Sean P. Cumming

Characteristics of youth soccer players aged 13-15 years classified by skill level.

Objective: To evaluate the growth, maturity status and functional capacity of youth soccer players grouped by level of skill. Subjects: The sample included 69 male players aged 13.2–15.1 years from clubs that competed in the highest division for their age group. Methods: Height and body mass of players were measured and stage of pubic hair (PH) was assessed at clinical examination. Years of experience in football were obtained at interview. Three tests of functional capacity were administered: dash, vertical jump and endurance shuttle run. Performances on six soccer-specific tests were converted to a composite score which was used to classify players into quintiles of skill. Multiple analysis of covariance, controlling for age, was used to test differences among skill groups in experience, growth status and functional capacity, whereas multiple linear regression analysis was used to estimate the relative contributions of age, years of training in soccer, stage of PH, height, body mass, the height×weight interaction and functional capacities to the composite skill score. Results: The skill groups differed significantly in the intermittent endurance run (p<0.05) but not in the other variables. Only the difference between the highest and lowest skill groups in the endurance shuttle run was significant. Most players in the highest (12 of 14) and high (11 of 14) skill groups were in stages PH 4 and PH 5. Pubertal status and height accounted for 21% of the variance in the skill score; adding aerobic resistance to the regression increased the variance in skill accounted for to 29%. In both regressions, the coefficient for height was negative. Conclusion: Adolescent soccer players aged 13–15 years classified by skill do not differ in age, experience, body size, speed and power, but differ in aerobic endurance, specifically at the extremes of skill. Stage of puberty and aerobic resistance (positive coefficients) and height (negative coefficient) are significant predictors of soccer skill (29% of the total explained variance), highlighting the inter-relationship of growth, maturity and functional characteristics of youth soccer players.

Enhancing Coach-Parent Relationships in Youth Sports: Increasing Harmony and Minimizing Hassle

The so-called “athletic triangle,” consisting of coach, athlete, and parent is a natural element of the social system comprising youth sports. With respect to the coach-parent dyad, a coachs role in relating to parents critically affects the consequences of participation for young athletes. The objective of this article is to assist coaches in working effectively with parents by fostering better understanding of i) the difference between youth and professional models of sport, ii) the goals of youth sports, iii) parental responsibilities and challenges, iv) how to achieve effective two-way communication with parents, and v) how to organize and conduct sport meetings with parents.

Effects of aerobic and strength-based training on metabolic health indicators in older adults

BackgroundThe weakening of the cardiovascular system associated with aging could be countered by increasing levels of physical activity and functional fitness. However, inconsistent findings have been found, and the variety of characteristics of exercise used in previous studies may partly explain that inconsistent results.ObjectiveTo investigate the training effect of sixteen weeks of moderate intensity, progressive aerobic and strength-based training on metabolic health of older women and men.MethodsSixty three sedentary individuals (mean (SD) age 76 (8) years) were randomly assigned to control (n = 31) or exercising (n = 32) groups. The training group was separated to aerobic (n = 18) or strength-based (n = 14). Training took place three times a week. Subjects agreed not to change their diet or lifestyle over the experimental period.ResultsExercising group attained after treatment significant differences on body weight, waist circumference, body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol relationship, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and 6-minute walk distance. The control group only had significant differences on waist circumference.ConclusionThe training programs produced significant benefits on metabolic health indicators of sedentary older women and men.

Incidence and player risk factors for injury in youth football

ObjectiveTo estimate the incidence of injuries in youth football and to assess the relationship between player-related risk factors (age, body size, biological maturity status) and the occurrence of injury in youth football. DesignProspective over two seasons. SettingTwo communities in central Michigan. ParticipantsSubjects were 678 youth, 9–14 years of age, who were members of 33 youth football teams in two central Michigan communities in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. MethodsCertified athletic trainers (ATCs) were on site to record the number of players at all practices and home games (exposures) and injuries as they occurred. A reportable injury (RI) was defined by the criteria used in the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) survey of several high school sports. Estimated injury rates (95% confidence intervals) per athlete exposures (AE) and per number of athletes were calculated for practices and games by grade. Player risk factors included age, height, weight, BMI and estimated maturity status. Main Outcome MeasureEstimated injury rates and relative risks of injury during practices and games by grade; logistic regression to evaluate relationships between player-related risk factors and risk of injury. ResultsA total of 259 RIs, 178 in practice and 81 in games, were recorded during the two seasons. Practice injury rates increased with grade level, while game injury rates were similar among fourth through fifth grade and sixth grade players and about twice as high among seventh and eighth grade players. The majority of RIs during the two seasons was minor (64%); the remainder was moderate (18%) and major (13%). Injured fourth through fifth grade players were significantly lighter in weight and had a lower BMI; otherwise, injured and non-injured players within each grade did not differ in age, body size and estimated biological maturity status. Logistic regressions within grade revealed no significant associations between injury and age, height, BMI, and maturity status. ConclusionGame injury rates are higher than practice injury rates, and the incidence of injury tends to increase with grade level. Age, height, BMI and maturity status were not related to the risk of injury in youth football players.

Sex Differences in Exercise Behavior During Adolescence: Is Biological Maturation a Confounding Factor?

PURPOSE To test the hypothesis that sex-related differences in exercise behavior during adolescence are confounded by biological age. METHODS Biological age and leisure-time exercise activity were assessed in 103 male and 83 female British Year 9 students (mean = 14.04 years, SD = 0.31). To assess exercise behavior, participants completed the Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ). Percentage of predicted adult height attained at measurement was used as an estimate of biological maturity status. Males reported more frequent engagement in strenuous forms of exercise and total exercise activity than females. RESULTS Sex differences in exercise behavior were attenuated and nonsignificant when biological maturity was controlled for. CONCLUSIONS Sex-related differences in biological maturity contribute to sex-related differences in exercise behavior during adolescence.

Competitive anxiety in young athletes: Differentiating somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption

Abstract The age-appropriate Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2; Smith, Smoll, Cumming, & Grossbard, 2006) was used to assess levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety among male and female youth sport participants. Confirmatory factor analyses with a sample of 9–14 year old athletes (N=1038) supported the viability of a three-factor model of anxiety involving somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption previously demonstrated in high school and college samples. Tests for factorial invariance revealed that the three-factor model was an equally good fit for 9–11 year olds and 12–14 year olds, and for both males and females. Gender and age were modestly related to anxiety scores. Worry about performing poorly was highest in girls and in older athletes, whereas boys reported higher levels of concentration disruption in competitive sport situations. Implications for emotional perception and for the study of competitive anxiety in young athletes are discussed.

Biological maturation of youth athletes: assessment and implications

The search for talent is pervasive in youth sports. Selection/exclusion in many sports follows a maturity-related gradient largely during the interval of puberty and growth spurt. As such, there is emphasis on methods for assessing maturation. Commonly used methods for assessing status (skeletal age, secondary sex characteristics) and estimating timing (ages at peak height velocity (PHV) and menarche) in youth athletes and two relatively recent anthropometric (non-invasive) methods (status—percentage of predicted near adult height attained at observation, timing—predicted maturity offset/age at PHV) are described and evaluated. The latter methods need further validation with athletes. Currently available data on the maturity status and timing of youth athletes are subsequently summarised. Selection for sport and potential maturity-related correlates are then discussed in the context of talent development and associated models. Talent development from novice to elite is superimposed on a constantly changing base—the processes of physical growth, biological maturation and behavioural development, which occur simultaneously and interact with each other. The processes which are highly individualised also interact with the demands of a sport per se and with involved adults (coaches, trainers, administrators, parents/guardians).

The mediating role of physical self-concept on relations between biological maturity status and physical activity in adolescent females.

The current study examined the mediating role of physical self-concept on relations between biological maturity status and self-reported physical activity in adolescent British females. Biological maturity status, physical self-concept and physical activity were assessed in 407 female British year 7-9 pupils (M age = 13.2 years, SD = 1.0). Participants completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (Kowalski, Crocker, & Donen, 2004) and the Children and Youth Physical Self-Perceptions Profile (Whitehead, 1995). Percentage of predicted adult height attained at measurement was used as an estimate of biological maturity status. Structural equation modelling using maximum likelihood estimation and bootstrapping procedures revealed that perceptions of sports competence, body attractiveness and physical self-worth mediated an inverse relation between maturity status and physical activity. The results provide partial support for Petersen and Taylors (1980) Mediated Effects Model of Psychological and Behavioural Adaptation to Puberty within the context of physical activity.

Trait anxiety in young athletes as a function of parental pressure and motivational climate: Is parental pressure always harmful?

We assessed the role of parental behaviors on sport performance anxiety. Measures of trait anxiety, parental pressure, and parent-initiated motivational climate were administered to youth swimmers throughout the season. High parental pressure within either a low mastery or a high ego motivational climate was associated with the highest levels of anxiety at all time points. An early-season, high-pressure/low-mastery combination was also associated with relative increases in anxiety over the season, whereas high pressure within a high mastery climate was associated with relative decreases. Results indicate that parental pressure can have differential effects depending upon motivational climate.

A biocultural model of maturity-associated variance in adolescent physical activity

A model for adolescent involvement in physical activity (PA) that incorporates individual differences in biological maturation is presented. The biocultural model of maturity-associated variance in physical activity recognizes PA as a complex and multifaceted behaviour that exists in multiple contexts (e.g., transport, vocation, sport, exercise) and can be viewed from multiple perspectives (e.g., energy expenditure, movement counts, performance outcomes, fitness). The model holds that biological maturation can exert both direct and indirect effects on PA during adolescence. Direct effects imply a direct and unmediated effect of individual differences in maturation on PA. Indirect effects imply influences of individual differences in maturation on PA that are mediated by psychological constructs (e.g., self-perceptions, beliefs) and/or are moderated by exogenous factors (e.g., social interaction, culture) associated with pubertal maturation.