Jeffrey G. Caron

Ice hockey coaches' perceptions of athlete leadership.

The purpose of this study was to identify ice hockey coaches’ perceptions of the factors influencing athlete leadership. Semi-structured open-ended interviews were conducted with six high performance ice hockey coaches of elite 16- to 20-year-old athletes. The results indicated how coaches selected and developed their athlete leaders, how they fostered the coach-athlete leader relationship and the responsibilities of their athlete leaders. These results provide coaches with new information on how to identify and develop their athlete leaders, as well as how to cultivate positive relationships with them.

An examination of concussion education programmes: a scoping review methodology

Objectives The primary purpose was to review the literature on concussion education programmes. The secondary purpose was to inform knowledge translation strategies for concussion researchers and practitioners. Design Research on concussion education programmes is relatively new. As a result, the current study implemented a scoping review methodology, which is a type of literary search used to provide a preliminary assessment of the size and scope of a body of literature, as well as identify strengths, weaknesses and gaps in the research. Methods A five-stage process for conducting a scoping review was followed for this study: (a) identifying the research questions, (b) identifying relevant studies, (c) identifying the study selection criteria, (d) charting the data and (e) reporting the results. Results Concussion education programmes have been developed and implemented with populations ranging in age from 9 to 49 years and have used interactive oral presentations, educational videos and computer-based learning programmes. Although the content of these programmes varied, the topics generally addressed salient aspects of concussion injury and recovery. Quantitative instruments have been the preferred methods for assessment. Conclusions Education programmes aimed at improving participants’ long-term concussion knowledge, behaviours and attitudes of concussions are needed. Researchers must consider using a knowledge translation framework to enhance concussion education programmes. The application of such a framework can lead to novel and interesting ways of disseminating information about concussive injury and recovery.

Why Professional Football Players Chose Not to Reveal Their Concussion Symptoms During a Practice or Game.

Objective: To determine why professional football players in Canada decided not to seek medical attention during a game or practice when they believed they had suffered a concussion. Design: Retrospective survey. Setting: Preseason Canadian Football League training camps. Participants: Four hundred fifty-four male professional football players. Main Outcome Measures: Reasons athletes did not seek medical attention for a presumed concussion during the previous season, how often this occurred and how important these reasons were in the decision process. Results: One hundred six of the 454 respondents (23.4%) believed they had suffered a concussion during their previous football season and 87 of the 106 (82.1%) did not seek medical attention for a concussion at least once during that season. The response “Did not feel the concussion was serious/severe and felt you could still continue to play with little danger to yourself” was the most commonly listed reason (49/106) for not seeking medical attention for a presumed concussion. Many players answered that they did not seek medical attention because they did not want to be removed from a game (42/106) and/or they did not want to risk missing future games (41/106) by being diagnosed with a concussion. Conclusions: Some professional football players who believed they had suffered a concussion chose not to seek medical attention at the time of injury. Players seemed educated about the concussion evaluation process and possible treatment guidelines, but this knowledge did not necessarily translate into safe and appropriate behavior at the time of injury.

Development, implementation and assessment of a concussion education programme for high school student-athletes

ABSTRACT Although experts have noted that adolescent athletes should be educated about concussions to improve their safety, there is no agreement on the most effective strategy to disseminate concussion education. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement and assess a concussion education programme. More precisely, four interactive oral presentations were delivered to high school student-athletes (N = 35, Mage = 15.94, SD = 0.34) in a large urban centre. Participants completed a questionnaire at three time-points during the season to measure changes in their knowledge (CK) and attitudes (CA) of concussions, and focus group interviews were conducted following the concussion education programme. Questionnaire data revealed participants’ post-intervention CK scores were higher than their pre-intervention scores. During the focus groups, the student-athletes said they acquired CK about the role of protective equipment and symptom variability, and in terms of CA, they intended to avoid dangerous in-game collisions in the future. Our study was the first to create and deliver a concussion education intervention across multiple time-points, and to use mixed-methods in its assessment. These findings may be of interest to researchers, practitioners and stakeholders in sport who are invested in making the sport environment safer through concussion education and awareness.

Exploring the Unique Challenges Faced by Female University Athletes Experiencing Prolonged Concussion Symptoms

The present study explored female university athletes’ experiences with protracted concussion symptoms, including the factors that impeded or facilitated their recovery. Five female athletes who competed in 4 different university sports in Canada participated in this study. All participants suffered concussion symptoms that lasted from 10 weeks to 14 months. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to inductively analyze the interview data. The participants discussed the unique challenges that stemmed from suffering a prolonged concussion while competing in university sport, which included serious emotional responses (depression, attempted suicide) and reduced academic performances. Participants also alluded to the types of emotional and informational support from their coaches, doctors, athletic therapists, and parents that facilitated their recovery. Overall, the detailed descriptions provided by the participants in this study offer a rare look into their lived experiences of university athletes suffering from protracted concussion symptoms. Given the serious emotional responses reported in this study, the present findings highlight the need to monitor concussed university athletes’ psychological health and academic performance. These results provide individuals such as coaches, medical professionals, and sport psychology specialists with detailed information about the impact of protracted symptomatology on an athlete from a personal (social), athletic, and academic perspective, which may enhance their applied work with this population. The present findings also highlight the need for social support for concussed university athletes throughout their recoveries to help them cope during this important and challenging time of their lives.

Cultural connections and cultural ceilings: exploring the experiences of Aboriginal Australian sport coaches

Abstract Sport researchers have begun to appreciate the perspectives and experiences of Aboriginal athletes in various global communities, yet little is known about Aboriginal sport coaches. Considering sport can play a positive social, psychological, and physical role in the lives of Aboriginal people, it is problematic that there is a dearth of academic literature exploring the narratives of Aboriginal coaches. This is one of the first studies to specifically explore Aboriginal Australian peoples’ experiences in sport coaching roles. Using a socio-ecological framework to frame our discussions, we share the insights of 28 Aboriginal Australian sport coaches from a variety of team and individual sports as they describe an array of factors that facilitated and impeded their sport coaching journeys. By shedding light on these narratives this paper performs two main tasks. First, taking a qualitative approach, it gives agency and voice to Aboriginal people, long-neglected in academic sports scholarship. Second, it provides insights for coaches, athletes, academics, policy-makers, and sporting organisations interested in enhancing opportunities and developing pathways for Aboriginal people in sport coaching roles.

What keeps them exercising? A qualitative exploration of exercise maintenance post-cardiac rehabilitation

Few individuals maintain their exercise levels post-cardiac rehabilitation. The objective of this study was to explore factors related to exercise maintenance post-cardiac rehabilitation. Participants were (a) 15 post-cardiac rehabilitation exercise maintainers and (b) 10 cardiac rehabilitation exercise professionals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in each group. The data were analysed abductively (combination of inductive and deductive) using content analysis to generate themes that linked to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and represented participants’ experiences and perceptions. Both the exercise maintainers and the exercise professionals identified seven common domains of the TDF relating to exercise maintenance post-cardiac rehabilitation: social influence, behavioural regulation, belief about capabilities, beliefs about consequences, reinforcements, emotions, and environment contexts and resources. Exercise maintainers also mentioned the domains of goals, optimism, social/professional role and identity, and memory/attention/decision process while the exercise professionals discussed the domain of knowledge about the benefits of exercise. In the inductive analysis, participants reported other themes (e.g. variety; cardiac rehabilitation improvements) not related to the TDF. Findings from this study highlighted similarities between both groups on seven theoretical domains and revealed insights (e.g. optimism and variety) that have rarely been examined with post-cardiac rehabilitation populations. This manuscript provides a greater understanding of the theoretical domains that could be fostered to facilitate long-term exercise participation among individuals completing a cardiac rehabilitation programme.

Exploring the peer mentorship experiences of adults with spinal cord injury.

Purpose/Objective: The purpose of this study was to understand the peer mentorship experiences of adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) through a self-determination theory (SDT) lens. Research Method/Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 adults with SCI who received mentorship (i.e., mentees) from fellow adults with SCI (i.e., mentors) as part of an existing provincial peer mentorship program. There were two analyses conducted in this study. The first was deductive, which involved organizing relevant data as per the three basic psychological needs of self-determination theory (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The second analysis was inductive and focused on the participants’ descriptions of their experiences. Results: For the SDT analysis, and concerning autonomy, mentees expressed they were able to make their own decisions and their mentors’ personalized their sessions. Specific to relatedness, the mentees discussed that their mentors cared and empathized with them, which helped them connect with their mentor. In terms of competence, mentees explained that their mentors provided verbal encouragement and helped them realize they were capable of successfully completing tasks. Some mentees also highlighted how the mentors did not listen to their needs, indicating need thwarting behaviors. For the inductive analysis, mentees expressed the importance of their SCI community organization, the impact of mentoring on their families, and the positive outcomes they associated with peer mentorship, such as participation in daily and social activities. Conclusion/Implications: The present findings extend our understanding of SCI peer mentorship from the perspective of the mentee and particularly from an SDT angle.

Development of the Measure of Experiential Aspects of Participation for people with physical disabilities

OBJECTIVES To create a parsimonious, psychometrically sound measure of experiential aspects of participation (MeEAP) for people with physical disabilities. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING Online survey. PARTICIPANTS Respondents were a purposive sample of adults (N=228, n=118 female, mean age=49.66±14.71, range=19-83). Each respondent indicated having a physical disability and participating in employment, mobility, sport, and/or exercise life domains. INTERVENTIONS None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The MeEAP was designed to be conceptually aligned with 6 experiential aspects of participation among people with physical disabilities: autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, mastery, and meaning.1 The measure was also designed to be relevant across employment, mobility, sport, and exercise life domains. Higher scores on MeEAP items were hypothesized to be associated with higher levels of life satisfaction. RESULTS The final 12-item scale (2 items per subscale) had strong model fit (Satorra-Bentler scaled χ2(39)=58.26, P<.001, comparative fit index=.98, Tucker-Lewis index=.96, root mean square error of approximation=.05, standardized root mean square residual=.03) and good reliability and validity estimates. Results of regression analyses indicated that the MeEAP explained 10%-29% of the variance in life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS The MeEAP is the first measure to capture all 6 experiential aspects of participation for individuals with physical disabilities across 4 major life domains. The MeEAP can be used as an outcome measure or as a mediator to help explain broader outcomes (eg, life satisfaction). The MeEAP could also be used for program evaluation to provide insights about the types of interventions needed to promote full participation.

Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Excellence: Insights From Accomplished University Team-Sport Coaches

ABSTRACT Purpose: Winning several national championships is an extraordinary feat that very few university coaches have accomplished. The objective of this study was to investigate how some of Canada’s most accomplished university team-sport coaches created and sustained a culture of excellence in their programs. Method: Six university coaches who had won more than 30 national titles participated in this study. Each coach participated in a semistructured interview, and the qualitative data were inductively analyzed using a thematic analysis. Results: The coaches noted that hard work and daily attention to detail, effective emotional management of themselves and their athletes, and continuous self-assessment (self-reflection and seeking mentors) were crucial elements that led to sustained excellence in their programs. Conclusions: This study offers one of the first empirical accounts of how highly successful university coaches developed and maintained a culture of excellence and success in their high-performance sport setting.