Comparative efficacy of active recovery and cold water immersion as post-match recovery interventions in elite youth soccer

ABSTRACT

The current study compared cold-water immersion (CWI) and active recovery (AR) to static stretching (SS) on muscle recovery post-competitive soccer matches in elite youth players (n = 15). In a controlled crossover design, participants played a total of nine competitive soccer games, comprising three 80 minute games for each intervention (SS, CWI and AR). Muscle oedema, creatine kinase (CK), countermovement jump performance (CMJA) and perceived muscle soreness (PMS) were assessed pre-, immediately post-, and 48 hours post-match and compared across time-intervals and between interventions. Following SS, all markers of muscle damage remained significantly elevated (P < 0.05) compared to baseline at 48 hours post-match. Following AR and CWI, CMJA returned to baseline at 48 hours post-match, whilst CK returned to baseline following CWI at 48 hours post-match only. Analysis between recovery interventions revealed a significant improvement in PMS (P < 0.05) at 48 hours post-match when comparing AR and CWI to SS, with no significant differences between AR and CWI observed (P > 0.05). Analysis of %change for CK and CMJA revealed significant improvements for AR and CWI compared to SS. The present study indicated both AR and CWI are beneficial recovery interventions for elite young soccer players following competitive soccer matches, of which were superior to SS.     

Contextual influences and athlete attitudes to drugs in sport

This article reports on 11 narrative-based case histories which sought to: (1) uncover the attitudes of players and athletes to drugs in sport, and (2) explore contextual factors influencing the formation of those attitudes as informed by social ecology theory. Overall, participants viewed the use of banned performance-enhancing substances as cheating, ‘hard’ non-performance-enhancing recreational or illicit substances as unwise, legal non-performance-enhancing substances as acceptable, and legal performance-enhancing substances as essential. In short, attitudes were sometimes quite libertarian, and contingent upon first, the legality of the substance, and second, its performance impact. Results also indicated that athletes’ attitudes about drugs were fundamentally shaped by sport's culture. Other significant factors included its commercial scale, closely identifiable others, early experiences and critical incidents of players and athletes, and their level of performance.     

Broadening Perspectives on Immigrant Experiences: Secondary Students Study the Absorption Difficulties Faced by Mizrachi Immigrants in Israel

Over the course of the 2015–2016 academic year, 12th-grade students at a Jewish high school in Canada participated in a research study that assessed how they integrated morally complex narratives in Israel’s past into their own relationship with the country. This article presents material based on how students reacted to learning that some Jewish immigrants were mistreated by the government by way of intentional economic disparity, depiction as grotesque caricatures in standard curricula, and denial of access to funds for cultural expression. The majority of students expressed shock and outrage as this narrative contrasted with the Zionist narrative that they had previously learned.     

The impact of referee training: reflections on the reduction of home advantage in association football

The effect of increased development and professionalization in elite Association Football referee training and the relationship with reduced home advantage in the English professional leagues were examined. The central aim was to chart the evolution of referee training, and how these developments in referee training have assisted in reducing home advantage. Interviews were conducted with elite and ex-elite referees, as well as those involved in the management, training and administration of elite referees in order to identify more recent adaptations to elite referee training and further explain the relationship between training and the reduction in home advantage. Findings indicate training and support is pronounced within elite refereeing has developed appreciably over time, and has contributed significantly to an increase in performance, decision-making correctness and subsequent decline in home advantage.     

Batting last as a home advantage factor in men's NCAA tournament baseball

In baseball and softball, there is a rule that allows the home team to have the last at-bat and thus the final opportunity to win the game. However, in tournament play, this rule is often set aside and, instead, batting order is decided by other means (e.g. tournament rules, the flip of a coin). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the batting last rule on game outcome in NCAA men's regional tournament baseball. It was hypothesized that host (i.e. home) teams would win a greater percentage of the games in which they batted last compared with when they batted first. This hypothesis was not supported. Closer examination of the last inning of play showed home teams were no more likely to have won the game during their last bat than visitors playing other visitors. The results suggest that the batting last rule contributes minimally, if at all, to home advantage in NCAA tournament baseball.