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Lipids play an important role in coordinating and regulating metabolic and inflammatory processes. Sprint interval training (SIT) is widely used to improve sports performance and health outcomes, but the current understanding of SIT-induced lipid metabolism and the corresponding systemic inflammatory status modification remains controversial and limited, especially in male adolescents. To answer these questions, twelve untrained male adolescents were recruited and underwent 6 weeks of SIT. The pre- and post-training testing included analyses of peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), biometric data (weight and body composition), serum biochemical parameters (fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triacylglycerol, testosterone, and cortisol), inflammatory markers, and targeted lipidomics. After the 6-week SIT, the serum C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β significantly decreased (p < 0.05), whereas IL-6 and IL-10/TNF-α significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, the targeted lipidomics revealed changes in 296 lipids, of which 33 changed significantly (p < 0.05, fold change > 1.2 or

In recent years an increased drop-out rate in adolescents’ soccer participation has been observed. Given the potentially adverse consequences of drop-out from soccer, more information about risk factors for drop-out is warranted. In the current study, Classification and Regression Tree (CRT) analysis was used to investigate demographic and motivational factors associated with an increased risk of drop-out from adolescent soccer. The results of this study indicate that older age, experiencing less autonomy support from the coach, less intrinsic motivation, being female, and lower socioeconomic status are factors associated with an increased risk of drop-out. An interpretation of the results of this study is that coaches play a central part in creating a sports context that facilitates motivation and continued soccer participation. Based on the findings of the current study we propose that soccer clubs implement theoretically informed coach education programs to help coaches adopt autonomy-supportive coaching strategies. Psychosocial Predictors of Drop-Out from Organised Sport: A Prospective Study in Adolescent Soccer

In Sweden, participation in club sport is a vital part of many children’s lives. Despite this, many stop in their teenage years, raising questions concerning if and in what ways club sport can provide health-promoting activities via longer, sustained participation. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to explore and discuss young people’s views of club sport from a health-promoting perspective. The analysis draws on three sets of qualitative data: results from focus groups interviews conducted in 2007 (n = 14) and in 2016 (n = 8) as well as 18 in-depth interviews conducted 2008. Antonovsy’s salutogenic theory and his sense of coherence (SOC) model inspired the analysis. Teenagers want to be a part of club sport because of a sense of enjoyment, learning, belonging and feeling healthy. Teenagers stop when sport becomes too serious, non-flexible, time-consuming and too competitive. The urge for flexibility and possibilities to make individual decisions were emphasised in 2016. The organisation of club sport, it seems, has not adapted to changes in society and a generation of teenagers’ health interests. Club sport has the potential to be a health-promoting arena, but the focus should be on changing the club sport environment, instead of a focus on changing young people.

Background: The effects of flywheel resistance training (FRT) on youth are relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of autoregulated FRT with traditional strength training (TST) on jumping, running performance and resistance training load progression in youth athletes. Thirty youth athletes (11.8 ± 0.9 yr) were matched for peak height velocity (PHV) status and block-randomised into two groups: FRT (n = 15, PHV −0.8 ± 1.6) and TST (n = 15, PHV −0.8 ± 1.5). Twelve resistance training sessions over a six-week intervention with flywheel or barbell squats were performed using autoregulated load prescription. Squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), and 10 m, 20 m and 30 m sprints were assessed pre- and post-intervention. The external load increased similarly for FRT and TST (z = 3.8, p = 0.06). SJ increased for both groups (p &lt, 0.05) but running performance was unaffected (p &gt, 0.05). Conclusions: FRT resulted in similar load progression and motor skill development in youth athletes as TST, but the perceived exertion was less. Autoregulation is a practical method for adjusting training load during FRT and should be considered as an alternative to autoregulated TST.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the world of sports due to periods of home quarantine, bans against public gatherings, travel restrictions, and a large number of postponed or canceled major sporting events. The literature hitherto is sparse, but early indications display signs of psychological impact on elite athletes due to the pandemic. However, beyond acute effects from lockdown and short-term interrupted athletic seasons, the postponed and still uncertain Olympic and Paralympic Games may represent a major career insecurity to many athletes world-wide, and may lead to severe changes to everyday lives and potentially prolonged psychological distress. Given the long-term perspective of these changes, researchers and stakeholders should address mental health and long-term job insecurity in athletes, including a specific focus on those with small financial margins, such as many female athletes, parasports athletes, athletes in smaller sports, and athletes from developing countries. Implications and the need for research are discussed.

Coaching athletes is highly rewarding yet stressful, especially at the elite level where media, fans, and sponsors can contribute to an environment that, if not well-managed by the coach, can lead to burnout. Coaches who display perfectionistic tendencies, such as striving for flawlessness, may be particularly vulnerable&mdash, even more so if they are overly critical of themselves and have a tendency to ruminate over their performance, or if they are attempting to convey an image of faultlessness, or both. A total of 272 coaches completed a battery of inventories assessing burnout, perfectionistic thoughts, and the tendency for perfectionistic self-presentation. All variables correlated significantly: coaches with higher scores on exhaustion scored higher both on perfectionistic thoughts and self-presentation. However, when three subscales of perfectionistic self-presentation were considered separately, lower and nonsignificant correlations emerged. We believe that this can be explained by the heterogeneous group of coaches participating in this study. Whereas all coaches may at times ruminate privately&mdash, self-oriented perfectionism&mdash, about their perceived failure to perform to expectations, not all may feel the pressure to present themselves to others as faultless&mdash, a more socially prescribed perfectionism. This finding warrants further investigation, preferably comparing coaches at different levels of public scrutiny.

Finding and describing the optimal path to elite athletic performance has, for a long time, been a challenge for researchers. This study examined Swedish tennis coaches’ everyday practices for creating athlete development environments and the environmental factors that promote or hinder athlete development. The study was conducted in 2018–2019 and included in-depth focus groups with 13 Swedish full-time tennis coaches. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and by drawing on models for studying athlete development environments. The results highlight how the coaches’ everyday work involves a range of administrative tasks, which ultimately means that there is little to no time left for focusing on athlete development. These results also draw attention to concerns about these professional coaches’ health, with increasing demands in their roles to manage administrative tasks in addition to the coaching and time spent on the court with their athletes. The results further reveal how the tennis clubs’ boards are increasingly interested in sound economy and high participation levels rather than focusing on performance outcomes and developing elite athletes. Finally, the results from this study emphasize the importance of increased collaboration and communication between clubs, coaches, regions, and the national association to create common and clearer guidelines for long-term athlete development. Future studies could engage in longitudinal and ethnographic work with tennis clubs of varying size and geographical locations, involving different stakeholders (e.g., coaches, management, parents, players) in order to further explore the environmental factors that promote or hinder athlete development.

The decision-making process about when an athlete may safely return to training and competition after an injury is a difficult decision. Safe return to training and competition is characterised by physical and psychological readiness to return to the sport. The objectives of this study are (1) to assess the measurement properties of the Psychological Readiness of Injured Athlete to Return to Sport questionnaire (PRIA-RS), and (2) to analyse the effectiveness which the PRIA-RS questionnaire possesses when applied during four consecutive seasons on professional soccer players. One hundred and nine male soccer players from the Albacete Soccer Club (Spain) were involved during four consecutive seasons for the current study: 2012&ndash, 2013, 2013&ndash, 2014, 2014&ndash, 2015 and 2015&ndash, 2016. Psychometric analysis (validity, reliability, internal consistency and effectiveness) and external psychometric analysis (evaluating measures of patient-reported outcomes (EMPRO)) were confirmed and supported. The main results of the study reveal that the psychometric properties of this questionnaire are optimum for their application in a professional sports context.

Reactive agility (RAG) and change of direction speed (CODS) are important determinants of success in football (soccer), but there is an evident lack of information on reliable and valid football-specific testing procedures which will be applicable in defining sport-specific RAG and CODS in youth players. This study evaluated reliability and construct validity of newly developed tests of football-specific RAG (FS_RAG) and CODS (FS_CODS), which involved the ball kicking football technique. Additionally, factors associated with FS_RAG and FS_CODS were evaluated. The participants were youth football players (n = 59; age: 13.40 ± 1.25 years) divided according to their age into U13 (11−12 years of age; n = 29), and U15 (13−14 years of age; n = 30) categories. Additionally, performance levels (starters [first-team] vs. non-starters [substitutes]) were observed in each age category. The dependent variables were newly developed FS_RAG and FS_CODS tests. The independent variables were sprinting capacities over 10 and 20 meters (S10M, S20M), countermovement jump (CMJ), the reactive strength index (RSI), and a generic CODS test of 20 yards (20Y). The newly developed FS_CODS and FS_RAG were observed as dependent variables. Results showed appropriate intra-testing and inter-testing reliability of the FS_RAG and FS_CODS, with somewhat better reliability of the FS_CODS (ICC=0.82 and 0.79, respectively). Additionally, better reliability was evidenced in U15 than in U13 (ICC: 0.82−0.85, and 0.78-0.80 for U15 and U13, respectively). Independent samples t-test indicated significant differences between U13 and U15 in S10 (t-test: 3.57, p < 0.001), S20M (t-test: 3.13, p < 0.001), 20Y (t-test: 4.89, p < 0.001), FS_RAG (t-test: 3.96, p < 0.001), and FS_CODS (t-test: 6.42, p < 0.001), with better performance in U15. Starters outperformed non-starters in most capacities among U13, but only in FS_RAG among U15 (t-test: 1.56, p < 0.05). Multiple regression calculations indicated nonsignificant association between independent and dependent variables in U13 (FS_CODS: 19%, FS_RAG: 21% of the explained variance, both p > 0.05), but independent variables explained significant proportion of both dependent variables in U15 (FS_CODS: 35%, FS_RAG: 33% explained variance, both p < 0.05). The study confirmed the applicability of newly developed tests in distinguishing studied age categories of players. Results indicate that superiority in all studied fitness capacities is translated into performance level in U13. Meanwhile, FS_RAG seems to be important determinant of quality in U15.