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Several researchers studying focus of attention have concluded that the external focus is superior to the internal in learning motor skills in adults. However, there is limited research concerning the effect of different focus of attention on learning fundamental movement skills in kindergarten children. The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of internal and external focus of attention on learning and transfer of a throwing skill in kindergarten children. Participants were 51 children (5-6 years), boys and girls, who were randomly selected and assigned into three groups: two experimental (internal and external focus respectively) and one control group. The movement form and the outcome of a throwing task were evaluated. It was found that both experimental groups improved over time, in both movement form and outcome. During the transfer test, the external focus group was better than the internal focus group in movement form; however, there were no differences in movement outcome. It is concluded that both the external or internal focus of attention improved over time the movement outcome and form of the throwing skill. Since the acquisition of sports skills requires the acquisition of fundamental motor skills, further research is needed to investigate the effect of the external or internal focus of attention on fundamental movement skills in kindergarten children.

PurposeThe purpose of this research was to develop a scale to measure the football league brand associations such as the “UEFA Champions League” and to investigate their influence on brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed and tested through a pilot test (N = 120) and the final questionnaire was administered among Greek sport spectators (N = 460). The factor structure was tested through an exploratory factor analysis and a regression analysis was used to examine the predictability of fans' brand loyalty by the league brand association dimensions.FindingsSix brand association factors were revealed through the exploratory factor analysis: elite management, entertainment, elite-sportsmanship participants, escape, elite refereeing and corporate identity. In addition, new brand associations and elements were found: elite refereeing which included fast football and the league anthem was found to coexist with logo. Elite management, entertainment, escape and corporate identity were found to influence brand loyalty variables.Practical implicationsThe study revealed a useful tool to measure sport leagues' brand associations, to measure their influence on Greek fans' loyalty and build strong, unique and favourable consumer-based brand associations.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the sports brand associations research by examining brand associations in the context of European leagues and elite-level football competitions. It also contributes by identifying and revealing new brand associations and new elements to co-exist with other already known sports brand associations. Finally, it examines the influence of the new brand-specific associations to the brand loyalty of the “UEFA Champions League” competition for Greek sport fans.

The present study is an attempt to evaluate directly the effect of explicit, implicit and analogy instruction on decision-making skills among novices under stress conditions. 60 young novices, aged...

This study examined the effectiveness of implicit and explicit learning methods on the acquisition and retention of the decision-making skill in low and high complexity situations. 60 novice students were divided into explicit, implicit, and control group. Experimental groups followed 12 training courses. A pre-test, a post-test, and a retention test were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional methods. All participants were evaluated in decision-making speed and accuracy in laboratory tests under simulated conditions. A three-way factorial ANOVA was conducted (3 Group X 2 Complexity X 3 Measurement periods) with repeated measurements on the last factor for the accuracy and reaction time. The analysis showed a significant improvement in decision-making accuracy, in low complexity for both experimental groups. In high complexity situations, the explicit method improved over time and was better than the implicit for decision accuracy. No differences were found among groups or measurements for the decision speed in either low or high complexity situations. It seems that in complex sport conditions, the use of explicit learning helps novices to develop decision-making accuracy more than the implicit learning method, since guided discovery may guide the participants to process contextual information from the sports environment more effectively.

This paper is a formal response to McKay’s and Carter’s publication titled “Data irregularities across six implicit learning articles: Comments on Lola and Tzetzis (2021), Lola, Giatis, Pérez-Turpin, and Tzetzis (In Press), Lola and Tzetzis (2020), Tzetzis and Lola (2015), Lola, Tzetzis, and Zetou (2012), and Tzetzis and Lola (2010)” in the blog psyarxiv.com. This paper directly addresses and refutes all of McKay’s and Carter’s comments regarding the validity of our results and conclusions on the aforementioned publications. Unfortunately, McKay’s and Carter’s comments are based on misconceptions of our statistical methodology (e.g. measuring methods, family-wise error corrections, etc.) as well as in the methods they utilize: the applicability of GRIMMER analysis, the difference of effect size, and statistical significance are in their vast majority invalid. Our research team is in the process of updating the manuscripts in the journals in order to correct the few errors that McKay and Carter identified, which in no case affected any of our studies’ results or conclusions. Through this paper, we provide all required clarifications and better explain our methodological choices. We strongly believe that any critique that provides food for thought is welcome, but a critique that only deals with the numbers of a survey, without commenting on the qualitative characteristics, is not useful to the academic community, highlighting the need for adequate meta-analytic training in the field of motor learning in order to promote constructive dialogue.

The simultaneous improvement of both form and outcome of sport skills is a challenge for every instructor since these are competing goals, especially for novices, and in the early stages of learning the improvement of movement form is usually more important than outcome. However, when novices have both goals, outcome usually prevails over form. External over internal focus of attention has been proposed by many researchers as an effective method for the development and learning of movement form or outcome. In this study, 57 girls were randomly divided into 2 experimental groups (external and internal) and a control group. All groups performed a pre-test. The two experimental groups followed an intervention program for 12 training units (6 weeks X 2 times a week). A post-test and a transfer test followed two weeks later. Data were analysed by factorial ANOVA (3 groups X 3 measurements) with repeated measurements of the last factor, followed by a post-hoc Tukey test. Both experimental groups, but not the control group, improved their performance in both form and outcome from pre-test to post-test and transfer test. The external focus group scored better in both form and outcome than the internal focus group in the post and transfer tests. It seems that external focus drives a subconscious motor control that results in greater movement automaticity and improves both form and outcome of sport skills. It is concluded that the external focus method is appropriate to develop both form and outcome of perceptual-motor skills.

The effect of explicit, implicit, and analogy learning methods on developing selective attention skills in young novice participants was examined under normal and stressful conditions. The 60 novice participants, aged 11-12 years old, followed a video simulation intervention program of 12 sessions (3 times * 4 weeks). They were tested four times (pre-test, post-test, retention, and stress test) to evaluate their reaction time and accuracy in selective attention skills. The differences among the groups and the measurements were analysed using a two-way mixed factorial ANOVA (4 groups * 4 measurements), and post-hoc Bonferroni evaluated significant differences among the groups. The results showed that all three experimental groups improved their performance in response reaction time and accuracy from the pre-test to the post-test and maintained their scores on the retention test. However, the analogy group had the best scores, followed by the implicit group, and they were both better than the explicit group. According to the stress test, the analogy and the implicit group remained unaffected while the explicit group showed a decrease in both reaction time and accuracy. Training by analogy was more effective in improving selective attention in novices in both normal and stressful conditions. Analogy learners probably developed an advanced mechanism that allowed them to quickly and accurately select the most useful information from the sport setting even in stressful conditions. This research highlights the advantages of simulation techniques; future research may assess selective attention in real conditions.

The present study aimed to segment fitness centers' members through their exercise motives and further profile them according to their perceptions of service quality and loyalty. Participants (N = ...

El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar las posibles diferencias y relaciones en la Educacion Fisica (EF) con respecto a la percibida satisfaccion laboral y el burnout de los profesores de la EF en relacion con el sector de la educacion (privado versus publico), nivel educativo (primario versus secundario) y genero. 282 profesores de la EF participaron en el estudio,con edades entre 24 y 65 anos ( M = 43.6, SD = 5.45), tanto de escuelas primarias que de secundarias, 100 siendo de las escuelas privadas y 182 de las publicas. Su experiencia de trabajo varia de uno a 37 anos ( M = 14.5, SD = 7.23). Para la evaluacion de la satisfaccion laboral se empleo el Inventario de Satisfaccion del Empleado (ESI) (Koustelios & Bagiatis, 1997). Para la medicion del burnout, se utilizo el Inventario Maslach Burnout (MBI) (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), que tambien ha sido validado para la poblacion griega. Los resultados revelaron una relacion negativa entre la satisfaccion laboral y el burnout. Los profesores de la EF trabajando en las escuelas privadas parecen experimentar mayor satisfaccion en el trabajo y menor burnouten comparacion con suis colleges del sector publico. Ademas, los profesores de EF trabajando en el mismo tiempo en las escuelas primarias y secundarias, parecen experimentar mayor satisfaccion laboral, mientras que los de la secundaria parecen experimentar menor burnout. No se encontraron diferencias estadisticamente significativas en relacion con el genero, tanto para la satisfaccion como para el burnout. Sobre la base de los resultados anteriormente mencionados, resulta que los profesores de EF que trabajan en escuelas privadas o en la educacion secundaria parecen estar mas satisfechos y menos “desgastados”. Palabras clave: Escuela privada, escuela publica, educacion primaria, educacion secundaria. === Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine possible differences and relations in Physical Education (P.E.) teachers’ perceived job satisfaction and burnout, in relation to educational sector (private vs public), educational level (primary vs secondary) and gender. Two hundred and eighty two P.E. teachers, aged from 24 to 65 years old ( M = 43.6, SD = 5.45), both from elementary and secondary schools, participated in the study. One hundred of them served in private schools and 182 in public ones. Their working exprerience ranged from one to 37 years ( M = 14.5, SD = 7.23). The Employee Satisfaction Inventory (Koustelios & Bagiatis, 1997) was employed to assess job satisfaction. For the measurement of burnout, Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), which has been validated for the Greek population, was used. The results revealed a negative relationship between job satisfaction and burnout. Private sector P.E. teachers seem to experience higher job satisfaction and lower burnout compared to their public sector colleagues. Furthermore, P.E. teachers who serve both in elementary and secondary schools, appear to experience higher job satisfaction. Finally, secondary P.E. teachers seem to experience lower burnout compared to their primary education colleagues. No statistically significant differences were found in relation to gender for both job satisfaction and burnout. Overall, it seems that P.E. teachers who work in private schools and/or in secondary education seem to be more satisfied and less burned-out. Implications of the aforementioned observed relationships are discussed. Key words: Private school, public school, primary education, secondary education.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test if the service quality model, proposed by Shonk and Chelladurai (2008), can be applied in the context of a small-scale sport event. Design/methodology/approach – This model proposes the following dimensions: access quality, venue quality and contest quality. Furthermore the study aimed to test if satisfaction acts as a mediator of the relationships between service quality and behavioral intentions. Findings – The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provided support for the factorial validity of the service quality model. The psychometric properties of all the scales were satisfactory. In terms of the mediation analysis the results provided partially support for the hypotheses. Satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between access, venue quality and intention and partially mediated the relationship between contest quality and intentions. Furthermore, satisfaction partially mediated all the relationships between the quality dimensions and word-of-mouth communications. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. Originality/value – This paper fulfils a need to develop a service quality model and its influence for visitors’ satisfaction and behavioral intentions at small-scale sport events.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the role of fan involvement with volleyball in their behavior (as expressed by loyalty) towards their team in professional men’s volleyball League in Greece. The sample that was used included 521 fans that watched volleyball games in five venues in Athens and completed questionnaires that were handed to them. The questionnaires items were the Leisure Involvement Scale (5 Likert scale) which was used by Nassis and Theodorakis (2008) and, for the evaluation of fan loyalty, the questionnaire (8 Likert scale) by Theodorakis and Wann, (2008) both were used in Greek population. Correlated regression analyses were used. Results showed that volleyball fans had a high level of involvement as expressed by three factors, namely Attraction, Centrality and Self-Expression and loyalty as expressed by behaviors such as frequency of watching games/TV/radio and participating in conversations with friends revolving around sports. The correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the involvement factors and the loyalty dimensions. Additionally, the linear regression analyses showed that the three factors of involvement predicted in different degrees a statistically significant percentage of specific indicators that express the loyalty of volleyball fans to their teams. The results can be utilized by professional teams’ executives for the creation of the profile of fan involvement with volleyball, thus aiming at discovering more efficient forms of communication with them.

This experiment investigated the effect of explicit, implicit, and sequential learning (implicit-explicit) on the acquisition and retention of decision-making skill in volleyball. The participants were 60 female novices, aged 10–12 years. The experimental groups followed three different methods of training: (a) explicit practice for development of declarative knowledge, (b) implicit practice for the development of procedural knowledge, (c) sequential practice (implicit first and then explicit), and (d) no practice (only measurements) - a control group. At pre-testing, post-testing, and retention testing there were measurements of the participants’ decision-making response time and accuracy. Analyses indicated that all experimental groups improved over time while the control group did not. The sequential group was faster and more accurate than the implicit group, and the latter was faster and more accurate than the explicit group. The sequential group outperformed implicit and explicit groups on both speed and accuracy. It seems that both explicit and implicit processes, when they take place in sequence, interact positively, and this method improves speed and accuracy of decision making rather than when each mode of learning (implicit or explicit) occurs separately. If the role of working memory is reduced at the early stages of learning, the accumulation of declarative knowledge (explicit learning) may benefit from accumulation of procedural knowledge and enhance decision-making skill.

The purpose of the current research was to examine the differences between expected quality of service and the perceived quality of service experienced by spectators at selected professional basketball stadiums in Northern Greece. Five hundred spectators filled in the evaluation instrument created for the purpose of the study. The Wilcoxon's matched-pairs signed—ranks test showed a statistically significant difference in all 23 items between expectations and perceptions of service quality and in all cases only organizational weaknesses were proved to exist and no strengths. The exploratory factor analysis revealed nine factors: “show time expectations”, “installation's evaluation”, “convenience and employee evaluation”, “show time evaluation”, “employee expectations”, “convenience expectations”, “installation's expectations”, “comfort evaluation” and “comfort expectations”. The challenge of providing a high quality sport and recreation service becomes less difficult when sport managers know what ...

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of the employer’s demographic and socio-economic characteristics in his/her decision to introduce and organize sports programmes in their companies. The sample of this research consisted of more than one hundred employers employing more than thirty workers each, in the districts of Rodopi, Kozani, and Thessaloniki. A survey was conducted in which the employers were asked to provide information and statistical data about the people working in their companies, as well as their own opinion concerning the introduction of sports at work. In addition, their demographic and socio-economic characteristics were recorded. The results indicated that the employers with a higher level of education make use of sports programmes in their companies more often, compared to those with a lower level of education. Sex, age and salary of employers did not affect the frequency of sports programmes at work. The employers claim that the introduction of sports activities in their companies helped reduce the appearance of illnesses and employees’ absence from work due to health reasons, and the number of accidents at work. Consequently, it contributed to the increase in production, creativity and team spirit among the employees, while raising their morale, and self-confidence. Moreover, it brought about a rise in profits and improved the image of the company offering such programmes. A research focus on the legal status, organization and establishment of sports activities at work could provide valuable information on whether health and safety measures are applied according to the provisions of the law.

Comparison of three different feedback methods using information about the correct execution of the technique, errors of execution, and a combination of these on the acquisition and retention of two badminton skills of different difficulty were examined. Participants were 48 young male athletes, 10 to 14 years of age, with 2 to 4 years of training. They were divided into three equal groups and instructed on the long forehand serve, a more difficult serve than the short backhand. The first group received instructions for correct execution, the second group received instructional cues on errors of execution, and the third group received instructions on errors and how to correct them. The training program lasted 12 practice units. There was a pretest, a posttest after the end of the 10-wk. training program, and 2 wk. later, a retention test. A three-way (2 difficulty × 3 groups × 3 measures) analysis of variance with repeated measures on the last factor was applied to analyze scores with the three practice methods of corrective feedback for the two badminton skills. Analysis showed the group receiving correct technique information had increased scores on both skills. The group receiving information on errors increased their scores on the less difficult skill. The group receiving information on errors and correct technique increased their scores on the more difficult skill. Physical education teachers or coaches teaching skills to young participants should consider difficulty of skills and use appropriate corrective feedback for better acquisition and retention of sport skills.

Coaches as leaders of sports teams should identify the causes of conflict between the athletes and handle conflict effectively. The aim of this study was to examine the methods and ways coaches use to handle conflict in professional teams in Greece. The sample consisted of 42 professional football‐soccer, basketball and volley ball coaches, which were surveyed using questionnaires. Using the descriptive statistics and the one‐way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), it was found that: a) coaches are using five styles in order to manage conflict, and b) the most effective styles that can resolve team conflicts are the collaborating style, the compromising style and the avoiding style and the least effective styles from those suggested are the competing style and the accommodating style.

During the last few years, there has been significant interest in service quality issues, in general, and the quality of athletic services, in particular. The aim of this research was to see whether the 10 dimensions for the evaluation of service quality of Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) could be modified and used to evaluate the service quality of an athletic camp. The sample consisted of 369 participants, aged from 9‐18 years old athletes, and 126 parents. The questionnaire, which was created with the use of the 10 dimensions, consisted of 28 closed and 4 open questions (for the children's questionnaire) and 29 closed and 2 open questions (for the parents’ questionnaire). Factor analysis and Alpha Reliability test found out that there are 5 ("Training program”, “Contentment ‐ Intention”, “Safety & convenience in the facilities”, “Tangibles” and “Relations with the coaches") factors for the children and 4 factors for the parents ("Accommodation installations”, “Coaches'”, “Contentment ‐ Intention...

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the performance between winning and losing teams in Beach Volleyball (BV) matches on courts of new (8x8m) and old dimensions (9x9m) at the s...

Researchers support the relationship of task orientation with exerted effort, persistence and self-reported physical activity but there is little evidence on the relation of goal perspectives with objective measures of physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine behavioural correlates of goal orientations using an objective measure of physical activity in physical education (PE). The participants of the study were 112 students,boys and girls, of different age groups 9–10 and 11–12 years ofage. A field test was conducted and objective measures of physical activity(CSA) and goal orientation were obtained in 16 PE lessons. ANOVA analysis revealed that there was no significant difference in sex or age, or time participation in moderate physical activity time but there was a significant difference in participation in vigorous activities. Students that scored higher in task orientation had a longer participation in vigorous activity regardless of their ego orientation comparing them with those who had high egoand low task. These results may provide significant insights for appropriate practice in PE.

The effect of physical activity (PA) on health is well documented. The assessment of PA is a valuable and important issue, however, there are several methodological issues among the available methods of measurement that may have implications for the prevention of specific diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between an objective method of measurement and the subjective estimation of the PA for novice skiers. Seventy-five students aged 19-21 years old with no previous experience in ski participated in this study. Participants wore a heart rate monitor during practice in order to record the exercise intensity. Simultaneously, a trained observer recorded their time on task. A day after the objective measurement, the participants filled a questionnaire in order to estimate their perceived exertion during practice as well as their perceived time on task. The results showed (1) differences between the observed time on task and the perceived recalled time, (2) no differences overall between the recorded and perceived recalled intensity of exercise but when groups were split according to their objective intensity a difference was found for each group respectively. Participants overall had overestimated the time on task, but they had underestimated the intensity of their effort recalled 1 day after their practice. These results raise the question whether a questionnaire as method of measuring PA is reliable, especially when it is used to estimate energy expenditure. However, further studies must be made in order to examine the implications of such a question.

The differences among athletes of differing skill should assist successful identification and selection of the best athletes in a specific sport. For the purpose of this study, a laboratory study was conducted with a group of 13 men on the elite male national team of basketball players, 22 to 23 years of age, and a control group of 15 men of equal age (physical education class) to assess differences in their scores on cognitive skills (memory-retention, memory-grouping analytic ability), perceptual skills (speed of perception, prediction, selective attention, response selection), and motor skills (dynamic balance, whole body coordination, wrist-finger dexterity, rhythmic ability). Analysis showed that elite male basketball players scored higher on hand coordination and lower on dynamic balance given their anthropometric measurements. Elite players were better on memory-retention, selective attention, and on prediction measures than the control group. The above skills are important in basketball performance. Researchers may examine whether other factors contribute more in the development of perceptual and cognitive skills.

Management seeks to provoke system optimization throughout ever changing environmental and internal conditions. Typically, perturbations to stable organizations are unpredictable and difficult to define, except from within a chaos perspective. How should management staff set up their workforce to be best responsive to these changes? It is proposed that a dynamic systems theoretical approach to the organization of the management system would foster the ideal scenario. This approach lends well to the inclusion of discovery learning strategies that promote the valuable use of optimal variability in the exploration and self-discovery of optimal solutions to existent and novel problems. In this text, the authors walk the reader through a brief history of the development of the systems perspective on human movement optimization. Next, they extend the related discoveries to applications within management systems. It is hoped that a new appreciation for complexity and beneficial aspects of variability is conveyed.

Background:The Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) and the Preferences for Activities of Children (PAC) are 2 measures of children’s participation in various activities. The purpose of this study was the validation of the Greek version of “CAPE & PAC.”Methods:The questionnaires were translated and pilot tested on a sample of 25 individuals. The reliability and validity of the questionnaires were tested on 302 individuals (253 typical population, 49 disabled), 6−21 years of age. The construct validity of the instruments was examined the directional hypothesis by comparing known groups with existing differences. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the validity of the typology of activities. The reliability was examined by checking the internal consistency of the instruments.Results:The comparison between divergent groups confirmed the predicted differences of the mean scores and the validity of the instruments. Seven factors (categories of activities) emerged from the factor analysis. The acceptable range of Cronbach alpha for the PAC scale indicated high consistency.Conclusion:This study provides evidence that partially support the validity and reliability of “CAPE & PAC” instruments to use in Greek population. Further investigation is recommended for both clinical and research purposes.

The present study was designed to investigate the influence of two different types of modeling and knowledge of performance on acquisition and retention of two volleyball skills (set and serve). Participants were 63 boys and 53 girls in elementary school, whose mean age was 11.7 yr. ( SD = .5). The children were randomly assigned into two groups given the same practice method for 16 practice sessions (8 for the set and 8 for the serve) but different types of modeling. Some participants observed a videotape of an expert model performing the skills, and the second group observed a videotaped replay of their own performance. Verbal cues were provided simultaneously with the videotaped demonstration. The first group improved set and serve skills more on acquisition and on the retention test than the second group. This improvement was present when scores and form were evaluated. Modeling plus instructional cues seemed to improve children's learning of two volleyball skills (set and serve), and this procedure is suggested for use by practitioners.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Self-testing activities on the development of fundamental movement skills in first-grade children in Greece. Two groups of children were tested. The Control group ( n = 23 children) received the regular 12-wk. physical education school program and the Experimental group ( n = 22 children) received a 12-wk. skill-oriented program with an increasing allotment of self-testing activities. The Test of Gross Motor Development was used to assess fundamental movement skills, while the content areas of physical education courses were estimated with an assessment protocol, based on the interval recording system called the Academic Learning Time-Physical Education. A 2 × 2 repeated measures analysis of variance with group as the between factor and testing time (pretest vs posttest) as the repeated-measures factor was performed to assess differences between the two groups. A significant interaction of group with testing time was found for the Test of Gross Motor Development total score, with the Experimental group scoring higher then the Control group. A significant main effect was also found for test but not for group. This study provides evidence supporting the notion that a balanced allotment of the self-testing and game activities beyond the usual curriculum increases the fundamental motor-skill development of children. Also, it stresses the necessity for content and performance standards for the fundamental motor skills in educational programs. Finally, it seems that the Test of Gross Motor Development is a useful tool for the assessment of children's fundamental movement skills.

Objective. To investigate intralimb coordination during running over a level surface and over obstacles of three different heights. Design. The phasing relationships between the foot and leg motions in the frontal plane, and the shank and thigh motions in the sagittal plane were used to compare patterns of coordination. Background. The coordinated actions of lower extremity segments are necessary to absorb the impact forces generated during running. The behavioral patterns of these segments can be studied under changing task demands using analysis techniques from the Dynamical Systems Theory. Methods. Ten subjects ran at their self-selected pace under four conditions: over a level surface and over obstacles of different heights (5%, 10%, 15% of their standing height). A force platform was used to record impact forces during landing after obstacle clearance, while kinematics were collected using a two-camera system. Results. The increases in obstacle height resulted in significant changes in impact forces (34% increase between the two extreme conditions) and more in-phase relationships between the segments during early stance. No changes were observed in the variability of the phasing relationships. Conclusions. The coordination changes observed might be compensatory strategies aimed to reduce forces and potential injury. However, since the impact forces still increased significantly, it is also possible that the observed changes might be at-risk movement patterns predisposing runners to injury. Relevance Tools from the Dynamical Systems Theory, such as intralimb coordination, can be used as a way to evaluate running mechanics so that comparisons can be made to various patient populations in subsequent studies. This approach might be a viable alternative to examine questions in therapeutics.

The aim of this study was to examine the cognitive, motor, and perceptual abilities of elite volleyball players. These abilities were considered responsible for high quality performance by expert athletes. The elite group was formed with 12 members of the Greek Junior National Volleyball team. A group of 18 physical education students were the novice athletes. The measured abilities were selected by expert volleyball coaches as those most important for an elite athlete. Analysis showed differences between the abilities of the two groups of athletes were significant. An ability profile for the elite volleyball player can be formed.

Understanding the responding at two competitive levels of sports is prerequisite for successful identification and selection of the best athletes. The present study is a preliminary report about scores on 17 cognitive, perceptual, motor, and psychological measures of 13 elite Greek basketball athletes (national team), 20 to 22 years of age, and 15 children on a national basketball team and 14 to 15 years of age. Longitudinal studies must be conducted for the identification of the relationships among these measures and basketball performance and the development of a model for selection of athletes.

Based on the notion of measuring motor performance, an experiment with three groups of 20 elite rhythmic gymnasts ( N = 60), 9 to 10 yr., 11 to 12 yr., and 13 to 15 years of age (national level), with children of the same size and age was conducted, to identify the important abilities for the achievement of excellence in this sport. Motor abilities (whole-body coordination, dynamic balance, static balance, sense of kinesthesis, whole-body movement time, and eye-hand coordination) as well as perceptual abilities (whole-body reaction time, anticipation of coincidence, and depth perception) were compared. Analysis showed that scores on measures of whole-body coordination, dynamic balance, and static balance were higher for elite groups of athletes than for corresponding control groups. Moreover, elite athletes in the oldest group scored higher than those in the youngest group on anticipation of coincidence, on eye-hand coordination, and on static balance. These findings indicate the presence of systematic differences between elite athletes and nonathletes on motor abilities related to experience in this sport.