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Show a Critical Awareness of the Theoretical Basis to Applied Sport Psychology Techniques; Research Design, Methods and Procedures Used in This Domain, and Practical and Ethical Issues in the Delivery of Sport Psychology.

In the research article relating to sports psychology, in particular the achieving of excellence, we can see that an attempt has been made by the researchers to asses the role of certain psychological phenomena related to positive performance to see if they could determine whether or not these factors played a significant part in the success of highly acclaimed professional sportspersons, in particular tour golfers. The research involved key concepts such as imagery, goal setting, focus, distraction control and evaluation techniques that all pertained to fundamental concepts outlined in findings from sports psychology theory and research. The study itself used a questionnaire from which an interview was conducted in the hope of extracting some of the mental processes and preparations of top golfers that were believed to have become evident in their responses. These interviews were tape recorded and transcribed according to qualitative research method processes and conventions. The interviews were conducted at the convenience of the sportsperson as it was believed that this would make the process more free flowing as the interviewee would be more focused and inclined to cooperate with the questions. The findings of the research suggested in conjunction with former findings related to the field of sporting excellence that their was clear evidence of the usage of imagery, goal setting, focus distraction control and evaluation techniques in the interview answers put forward by the sportspersons. It was concluded that an integral part to the psychological phenomena detailed was the role of commitment and suggestion was made for subsequent research to be conducted into this area.

Some of the areas that were drawn out and critiqued within the interview pertained to goal setting. Goal setting techniques can be understood as being set by psychologists to put in place the achieving of high levels of endurance in sport (Orlick & Partington, 1988). Goals are generally set to focus the individual on desirable target behaviours or performance actions. The focusing on goals or targets is believed to take away extraneous and undesirable distractions from the sportspersons conscious perception and produce a well defined path towards achievement. This can be seen being evident in some of the interview responses as being a ‘clearly defined’ target. In Bandura’s model he suggests that there are three major factors at work in the acquisition of a behaviour or performance. Three key factors are believed to inform the intention towards a desired target in this model. It was suggested that manipulation of these factors could change the intention of a person and consequently change, or shape, their behaviour to a more desirable one (Bandura, 1997). In accordance with other factors a positive attitude towards a desired behaviour would essentially increase the intention towards any goal. To function successfully, the intended goals would have to be clearly defined. This notion of clearly defined goals is included and incorporated throughout the methodology of the research article and forms an essential part of the findings according to the model of excellence proposed by Orlick & Partington (1988).

Another factor indicated in research on goal setting is that of unrealistic goal setting and the effects of negative mental attitudes when the goals do not relate to the desired outcome. For instance, unrealistically high goal settings from pressures such as media and peer pressure may lead to a high percentage of failure. This can have a very negative effect on the individual’s mental state. For example, in the model proposed by Baumeister (1990) the destructive effects of unrealistic goal setting can be understood in three steps. The first step is a mismatch between circumstance and expectation, leading to unrealistic goal setting. The second stage highlights the negative outcomes of this phenomenon. The third and final step indicates the importance and fragility of the mind if it is not focused. Essentially, to avoid disturbing ideas of failure, the individual negates responsibility for the outcomes of their actions altering their logic in a very negative and destructive manner (Baumeister, 1990). That is to say, that if the perception of realistic goals is not adjusted then the mind of the individual will begin to apply severely disturbing logic patterns to the process of goal achieving. This is not regarded in the condition of club professionals. Rather than them being simply uncommitted as is concluded, it could be that the negative effects of unrealistic goal setting has disturbed their focus or commitment. For instance, the individuals may begin to apply the successful achievement of goals to external factors such as luck, and take responsibility for only failed goals (Abramson et al, 1978).

Another key concept in achievement is learning. Essentially, objectives are considered to manage goals and goal setting. Fontana (1993) suggests that these objectives can be split into five mental processes. He defines these categories as ’identifying clearly what needs to be done, plan how we are going to do it, monitor our progress while we are doing it, assess the extent of our success when we have done it, learn more effectively from the experiences it has offered us’ (Fontana, 1993). This learning model shows of how goal setting and achieving goals can be utilised through the introspection of the experience gained. We can see from the research article that this idea of learning rather than focusing upon error is incorporated in the findings. The effects of learning can be seen in the formulation and use of educational objectives (Pearson and Tweddle, 1984). This research indicates the benefits of evaluation, reflection and consideration within the domain of sporting achievement. The notion of learning can also be seen in the role of imagery and the imagination, highlighted within the findings of the interviews. This notion is concerned not only with the role of understanding and the learning of psychological processes after the event, but also the role of psychological processes before the event.

Imagery is considered as being directly associated with the pathways of the imagination. This field of research has highlighted the importance of pre-conceived and pre-empted eventualities within the thought processes of the individual. Essentially, it focuses upon the actualisation of possibilities and outcomes within the mind. This would indicate the need for the individual to think in a certain way to achieve the best results. The imagination of sporting techniques is considered a cognitive pathway that can be honed and lead to more confidence and a more successful outcome. For instance, if the individual can visualise success then it is presumed that he/she can gain confidence in the achieving of a successful goal without the actual physical experience usually required in confidence acquisition (Kohler, 1925). We can see that this core idea has been implemented into the methodology of the research. For instance, there is an indication of imagining the ideal put before practising it. Imagery is also believed to help in the preparation for events that can not be prepared for with physical training alone. For instance, improvisation and the applying of insight into extreme circumstances can be utilised in ways that cannot be accounted for in normal physical training. In this sense the imagination and imagery is a key component in the conceptualising of an ideal action involved in a sporting technique. We can see from the methodology of our study that this notion has been incorporated. For instance, the ideal technique of a swing can be seen in the account that indicates that once the ideal stroke has been accomplished there is no longer a need to practise physically. This imagery can be seen as being indicated by the pro in the success of his action that is then carried out against the imagined goal in the learning manner put forward by Fontana. Imagery and the imagination seem to be manipulated by the golfers to hone their focus techniques as the methodology of the research article suggests. Focus is understood as being not something that is physically learned, but that is important to success. As we have seen, extraneous variables from the environment can have negative effects on the performance of actions. However, it would seem from the accounts of the tour pro’s that these extraneous factors have been removed from as they have attained focus.

It would seem that this research has backed up the findings of former research. Although, some problems may arise from its use of a confined and pre-determined model of closed questions, it can be said to be valuable. Although this may arouse critical questions of validity, it can be said this research has brought to our attention some of the psychological dynamics associated with achievement, excellence and success within the sporting domain.

Bibliography

Abramson, L, Y., Seligman, M, E, P., & Teasdale, J., (1978) Learned Helplessness in Humans: Critique and Reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74.

Bandura, A. (1997) Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Self Control. New York: WH Freeman.

Baumeister, R, F., (1990) Suicide as Escape From Self. Psychology Review, 97. 90-113

Fontana, D., (1993) Managing Time: Personal and Professional Development. Leicester: BPS Books (British Psychology Society).

Kohler, W., (1925) The mentality of Apes. New York: Harcourt Brace (Reprint ed., 1976. New York: Liveright.)

Orlick, T., & Partington, J. (1988). Mental Links to Excellence. The Sport Psychologist, 2, 105-130.

Pearson , L. and Tweddle, D., (1984) The Formulation and Use of Educational Objectives. In Fontana, D. (ed.) Behaviourism and Learning Theory in Education. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.

Youth Sport Specialization

Abstract

Children should be encouraged to participate in a lot of different physical activities to develop a wide range of skills. Safety is an important factor of why sport specialization is such a big research topic. This paper will look at the research to determine at what age is the most beneficial for a youth athlete to specialize in one sport. The term “sport specialization” is defined as intense year round training in a single sport with the exclusion of other sports at a very young age. The myth of the only way to master a skill is 10,000 hours of practice will be looked at and what affects that might have on child as opposed to a more mature athlete.

Keywords: Sport specialization, year-round training, burnout.

Youth sport participation proves a rewarding experience for young athletes in which they can develop psychological, social, and physical benefits. It can also for some athletes serve as an opportunity to cultivate athletic talent similarly to school cultivating knowledge. The problem is that athletic talent development and the process how that occurs is misunderstood and it often results in unsuitable practices. Sport specialization is one way that young athletic talent can be abused.

Sport specialization has been going on for years. With the new technology and advances in the medical field new research has been going on to determine what is the appropriate age group a person should start specializing in their specific sport to one day achieve a professional contract. “Sport scientists have reported that there are critical periods in the life of a young athlete in which the effects of training can be maximized” (Leite & Sampaio, 2012). Over the last twenty years the practice of specializing in one sport on a year-round basis has increased. In a survey of 152 high schools athletic directors over 70 percent of them felt that sport specialization was on the rise (Hill & Simons, 1989). Some of the important factors contributing the increase in sport specialization included: pressure from coaches, athlete’s want to participate in championships, an emphasis on specialization in the area the athlete lived, the high expectations of parents, and encouragement from college recruiters. The exact number of young athletes specializing today is not exactly known even though research shows that it is on the rise. Concerns over specialization include that athletic performance cannot be narrowed down to a specific age in childhood and correlate directly to performance at a later age. According to Weirsma, “98% of athletes who specialize will never reach the highest levels of the sport (2000). From the perspective of sociology early specialization can isolate the young athlete from friends and hinder normal identity development. Early specialization is also thought to be related to an increase in burnout or withdrawal from sport as a result of prolonged stress.

One of the theories grabbed by pro specialization people is Ericsson’s 10,000 hours of deliberate practice (1996). The most important question is what age should young athletes specialize in a specific sport? Researchers and professionals are concerned that specialization is happening at too young of an age. Preliminary evidence shows that early specialization has little advantages, but it may also have negative psychological, social, and physical effects on young kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics (2000) ask for caution when it comes to early specialization. They also stress the importance of providing young athletes and coaches recommendations and knowledge to help them with avoiding the negative effects of early specialization.

One of the key terms used in sport specialization is “year-round training”. This term is used for young athletes who are involved in A.A.U. or club sports that operate outside of a student’s school team sports. This is seen in basketball, volleyball, and soccer. Swimming and gymnastics are the outliers when it comes to sports. Gymnastics is proven that a child at a younger age is more flexible and can teach train their bodies to participate in the sport at high level at a young age. Most athletes who dedicate their young lives to gymnastics will stop when they hit puberty due to their body not being able to keep the flexibility they had when they were younger or they become burnout on the sport. Another key term used is “burnout”. Burnout occurs when the athlete either becomes bored with the sport or the outside stress put on the athlete by parents and coaches becomes too much for the athlete to handle and they drop out of the sport.

For the future this topic of sport specialization will become evident with the students and athletes that I will be over as an athletic director. In high school I will see students either not wanting to participate in sports due to their previous experience in sports or I will have students with constant injuries due to their specialization in a specific sport. It is important to continually be looking at research so that I can hopefully educate my parents that I will be in contact with daily as well as the coaches that I will be conversing with directly. It is vital that my parents understand the potential issues and problems sport specialization can have on their son or daughter. It is also going to require discretion when I have these conversations with adults. There needs to be understand that the parents have sacrificed a lot of money, time, and miles so that their child can succeed in sports. Some parents may be open to hearing the research on the topic and others may be angry with even the suggestion that what they are choosing to do with their child is wrong. One idea is to post the research found on the school’s website along with other major issues seen in schools and sports across the United States. This will allow the parents the option to understand themselves what the research is saying about specific topics such as sport specialization and it can help them make decisions according to what they interpret from the research. It would be ideal to internship with a local middle school and high school athletic director to see what their day to day life is like during the school year and summer. This experience will help with the understanding of dealings with other schools, scheduling of games and referees, dealings with athletes, coaches, and parents directly, as well as what it takes to be in a highly touted position. It would also be interesting to ask questions of people in the athletic director position on tough decisions they have had to make and why they chose one decision over the other. I foresee the internship as a priceless experience that can answer a lot of questions as well as show the ins and outs of what it takes to be an athletic director in the area.

In conclusion sport specialization is important for any athlete to become elite. As the research points out the hard part is pinpointing the age at which a child should specialize. The whole issue with specialization is raised because of safety. The most important goal of any coach, parent, or athletic director is safety. When the safety of the athlete is compromised it can be detrimental to the athletes psyche emotionally and physically. As long as the athlete’s safety is held in the highest regard then the job is done. Hopefully as more research comes to light on sport specialization parents, coaches, and athletic directors will use it to keep the athlete safe because life after sports is more important than the short term sporting career most athletes will have.

References

AAP Advises Against Early Sports Specialization. (2000).Physician & Sportsmedicine,28(8), 15.

Intensive Training and Sports Specialization in Young Athletes. (2000).Pediatrics,106(1), 154.

Baker, J., Cobley, S., & Fraser-Thomas, J. (2009). What do we know about early sport specialization? Not much!.High Ability Studies,20(1), 77-89. doi:10.1080/13598130902860507

Bodey, K. J., Judge, L. W., & Hoover, J. V. (2013). Specialization in Youth Sport: What Coaches Should Tell Parents.Strategies (08924562),26(1), 3-7.

Callender, S. S. (2010). The Early Specialization of Youth in Sports.Athletic Training & Sports Health Care: The Journal For The Practicing Clinician,2(6), 255-257.

Capranica, L., & Millard-Stafford, M. L. (2011). Youth Sport Specialization: How to Manage Competition and Training?.International Journal Of Sports Physiology & Performance,6(4), 572-579.

Christianson, P., & Deutsch, J. (2012). Making a Case for Early Sport Specialization in Youth Athletes.Journal Of Youth Sports,6(2), 3-6.

Clarke, N. J., & Harwood, C. G. (2014). Parenting experiences in elite youth football: A phenomenological study.Psychology Of Sport & Exercise,15(5), 528-537.

Goncalves, C. B., Rama, L. L., & Figueiredo, A. B. (2012). Talent Identification and Specialization in Sport: An Overview of Some Unanswered Questions.International Journal Of Sports Physiology & Performance,7(4), 390-393.

Hill, G. M., & Simons, J. (1989). A study of the sport specialization on high school athletics. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 13(1), 1-13.

Leite, N. C., & Sampaio, J. E. (2012). Long-Term Athletic Development Across Different Age Groups and Gender from Portuguese Basketball Players.International Journal Of Sports Science & Coaching,7(2), 285-300.

McLeod, T. V., Decoster, L. C., Loud, K. J., Micheli, L. J., Parker, J. T., Sandrey, M. A., & White, C. (2011). National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Prevention of Pediatric Overuse Injuries.Journal Of Athletic Training (National Athletic Trainers’ Association),46(2), 206-220.

Mostafavifar, A. M., Best, T. M., & Myer, G. D. (2013). Early sport specialisation, does it lead to long-term problems?.British Journal Of Sports Medicine,47(17), 1060-1061.

NYLAND, J. (2014). Coming to Terms With Early Sports Specialization and Athletic Injuries.Journal Of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy,44(6), 389-390.

Russell, W. D. (2014). The Relationship between Youth Sport Specialization, Reasons for Participation, and Youth Sport Participation Motivations: A Retrospective Study.Journal Of Sport Behavior,37(3), 286-305.

Wall, M., & Cot, J. (2007). Developmental activities that lead to dropout and investment in sport.Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy,12(1), 77-87. doi:10.1080/17408980601060358

Wiersma, L.D., (2000). Risks and benefits of youth sport specialization: Perspectives and recommendations. Pediatric Exercise Science, 12, 13-22.

BMS-3033 SPORT NUTRITION URN6041693

Choose a sport of your choice. Critically discuss the nutritional requirements of this sport. Give examples where appropriate to illustrate your answer

Swimming is a very competitive sport worldwide with different events like 50 to 1500 meters with time duration of 22s to 16 minutes respectively. Moreover, with four different strokes freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke. With typical training programs with the aim to increase lean body mass, and decrease body fat levels over the season Petersen et al. (2006). Sport nutrition plays a very important role especially for elite athletes. The goal of this essay is to discus more specifically the dietary needs for athletes that compete in the 50 and 100 meters distance events.

In the 50 and 100 meters events in particular event swimmers relies on the production of large power outputs with highly coordinated and efficient technique in a short range of time. This power output rely on the anaerobic glycolysis and high energy phosphates. Therefore, the main type of muscle fibre developed in athletes in training for 50 and 100 meters event is Type2 a and 2 b of muscle due to the speed of contraction, short length of time, anaerobic capacity using high energy phosphates (ATP and creatine phosphate) and glycogen as fuel, however due to the nature of the high intensity aerobic activity with training sessions from 1.5 up to 4 hours a day there is no question that type 1 fibres muscle is developed.

Training

Overall training programs for elite swimmers are based on experience of successful coaches rather than scientific evidence of superior performance outcomes. There seems to have difference in opinions among coaches regarding to training sessions. Some opt for training only in the pool and others use less sessions in the pool (more specific training) but add cycling and running sessions to improve aerobic capacity.

Generally the pool workouts consist of aerobic warm-up and cool downs, training aims to improve techniques in starts and turns, and sets of repeated bouts of swimming at different intensities depending on the goal wanted, in this case sprint. Moreover, generally 40% of the training intensity less than 80% of VO2max, from 40% to 60% at intensities of 80% vo2max, and less than 5% at >100% Vo2max.

Sherman and maglischo (1992) have estimated the energy requirement of swimming training at approximately 16.8 to 22.6 MJ.day-1(4000-5400 kcal.day-1) for males working 4 hours a day and between 14.2 to 16.8 MJ .day-1(2400-4000kcal.day-1) for females working 4hours a day, although these factors will vary within each athlete physical condition and technique performance.

Nutritional Chalenges

The nutritional issues and challenges for swimmers are to prepare a nutrition strategy to provide fuel to cope with large energy demand, promote recovery for each session, achieve optimal levels of lean body mass and body fat as well as keep the vitamins and minerals within normal levels during the different phases of training in the season (E.g. high volume training, taper or off-season).

However, swimmers struggle to cope with large energy needs not only for training but for competition some common issues are presented below:

Training

High energy requirements due to fluctuations in growth patterns (growth spurt in adolescents), changes in training volume or simply active gain of muscle mass.
Irregular eating patterns due to a busy time table.
Social and cultural issues.
Poor nutritional knowledge.
Adjusting energy intake
Competition
Adjusting energy intake during taper to prevent excessive gain of weight and body fat.
Adequate fuel stores for the day of competition.
Postrace recovery between different competitions or between heats, semifinals, and finals.
Training program vs. competition nutritional requirement

Therefore the nutritional requirement in order of priority for pre-training, training and post training (same for competition) are: rehydration, refuelling and recovery.

Pre-training

Training

Post training

Consideration in use of supplements.

ASSIGNMENT 1

Analyse one particular sporting event, one series of sporting events (e.g. The FA Cup) or one sporting organisation in the UK. Analysis should cover the event’s/s’ or organisation’s social, cultural, political and economic significance in the UK. You may choose which sporting event, which series of sporting events or which organisation that you wish to analyse.

This essay will analyse the benefits that the 2012 Olympic Games will and has brought to the UK.

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will bring many benefits to the UK this essay intends to look at several of these opportunities; these opportunities include the development of sport, increase in tourism and increase in economic activity throughout the UK. (reference)

Local authorities are already using the inspiration of the Games to spread wider social, economic and sporting benefits to their communities in the run up to the 2012. This will be the basis for a long term and UK wide legacy from the Games.

The local Government Association has worked with local authorities to identify six UK wide legacy benefits:

– Inspiring children and young people

– Raising our sporting game and influencing healthier lifestyles

– Volunteering

– Championing culture

– Generating and supporting tourism

– Boosting the local economy

Many of these legacy benefits are already important to local communities, and local authorities are working hard to partners to improve performance and service delivery. The 2012 Games provide a unique catalyst to reach new groups of people, bring new partners to the table and help local authorities achieve existing targets. (reference)

Staging the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 is an opportunity to bring about positive change on a massive scale. The Games would not only add to the UK’s nation’s sporting heritage but will also celebrate the diversity of the capital.

It is a unique chance to showcase the best of London to the world and would generate huge benefits for all those who live or work in the city:

Boost for Sport:

A London 2012 Games would accelerate the delivery of new world-class sports infrastructure for the UK – and London in particular. For example, after the Games, the athletics Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Indoor Sports Arena, Hockey Centre, Canoe Slalom will all be available for use by the community as well as elite athletes.

The 2012 Olympic Games is most likely to create extraordinary levels of interest from local authorities and business’ that would most likely open up further channels of funding for sport at all levels. Based on the experiences of former host Olympic countries, funding for the development of elite athletes in the years running up to the Games would increase.

Hosting teams for many months before the Games could also act as a catalyst for developing and refurbishing existing UK sports facilities.

The 2012 Olympic Games will increase the amount of jobs, will provide skills for people and will provide a boost for Business’. Every sector of the economy will also benefit from the staging of the Olympic Games.

Thousands of UK companies, small and large will be needed to deliver the Games i.e., construction, manufacturing, catering, merchandise, services etc, creating valuable procurement opportunities. The experience from Sydney showed that New South Wales business won over A$1Billion in contracts for the Games (PWC report), over A$300M from regional companies with 55,000 people receiving employment related training.

The Australian experience shows that around 125 teams from 39 countries undertook pre-Games training in locations across New South Wales. This training is estimated to have injected some A$70 million into the State’s economy (PWC, 2002). This activity commenced as early as 1997 when the Belgian athletics team trained at Narrabeen.

London’s tourism industry will receive a significant boost, not just for the duration of the Games but in the run up to and long after the Games. An example of how an area can benefit from the 2012 Olympic Games is the increase in local visitor economy in Dorset, Weymouth and Portland. They will host the Sailing events in 2012. The Spirit of the Sean festival, which celebrates the area’s close relationship with the sea, has completed its second year and is going from strength to strength. Last year’s festival showcased around 50 activities at 27 venues. The festival brings together a range of sporting and cultural events, including water sports competitions for people of all ages and standards, concerts on the beach, the Dorset Seafood festival, the Henri Lloyd Weymouth Regatta and the Moving Tides Children’s Procession. As well as encouraging people to be more active and get involved with local cultural opportunities, each visitor to the festival spent on average of ?68, providing an important boost to the economy. Dorset and its partners will be using the council’s beacon status to share learning on how to secure a tourism legacy from the 2012 Games with other local authorities.

A London Games would also provide many new learning opportunities for Londoners to train and develop their skills. Thousands of new jobs will be created by building the new park that will be connected to the tidal Thames estuary.

Up to 70,000 volunteers would be required to help run the Games in 2012. This would require the biggest volunteer recruitment drive in UK peacetime, providing a unique boost both to sport specific, and general, volunteering in the UK. An example of this is Kent County councils aim to secure maximum benefit and long-term legacy from the Games. A key project of the campaign is the Kent event team, which has used Games as a catalyst to recruit volunteers for events and one off sport, leisure and cultural activities across the count. The Kent event team is a partnership between Kent county council and the voluntary sector. Voluntary Action Maidstone is the lead voluntary sector partner. In its first 18months, a manager and voluntary support staff were appointed, 700 volunteers and 40 organisations were registered and 20 events were supported. These included sporting, cultural and artistic events and festivals. The Kent event team aims to:

– Enable people who are unable or unwilling to make a long term commitment to volunteer on a flexible, one off basis.

– Support the voluntary, community, statutory and private sectors to develop good practice in volunteer management with regard to community events

– Deliver a network of volunteers available for wider community use after the 2012 Games.

An Olympic host nation is obliged by the IOC to stage various large scale “test events” – such as world championships – ahead of the Games. In addition, International Sports Federations are keen to hold world and European championships and other major events in the Olympic host country to enable their athletes to acclimatise with that country. Such events can deliver several million pounds to the relevant town/host city. E.g. Birmingham City Council concluded that hosting of the World Indoor Athletics Championships and World Badminton Championships in 2003 had a positive economic impact of ?3.5M and ?2.5M respectively. (reference)

Creative Capital:

Creative Industries is the fastest growing sector in London, responsible for one in five new jobs in the capital. An Olympic cultural Programme is a major aspect of the Games. From concerts in the parks to street theatre, the Games would provide a platform for talented artists in London to showcase their skills to a global audience.

A UK-wide Olympic Torch Relay in 2012 – possibly lasting several months – is likely to involve every major city and town in the UK.

Stage managers, lighting technicians, producers and artists will be needed to deliver the Games. Training programmes will ensure that the skills are embedded within the creative sector for future generations.

Boosting Health and Sporting success:

Hosting the world’s greatest sporting event – given the passion, excitement and interest likely to be generated – would boost Government initiatives to promote participation in sport and physical activity at all levels.

Physical Change:

The Olympic Games would bring forward one of the largest and most significant urban regeneration projects ever undertaken in the UK, through the transformation of the Lower Lea Valley in east London. The area has already been identified as a priority by the Government, the Mayor and the LDA. The building of the Olympic Park and the different venues has many economic and social benefits which in turn has a positive impact on local communities in London and different parts of the UK.

The transport throughout London will be improved in order to smoothly transport thousands of officials, athletes and spectators to the Games. Some of the improvements will be a ?1bn improvement to the London East line, a Channel Tunnel Shuttle link from Stratford to Kings Cross, and extensions to the DLR.

The development of the Olympic Park would increase the amount of green space, conserve local biodiversity, wetlands, improve air, soil and water quality in the area. The park will be planted with many different trees and plants. The waterways and canal of the River Lea will be cleaned and made wider; the natural floodplains of the area will be restored to provide a new wetland habitat for wildlife, birdwatchers and ecologists to enjoy in the middle of the city.

The Games would set new standards for sustainable production, consumption and recycling of natural resources. This approach echoes the ethos of Towards a One Planet Olympics, applicable to cities in both the developed and developing worlds.

There are many benefits that the Games will have on the UK but one of the main benefits of the Games will be the building of 5,000 homes following the renovation of the Olympic Village after the games. Officials and athletes will stay in the Olympic Village during the Games and then after the Games the village will be converted into housing for workers such as nurses and teachers. Housing will also be built on the Olympic Park site after the Games, this will provide further amenities for the local community which will include cafes, shops, restaurants etc.

This equality impact assessment of the Olympic delivery authority (ODA) Lighting Strategy has sought to assess the likely impact of the delivery of the lightining strategy on the equality target groups. The ODA Equality and inclusion programme, the ODA’s equality and diversity strategy and the ODA’s three equality schemes covering race, disability and gender equality. The overreaching aim of the ODA is to create an inclusive Games, which promoted good equality practices and access for all. This mission extends the aims of the ODA beyond these statutory duties to include the newer equality strands of age, religion and sexual orientation and other inclusion issues centred on socio-economic, culture and political disadvantage. The ODA are using a wider range of diverse suppliers, this will help to promote equal opportunities to everyone and hopefully will erase discrimination in the workplace by doing this recruiting and managing employees would be considered as fair. The ODA are working with other organisations to offer training to minority ethnic people, women and disabled people to encourage them to apply for jobs in the construction of the 2012 Olympic Games where they have been under represented. The ODA want to create an inclusive 2012 Olympic Games which will be inclusive for all people, ways in which they will do this is by providing a reachable transport network that will allow everyone to enjoy the Games and by involving the local communities. If all the above is achieved by the ODA then the 2012 Olympic Games will leave a lasting legacy for equality and inclusion.

The London organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic games plan to get women, disabled people and BAME people actively involved in sport by raising awareness so a wider range of people watch the 2012 Games and influencing key partners to train young people in sports volunteering, coaching and other related skills. They will also challenge discrimination in sport by spreading positive messages, supporting programmes that promote equality and making full use of the London 2012 Paralympic games to inspire disabled people. They hope that with the right approach that the 2012 Games will benefit everyone.

Introduction:

Biomechanics is the sport science field that applies the laws of mechanics and physics to human performance, in order to gain a greater understanding of performance in athletic events through modelling, simulation and measurement (Wood, 2009). According to Mcginnis, (2004), Biomechanics is useful to sports and can identify what forces may have caused an injury, how to prevent the injury from recurring and what exercises may assist for injury rehabilitation. It can be used for alternations in technique, equipment or training to prevent or rehabilitate injury. The general role of Biomechanics is to understand the mechanical cause-effect relationships that determine the motions of living organisms. In relation to sport, Biomechanics contributes to the description, explanation, and prediction of the mechanical aspects of human exercise, sport and play. Sports biomechanics offers methods by which the very fast actions which occur in sport can be recorded and analysed in detail. An important application of sports biomechanics with any sport is the definition and understanding of skills. This can help in the coaching process and as a result enhance the learning and performance of those skills (Reilly and Williams, 2003).

When looking at golf it is clear to see a lot of skill is involved during the swing. Hung and Jani, (2004) stated that the golf swing is one of the most complex biomechanical motions a human can make in sport. The aim of the golfer must be to make a consistent strike of the ball to propel it in the desired direction for a given distance. Furthermore the hip plays an important role in the golf swing.

The Hip joint:

The hip joint is one of the largest and most stable joints in the body. It is a ball and socket joint that consists of the head of the femur connecting with the acetabulum of the pelvic girdle. The pelvic girdle, including the hip joint plays an important role in the supporting the weight of the body while offering mobility by increasing the range of motion in the lower extremity. The acetabulum is the concave surface of the ball and socket joint, facing anteriorly, laterally and inferiorly. Furthermore the spherical head of the femur fits snugly into the acetabular cavity, giving the joint both congruency and a large surface. Both the femoral head and the acetabulum have large amounts of spongy trabecular bone that facilitates the distribution of the forces absorbed by the hip joint (Floyd and Thompson, 2001; Nordin and Frankel 2001; Uys, 2004).

Ligaments of the hip:

According to Callaghan et al, (2006) several strong ligaments reinforce the capsule of the hip joint. These include the iliofermoral ligament, the pubofemoral ligament and the ischiofemoral ligament. The iliofemoral ligament is the strongest ligament in the body and helps to prevent extension of the femur when the body is standing erect. It is a Y-shaped band of very strong fibres that connects the lower front iliac spine of the coxal bone to a bony line (intertrochanteric line) extending between the greater and lesser trochanters of the femur. However the pubofemoral ligament extends between the upper portion of the pubis and the iliofemoral ligament. Its fibres also blend with the fibres of the joint capsule of the hip joint. The ischiofemoral ligament is made up of a band of strong fibres that originate on the ischium just behind the acetabulum. These fibres blend with the fibres’ of the joint capsule of the hip. (Pickering, 2009)

Muscles of the Hip:

The muscles of the hip joint are those muscles that cause movement in the hip. Most modern anatomists define 17 of these muscles, although some additional muscles may sometimes be considered (Mind Body Motion, 2007). These are often divided into several groups. These muscles control the movements of the hips. According to Ozkaya et al, (1999) the psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris, pectineus and tensor fascia latae are the primary hip flexors. These are also used to carry out activities such as running, walking and kicking. The gluteus maximus and the hamstring muscles are hip extensors. The gluteus medius and gluteus minimus are hip abductor muscles providing for the inward rotation of the femur. The gluteus medius is also the primary muscle group stabilizing the pelvis in the frontal plane. The adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magus and gracilis muscles are the hip adductors and also provide for the outward rotation of the femur.

Movement of the hips:

The hip joint allows for the greatest range of movement as it has the capacity to move in three planes, about three axes. It also has a great deal of mobility, which allows normal locomotion in the performance of daily activities. Kolt and Mackler, (2003), state that the hip joint has three degrees of freedom of motion which include flexion-extension in the sagittal plane, abduction-adduction in the frontal plane (figure 3.2) and external-internal rotation in the transverse plane.

Golf

The modern golf swing has evolved with this use of technology, both in equipment and analysis; as well as the physical training the golfers now go through. The golf swing is a very complex body motion, involving a large range of movement of the upper limbs that act as a link between the golf club and the body, with the lower limbs acting as the main movement promoting areas. Limitations in the body in terms of flexibility, muscular strength, endurance, or power can create faults in the swing from a biomechanical perspective. As a result, most of the successful golfers in the world today, are relatively fit, flexible and strong compared to in the older generation of golfers. Improved technology in gyms has given golfers the opportunity to strengthen specific and key muscles used in the swing.

Hip rotation is very important to the effectiveness of the golf swing. According to Hill, (2007), it holds the key to a powerful swing. To increase power and ball-striking ability the hips need to rotate properly during the swing. According to Atherton,(2009), most amateur golfers rotate their hips too far during the backswing, which makes it difficult for them to get their hips to open up to the target at impact, a key component of a successful swing. However, the increased risk of hip injury is a relatively recent hazard for golfers, arising from the greater rotation favoured by the modern golf swing. This adaptation of this technique itself reduced the incidence of low-back injury among golfers.

The downswing begins with a forward movement of the hips that, with good golfers, actually begins approximately 0.1 seconds before the club head reaches the limit of the back swing. This moving forward of the hips rotates the whole upper body and moves both levers through the first part of the downswing (Hay, 1993). The forces responsible for this forward movement of the hips and the lesser forces exerted by the same hip and leg muscles later in the downswing have been estimated to account for 2.5 hp of the total 3-4 hp generated in a good drive. Thus it can readily be seen that the muscles of the hips and legs constitute the main source. A series of EMG studies have described the role of the hip muscles during the golf swing (Thain and Alistair, 2002).

A study by Tsai et al, (2004), showed that hip abduction strength was significantly higher in better golfers. In addition it stated all the hip movements tended to be stronger in the best golfers who had the lowest handicaps and longest driving distances.

In one study performed by the University of Umea in which the muscle activities in 13 male professionals while performing a golf swing were analysed using dynamic surface electromyography (EMG) and the muscle activities were measured in percent of maximum manual muscle testing (MMT) of each muscle. During the forward swing, gluteus maximus, expressed the highest muscle activity during a complete golf swing (84%). This indicates that especially the trailing side, gluteus maximus, is an important hip stabiliser as the golfer shifts the weight to the target side and the golf club begins to accelerate (Grinell, 1999). In golf the hip is especially exposed to high-velocity internal rotation on the downswing, requiring a great deal of eccentric gluteus muscle control.

Set-up, ball positon, alignment and posture are essential for a good swing. However according Shamus, ( 2001), the most common characteristic of an improper setup position is failing to use a hip-hinge motion to obtain the primary spine angle. Furthermore evolved technology has made it easier for golfers and coaches to analyse the golf swing and correct mistakes made by the golfer.

Technology advances: (ASTAR and Powerstool)

The Astar digital video technology is the latest, highly sophisticated software that evaluates and analyses recorded golf swings. This means that golf instructors can literally capture and illustrate every aspect of a student’s swing to determine and remedy any problem areas. It automatically creates a video file of the entire desire motion (for a golf swing from address to follow-through). Astar includes all necessary functionality to analyze technical performance, hence improve the golf swing by this method of analysis. By using the very latest A Star professional software, golf swings can be analysed from many different angles and a plan can be put in place for the improvement of any golf swing (ASTAR, 2006).

The powerstool is another example of advanced technology used to improve the golf swing. It mimics the perfect golf swing as close as possible enabling the golfer to get inot the most efficent position (Strachan, 2009).The powerstool makes sure the golfer achieves the right amount of hip turn and shoulder turn. This helps to reduce tension and strain that is common with over turning.

Technology in footwear and insoles has also developed throughout the years making golf shoes more comfortable and blister free. It has also been proven that specific golf shoes reduce injuries of the lower extremities. In addition, according to Light, (2008), the use of custom foot orthoses to change the mechanics of foot function may improve hip extension and create prolonged relief of low back pain symptoms. As a result, they provide a viable alternative to surgery to treat hip and back painmaking it pain free for golfers. Orthoses are also helpful for supporting the arch of the foot, offloading specific pressure points in the foot, and cushioning the heel. Furthermore it was claimed that orthoses could be a non-invasive approach to improving biomechanics and possibly pain.

ECCO golf, (2009) states that their golf shoes use a double-layer inlay sole that ingeniously absorbs heel force, reducing the impact felt by your knees, hip and back. That same heel force is also used to power an air-circulation system that ensures a fresh, dry and cool environment for your feet making it comfortable for the golfer.

In conclusion, it is clear to see that technology is evolving a rapid rate with new advances in biomechanical parameters. Advances in analysis and equipment has been proven to improve general performance of all sports and even holds an important role in reducing injury and the rehabilitation of injury.

ESSAY

These days, turning into a great player relies on upon having a great agent in the greater part of the professional sports. A sports agent is an individual who acquires and arranges job and underwriting contracts for a player. In exchange, they get between four and ten percent of the playing contract and ten to twenty percent of the underwriting contract in spite of the fact that this figure shifts dependent upon their arrangements with the sports figures. That implies that sports agents, profit. A sports agent is an individual who helps market competitors or items connected with that player to advertise a competitor’s vocation. Agents are answerable for all correspondences with group holders, directors, mentors and different people to help advertise a competitor’s vocation. Fundamentally, agents are utilized to dealer and arrange contracts for their customers. Likewise, they are answerable for making proposals as to their choices. Notwithstanding discovering approaching sources, agents frequently handle advertising matters for their customers. In some vast sports org, for example, IMG, Creative Artists Agency and Octagon, agents bargain with all parts of a customer’s accounts, from venture to recording duties. Sports agents may be depended upon by their customers for direction in all business parts of life, and frequently considerably all the more extensively. The amount of customers a singular agent can deal with and what number of his or her utilizing office can deal with in aggregate are associated variables. The marked contract is such that the player will get the full contract sum and the specialist organizations then take their wage from the ads specifically speaking to the player. Sports Agents have not been around for quite a while. Until the 1970’s, not many competitors had agents in light of the fact that groups might not manage agents (Masteralexis, 244)

Proficient competitors depend on sports agents to speak to them in the business parts of their calling. Agents assume a basic part in the players’ lives by overseeing business undertakings off the field, so that the competitors can concentrate on their execution on the field. Most expert competitors depend on agents as trusted consultants for a lot of people off-the-field parts of their professions: to arrange contracts, participate in promoting exercises, create players’ brands, secure their budgetary fates, and equip them for life after their playing vocations. In assuming such a key part in the competitor’s life, extraordinary trust is placed put in the agent. Violation of that trust by him, which achieves dispensing with a competitor’s physical qualification, demolishing a player’s money related future, hurting a university sports program, and meddling with expert contracts ought to be tended to by Congress.

Around the first sports agents were theater advancer (Money and Carry) Pyle, who in 1925 arranged an arrangement with the Chicago Bears for Red Grange to procure $3,000 for every amusement and an extra $300,000 in motion picture rights, and sports visual artist Christy Walsh, who furnished Babe Ruth with fiscal counsel throughout the Great Depression. In 1960, Mark H. McCormack’s noteworthy handshake bargain with Arnold Palmer propelled the full administration sports organization business. 6 Athletes progressively depended on sports agents in the late 1960s and the 1970s as expert sports developed exponentially. The development, nonetheless, processed an oversupply of agents for a limited number of customers. At present, there are 4,300 expert players in the four significant groups in United States and between 1,600 and 1,800 agents ensured by their separate player’s affiliations. Because of the substantial rivalry for customers, agents regularly act in an excessively forceful way when enlisting and holding customers.

LATE CASES:

– Cecil Newton, father of Carolina Panther quarterback Cam Newton who played school football at Auburn, professedly attempted to offer his child’s school playing administrations to Mississippi State for $180,000 while Cam was being selected out of The National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) suspended fourteen football players for some piece of a season, and eight for the whole season, from the University of North Carolina’s group for getting shameful profits from an agent and scholastic offense.

– Marcell Dareus, a protective handle on the University of Alabama’s football group, was suspended for two amusements by the NCAA for “tolerating about $2,000 in inappropriate profits from an agent.

– The NCAA suspended A.j. Green, and University of Georgia beneficiary, for four diversions for offering a football shirt for $1,000 to an agent in Nior College. The NCAA decided that Cecil Newton did endeavor to offer his child’s administrations yet that Cam did not think about the plan and, hence, there were no suspensions.

Congress ought to rethink the inclusion of agents with learner players, as it gives the idea that enactment to date has been incapable. There have been numerous aggregations occupied with endeavoring to control agents. Around them are players acquaintanceship, colleges, physical meetings, national administering bodies, the NCAA, state and central governments, a now-dead proficient companionship called the Association of Representatives of Professional Athletes (ARPA), and another affiliation, the National Association of Sports Agents & Athlete Representatives (NASAAR). Regardless of the presentation of regulations by these aggregations, none have been positively compelling at tending to the full extent of issues that have happened since the late 1970s when previous sportswriter Richard Sorkin, agent too many NHL and NBA players, wasted an expected $1.2 million of his customers’ cash, much of it on his own betting and poor ventures.

As a rising administration industry, sport organization might profit from professionalization. Regulation toward oneself and administrative regulations are frequently instituted because of a negative picture. Set up of the negative picture, regulation toward oneself shows issue distinguishment and a proactive methodology to making results. Instead of various agents working under varying principles, regulation changes the dynamic to one where people are playing by the same tenets. This proposal uses the structures made by expert administration firms to get to the learning of industry specialists to impact practices, while using the force of government regulation to authorize the standards with a specific end goal to restore open trust in the sport industry.

REFERENCES

1) Shropshire K.L., Agents of Opportunity: Sports Agents and Corruption in Collegiate Sports, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.

2) Sobel L. S, the regulation of sports agents: an analytical primer, Baylor Law Review, vol. 39, 1987, pp. 702-786.

3) Verow R., a‰? Sports agents a‰« in Verow R., Lawrence C. and McCormick P., Sport, Business and the Law, Jordans Ltd, Bristol, 1999, pp. 289-324.

4) Baggott R (1989), Regulatory Reform in Britain, The Changing Face of Self-Regulation, Public Administration, 67:4, pp435-454.

5) Baldwin R and Cave M (1999), Understanding Regulation, Theory, Strategy and Practice, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

6) Hood, C James O and Scott C (2000), Regulation of Government, Has It Increased, Is It Increasing, Should It Be Diminished? Public Administration, 78:2.

With reference to published literature critically discuss the factors influencing the effectiveness of a sport psychologist

Introduction

Sport psychology has grown remarkably from its roots in the amorphous and poorly understood disciplines of athlete motivation and performance counselling 40 years ago (Dosil, 2005; Cox, 2005). Modern sport at every level of competition and in virtually every sporting activity has benefited from the application of psychological principles and mental training in the pursuit of maximum athletic performance, stress management, improved training attitude and every other aspect of sport where the mind, emotions and physical performance intersect.

Sport psychology is unique amongst the applied psychology disciplines for a number of reasons. The phrase suggests that there are accepted common practices employed by sports psychologists and its is acknowledged as with any science, the baseline approaches to the education, training and certification of the sport psychologist are well understood across the world of sport and athletic competition. The feature of sports psychology practice that tends to differentiate it from other form of applied psychology is the general closeness of the relationships developed between an individual athlete and their psychologist. The common professional boundaries of professional detachment are different in sports environments where intense emotion and competitive desire are the fuel that both drives the athlete onwards and makes them vulnerable to psychological stresses. Many sport psychologists play a multi-dimensional role in the lives of their athlete clients – trained professional psychologist, friend, sounding board, confidante and advisor are each possible and entirely ethical component to the relationships that may develop in practise (Watson, 2008, 1).

This paper considers the question of ‘effectiveness’ of the sports psychologist as considered within the following analytical and discussion framework. A detailed and properly academic analysis of why the science of sports psychology is effective in the context of competitive and recreational sport is beyond the scope of this paper. The discussion that is developed below is premised on the proposition that sports psychology is a proven and well accepted body of science that applied in accordance with its principles will generally benefit an athlete. All athletes in all sports, team and individualA from cross country running to equestrienne events, in all age groups and genders are amenable to its benefits (Kornspan & McCracken, 2003: 36: Donohue, 2001: 19). The important question in the present context is what factors, professional and personal render a sports psychologist successful in a particular application. Included in this discrete issue are a wide variety of potential ethical considerations.

The question requires that a preliminary working definition of sport psychologist be articulated; the definition as stated below also assists in defining the general areas of professional engagement within sport. The discussion will then engage two broad and interrelated questions: what steps sports psychologists take in any given assignment to achieve maximum effect with their athlete; where are the typical problem areas that require attention in the sports psychologist / athlete relationship? The emphasis of the discussion will be directed to Educational Sports Psychologists as this area of sport psychology provides the most immediate connections between athletic performance and the application of psychological principles.

These questions also require consideration of the type of person who is more likely to succeed as a sports psychologist – as with any professional activity where the subject is a human being, the delicate interface between the knowledge based psychological education that helps to comprise ones intellect and the often empathetic talent of “dealing” with people is important (Armstrong, 2001; Griffin, 2008:10). The paper draws upon the significant representative sampling of the authorities as appended to this paper in this regard.

The paper concludes with some thoughts concerning the anticipated continued expansion of the sport psychologist role at all levels of sport. If these professionals have not already achieved such status in most sports, it is submitted that the progression observed in the relationship between athletes and sports psychologist will trace the progression from pop psychology to important training and coaching asset to an indispensible component of the training regimes and competitive performance of all serious athletes.A

Sport Psychology – definition and scope of the discipline

The literal definition of sports psychology is a deceptively straightforward one. According to Cox (1998) and confirmed as accepted throughout the literature, sport psychology is a “…science in which the principles of psychology are applied in a sport or exercise setting” (p.4). The definition does not depend on the presence of a professional relationship with elite or aspiring high performance athletes; the principles of sport psychology apply with necessary circumstantial modification to every level of athlete. In this paper, the term “sport psychologist” shall extend to any professional engaged in the psychology of sport or exercise (Douthitt & Harvey, 1995: Griffin, 2008)).

As a general proposition there are three different types of sport psychologists recognised in the field; a great deal of the work carried out by a sport psychologist may include work in more than one category in the case of a particular athlete or assignment. For the purposes of the discussions set out below, the boundaries between each sub discipline shall be regarded as relatively fixed. In the present discussion, it is assumed that each category member is a fully trained and accredited psychologist as defined by the relevant statue I their jurisdiction (British Psychological Society, 2009: American Psychological Society, 2009).

The first category is the Clinical/Counselling Sport Psychologist (Cox, 2005).This person is trained in clinical or counselling psychology and is a licensed psychologist. These psychologists are trained to assist athletes to deal effectively with emotional and personality disorder issues that affect particular athletes. The range of prospective sport patients that this professional might assist is very broad; an example would include treating a female gymnast who suffers from bulimia or other eating disorder given the competitive pressures to perform at a specific weight. Treating a downhill skier of motorsports racer who has difficulties recovering from a particular crash or injury might be another.

The second category is the grouping that includes the Educational Sport Psychologist (Cox, 2005; Kramer & Moran, 2008). These psychologists come to sport with an extensive academic and practical background in university departments of physical education and sport specific training. The objective of an intervention or ongoing assistance provided by these individuals is to assist the athlete to develop a wide range of potential psychological skills for performance enhancement. Specific techniques such as various mental imagery sequences, self talk, the building of per performance or per competition routines are all included in the work carried out by the psychologists in this category (Morris & Summers, 2004; Boyce & King, 1993). These psychologists also provide services to athletes in a team environment.

This particular definition also provides an important qualification concerning the general role of psychology in sport. Sport psychologists are not monopolists in this area. Many athletes have the benefit of psychological support as provided by a trainer, a position coach or a team manager (Kornspan & Duve, 2006; Wilson & Stephens, 2005). This element of sport psychology is very important but is excluded from consideration here.

The final category is the Research Sport Psychologist. This group is comprised of scientists and scholars of sport psychologist. Theirs is an important support role to the entire discipline (Cox, 2005). Sport provides science with ongoing opportunities to gain access to athletes and teams in every sport from its preseason, in season and post season /off season periodization. The psychologists engage in ongoing research and experiments in the field.

Applied sport psychology

Applied sport and exercise psychology involves the extension of psychology theory and research into a specific field. While the particular athlete or team will inevitably attract the most attention in these applications, given that the pursuit of athletic excellence is a primary objective, the psychologist has a significant role to play in the education of any coaches, teammates, parents, fitness professionals, and athletic trainers about the psychological aspects of the specific sport or exercise activity. Applied sport and exercise psychologists seek to facilitate maximal involvement, performance, and enjoyment in any sport environment.

The practice of applied sport and exercise psychology usually involves a combination of individual and group consulting or counseling depending on the style of the professional conducting the intervention and the needs of the client. The realty of amateur sport is that many athletes do not have the access or means to have a personal psychological consultant (Maclean & Hamm, 2008: 352). Notwithstanding access questions, the principles that support a proper practitioner / athlete relationship are the same.

Key Issues

Sports psychologists face similar professional demands in areas such as continuing education and training. It is submitted that given the ceaseless commitment to athletic improvement, the development of new training techniques, nutritional and supplement approaches, physical monitoring, equipment trends and related factors places a substantial pressure on a sports psychologist to remain current in all aspects of their practice (Nesti, 2004).

At its best articulation, sport psychology has a transformational power that elevates performance (Armstrong, 2001, 4). Experiential learning cycles are often at the heart of successful sport psychology practice, because sport performance typically provides immediate feedback as to the efficacy of the cycles developed for the athlete. Sport psychology encourages an intensely personalized approach to all facets of it application; a significant relationship exists between the personality of the practitioner and the effectiveness of the applications; the simple observation that not every psychologist can succeed in this area due to the limitations of their own personality is reinforced here.

For even the most engaged and ‘cutting edge’ practitioners, there are practical considerations to the discipline that are submitted as both constants and as overarching issues that never decline in their importance. These are discussed here under the general rubric of ethics; as the examples below illustrate, the boundaries between professional competence, the duty of care to the athlete, continuing education concerning best practices, and the maintenance of appropriate ethical standards in all matters involving an athlete or team are not always clear cut.

It is important to appreciate that notwithstanding the unique demands of an individual sport or the immediacy that may be a part of the practitioner / athlete relationship, a psychologist remains bound by the statutory provisions and the ethical regulations of their jurisdiction. The various Codes of Conduct do not create separate regimes for the sports psychologist; the attention to the athlete relationship must be observed with the same care as patient relationships in clinical or therapeutic settings. It may be observed that in an elite sports team setting, where there is a large staff of professional sport persons that span a number of disciplines, only the team physician and the sport psychologist are liable to a standard of ethical conduct that extends beyond their contractual obligation to the team or the common law duties of care that might apply to a coach – athlete or trainer – athlete scenario (Nesti, 2004; Watson, 2008; Morris & Summers, 2004). Ethical codes may be clearer cut when the practitioner’s relationship is with a adult professional golfer or well paid footballer; the youth and overall potential for vulnerable persons to be working with a sports psychologist render the standard ethical duties very important in practice.

One might conclude that given the acceptance of sport psychology as an important element of modern sport training and competition, that the more closely one could integrate physical and psychological, athletic training the more efficient the training over all and the more successful the athletic enterprise. Leaving aside the impossibility of installing combined coach / practitioners at every level of sport, a seeming next best option would be to ensure a close and centralised relationship between the athletic and psychological training programmes.

There are clear advantages to such a coordinated approach. The training time required for each aspect would be optimized; the psychological training could be seamlessly integrated into every segment of the physical training routines. The trust implicit in the athlete / coach relationship could assist the athlete in overcoming any apprehension about what to them may be novel or disconcerting mental training approaches (Wright & Erdal, 2008: 187).

The disadvantages are equally stark and it is submitted that the maintenance of practitioner and coaching boundaries is important in several potential areas of difficulty. Where the coach and the psychologist are working very closely together in a team sport environment, there is the concern that the athlete may be apprehensive about confiding in the psychologist or making a complete commitment to a psychological training programme for fear of any mental / emotional weakness being revealed to the coach and thus compromising playing time or status on the team (Watson & Clement, 2008, 3). The relationship between psychologist and athlete, like coach and athlete is inherently a power relationship; the knowledge that the practitioner applies to the psychological aspects of training create a dependency that must not be permitted to influence any other relationships that the athlete has.A As Nesti notes (2004), the task facing the practitioner is to simultaneously maintain openness to the athletes and coaches without abandoning or diluting their most personal and deeply held values. This makes considerable demands upon the psychologist working in a sports environment “…where the dominant values are those centred on self-preservation and material gain.”(102)

The ethics rubric takes on a further and more complex dimension when a team or sports organisation retains a sport psychologist to provide training. The ethical duties and their corresponding lines can become blurred. The following hypothetical will illustrate the issue. A sport psychologist is retained by a football team to help develop what the coach describes as “mental toughness” (Wann & Polk, 2007).A The coach wants his players to be more aggressive, more truculent and more physical in their approach to the game – “I’m tired of our guys getting pushed around”. It may be readily appreciated that there is a thin almost indiscernible boundary between the coach’s “toughness” and a training programme that may as easily promote rough, violent or anti-social attitudes amongst the players. The coach is determined to take newfound toughness instilled in the mental training regime to a new competitive level. The psychologist is now placed in a difficult position – to train as the club’s retainer requires, or to potentially assist in the promotion of emotional attitudes that are not necessarily in the individual athlete’s interest (Goldstein & Iso-Ahola, 2006).

The sports psychologist has an important preventative / restorative role in all aspects of athletic training. ‘Burnout’ is a psychological problem at every level of competitive sport, youth leagues to the professional ranks. (Kalliath & Beck, 2001; Matheson, Mathes & Murray, 1997) The same fundamental trust relationship between practitioner and athlete that build mental power in sport must also be applied where appropriate to protect – if an athlete is not emotionally suited to a particular type of training a practitioner has a positive ethical obligation to discontinue it, no matter who is paying for the services.

Future Directions in Sport Psychology

It is impossible to provide a definitive conclusion as to the future direction of sport psychology within the framework of this paper. However, two tentative propositions may be advanced. The first is a predicted even greater reliance by elite athletes on sport psychologists to provide them with support in training and competition. Every athlete in every sport seeks the proverbial edge, so often measured in millimeters or milliseconds. In an era of immense potential financial returns for sport success, a sports psychologist is a cost-effective training aid.

The second prediction is connected to the development of the discipline itself. Competitive athletes are result driven; for society as a whole, there are fewer ways to empirically measure societal athletic or sport exercise success. The cost of health care as attributed to poor life style choices and sedentary attitudes may militate in favour of a public push to incorporate sports psychologists into the public health mainstream, on the same cost effectiveness rational as observed in elite sports.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2009) [online] Retrieved November 18, 2009 at:< http://www.apa.org/ethics/>

Armstrong, Scott. “Are You a “Transformational” Coach?” JOPERD–The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 72.3 (2001): 44

British Psychological Society Ethical Guidelines (2009) [online] Retrieved November 21, 2009 at:< http://www.bps.org.uk/the-society/code-of-conduct/code-of-conduct_home.cfm>

Boyce, B. Ann, and Valerie King “Goal-Setting Strategies for Coaches” JOPERD–The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 64.1 (1993): 65+. Questia. Web. 24 Nov. 2009.

Cox, Richard H. Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications (5th ed.) Toronto: McGraw Hill (2005)

Donohue, Brad, et al. “The Development and Initial Evaluation of Two Promising Mental Preparatory Methods in a Sample of Female Cross Country Runners.” Journal of Sport Behavior 24.1 (2001): 19

Dosil, Joaquin, ed. The Sport Psychologist’s Handbook: A Guide for Sport-Specific Performance Enhancement Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, (2005)

Douthitt, Vicki L., and Mark L. Harvey “Exercise Counseling – How Physical Educators Can Help” JOPERD–The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 66.5 (1995): 31

Goldstein, Jay D., and Seppo E. Iso-Ahola “Promoting Sportsmanship in Youth Sports: Perspectives from Sport Psychology; Sport Psychology Provides Crucial Insights for Improving Behavior in Sport.” JOPERD–The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 77.7 (2006): 18

Griffin, Joy. “Sport Psychology: Myths in Sport Education and Physical Education Sport Psychology Isn’t Just for the Elites; It Can Benefit Everyone in Youth Sports and Physical Education.” JOPERD–The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 79.8 (2008): 11

Kalliath, Thomas J., and Alexandra Beck “Is the Path to Burnout and Turnover Paved by a Lack of Supervisory Support? A Structural Equations Test” New Zealand Journal of Psychology 30.2 (2001): 72

Kornspan, Alan S., and Mary J. McCracken “The Use of Psychology in Professional Baseball: The Pioneering Work of David F. Tracy.” Nine 11.2 (2003): 36

Kornspan, Alan S., and Michael A. Duve “A Niche and a Need: A Summary of the Need for Sport Psychology Consultants in Collegiate Sports.” Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association 9.1 (2006): 19

Kremer, J., & Moran, A. P. Pure Sport: Practical sport psychology. London: Routledge (2008)

Maclean, Joanne, and Shannon Hamm “Values and Sport Participation: Comparing Participant Groups, Age, and Gender.” Journal of Sport Behavior 31.4 (2008): 352

Matheson, Hilary, Sharon Mathes, and Mimi Murray “The Effect of Winning and Losing on Female Interactive and Coactive Team Cohesion” Journal of Sport Behavior 20.3 (1997): 284

Morris, T., and Summers, J., eds. Sport psychology: theory, application and issues (2nd Ed.). Chichester: Wiley (2004)

Nesti, Mark. Existential Psychology and Sport: Theory and Application. New York: Routledge, 2004

Wann, Daniel L., and Joshua Polk “The Positive Relationship between Sport Team Identification and Belief in the Trustworthiness of Others” North American Journal of Psychology 9.2 (2007): 251

Wilson, Marcia A., and Dawn E. Stephens “Great Expectations: How Do Athletes of Different Expectancies Attribute Their Perception of Personal Athletic Performance?” Journal of Sport Behavior 28.4 (2005): 392

Watson, Jack C and Damien Clement ‘Ethical and Practical Issues Related to Multiple Role Relationships in Sport Psychology’ (2008) [online] Retrieved November 22, 2009 at:

Wright, Perry B., and Kristi J. Erdal “Sport Superstition as a Function of Skill Level and Task Difficulty” Journal of Sport Behavior 31.2 (2008): 187

Sport management is a young field that is built on a foundation of business and other professional fields. The discourse of sport management is the same vocabulary as other professional fields. Its history is not very extensive, and the curriculum is still very young. Although the field is young, there are great resources available to advance the curriculum. The ability to manage a staff and effectively communicate to the staff is crucial to the success of a sport administrator. And while APA is the citing resource for sport management, MLA is one of the other citing resources that are very common in professional and educational settings. Overall, sport management is an emerging field that will flourish in the future. Discourse of Sport and Recreation Management

When engaged in conversation with another human being, it is important to listen and follow along with the conversation. It is also keen to speak with proper tone and the appropriate language of the topic discussed. Language of a discussion is referred to as discourse. Copley said it best when describing discourse: “Imagine someone new to sports initiating a conversation with long-time sports fans: ‘So what do you think the Raiders will wear in their next game? (Copley, 2006)” This is better than any definition that a dictionary could ever provide simply because her discourse is easily understood by the readers of the document. Sports management is one of the highest requested majors for incoming freshman in the United States (Mahoney, 2008). While the degree is one of the highest requested majors, it is also one of the most understaffed and underappreciated by universities around the nation (Mahoney, 2008). The discourse, or discourses for sports management are very broad and are interdisciplinary with other fields of study. These fields include law, business, physical education, communications, and psychology. Throughout the paper, these fields of study will be discussed in correlation with sports management; along with their purpose in academia.

The first and most important topic of discussion in sports management is business. Business is a strong cornerstone in sports management, as the word management is quite often associated with training and facilitating in business. The business aspects of sports management consist of marketing, and management, with specific focus on individuals, teams, facilities, and organizations. To start off, there are the two main ways to market sports: First is marketing a product through a sport, and secondly marketing of a sport. Marketing through a sport tends to bring companies a higher revenue then regular advertisements (Gladden & Sutton, 2005). A good example of marketing through sport is Budwesier. They like to market during the football season with beer drinkers (usually young men) playing or enjoying a football game with a fictitious background story, that subsequently features beautiful women, glamorizing drinking, to market the product (Gladden & Sutton, 2005). The best example for marketing of a sport is a television commercial for Monday night football, or Sunday night baseball on ESPN. The network is trying to get people to watch the game, so they in-turn advertise and if the viewer watches the game they have successfully marketed. Generally though, business is all about profits and losses. The numbers don’t lie and they can tell whether a business is doing well or if it is not. Therefore, the unofficial language or discourse of business is accounting (Warren, Reeve & Duchac, 2007). Accounting is the backbone of business because again, the numbers don’t lie. If a business is failing, a balance sheet can tell you why. And from there, a business can make a decision to raise their numbers by making cuts or taking out loans and collecting interest payments from stockholders. Accounting has a language of its own, similar to economics. But a good business man and woman should have a firm, and comprehensive knowledge of accounting to understand the language and concepts of business (Warren, Reeve & Duchac, 2007).

The second comprehensive field in sports management is law. Law is most commonly associated with the rights and wrongs in our American government. However, it also deals with contracts, property, negligence, statutes, and upholds regulations by other companies (Cotten & Wolohan, 2007). The most well known practice of sport law comes in the form of contract negotiations by agents and sports teams. Throughout most of the United States, it is required for sports agents to hold a law degree so that they have a complete grasp of how contract negotiations are supposed to work and ensures they follow all the proper channels that it must go through to become an official contract (Cotten & Wolohan, 2007). It is very important in law, to understand what every sentence or article says because one word can change the complete meaning of a very closely worded law. Therefore, an extensive knowledge of the American language, and numerous legal terms is required to be involved in such practice. Extensive knowledge of the American Constitution is needed for a career in law as well. The Constitution is the first form of precedence in the United States (Cotten & Wolohan, 2007). If a law can be traced back to the constitution, it is a powerful tool and a great advantage to have over your legal opponent.

The third major discourse of sports management is kinesiology, better known as physical education. It is a good thing to know how the human body works and what makes it function properly. It is also good know how it reacts under stress, and how it works at rest. Sports management and kinesiology are at first often confused for the same thing; when in fact, they two completely different fields. Practical use of kinesiologic discourse is mainly used marketing and in media relations. In marketing, a company might say “improve your vertical leap by training your fast twitch muscles.” This would be a correct statement and would directly correlate to the discourse of kinesiology as fast twitch muscle control sudden quick movements such as jumping as high as you can (Jeukendrup & Gleeson, 2004). Of course, if no one knew what a fast twitch muscle was they probably would not be interested. In an instance like that, a consumer would probably be more inclined to purchase because they recognize the scientific word used in the advertisement (Duncan, 2005). In media relations, terms of kinesiology are used less frequently and come from more of a medical standpoint for example if an athlete was injured in a game (Nichols, Moynahan, Hall, & Taylor, 2002. “Brett Favre suffered a pulled hamstring yesterday in practice. Brett said ‘it was a little tender after it happened, but the doctor said it was minor enough so I could play Sunday.” Obviously, this is a general discourse statement. But, it is related to kinesiology because you need to have an understanding of where the hamstring is located on the body and what happens to the muscle when it is pulled (Jeukendrup & Gleeson, 2004). Again, Kinesiology is not nearly as closely related as sports management as people believe and as shown so far, does not scratch the surface what the heart and soul of sports management really is (Mahoney, 2008).

Fourth, related field of sports management is communications. Communications play an integral part in collegiate and professional athletics (Nichols et al. 2002) as most organizations have multiple staff members who market and publicize their respective university or team. These people are often referred to as Sports Information Directors. Their job duties, in most cases, are as follows: Writing press releases about or for organizational events and athletes, taking statistics of athletic events, statistical research, designing school athletic brochures, writing and publishing media guides, web publishing, and grammatical editing (Nichols et al. 2002). Sports Information Directors, like most people who work in communications for a company have certain ethical obligations like always writing positive about the university that they represent. The basic guidelines are as follows: Honesty, truthfulness, respect, compassion, fairness, accuracy, professional distance, and ethical models (Nichols et al. 2002). At the same time, these writers need to find a way to entertain in their press releases so that fans and consumers will read their writing. Often, the directors use common slang terms that the average sport fan would understand in their writing. For example, if a press release says “Jean-Sebastien Giguere played great between the pipes tonight, saving all 31 shots for the shutout,” this would easily be translated by a sports fan as “Giguere played great in front of the goal, as he stopped all of the opponent’s shots to win the game tonight.” The slang terms allow the reader to engage with the release; and if the reader was not at the game, they could recapture a sense of the excitement that took place during the game (Nichols et al. 2002). As most people see athletes getting in trouble off the field, naturally damage control is a current trend in professional athletics. The directors want to minimize harm to the athlete’s image and to the organizations reputation. When it comes time to write a press release or release a statement at a press conference about the situation, it is of the utmost importance that “hot” words or catch phrases are not included in the statement (Nichols et al. 2002). Any words that would allude to any wrong doing are never good for other reporters to hear. Like a profession in law, sports information directors need an extensive knowledge of grammar and language as their job relies heavily on writing.

Finally, sports management deals in psychology. If the common nomenclature says that “playing a sport is twenty percent physical, and eighty percent mental,” then sports psychology will prove that. Life is what you perceive it to be, and the same can be applied to sport (Plotnik, 2005). If someone believes that they are performing badly, then they probably are performing badly. The discourse of the field is no different than that of a regular discussion about psychology. The main trend that seems to follow in sports psychology however, is motivation. If a person has a hard time working out, why is it that they do not want to work out? Are they self-conscious? Are they just that lazy? Or is that they are not physically able? Sports psychology applies the principals of psychology to sport, and hence psychology of sport is born (Plotnik, 2005). Sport psychology does apply its own kind twist however. As in most cases discussed in the textbook, the questions are more directed towards how you could remedy any psychological situations, as a manager or a coach would do; a standpoint towards the reader that they are always in control of their destiny.

The proverbial cookie jar that is sports management is a big jar that is filled with all different varieties of “cookies” that do have a similar taste at times, but are unique in their own way. Business of course being the most popular choice or widely used discourse as all business conducted will always rely on numbers to provide the evidence. Sports law is a least popular variety that no one can escape, because someone will always need someone to talk for them to get more money or to get them out of trouble. Kinesiology is a standard choice, “the chocolate chip” of discourse as sport is in the title of sports management. However, at the end of the day, is a completely different field of study. Communications is the underground of sports management that keeps the wheels spinning and allows people that were not at the game to experience the excitement. While psychology is everything in the field: Being able to understand situations that may arise and the motivation to do things for the betterment of a team or individually. Instead of focusing on one specific area of discourse, it is clearly beneficial to have a broad understanding of all the discourses in sports management. It is a big broad business, and its foundations are deep.

Albert Spalding to Earle Ziegler: Foundations of Sport Management

Since the beginning of civilization, it has been in the nature of humans to compete with another. In ancient Greece, the citizens trained in gymnasiums or “naked places” to perfect their wrestling or boxing technique (Sweet, 1987). “Athletics were more important to the Greeks than us today” according to Sweet; like the current American society, cheating was looked down upon in ancient times. Cheating was looked at as sacrilegious; a disgrace to Zeus (Sweet, 1987). Today cheating is not looked at as a sacrilegious act to a god, but as a shameful act of cheating. Today there are entities in place that ensure all athletes have the same competitive advantage. The act of managing sport can level a playing field, negotiate a salary, relocate an athlete, advise an organization, run a facility, or teach others the topics in sport management in a college setting. The modern field of sport management is a fairly young field that is constantly adapting to the demands required. The curriculum of sport management also adheres to the same principles of business, but is even younger than the practice of sport management. Through history, sport and sport management has shown its progressive tendencies and ideals that were ahead of common American society at the turn of the 20^th century. This leads to the five significant events and the influential minds behind the events in sport management, which will be the topic of this paper. They are certainly not all the people and events that had significant contribution, but simply the top five that are deemed worthy for this assignment.

Thoroughbred Racing

Since history is usually placed in chronological order, the trend continues today. Thoroughbred horse racing was a very popular sport in eighteenth century England; along with baseball, cricket, and field hockey (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). Positions of political and social power were appointed to men with wealth; most of those positions being horse owners, track or club owners, and other various supervision roles. Each club in the given area had its own set of rules, which were created by the owner; sometimes even to work in his own favor. Complications often arose when a rider from one track would race at another as rules varied (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). And by the 1830’s with the innovation of railroads, horse owners wanted to compete nationally to increase profits, and breed with new horses to create faster horses. Naturally a new management style was needed, but this was only the first complication of two. The second was gambling.

Gambling was a very popular event amongst the upper and lower classes at the track. The lower class was then able to wager bets at the track with the upper class because club/track owners did not charge admission to the event. The track was a social setting in which a diverse group of people intermingled for a common purpose; whereas a member of the upper and lower class would hardly be seen in the same place, sharing a common purpose (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). The gambling itself took place during the race, which was a four-mile course broken up into three legs. The winner would have to win at least two out of the three races. If the fans of the race suspected the jockey of throwing a race, the jockey would often be physically abused by the fans (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). It was not very common for unethical behavior to take place when bets were made, but they did occur and were dealt with promptly. Sometime after the 1830’s, there became a standardized management system in horse racing which forced club/track owners to standardized lengths of the course, forced the track to time the events, and even spawned a new style of horse racing: Thoroughbred racing with weights added to the horses (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). In gambling, a standardized system was also adopted as club owners started handicapping the races, ran a sweepstakes race and even started to offer tip sheets to the customers at the events. These strategical changes are viewed as the first managerial changes in club sport; while also being viewed as the successful model for club sports, which ruled the eighteenth century in the forms of boxing, cricket, rugby and soccer (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). The club sport system still exists today, although it does not thrive as it once did in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. But these clubs set a precedent that would contribute to the next innovator in the sport management profession.

William Hulbert and the National League

As stated in the previous section, club teams were the dominate structure for athletic teams in the nineteenth century. Baseball was no different. Most teams were around and had a small fan base, but most teams were never able to play a whole season, or keep fan interest for a whole season because of lack of funding. It was not uncommon for teams to just quit halfway through the season. The most popular team of the 1860’s was the Cincinatti Red Stockings who toured the east to play teams and because of their fan base, were able to pay for travel expenses and earn a profit while playing on the road (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). On a road trip at the end of 1870 season the Red Stocking lost the three games of the season, and because of that were no longer considered the champions of baseball. The fan base for the club fell drastically and the team disbanded before the beginning of the following season (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005). In 1871, after such hard times, remaining teams formed a union; a new league called the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. Unfortunatly, the beginning results were no different than that of their predecessors in the club system as teams would form, stop playing halfway through the season, and perhaps start operations the next season. After years of trying to gain credibility and reach stability in the league, an entrepreneur by the name of William Hulbert purchased the National League of Professional Baseball Players in 1876 and was often referred to as the National League from then on (Masteralexis, Barr, & Hums, 2005).

Hulbert made sure that all business aspects were in the open and not conducted behind closed doors as to ensure an honest means of doing business. He also set guidelines for the eight teams to follow: he was going to make sure that the league would not crumble because of one team’s financial irresponsibility. All teams were accountable for each other, or the league would fail. Hulbert made many decisions for the league. On one occasion, Hulbert canceled the final series between Philadelphia and New York as both teams were struggling and their outcome would not have affected league standings (Crosset & Hums, 2005). By doing this, he allowed the teams to shut down the operations so the team would save money for the next season and not hinder future operations. Ethics and citizenship were staple points in Hulbert’s National League as well, forcing teams to set curfews for the athletes and enforcing strict policies that meant banning players for life if they were gambling, for example. Hulbert’s precedent still stands today, as over 100 years later, Pete Rose was banned from ever stepping foot into a baseball park because of gambling allegations. He also made sure that the fans were proper citizens as well; raising ticket prices to keep rowdier, lower-class fans out and not allowing alcohol to be sold in the ball park. However, the “revolutionary idea,” according to Crosset and Hums, was the implementation of a pennant race at the end of the season. The two top teams at the end of the season would play a series for the pennant, better known as the National League Championship. Hulbert also protected teams from losing their players, as players under contract were not allowed to negotiate or be bought out by other teams without both parties being aware of it. The “player’s reservation” system was a precedent in sport management, and is still a foundation in modern sport management. After some success with the league, local newspapers started to cover the games; giving updates on injuries, interviewing players, keeping track of statistics and reporting other coaching strategies to keep the fans interested. This also opened a new element for sports as fans who could not afford to attend games and only followed by word of mouth. The media coverage allowed fans to follow keep track of the games played and re-enact the game through the written stories. The precedents set by Hulbert were truly astronomical; building foundations that still stand in baseball today. His demands for class and integrity are considered sacred to the game of baseball and were followed for years; which is why steroids have been such a paramount concern in baseball for the past couple of years. For his actions he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 as a pioneer of the game.

Albert Spalding

While William Hulbert was a great innovator himself, accomplishing many feats, he was not alone in the formation of the new National League. Albert Spalding was a pitcher for the Boston Red Stockings, who subsequently were members of the National League of Professional Baseball Players. Spalding was a major celebrity of the game, winning 241 games, and losing only 60 between 1871 and 1876 (Lampster, 2006). An innovator himself, Spalding pitched with his own signature designed baseball. After leading the Red Stockings to the first National League Championship in 1876, he decided to create his own company named simply after himself. That same year, Spalding was the official baseball of the National League, and baseballs were sold to the general public; therefore, becoming the first sporting good company in America (Lampster, 2006). The year 1877 proved to be Spalding’s last season as a professional ballplayer. He then focused solely on managing his company and the Chicago White Stockings as their team president. After managing, he became an international promoter of baseball, spreading the game around the world in 1888. In 1887, he created and manufactured the first American football. And in 1894, he created the first basketball. Spalding was a true innovator and strived to set precedent like Hulbert. Spalding and Hulbert fed off of each others innovations and cleverly marketed each other through each others company (Lampert, 2006).

Sport Management as an Academic Field

Almost 100 years has passed since the wrinkle in time that was the beginning of professional baseball. The time was the 1960’s, Major League Baseball was a prevalent organization, Albert Spalding had already been inducted into the baseball hall of fame, and the “sports industry was thriving” (Crosset & Hums, 2005). According to Crosset and Hums, two men discussed the idea of a sport management curriculum in 1957; a physical educator from the University of Miami, James G. Mason, and owner of the then Brooklyn Dodgers, George O’Malley. O’Malley is most recognized as the chief legal counsel for Jacky Robinson when he broke the color barrier in 1947 and for moving the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. Mason and O’Malley decided that in order to keep up with the demand in the sports industry, a professional degree needed to be created to accommodate this need. In 1966, O’Malley and Mason started the first Sport Management graduate program at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. The idea of a sport management degree caught on soon thereafter as Biscayne College and St. John’s University founded the first undergraduate programs in the United States (Crosset & Hums, 2005). The University of Massachusetts-Amherst followed in Ohio’s footsteps, offering the second graduate program in the U.S. in 1971. As the field grew, unions of teachers started to form; most of which were short lived. Today’s dominant sport management scholarly union is the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM). Sport Management is one of the most highly sought after degrees by incoming freshman at the University of Louisville (Mahoney, 2008). With massive growth however, teachers are in high demand and there are not enough people to teach the high volume of students and conduct new research to progress the field in a brand new direction. The next paragraph focuses on a man who changed the field of sport management forever. This dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada implemented his own curriculum; his name is Dr. Earle F. Ziegler.

Dr. Z.

According to the official Earle F. Ziegler website, Ziegler got his start in education at Yale University where he taught physical education and coached football and wrestling from 1943 to 1949. He began working for the University of Western Ontario in 1949 as a part-time German instructor. Shortly thereafter, he became the department head for Physical, Health, & Recreation for the university. At the University of Michigan, Ziegler began his research for physical education and how to manage it effectively. He then conducted research at the University of Illinois, and then went back to the University of Western Ontario. After years of solely researching in the field of physical education, Ziegler intertwined physical education with other topics such as philosophy and administrative theory. In 1975, the year Ziegler returned to Western Ontario, he released six publications on various topics branching physical education out. An acquired copy of “Management Competency Development in Sport and Physical Education” written by Dr. Ziegler in 1983 is an interesting read. Ziegler explains throughout the opening chapter the different types and amounts of research he did to write his book. He opened the book with four chapters about management theories and the emerging field of study. He then presented a strategic plan on how to implement management into sport. It is hard to comprehend that this had never been done before. Dr. Ziegler was in the field conducting research on different topics and drawing parallels between the two. There were degree programs before this at universities around the country, but Ziegler created an entirely new school of thought with the publications that he wrote; inspiring young professionals to think proactively and engage themselves in theory. Most of the topics discussed today in sport management courses are based off of his research and those who followed in his footsteps. Ideals that a person would just take for granted now were accomplished for the first time 25 years ago by an old man from New York City. Ziegler, in fact, was the first president of NASSM, and because of his contributions to the field was honored with an award in his name in 1988. This award is given out annually to the educator in the sport management field making positive contributions in research and education sport management.

Conclusion

As clearly shown throughout the paper, the field of sport management shares a rich history like other fields of academia, even at its young existence. The models of conformity in club horse racing would open the door for the brand new league system created by William Hulbert. And without the newly renovated National League, Spalding would not have marketed his new product, as well with Hulbert. As the field slowly grew and innovation lay dormant for sometime, that opened the door for O’Malley and Mason to create a brand new field of study to feed their vision of enhancing the field of sport management. And finally without Earle Ziegler, sport management would not be flourishing the way it is today without his teachings and theories. Again, he opened a new doorway for students to walk through. Teaching his knowledge and inspiring students then, who are the administrators of today. The interesting thing throughout the paper is the progressiveness of society through sporting events in history: The intermingling of upper and lower classes at horse tracks, the introduction of baseball throughout the world, and O’Malley breaking down the color barrier by signing Jacky Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Although there may have been some differences between some, athletics has set a standard for breaking down sociological barriers between class and color. These are the five significant events and the influential minds behind the events in sport management; they are certainly not all the people and events that had significant contribution for today’s sport management, but simply the catalysts for change and progression.

Resources for Sport Management

Socrates once stated “No one person knows everything, but everyone knows something.” Socrates was implying that by engaging in discussion with people from all walks of life, one can learn something new from a person. People were the main resource for Socrates in Ancient Greece as he did not have scholarly journals, or the Internet to work with. It is stated that today is an information age. Information and knowledge are only a click away on the Internet. Wikipedia is a source of information on the Internet, as it is an online encyclopedia. However, true scholars maintain that “It is not a credible source” because anyone can go online and edit the information that is written. That is why it is important to get information from professionals in the field of study in which a person is researching. Sometimes it takes a person to create their own field of study from other related fields to create a new school of thought. Earle Ziegler was the author of many books throughout 1970’s and 1980’s that created the current field of sport management, using concepts of business, physical education and other social sciences. Through Ziegler’s contributions, sport management has found its place in academia across the United States on college campuses. The scholarly journals in sport management feature some of the top minds in the field. A few of these journals will be discussed in this paper; along with their contributions to the field of sport management. These journals will be referred to as “fruits,” as they nourish thought and sustain a desire to learn more about sport management. In turn, the seeds are spread, and more fruit is grown creating more fruit and expanding sport management even further.

Journal of Sport Management

According to the Journal of Sport Management website, the journal was initiated as a biannual publication in 1987 by the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) and is seen as the organization that progresses the sport management field hosting annual conferences to discuss the topics of sport management, and commending the members on some of the work they did the past year. It is currently edited by Lucie Thibault of Brock University. The journal remained bi-annual until 1992 when it was then released three times a year. In 1996, the Journal of Sport Management became a quarterly journal and it continues that trend today. The journal itself features articles in many different topics: A few of which include management, economics, accounting, governance, tourism and communications. The articles also vary in sport and in level of play; covering issues in high school athletics, all the way to professional sport. Here at the University of Minnesota, Crookston when searching for articles on current topics related to sport management, it is very common to find most of the articles that are listed in the search results are from the Journal of Sport Management. In a personal communication with Dave Rolling, head of Sport and Recreation Management at the University of Minnesota, Crookston on March 10, 2008, “the Journal of Sport Management is the one of the best journals one could use to find topics in sport management.”

Journal of Sport Economics

The Journal of Sport Economics is a quarterly published journal that focuses on the economic issues that are concer

‘This is a Golden Age for Sport in the UK’

To say the UK is now in a ‘Golden Age’ for sport would give the impression that it is in a peak period where all factors are at their best; where sport is in a state of utopia. This, undoubtedly, would be a great thought for the UK however to say that every aspect of sport is in a ‘Golden Age’ would be a much generalised view.

Policy continuity from the government indicates this is indeed a ‘Golden Age’ for sport in the UK. The Wolfendon Report (1960: 18) formed the idea that young people should have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of physical activity, and this still remains a strong reason for government involvement in sport. Other policies, such as Game Plan (2002: 20), had a long term goal of increasing sport participation, especially among disadvantaged groups, and to sustain levels of success in international competition. These have all contributed to the drive to make sport in the UK better. However, policies such as these are dependent on having a government in place which encourages sport and leisure. Currently, there is a supportive government with the Prime Minister (2006) declaring that he “will set out in the pre-budget report how we can do better with a new focus on sports and fitness for our nation’s children… [And] will urge a national debate around taking sport and fitness more seriously.” But what if a different government takes power? Will sport always be seen in the same light?

Presently, the UK is celebrating a large amount of sporting success in boxing, football, formula 1 and many others, but one of the great success stories of late was the performance of British athletes in the 2008 Olympic Games. This was significant for sport in the UK for many reasons, in particular the amount of funding which has now increased as a result of this surpassed performance. It has created great promise among up-and-coming athletes who wish to achieve similar sporting success. When British athletes are performing well it makes the government in charge look equally good, and with the nation feeling happier about the state of sport, they are less likely to be voted out of power. On the other hand, the continuation of government support in this way is heavily relied on by the ability to deliver success and more importantly to deliver medals. For example, when no British male artistic gymnasts qualified for the Olympics in Athens 2004, this had an adverse effect on other gymnasts. National squad camps were cut in terms of numbers and frequency, and many upcoming elite athletes experienced funding cuts. This suggests that sport in the UK is in a state of instability.

The main argument for saying the UK is in a ‘Golden Age’ for sport is the securing of the Olympic Games in London 2012. Sport will be the focus of most people’s attention not only leading up to, but during London 2012; it is a chance for the government to promote its values on the grandest stage of all as Gordon Brown (2006) states “we should also make the build-up to the 2012 Olympics the centrepiece of a national campaign on sport and fitness”. Not since the 1948 London Games has the UK held such a prestigious event, and with other upcoming events such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2012 Rugby Union World Cup and a possible 2018 FIFA World Cup it would be hard to argue against the UK being in a ‘Golden Age’ for sport. However, are the London 2012 Olympic Games really going to benefit everyone equally? It could be perceived that it may in fact have a detrimental effect on sport in the UK. This may occur if young, inexperienced athletes are ignored at the expense of promoting the athletes competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Furthermore, too much pressure on young athletes to succeed could be damaging as Matthew Robertson (2008) argues the case of possibly sacrificing ethics for medals in the build up to Beijing 2008 by the Chinese Government. Therefore, it is possible to predict that after 2012 and the following Olympic Games, where current athletes will no longer be competing; the UK could end up taking a backward step with performances dropping.

The hosting of the London 2012 Olympics promises great things, none more so than the legacy it will leave behind. The original budget for the games lay at ?3.4 billion, ?1.5 billion coming from the National Lottery, the remainder coming from the private and public sector, DCMS and others (Olympics ‘could cost and extra ?2bn, 2006). Funding towards sport is now historically higher than ever and this money is to be used in creating an Olympic park, improved transport, making the games sustainable, technology, security, ticketing and accommodation which all aim to make London 2012 a great sporting success. The facilities which are currently being built will be left behind after the games for the local community, sports clubs and elite athletes, whilst the playing fields that surround these facilities will be tailored to suit the community (Olympic Park: Legacy, n.d.). Not only will these be new facilities, but they will be world class which will increase their opportunity to participate and also aid in the development of their talents. Alongside this, there is a prospective for further income to be generated through the sports industries and further money to be spent within the fitness industries. ?1 billion has also been put aside for regeneration of London’s most run down areas (Olympics ‘could cost and extra ?2bn, 2006). However, if the Olympic Legacy does not deliver in terms of regenerating the area this may have a negative effect on sport. Its apparent importance in society may be destroyed and it may end up more looked down upon than its current state. Therefore, the effects of hosting the Olympics in the UK and its hyped up legacy suggests an increase in opportunity to participate in sport and physical activity.

The diversity of people within the UK is something which people portray in an unproblematic way, but not everyone has the same chance to participate as others. Firstly, age is an interesting barrier to look at when investigating participation in sport. At the moment, the sport and leisure industries are directed towards those defined as generation Y. However, Dr Joe Piggin in a lecture on the 6th November 2009 that by 2029 it is predicted that around 40% of the UK’s population will be over the age of 50 which means drastic alterations will need to be made in order to prevent participation rates from dropping. Similarly gender affects not only the amount of sport played but also the types of sport played. For example, the results from the Active People Survey 1 (Oct 2005-Oct 2006) puts male participation rates, in the previous four weeks, for Netball and women’s participation in Waterskiing as 0%. As women usually have more responsibilities in the house and with children they typically have less time to participate in leisure activities, but these stereotypical views seem to be changing. The introduction of new technology such as the Nintendo Wii has made it possible for people to exercise from the comfort of their own home. This could be seen as a bad thing for sport with this culture replacing outdoor leisure activities including team games, meaning other sports and businesses may suffer due to the convenience of exercising in this way.

Race is another factor which affects sporting opportunity in the UK. There have been many recent campaigns to eradicate racism out of sport such as “kick racism out of football” and the “everyrace” anti-racism campaign in Formula 1. Nevertheless, black athletes are under-represented in sports like swimming and table tennis, but are over-represented in athletic events. Within some sports stacking occurs, for example, in Rugby there are many black athletes in the position of winger, yet not many in the more central roles of the game. There are many reasons which attempt to explain why this occurs, but the fact that is does occur suggests that this ‘Golden Age’ for sport in the UK does not necessarily branch over to everyone. The football premier league is a good example which shows a great variety of race and ethnicities competing with and against each other but at manager level and beyond the current state shows no black managers and very few at higher levels within the club. Similarly gender and, to an extent, age follow this pattern, and the only way in which change can occur at participation level within sports is if the higher positions also cater for the diversities within the UK.

Obesity has risen by 50% in 10 years among 5-14 year olds (Gordon Brown 2006), and sport and physical activity is now seen as a cure to solve obesity. Gordon Brown (2006) declared that “…we also need to become a fitter nation. Sport holds the key” and the sport and leisure industry has used this philosophy to attract large amounts of funding from the government. The government want a healthy nation not only for political reasons, but also to create healthy workforces and to cut down on costs to the NHS from obesity related illnesses. Change4life is a campaign being used to try and cut down on the obesity related illnesses by promoting being active and eating healthy. However, the very point that the UK is suffering from an “Obesity Crisis” implies they are not in a ‘Golden Age’ for sport at all. Creating a healthier nation is the current prime focus, and this comes at the expense of holistic values that can be gained from sport. Instead of a forward step, this could be seen as one backwards mimicking the late 19th century when physical training was introduced in state elementary schools to produce fitter soldiers due to Britain’s poor performance in the Boer War. This approach to health also raises questions whether it will make PE and sport more inclusive, or simply make people and children more cautious and less involved. Instead of focusing on promoting physical activity and interior health, the government’s focus is orientated around weight and BMI i.e. aesthetic issues.

In recent years the amount of volunteers in sport has been declining. This has been combated by the introduction of ‘step into sport’ which encourages young people to get involved in volunteering from an early age using a time-reward scheme. The decline in volunteers could be explained by the balance people now have between work and sport/leisure as Roberts (1999: 2) states “Our leisure is a product, first and foremost, of the modern organisation of work”. With changes occurring in the working week, year and life, people’s opportunities to partake in sport are changing. With an upcoming event in the UK such as the London 2012 Olympic Games, which will be looking to use approximately 70,000 volunteers for it to run smoothly and successfully, this decline in the culture of volunteering may mean it does not run as smoothly as anticipated.

Another major impact on the citizens of the UK in recent times has been the “Credit Crunch”. This has had an affect on the participation rates at grassroots, as the opportunity to partake in sports has declined due to people simply not being able to afford memberships or equipment. However, multi-millions pound businesses aren’t escaping this; a prime example of this has occurred with Newcastle United Football Club and Sports Direct – their main sponsorship and the UK’s largest sportswear chain. Last year profits were down by 50% which was the worst in the history of the company (Sports and Fitness Industry Affected by Credit Crunch: 2008). Customers cannot continue their large spending in the sports industry when the money is plainly not available. With other major clubs susceptible to follow this trend, it puts serious doubt into the UK’s supposed ‘Golden Age’ for sport.

It is understandable for people to think that the UK is in a ‘Golden Age’ for sport but with closer investigation it is not all black and white. There has been some progress in the narrowing of the “gender gap” but there is no evidence to say that opportunities to participate in sport have widened for low income groups, ethnic minorities or people with disabilities despite campaigns such as “Sport for All” which were meant to specifically deal with these issues. Sport is very much revolved around the idea of agency vs. structure; one’s freedom to partake in sport and the limiting factors preventing this. While the UK is probably in its prime for sport compared to recent years, when compared to other countries then this achievement seems less so apparent. For example Game Plan (2002: 20) states that “only 32% of adults in England take 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week, compared to 57% of Australians and 70% of Finns.” To conclude the UK must take advantage of the additional funding and current state of sport in the UK, and importantly achieve success in order for this to be called a ‘Golden Age’.

References

Brown, G. (2006) Gordon Brown: My vision for increasing young people’s participation in sport by 2012, [Online], Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-412405/Gordon-Brown-My-vision-increasing-young-peoples-participation-sport-2012.html [11 Nov 2009].

Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)/Strategy Unit. (2002) Game Plan: A strategy for improving Government’s sport and physical activity objectives, London: Cabinet Office.

Motley Heath. (2008) Sport and Fitness Industry Affected by Credit Crunch, [Online], Available: http://www.motleyhealth.com/articles/2008/07/sports-and-fitness-industry-affected-by-credit-crunch.html [15 Nov 2009].

Olympic Park. Legacy, [Online], Available: http://www.london2012.com/plans/olympic-park/legacy/index.php [14 Nov 2009].

Polley, M. (2001) Moving the Goalposts: A History of Sport and Society Since 1945, [Online], Available: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zr9KyexflskC&dq=Moving+the+Goalposts:+A+History+of+Sport+and+Society+Since+1945&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=JevLYBLZzJ&sig=2dSKaAvahQXYYv_IsdNW9DJ943Y&hl=en&ei=YX0BS6G4EtKJ4QaIx8j1Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=wolfendon%20report&f=false [11 Nov 2009].

Roberts, K. (1999) Leisure in Contemporary Society, London: CABI.

Robertson, M. (2008) The Price of Gold in Beijing, [Online], Available: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/2664/ [12 Nov 2009].

Sport England. (2005-2006) Active People Survey 1, [Online], Available: http://www.sportengland.org/research/active_people_survey/active_people_survey_1.aspx [06 Nov 2009].

The Daily Mail. (2006) Olympics ‘could cost an extra ?2bn’, [Online], Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-412484/Olympics-cost-extra-2bn.html [12 Nov 2009].

Discuss the impact of ‘Sport and Physical Education’ on lifelong health-related physical activity in the UK.

The Be active, be healthy plan (2009 p10) believes “Physical activity includes all forms of activity such as ‘everyday’ walking or cycling to get from A to B, active recreation not undertaken competitively, such as working out in the gym, dancing, gardening or families playing together, as well as organised and competitive sport”.

Sport and physical education is stressed as being an essential part of life, which has a huge impact on both people’s fitness levels and health. It plays a big part in helping to prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes in adulthood, which is why it’s important for young people to understand the benefits now.

Be active be healthy (2009 p11) also states “People who are physically active reduce their risk of developing stroke and type 2 diabetes by up to 50% and the risk of premature death by about 20-30%”.

Not only does exercise have an effect on physical health but also improves physiological wellbeing as it can relieve stress and anxiety, help with personal development and also improve self esteem and confidence.

In recent times there has been more of an emphasis on encouraging young people to take part in more physical activity due to the high rise in obesity levels.

Chinn and Rona (1994) state “Childhood overweight and obesity is increasing in the UK”

This rise of obesity has been strongly linked to the fact that young people are not participating in the recommended amount of physical exercise suggested.

ThePolicy framework for young people (1998 p4) believes“For all young people, participating in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day should be seen as a minimum. One hour of activity per day represents a more favourable level and is particularly appropriate for children of a primary school age”

Primary school children are likely to get the recommended amount of exercise due to their general play time and also through physical education lessons. For secondary school pupils they are more likely to get their recommended activity from specific sports and organised physical activity. Not only is it recommended that older children perform the 30 minutes physical activity but also dedicate time to do specific exercises

Policy framework for young people (1998 p3) states“At least twice a week, some of these activities should help to enhance and maintain muscular strength and flexibility”

These types of activities are especially important for children as they are not only helpful at that age but can also be beneficial in preventing health risks in later life. Such benefits include helping with bone mineral density and also osteoporosis.

Although the rise in obesity level is strongly linked to lack of physical activity, there has been some research which contradicts this and does show that most young people are getting the recommended amount.

Armstrong and Welsman (1997) believes “Objective measures have shown that most young people accumulate 20 minutes or more moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week”

Although a lot of young people are getting their recommended amount there are still aims of trying to get more people involved in physical activity. A way in which the Youth Sport Trust is trying to do this is by introducing something called the 5 hour offer. This 5 hour offer gives primary school and secondary school pupils the opportunity to participate in not only school sport but also community based activities.

The PE and sport strategy for young people defines the 5 hour offer as “The Youth Sport Trust and Sport England are working with the DCSF and the DCMS on ways to help local delivery partners increase provision, demand and take-up amongst all young people (5-16 year olds) of their five hours a week of high-quality PE and sport (three hours for 16 -19 year olds)”.

The offer of sport for 5-16 year olds will be made up of 2 hours curriculum PE and 3 hours of sport beyond the curriculum through after school, community and club opportunities. The offer also is extended so that it reaches out to young people between the ages of 16-19. This is a significant age range to target as it is also known as the drop-off age from sport. This is because after young people have finished secondary school, PE is no longer a compulsory subject therefore a lot of pupils will probably lose their only chance of participating in physical activity.

PE matters (2008 p10) believes “For some young people, physical education remains their only structured or organised, regular physical activity. It is therefore crucial that pupils receive their entitlement of at least two hours of physical education a week and that it is of the highest quality”

This is why the youth sport trust are now offering this age range the opportunity to participate in at least 3 hours of other activity rather that the 5 that primary school and secondary school age pupils have the opportunity of getting.

Even though there is a lot of encouragement in getting more people to participate in physical activity there are a lot of influences and barriers that are affecting participation levels. Influences that can have an effect on participation especially in young people are PE teachers. PE teachers can be seen as role models to younger people and therefore have an effect on the attitudes young people have on physical activity. If PE teachers support and encourage their pupils, then they are more likely to take up a more positive attitude to exercise and therefore be more willing to participate in not only school sport but also club or community sport. PE teachers could give society the help which is needed in order to increase the interest in sport which results in more people becoming active and helping to combat the health and obesity issues.

Not only can PE teachers influence participation but it is also said that family and friends can have a big influence on participation levels.

“There is substantial evidence that family and peer modeling and support , correlate with physical activity levels of young people(wold and Anderssen 1992) and that access to appropriate environments can enhance their participation” (Sallis et al, 1990; Sallis, 1993b)

The reasoning for this is because children tend to look up to their parents and friends and are likely to take notice of their attitudes and actions. If their parents have a negative attitude towards physical activity and don’t get the recommended amount that they should be doing, then their children might also take the same opinion. On the other hand if their parents enjoy exercise and took part in sports when they were younger, then their children are more likely to be supported and encouraged to also participate in sports. Friends can also have an effect on participation of others as if you mates are playing and enjoying sport, you are more likely to participate as well. This could not only be due to the health benefits and fun aspects of it but also to the social side associated with playing sport.

There has been a lot of debate recently about alternative activities being classed as physical exercise. This is because the older population may not have the time or money to join a club but yet they can do activities such cleaning and gardening, which some people class as exercise but others don’t.

The Be active be healthy plan (2009)defines the role of exercise as “What unites all physical activity is its effect upon our bodies, raising our heart rate, brining about an immediate and often beneficial physiology response and improving our overall well-being.”

So as long as simple activities such as cleaning and gardening are having that effect on the older population, who maybe can’t do as much as younger people can, then it is still beneficial to that person’s health. Overall in society sport and physical activity can’t be ignored as it helps to improve both a person’s physical health and mental wellbeing. Not only does it provide health benefits but it is also a fun leisure activity and even if it is doing something as simple as gardening then I think everyone should be getting their 30 minutes a day.

References

Department of Health in partnership with other Government Departments, (2009) Be active, be healthy: a plan for getting the nation moving, DH Publications

BIDDLE, S. CAVILL, N. And SALLIS, J. (1998) Policy Framework for young people and health enhancing physical activity, In HEA (1998) Young and Active? HEA Publishing

The PE & Sport Strategy for Young People {Online}. Last accessed 15th April 2010 at http://www.youthsporttrust.org/page/pessyp/index.html

Health position paper – Physical Educations contribution to public health (2008) PE matters

Sport Studies Programme Faculty of Health and Wellbeing

Sheffield Hallam University