Knowledge and Competences of Racket Sports Coaches: What do They Think and Know?

Specification for eye-protectors for racket sports

10.3403/01476390 ◽

1998 ◽

Keyword(s):

Racket Sports

Download Full-text

Ball Impact Position in Recreational Male Padel Players: Implications for Training and Injury Management

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020435 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 435

Author(s):

Bernardino Javier Sánchez-Alcaraz ◽

Rafael Martínez-Gallego ◽

Salvador Llana ◽

Goran Vučković ◽

Diego Muñoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motion Tracking ◽

Center Of Gravity ◽

Musculoskeletal Injuries ◽

Ball Impact ◽

Video System ◽

Injury Management ◽

Racket Sports ◽

Impact Position ◽

Proper Training

Racket sports such as padel are characterized by the repetition of unilateral gestures, which can lead to negative adaptations like asymmetries or overuse musculoskeletal injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in ball impact positions (i.e., forward or backward of the center of gravity) in nine stroke types in a sample of forty-eight recreational male padel players. The sample included 14,478 shots corresponding to 18 matches from six tournaments. Forty-eight male padel players were classified into two groups according to their level: trained (n = 24) and novice (n = 24). Type of stroke and ball impact position were registered using a computerized motion tracking video system. The ball impact position was computed from the distance (cm) between the coordinates of the ball and the player’s center of gravity. Results show that trained players hit the ball in a more backward position (from 11 to 25 cm, compared to novice) in serve and offensive strokes (volleys, trays, and smashes) but used more forward strokes (from 7 to 32 cm, compared to novice) in defensive shots (groundstrokes, wall strokes, and lobs). Because the current differential variables are trainable and demonstrated to be of relevance for performance, the findings of this study may assist padel coaches in designing proper training plans to improve effectiveness and to prevent musculoskeletal injuries regarding the type of stroke and ball impact position. Such knowledge may constitute a very important factor affecting technique, biomechanics, and injury management in padel players of different competitive levels.

Download Full-text

A Chinese perspective on the actual and preferred sources of coaching knowledge

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching ◽

10.1177/17479541211018769 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174795412110187

Author(s):

Xiangbo Ji ◽

Jianhua Xu ◽

Liping Cheng ◽

Jianfei Sun ◽

Xiaocheng Zhang

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Acquisition ◽

Future Research ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Coach Education ◽

Chinese Perspective ◽

Survey Results ◽

The Common ◽

Mentoring System ◽

Sports Coaches ◽

Coaching Effectiveness

Efforts to improve coaching effectiveness require an understanding of the common sources of coaches’ knowledge acquisition. Sports coaches utilise multiple learning sources, yet limited direct evidence elucidates the manner in which Chinese coaches learn to coach and the evolution of their learning sources throughout their careers’ development. This research examines the actual and preferred sources of coaching knowledge for Chinese coaches and analyses changes in learning sources from Junior to Senior level coaches. One hundred coaches from China, including 60 Junior coaches, 23 Intermediate coaches and 17 Senior coaches, completed an online questionnaire. The survey results indicated that coaches acquire knowledge from formal, informal and non-formal learning situations. However, formal coach education (coach education programmes) is the most important source of knowledge acquisition for all coaches. Furthermore, as coaches develop, the sources to acquire knowledge will gradually change from athletic experience to interaction with other coaches. Based on these findings, we suggest that national sport governing bodies build more comprehensive coach education systems by establishing a scientific mentoring system and organising regular coach-themed clinics, seminars, meetings and so on. Future research is needed to examine how coaches in China’s dominant programmes learn to coach and how this learning is practically applied.

Download Full-text

Leadership or luck? Randomization inference for leader effects in politics, business, and sports

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abe3404 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. eabe3404

Author(s):

Christopher R. Berry ◽

Anthony Fowler

Keyword(s):

Chief Executive Officers ◽

Chief Executive ◽

Anecdotal Evidence ◽

Political Leaders ◽

Quantitative Test ◽

Wide Range ◽

Randomization Inference ◽

Executive Officers ◽

Sports Coaches

Anecdotal evidence suggests that some leaders are more effective than others but observed differences in outcomes between leaders could be attributable to chance variation. To solve this inferential problem, we develop a quantitative test of leader effects that provides more reliable inferences than previous strategies, and we implement the test in the settings of politics, business, and sports. We find significant effects of political leaders, particularly in nondemocracies. We find little evidence that chief executive officers influence the performance of their firms. In addition, we find clear evidence that sports coaches matter for a wide range of outcomes in football, basketball, baseball, and hockey.

Download Full-text

Measuring Vocal Fatigue in Sports Coaches

Journal of Clinical Speech and Language Studies ◽

10.3233/acs-2017-23104 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Kathy Connaughton ◽

Irena Yanushevskaya

Keyword(s):

Acoustic Analysis ◽

Voice Quality ◽

Professional Sports ◽

Muscle Adaptation ◽

Voice Change ◽

Acoustic Measures ◽

Perceptual Evaluation ◽

Coaching Session ◽

Sports Coaches ◽

Voice Use

Objective: This study explores the immediate impact of prolonged voice use by professional sports coaches. Method: Speech samples including sustained phonation of vowel /a/ and a short read passage were collected from two professional sports coaches. The audio recordings were made within an hour before and after a coaching session, over three sessions. Perceptual evaluation of voice quality was done using the GRBAS scale. The speech samples were subsequently analyzed using Praat. The acoustic measures included fundamental frequency (f0), jitter, shimmer, Harmonics-to-Noise ratio and Cepstral Peak Prominence. Main results: The results of perceptual and acoustic analysis suggest a slight shift towards a tenser phonation post-coaching session, which is a likely consequence of laryngeal muscle adaptation to prolonged voice use. This tendency was similar in sustained vowels and connected speech. Conclusion: Acoustic measures used in this study can be useful to capture the voice change post-coaching session. It is desirable, however, that more sophisticated and robust and at the same time intuitive and easy-to-use tools for voice assessment and monitoring be made available to clinicians and professional voice users.

Download Full-text