Nathan M. Murata

Effects of preload 4 repetition maximum on 100-m sprint times in collegiate women.

Linder, EE, Prins, JH, Murata, NM, Derenne, C, Morgan, CF, and Solomon, JR. Effects of preload 4 repetition maximum on 100-m sprint times in collegiate women. J Strength Cond Res 24(5): 1184-1190, 2010-The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of postactivation potentiation (PAP) on track-sprint performance after a preload set of 4 repetition maximum (4RM) parallel back half-squat exercises in collegiate women. All subjects (n = 12) participated in 2 testing sessions over a 3-week period. During the first testing session, subjects performed the Controlled protocol consisting of a 4-minute standardized warm-up, followed by a 4-minute active rest, a 100-m track sprint, a second 4-minute active rest, finalized with a second 100-m sprint. The second testing session, the Treatment protocol, consisted of a 4-minute standardized warm-up, followed by 4-minute active rest, sprint, a second 4-minute active rest, a warm-up of 4RM parallel back half-squat, a third 9-minute active rest, finalized with a second sprint. The results indicated that there was a significant improvement of 0.19 seconds (p < 0.05), when the second sprint was preceded by a 4RM back-squat protocol during Treatment. The standardized effect size, d, was 0.82, indicating a large effect size. Additionally, the results indicated that it would be expected that mean sprint times would increase 0.04-0.34 seconds (p < 0.05), when using a preload 4RM squat protocol. There were no significant differences between Control pre and posttests (p > 0.05). The findings suggest that performing a 4RM parallel back half-squat warm-up before a track sprint will have a positive PAP affect on decreased track-sprint times. Track coaches, looking for the “competitive edge” (PAP effect) may re-warm up their sprinters during meets.

Japanese physical education teachers’ beliefs about teaching students with disabilities

The purpose of this study was to describe Japanese physical education (PE) teachers’ beliefs about teaching students with disabilities in integrated classes. Participants were five Japanese PE teachers (one women and four men). The research was descriptive and qualitative, using an interviewing method. Data were gathered in interviews, analysed and presented as descriptive narratives and themes. Themes that emerged from the data were: satisfactions, ambivalences and concerns; professional preparation inadequacies; and communication, collaboration and support. PE teacher education faculty must provide apposite training for teachers to more competently teach students with disabilities and better ensure that they have satisfying experiences doing so. The study brings to the literature information on Japanese PE teachers’ beliefs about integration and teaching students with disabilities. This is particularly important as teachers in Japan grapple with the current historic, societal and educational transition from segregated to integrated schools.

Collaborating with classroom teachers to increase daily physical activity: the GEAR program.

Abstract Working together, physical educators and classroom teachers can infuse more physical activity into the school day.

Physical Education and Language Arts: An Interdisciplinary Teaching Approach.

StrAtegieS 19 Physical education is a prime content area for interdisciplinary learning. the movement components of physical education can be used as a medium through which children are provided with opportunities to practice and strengthen language skills (griffin & Morgan, 1998). Cone, Werner, Cone, and Woods (1998, p. 4) agree: “interdisciplinary learning is an educational process in which two or more subject areas are integrated with the goal of fostering enhanced learning in each subject area.” the interdisciplinary curriculum benefits students by enriching student learning across academic disciplines, while appreciating the knowledge and expertise brought on by other teachers. the integration of physical education and literacy might improve students’ performance in both the classroom and during physical activity (see Figure 1). One specific interdisciplinary learning curriculum is the connected teaching model that can be used in three ways: (1) when introducing a new skill, topic, or concept, the teacher can use the content from another subject area to further explain or illustrate; (2) teachers can stimulate thinking and interest in a lesson and demonstrate how the content they are teaching is relevant to the student; and (3) the content of a physical education lesson can be used to supplement or reinforce skills, topics, and concepts used in other subject areas (Cone et al. 1998). the basis for integrating physical education and language arts into one program derives from the fact that movement and learning are linked and that quality physical education can contribute to a child’s alertness, energy, clearer thinking in class (Sallis, McKenzie, Kolody, Lewis, Marshall, & rosengard, 1999), and academic achievement (Sibley and etnier, 2003). Moreover, Murata (2003) reported that physical educators can actually augment language concepts into their physical education classes by using predictable activities, activity scripting, collaboration, and verbal utterances using expansion and extension.

Comparison of neuropsychological test scores of high school athletes in high and low contact sports: A replication study

ABSTRACT This replication study re-examined the neuropsychological effects of participation in high and low contact youth sports. Modeled after a recently published investigation, two contact sport groups of participants ages 12 to 18 were formed based on the rate of concussion in their respective sport, with the assumption that more head impacts and neuropsychological effects occur in high contact sports that have a greater number of reported concussions as compared with low contact sports. The preseason baseline ImPACT neuropsychological test scores and symptom scores of non-concussed youth athletes in a High Contact Sport (football, n = 139) and a Low Contact Sport (basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, volleyball, paddling, and cheerleading, n = 57) were compared. The results revealed significantly poorer ImPACT test performances in visual motor speed and reaction time among high contact sport athletes compared to low contact sport athletes. No differences were found between the two groups in Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, and Total Symptom. These findings were identical to a recent study in which nonconcussed youth athletes in a high contact sport, that is, football, exhibited poorer neuropsychological test performance than their peers in low contact sports, that is, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, and judo. This research replication verified the results of the prior study, and raises concerns that youth athletes exposed to repetitive head trauma may be at risk for lowered neuropsychological functioning, even without a reported concussive event.

Assistive Technology: What Physical Educators Need to Know.

Assistive technology supplements and supports the learning of students with disabilities in school and at home. Thanks to federal mandates, students with disabilities receive consideration for assistive technology devices and services — the tools and supports needed to achieve determined learning outcomes. Assistive technology devices and services operate as a process, ensuring students with disabilities receive optimal access to learning across all educational settings and subject areas. This article provides physical educators with a working knowledge of the assistive technology process along with recommendations for supporting their students with disabilities.

Effects of repetitive subconcussive head trauma on the neuropsychological test performance of high school athletes: A comparison of high, moderate, and low contact sports

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine the neuropsychological test results of non-concussed high school athletes playing at three different levels of contact sports. Based on the concussion risk data of 12 different sports, a High Contact group (n=2819; wrestling/martial arts, cheerleading, track and field, football), a Moderate Contact group (n=2323; softball, basketball, soccer), and a Low Contact group (n=1580; baseball, volleyball, water polo, tennis, cross-country) were formed and compared in terms of their scores on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT). The results revealed that the High Contact group obtained small but statistically poorer performances in ImPACT Visual Memory, Visual Motor Speed, Impulse Control, and Total Symptom scores compared to the Moderate and Low Contact groups. The High Contact group also had poorer Reaction Time scores compared to the Low Contact group. No differences between the Moderate and Low Contact groups were noted. The findings, along with prior similar results, tentatively raise concerns that participant in high contact sports, exposed to repetitive subconcussive head trauma, may be at greater risk for lowered neuropsychological functioning and increased symptoms, compared to other high school athletes. In view of the preliminary nature of this investigation, more research into the effects of frequent head impacts in high school sports is strongly recommended.

Computerized neuropsychological test performance of youth football players at different positions: A comparison of high and low contact players

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine the effects of head impact frequency on the neuropsychological test results of football players who participate in different positions on the team. Based on the biomechanical measures of head impact frequency reported in high school football, a High Contact group (n = 480) consisting of offensive and defensive linemen was compared with a Low Contact group (n = 640) comprised of receivers and defensive backs. The results revealed that the High Contact group obtained poorer performances on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) on three Composite scores (Verbal Memory, Visual Motor Speed, Impulse Control) and the Total Symptom score compared to the Low Contact group. The present study is the first, to date, to report differences in the neuropsychological test performances of athletes who participate in high and low contact football positions. The findings raise tentative concerns that youth football players exposed to repetitive head trauma, including subconcussive impacts, may be at risk for lowered neuropsychological functioning and increased symptoms.