Reliability and validity of field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players

This study aimed to establish between-day reliability and validity of commonly used field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players of varied age and playing standards, and to discriminate between players without (“unidentified”) or with (“identified”) a direct route to professional football through their existing club pathway. Three-hundred-and-seventy-three Scottish youth soccer players (U11–U17) from three different playing standards (amateur, development, performance) completed a battery of commonly used generic field-based fitness tests (grip dynamometry, standing broad jump, countermovement vertical jump, 505 (505COD) and T-Drill (T-Test) change of direction and 10/20 m sprint tests) on two separate occasions within 7–14?days. The majority of field-based fitness tests selected within this study proved to be reliable measures of physical performance (ICC?=?0.83–0.97; p?p?2 (7)?=?101.646, p?相似文献   

The biomechanical characteristics of high-performance endurance running

The biomechanical profile of high-level endurance runners may represent a useful model that could be used for developing training programmes designed to improve running style. This study, therefore, sought to compare the biomechanical characteristics of high-performance and recreational runners. Kinematic and kinetic measurements were taken during overground running from a cohort of 14 high-performance (8 male) and 14 recreational (8 male) runners, at four speeds ranging from 3.3 to 5.6?m?s^?1. Two-way ANOVA analysis was then used to explore group and speed effects and principal component analysis used to explore the interdependence of the tested variables. The data showed the high-performance runners to have a gait style characterised by an increased vertical velocity of the centre of mass and a flight time that was 11% longer than the recreational group. The high-performance group were also observed to adopt a forefoot strike pattern, to contact the ground with their foot closer to their body and to have a larger ankle moment. Importantly, although observed group differences were mostly independent of speed, the tested variables showed a high degree of interdependence suggesting an underlying unitary phenomenon. This is the first study to compare high-performance and recreational runners across a full range of kinematic and kinetic variables. The results suggest that high-performance runners maintain stride length with a prolonged aerial phase, rather than by landing with a more extended knee. These findings motivate future intervention studies that should investigate whether recreational runners could benefit from instruction to decrease shank inclination at foot contact.     

The effect of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence on decision-making

The quality of decision and assessment of risk are key determinants of successful sport performance. Athletes differ fundamentally in their decision-making ability according to their athletic expertise level. Moreover, given the influence of emotions on decision-making, it is likely that a trait reflecting emotional functioning, trait emotional intelligence, may also influence decision-making. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the respective contribution of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence to non-athletic decision-making. In total, 269 participants aged between 18 and 26 years with a range of athletic experience i.e. none (n?=?71), novice (n?=?54), amateur (n?=?55), elite (n?=?45) and super-elite (n?=?44), completed the Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Cambridge Gambling Task. Regression modelling indicated a significant positive relationship of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence with the quality of decision-making, and a negative relationship with deliberation time and risk-taking. Cognitive skills transfer may explain the higher decision-making scores associated with higher athletic expertise, while individuals with higher trait emotional intelligence may anticipate better the emotional consequences linked with a gambling task, which may help individuals make better decisions and take less risks.     

Recategorized WISC-R score patterns of older and younger referred Tlingit Indian children

This study investigated patterns of Bannatyne's recategorized WISC-R scores of 146 predominantly Tlingit Indian children who were referred for psychoeducational testing. The students were divided into two groups, ages 6 through 10 and 11 through 16, in order to investigate patterns that occurred at each level and to investigate the proportions that exhibited a typically “Indian” pattern: Spatial > Sequential > Conceptual and Acquired Knowledge. As a group, the older children displayed an Indian pattern, but the younger children displayed a different one: Spatial > Conceptual and Sequential > Acquired Knowledge. Both groups, however, displayed a significantly greater proportion of children with an Indian pattern than would be expected by chance. A considerable number of individuals from both groups attained significant differences among scores in the Indian direction.     

Assessment of multiple behavioral procedures on academic and social classroom behavior

A set of behavioral procedures focusing on the academic and social behavior problems of a group of adolescent students was incorporated within the context of a regular school program. The procedures, which involved manipulating type and delay of reinforcement, teaching desirable behaviors that were self-reinforcing or that others would readily reinforce, and training in several skills that are prerequisite to selfcontrol, were implemented in several classrooms through an independent grouporiented contingency system. These students performed significantly better than a matched control group with respect to grade-point average, class grades, school attendance, and length of time absent due to suspension. Changes in the contingency system throughout the year yielded differential effects on three behavioral measures: class attendance, assignments completed, and classroom behavior. The significance of these findings is discussed, and suggestions are made for future research efforts.     

Technical characteristics of the peabody individual achievement test as a function of item arrangement and basal and ceiling rules

The effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the PIAT mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Seven items on the math subtest and one item on the reading recognition subtest were significantly easier or harder than their test placement indicated. The use of basal and ceiling rules had a pronounced effect on the means, variances, and reliabilities on the multiple choice math subtest, while the rules' effects on the reading recognition subtests were minor. Item order also affected scores on the math subtest.     

Intrachild variabilities: Will curtailment of testing harm minority children?

Compared intrachild variability of five-year-old children (49 black, 34 white) on the Primary Mental Abilities Test when subjects reached their fifth birthday after completing at least two years of preschool enrichment. Conclusions, although qualified on the basis of limited sample size, revealed wider intrachild variability with minority children. This suggests that abandonment of testing may increase instructional problems and possibly lower the quality of instruction provided minority and poor children.     

Cognitive and perceptual measures as predictors of fourth-grade achievement

This study used a multivariate approach and longitudinal design to examine the relationship of early perceptual and cognitive development to later school achievement. The extent to which a set of 4th-grade achievement measures could be predicted from a set of variables collected when the students were in first grade was determined through a series of canonical and multiple correlation analyses. These results were compared to results of an earlier phase of the study. Similarities between the two phases indicated that: (a) A measure of visual perception added significantly to the prediction of achievement afforded by consideration of sex and academic aptitude. (b) The variables used to predict achievement may differ somewhat between boys and girls. (c) The usefulness of sex as a predictor of school achievement depends upon the specific achievement area under consideration. Differences in the two phases involved the extent to which sex was a predictor of a specific achievement area.