations Lab and an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School, analyzed intersections of seven social identities among specific subgroups of adolescents in grades 9 and 11. The research used 2022 Minnesota Student Survey data — in which over 60,000 students self-reported their social identities as well as team sport and physical activity participation. They found:

• While 50% of the students played sports and 25% participated in physical activity lessons, participation varied substantially at the intersections of social identities. For example, participation prevalences were as low as 8-17% among groups of students least involved in sports. 
• Students with the highest sports participation were predominantly white, heterosexual and had high access to resources, while participants with the lowest sports participation held multiple marginalized social identities.
• Physical activity lessons had more participation among youth of color and gender and sexual minority youth, but participation was still most often in combination with high access to resources. 
• Students in all the lowest sports participation groups held at least one marginalized social identity, and the majority held more. 
• The lowest sports participation groups included students with a marginalized sexual identity and at least one other marginalized social identity, such as low access to resources, a transgender or gender-questioning identity, or a higher BMI percentile.

Previous research has shown context-specific stressors — such as insufficient policies, victimization and harassment — can limit LGBTQ+ people's motivation and participation. This new research suggests those stressors may compound further for those with multiple marginalized identities, and that initiatives meant to reach adolescents based on a single identity may fail to reach the adolescents who need the most support to participate. 

“By revealing more nuance in young peoples’ level of engagement in organized sport and activity, our work is an important step to address which students need support to play,” said Dr. Kaja. “With these building blocks, we hope to continue working to reduce health disparities, achieve national public health priorities and encourage school and community-based organizations to cultivate inclusive environments and layer recruitment, retention and policy initiatives to support under-involved youths.”

Future research should prioritize adolescents with social identities over-represented in the lowest prevalence sport and physical activity involvement groups to further identify and address specific social and structural barriers to participation.

Dr. Kaja was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Other authors were supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

About the University of Minnesota Medical School

The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. Learn more at med.umn.edu . 

All 91 SFIA Single Sport Reports for 2024 Are Now Available

Final Batch of 39 In-Depth Sports and Fitness Activity Reports Released Today

September 11, 2024  – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released its third and final series of Single Sport Reports for 2024. A total of 91 sport-specific reports for a variety of sports and fitness activities over the seven categories SFIA tracks are now available for purchase.

As reported in our  2024 Topline Participation Report , 242 million Americans, or 78.8% of Americans, participated in an activity one or more times in 2023, a 2.2% increase from last year. The number of people that have participated in an activity has increased every single year for a milestone of 10 years, growing by 5 million in 2023. Inactivity also decreased to its lowest number since SFIA began tracking the metric.

“We are excited to add one new report to SFIA’s library of Single Sport Reports for 2024 – Football (7v7),” states Alex Kerman, Senior Director, Research & Business Operations, SFIA. “These reports round out our total of 91 reports, which our members find especially valuable for their deep-dive into specific ‘demographic of participant’ data, including Casual vs CORE participation, which can help organizations make better business decisions and plan for their future objectives.”

These reports provide a detailed analysis and breakdown of participation by various demographics and by specific sport or fitness activity. This includes data on participation as defined by gender, participation frequency, age, geographic region, household income, education level, cross-sport/activity participation, and ethnicity.

The following 39 Single Sport Reports are now available:

• Adventure Racing
• Boardsailing/Windsurfing
• Boxing/MMA for Fitness
• Camping (RV)
• Fishing (Fly)
• Fishing (Freshwater/Other)
• Fishing (Saltwater)
• Hiking (Day)
• Hunting (Bow)
• Hunting (Handgun)
• Hunting (Rifle)
• Hunting (Shotgun)
• Ice Skating
• Martial Arts
• MMA for Competition
• Racquetball
• Roller Skating (2 x 2 Wheels)
• Roller Skating (Inline Wheels)
• Scuba Diving
• Shooting (Sport Clays)
• Shooting (Trap/Skeet)
• Skateboarding
• Table Tennis
• Target Shooting (Handgun)
• Target Shooting (Rifle)
• Trail Running
• Triathlon (Non-Traditional/Off-Road)
• Triathlon (Traditional/Road)
• Wakeboarding
• Water Skiing

This is the third and final series of SFIA Single Sport Reports released for 2024. All 91 Single Sport and Fitness Participation Reports are now available for purchase for $100 per report for SFIA Members and $300 per report for Non-Members.

These reports are provided free of charge to members of the media. If you are interested in a copy of any of the reports or an interview with an SFIA representative, please contact Lisa Futterman at [email protected] .

ABOUT SFIA : The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs, and member services. For more information, please visit sfia.org .

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Press release, 11 innovative companies selected as finalists for the 2024 sfia start-up challenge, todd smith named chief executive officer of the sports & fitness industry association, sfia releases single sport reports from the fitness category.

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Students with multiple marginalized identities face barriers to sports participation

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030 plan sets a national objective to increase youth sports participation from 50% to 63% over the next five years. For adolescents, staying active offers benefits to their overall health and their social and academic lives. However, the number of youths participating in physical activity and sports is on the decline. While participation gaps based on single social identities are well-studied, little research has examined adolescents’ multiple, intersecting marginalized social identities. 

Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health examined the inequities that exist at the intersection of multiple identities — including assigned sex, gender modality, sexual identity, racial and ethnic identity, access to economic resources, weight status, and mental health, behavioral and emotional problems — and their impact on sports and physical activity participation. 

The study, led by Sarah Kaja of the Equitable Sport and Physical Activity Innovations Lab and an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School, analyzed intersections of seven social identities among specific subgroups of adolescents in grades 9 and 11. The research used 2022 Minnesota Student Survey data — in which over 60,000 students self-reported their social identities as well as team sport and physical activity participation. They found:

• While 50% of the students played sports and 25% participated in physical activity lessons, participation varied substantially at the intersections of social identities. For example, participation prevalences were as low as 8-17% among groups of students least involved in sports. 
• Students with the highest sports participation were predominantly white, heterosexual and had high access to resources, while participants with the lowest sports participation held multiple marginalized social identities.
• Physical activity lessons had more participation among youth of color and gender and sexual minority youth, but participation was still most often in combination with high access to resources. 
• Students in all the lowest sports participation groups held at least one marginalized social identity, and the majority held more. 
• The lowest sports participation groups included students with a marginalized sexual identity and at least one other marginalized social identity, such as low access to resources, a transgender or gender-questioning identity, or a higher BMI percentile.

Previous research has shown context-specific stressors — such as insufficient policies, victimization and harassment — can limit LGBTQ+ people's motivation and participation. This new research suggests those stressors may compound further for those with multiple marginalized identities, and that initiatives meant to reach adolescents based on a single identity may fail to reach the adolescents who need the most support to participate. 

“By revealing more nuance in young peoples’ level of engagement in organized sport and activity, our work is an important step to address which students need support to play,” said Kaja. “With these building blocks, we hope to continue working to reduce health disparities, achieve national public health priorities and encourage school and community-based organizations to cultivate inclusive environments and layer recruitment, retention and policy initiatives to support under-involved youths.”

Future research should prioritize adolescents with social identities over-represented in the lowest prevalence sport and physical activity involvement groups to further identify and address specific social and structural barriers to participation.

Dr. Kaja was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Other authors were supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

About the University of Minnesota Medical School

The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School, both the Twin Cities campus and Duluth campus, is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. Learn more at med.umn.edu . 

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Concussion in Parasport: A Narrative Review of Research Published since the Concussion in Para Sport (CIPS) Group Statement (2021)

Associated data.

The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Sports-related concussion (SRC) is an injury whereby impact to the face/head/neck impairs cognitive functioning. Parasport athletes have an increased risk for SRC. The Previous Concussion in Sport Group iterations lack guidance for parasport SRC assessment, management, and return-to-play. This article aims to investigate the research relating to parasport SRCs published since the 2021 Concussion in Para Sport (CIPS) position statement and highlights possible new recommendations. A literature review of parasport concussions was conducted. Articles citing the 2021 publication and/or published since then were reviewed. Relevant data were extracted and discussed in this article. Since 2021, twelve (n = 12) articles emerged investigating parasport SRC. Parasport athletes experience greater concussion symptoms and severity scores compared to able-bodied athletes. Visually impaired athletes account for >50% of parasport SRCs. Wheelchair basketball and rugby have the highest SRC incidence rates across parasports. Current SRC assessment methodologies are not designed with consideration of parasport athletes’ unique experiences. Guidelines lack a return-to-learning protocol, making returning to education/work challenging for such athletes. Understanding these athletes’ SRC experiences is paramount in supporting their recovery. Specific guidelines for SRC assessment, management, return-to-play, and return-to-learn for parasport athletes are necessary to enhance their rehabilitation and avoid the occurrence of long-term symptoms.

1. Introduction

Sports-related concussion (SRC) is regarded as a common sports injury amongst certain parasport athletes, and in many instances, SRC in parasport has a similar incidence rate when compared to able-bodied athletes. In a 52-week prospective longitudinal cohort study collecting weekly data on the incidence proportion and rate of SRC among parasport athletes, 9.3% of parasport athletes reported experiencing at least one SRC during the one-year period. The incidence rate was 0.5 SRC per 1000 h of sporting exposure. Comparably, able-bodied sports research has reported athlete incidence rates ranging from 0.1–3.07 SRC per 1000 h of sporting exposure [ 1 ]. Regardless of being a parasport or an able-bodied athlete, there are common mechanisms of injury whereby a direct or indirect impact to the face, head, or neck may result in impaired brain or cognitive functioning. In many cases, they are oftentimes transient, but there remains a possibility for chronic long-term post-concussion symptoms to arise [ 2 , 3 ].

One of the primary issues with respect to SRCs is a lack of consistency in concussion reporting and the variance of data regarding SRCs [ 4 ]. Research on SRCs among able-bodies athletes has had significantly more research contributions in comparison to those investigating SRC among parasport athletes. This paucity of research in the area was highlighted by Teodoro et al. [ 5 ], who conducted literature searches relating to the topic. Their investigations returned a total of 7960 responses for the general search of SRC in sport; however, only 54 results were related to SRCs in parasport.

Previous iterations of the Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) have largely disregarded parasport athletes, failing to outline specific protocols for those with impairments. The most recent iteration from the Amsterdam CISG meeting offered some guidance and undated previous CISG statements [ 6 ]. The Amsterdam statement acknowledged that parasport athletes are at an increased risk of SRC and highlighted the need for more research involving this cohort. It was noted that the focus of future research should include an acknowledgment of parasport athlete experiences of SRCs. This was viewed as an essential component to ensure adequate support is available throughout their assessment, management, and return to sport (RTS) [ 6 ]. Issues arise as present concussion tools such as the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 6 (SCAT6) may have limited use for parasport athletes and may not have been validated or may not be appropriate for the para-athletic population [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].

SRC in parasport athletes is a complex issue due to the many different impairment types within each classification and the variation in how they impact playing different sports [ 10 , 11 ]. As a result of the sparsity of information and guidance available to support concussion management in parasports, the Concussion in Para Sport (CIPS) multidisciplinary expert group drafted a detailed consensus statement. Through completing an in-depth investigation and analysis of existing research, Weiler et al. [ 8 ] published the CIPS first position statement outlining the best practices for SRC assessment, management, and return-to-sport (RTS) protocol, as well as additional considerations for parasport athletes. Since this position statement was published in 2021, numerous research articles have emerged investigating parasport athlete SRCs. This is a critical aspect for understanding and ensuring that clinicians, coaches, and support staff have the ability to support parasport athletes throughout an incidence of SRC adequately. As such, athletes oftentimes have unique needs, and “normal” baseline functions in SRC management cannot be assumed; an individualised, case-by-case approach is required [ 12 ]. It is important to note that novel approaches for supporting the cognitive functioning of those who have experienced a traumatic brain injury are emerging and seem promising. However, such research remains focused on able-bodied individuals and has yet to recruit and investigate such relationships for parasport athletes and their SRC recovery [ 13 ].

The aim of this research was to collate and investigate the research relating to SRCs in parasport, which has been published since the previous CIPS position statement, and to identify possible new recommendations since 2021.

2. Materials and Methods

A literature review relating to SRCs in parasports was conducted following a narrative review checklist [ 14 ]. Initially, all articles citing the 2021 CIPS position statement were reviewed. Following this, manually scoping the literature for articles published since the 2021 position statement, which included the keyword, was reviewed. Keywords included ‘concussion’, ‘SRC’ or ‘sport-related concussion’, and ‘para’ or ‘parasport’. The databases searched included the Web of Science, SportsDiscus, and ScienceDirect. Articles were excluded if they were not available in English and if they were not original research articles reporting investigation findings; for example, review articles were excluded. Eligible articles were reviewed in-depth, with the relevant data extracted and discussed in this manuscript.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. recommendations for src assessment for parasport athletes, 3.1.1. overview and context.

The CIPS consensus statement highlights the importance of clinicians performing regular baseline periodic preparticipation examinations (PPE) on athletes, particularly parasport athletes, to identify a reference point for assessing future symptoms [ 8 ]. In addition, it is recommended that the attending clinician should ideally have a thorough understanding of the individual parasport athlete’s history and pre-injury functioning to support an accurate SRC diagnosis. A key emphasis of the statement is that each parasport athlete should receive an individualised SRC management process. The main practical aspect of this may be an issue in certain scenarios, for example, when an athlete or group of athletes travel to an event without their clinician. This may derail SRC management for that athlete or group of athletes. In a recent narrative review of SRC incidence, which was based on vision-impaired (VI) parasports, Teodoro et al. [ 5 ] found the number of SRCs sustained by VI athletes to be significantly higher than that of other parasport athletes. On a practical level, this finding suggests that additional safety precautions should be taken during VI parasport training sessions and events. This may take the form of more readily available high-quality protective equipment or the compulsory attendance of an athlete’s/team’s personal clinician. The presence of a personal clinician, who would be knowledgeable about the athlete’s career and sports injury history is viewed as central to a comprehensive SRC management program.

Focusing specifically on falls (a common cause of SRC in parasport) in wheelchair basketball and rugby, Fukui et al. [ 15 ] reported that male wheelchair basketball had the highest fall incidence rate at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. This was followed by female wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby, respectively. Regarding the positioning of players, low-pointers in male wheelchair basketball experienced the highest occurrence of falls. Similarly, a literature review by Sá et al. [ 11 ] revealed that the head is invariably the most injured region of the body in wheelchair basketball. While parasport training and events, in general, may require additional monitoring for SRC in comparison to their non-parasport counterparts, these findings offer guidance on which specific parasports and sport types warrant the highest level of monitoring.

This CIPS position statement notes that current SRC recognition and assessment tools, such as the SCAT 6 and Sports Concussion Office Assessment Tool 6 (SCOAT 6), assume an athlete to have the ability to see, hear, and read and to have ‘normal’ baseline functioning (such as speech, language, and manual dexterity). Though the SCAT 5 has been proposed for assessing SRC in athletes with limb deficiencies, it is not suitable for those with VI [ 7 ]. However, these tools have not yet been fully modified or validated for use across all parasport athletes [ 16 , 17 ]. Acknowledging the impact of various impairment types, a traffic light system was developed with colours representing the potential additional considerations for assessing SRC in parasport athletes. In this system, green represents no additional considerations needed for parasport athletes based on their specific impairment, yellow represents some considerations that may be needed, and red indicates that the specific test should not be used in the parasport athlete SRC assessment. Though a wide range of impairments exist with varying SRC risk, athletes with vision impairments have reported a significantly higher incidence of SRC [ 1 , 18 ].

In their review of SRC incidence rates, Jewell et al. [ 19 ] found that approximately 62% of para-SRCs were among those participating in a blind sport. It has previously been reported that these athletes may possibly misunderstand the experience of having a SRC, as their symptoms can differ from those of non-para-athletes. For example, blind footballers who have had a SRC experienced an increase in their sleep disturbance and spatial disorientation compared to non-para-athletes. As these outcome measures do not exist in the current assessment tools and differ from the SRC experiences of sighted people, blind athletes are at an increased risk of their SRC being accidentally misdiagnosed or overlooked [ 8 ]. Though there is a sparsity of research assessing the validity of SRC assessment tools across the various impairments in parasport athletes, the high incidence and unique experience of SRC among blind athletes suggests their cohort may be a priority for immediate or upcoming research.

3.1.2. SRC Management for Parasport Athletes

As has been established, an awareness of and having a comprehensive understanding of an individual’s unique experience of a SRC is critical for optimal SRC management and long-term support. Though the CIPS consensus statement recognises the necessity of adequate rest and recovery to lessen the likelihood or severity of SRC symptoms, recent research has found that, in general, parasport athletes experience greater total symptom and severity scores [ 12 ]. Additionally, parasport athletes with a history of SRC have reported greater vestibular ocular motor screening (VOMS) effects, including impaired balance, vision, and movement, than those without a history of SRC [ 20 ]. Symptoms may also vary based on the athlete’s impairment type. For example, blind footballers experience increased sleep disturbances and spatial orientation post-SRC [ 8 ]. Understanding these unique experiences is essential for clinicians to develop and implement practical, effective counteractive approaches.

3.1.3. Return to Learning Following SRC for Parasport Athletes

A return to learning (RTL) post-SRC involves the seamless return to either work or education after injury and the supports in place to facilitate it. Implications of experiencing a SRC can be long-lasting and impede one’s ability to RTL [ 21 ]. SRC symptoms that persist for a duration of over three months after the initial injury are recognised as ‘post-concussion syndrome’ (PCS) and can place a significant burden on individuals’ daily living [ 22 ]. The 2021 position statement recommends that, as with the general population, parasport athletes should aim to RTL prior to RTS. Any accommodations made in the learning or working environment to support this process should remain in place for longer than for the general population to avoid any unfamiliar changes that could cause stress. This RTL should follow a stepwise approach, with symptoms regularly assessed and movement onto the next phase only resumed when the individual is symptom-free. However, these guidelines fail to account for the variation between able-bodied and parasport athletes’ experiences of SRC and its associated symptoms. For parasport athletes specifically, measuring such symptoms will require an individualised approach, depending on the individual and their abilities. Research investigating this RTL process for parasport athletes is scarce but suggests a range of barriers exist. These include but are not limited to poor mental health support, a lack of understanding from others, and difficult administrative processes relating to obtaining support [ 23 ].

3.1.4. RTS Following SRC for Parasport Athletes

The current RTS guidelines for parasport athletes following a SRC recommend that decisions be made on a case-by-case basis given the unique presentation and severity of symptoms throughout the various impairment types. The most recent CIPS position statement highlights that, due to the increased SRC risk in VI sports, these athletes should conduct their full contact practice as a part of their RTS protocol away from other athletes, with this final RTS decision made by a doctor with sufficient knowledge of the specific situation. Research published since this position statement further supports this protocol, as VI athletes continue to be at a higher risk for SRC than sighted athletes [ 12 ]. Regarding gender differences in time-off following a SRC, Heron et al. [ 24 ] found no significantly significant difference to suggest this variable must be considered throughout SRC management and RTS.

3.1.5. The “3E’s” of Injury Prevention

The 2021 position statement highlights the applicability of the 3E’s of injury prevention to SRC in parasport. These comprise education, enforcement, and engineering (or environment). The former, education, encapsulates teaching clinicians, relevant staff, and athletes about SRCs, specifically in parasports. Of particular importance is ensuring that this information is accessible in athlete-friendly formats, such as offering braille for those with VI. Following this, enforcement related to the rules of a sport and how they may be changed to enhance athlete safety must be considered. For example, the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) introduced a concussion substitution rule in 2020, which aims at allowing ample time for a player to be assessed for a SRC while another takes their place on the field, removing the pressure on medical staff to make quick diagnostic decisions [ 25 ]. Finally, engineering or environment relates to the role of equipment in protecting and preventing a SRC. This requires significantly more research before specific recommendations can be developed, with evidence suggesting that the under- and misreporting of SRCs remain a prominent issue in parasport [ 26 ].

4. Conclusions

The 2021 CIPS position statement on concussion in parasport is a seminal piece of work, supporting and guiding clinicians for their optimal assessment, management, and RTS protocol of para-athletes. However, it lacks guidelines for supporting para-athletes in their RTL. The current guidelines for parasport athlete RTL are identical to those for able-bodied athletes. However, understanding parasport athletes’ unique experience of SRC symptoms and its subsequent effects, such as its impact on mental health, is critical for ensuring successful recovery and seamless RTL. Regarding specific para-sports, men’s wheelchair basketball has the highest incidence rate, based on findings from research at the Tokyo 2020 games, followed by women’s wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby, with the head being among the most affected areas of the body.

It remains clear that VI athletes are at an increased risk of sustaining and having unique experiences of a SRC, accompanied by a disruption in spatial orientation and disturbances in their sleep. Moreover, parasport athletes with a history of concussion have reported experiencing greater VOMS effects than their non-para-athlete counterparts. Such symptoms are not currently acknowledged in SRC assessment methodologies, leaving VI athletes at risk of their SRCs being overlooked and undiagnosed. Understanding the individuality of parasport athletes’ SRC experiences will also be vital as they RTL. This is an area that has been heavily overlooked in the past and will require individualised approaches with adequate accommodations available, both short- and long-term. In the future, regular baseline periodic preparticipation examinations, whereby athletes’ baseline functioning is assessed, should be employed. Additionally, assessment tools should be researched and developed to a point where they are easily adaptable to suit athletes with various impairments. Additionally, the ‘3 E’s of injury prevention’ should be considered throughout the development, testing, and implementation of various policies and procedures to promote athlete safety through relevant education, protective equipment, and supportive environments.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, E.D. and T.R.; Methodology, T.R. and L.R.; Software, T.R.; Validation, T.R., E.D. and L.R.; Formal Analysis, T.R. and E.D.; Investigation, T.R.; Resources, T.R.; Data Curation, T.R.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, T.R.; Writing—Review and Editing, E.D. and L.R.; Visualization, E.D.; Supervision, E.D. and L.R.; Project Administration, E.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This study did not require ethical approval.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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