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Purposes: First, to examine the relationship between primary school children's academic achievement and healthy lifestyle habits. Second, to evaluate the effectiveness of two different 5-month physical education interventions (traditional physical education vs. coordinative physical education) on children's academic achievement. Third, to examine whether variations of anthropometric variables, fitness level, gross motor coordination, physical activity level, sedentary time, attentional performance, fruit and vegetable consumption, meal frequency and type of physical education intervention could predict children's academic achievement variations. Methods: Before and after the intervention, Italian language and mathematics skills, anthropometric variables (weight, height, body fat percentage, BMI), physical fitness (aerobic fitness, muscular strength, flexibility), gross motor coordination, attentional performance (processing speed, concentration performance, performance accuracy, attentional and inhibitory control), physical activity level, sedentary time and eating habits (meal frequency, fruit and vegetable consumption) were assessed in 161 Italian primary school children, randomly assigned to a traditional physical education group or to a coordinative physical education group. Results: Physical activity level, gross motor coordination and aerobic fitness moderately predicted mathematics skill (R² = 17%). Moreover, physical activity level, aerobic fitness and muscular strength moderately predicted Italian language skill (R² = 21%). Intervention type differently affected academic achievement. Specifically, Italian language and mathematics skills significantly improved only after traditional intervention. Fruit consumption increase was positively associated with the improvement in academic achievement. Coordinative physical education intervention was associated with a lower probability of improvement in Italian language and mathematical skills. Conclusion: Motor ability and lifestyle habits may have a positive influence on academic achievement in children. Unexpectedly, traditional physical education intervention resulted to be more effective on both Italian language and mathematical skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field referees (FRs) need to move throughout the pitch to identify any infringements of the game's laws. Their performance depends on technical, tactical, physical, physiological, and mental factors. This retrospective study aimed to examine and assess the physical and physiological parameters as a function of time in elite association football referees during official matches. Global positioning system (match time, distance in different intensity ranges [low-intensity, high-speed, very high-speed running, and sprinting], average and peak speed, distance in accelerations or decelerations) and heart rate (average and peak) data from 212 national and international football matches were analyzed. A linear mixed-model analysis was performed to assess the differences between halves and between the three 15-minute sections of each half-time for all the physical and physiological variables collected. A significant effect of match half was found for the game time (p < 0.001) and the standing time (p = 0.005), both higher in the second half, and for the average speed (p = 0.017), which was lower in the second half. Total distance (p < 0.001), low-intensity distance (p = 0.004), and average speed (p = 0.007) all showed a reduction as a function of time. More than 7.800 high-speed intervals were detected. Accelerative actions within 3 seconds characterized most of the high-speed efforts of an FR during a match. Significant differences emerged in the way the match intensity is distributed across the match, analyzed both in halves (first vs. second) and 15-minute intervals within each half. It is important to emphasize the importance of high-speed training with a focus on a faster transition from low- to high-speed running to keep up with the play to get into an appropriate position and subsequently make the correct decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of biological maturity status on talent identification and development in youth soccer has been debated extensively. Alternative methods have thus recently emerged to estimate maturity status, such as the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS), but their relationship with physical capabilities of young soccer players still needs to be determined. The present study investigated the relationships of different PDS-derived pubertal status measures, chronological age, and relative age with selected performance variables in youth soccer. Sixty-one male soccer players were assessed for physical capabilities using field tests for sprinting, vertical jumps (countermovement jump, CMJ), intermittent high-intensity endurance, and repeated sprint ability. Chronological age was defined as the number of days since birth, and relative age was defined in terms of age quarters. PDS-derived measures of puberal status, otherwise, were determined as an average PDS score, a PDS category score, and a pubertal category. Chronological age, relative age, and measures of pubertal status were scarcely related (p > 0.05) to selected measures of soccer performance. Significant correlations were only found between different measures of pubertal status and the variable "work" in the CMJ test (range r = 0.33-0.36; p < 0.01) and between chronological age and CMJ height (r = -0.297; p = 0.02). The present results suggest that physical performance of young soccer players is poorly related to chronological age, relative age, and pubertal status. Potential effects of biological maturity status on physical capabilities may not be easily identifiable in a group of young soccer players narrowed in terms of chronological age and training status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity during preschool age promotes sports learning and the acquisition of fundamental and complex movement skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of three different four-month physical and/or pre-sport activity programmes on preschool children's motor proficiency. Twenty-five girls, aged between four and six years, were involved in the study, 10 practising physical activity, six practising dance (classical), nine practising swimming. Girls' motor proficiency was assessed before and after the intervention period by means of the BOT-2 Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form (BOT-2 SF). Differential effects of interventions emerged in fine manual control and coordination and in running speed and agility. A playful and highly varied physical activity intervention conducted by a specialized teacher was more effective for the development of preschool girls' motor proficiency.

Although several studies showed the positive effects of exercise and physical activity on health and well-being for individuals with ID, there is a lack of information about the influence of sport specialization on fitness and health components. Therefore, the aims of this study were to assess: (a) physical fitness of athletes with intellectual disability (ID) compared with individuals included in recreational and leisure activity programs (non-athletic people); (b) contribution of sport specialization on athletes' fitness; and c) correlation of each fitness variable with subjects' ID levels. Twenty-two track and field, 19 basketball, and 23 non-athletic adults were recruited. Before and after a 9-month period, all participants performed fitness tests assessing body composition, flexibility (SR), arm muscular strength (HG), lower and upper-body muscular strength and endurance (SUP and PUP), explosive leg power (SLJ), cardiovascular endurance (ST), balance ability (FT), motor coordination (TUGT). The results showed that participants' weight, BMI and FT were significantly affected by time; SLJ by activity; ST, HG, PUP, SUP, and TUGT by both time and activity. Only track and field athletes increased significantly ST. All athletes improved significantly HG, PUP and SUP, instead non-athletic people decreased significantly SUP (p less than 0.01). TUGT improved significantly in track and field athletes (p less than 0.05), and decreased significantly in non-athletic people. ID level was positively correlated to TUGT. Findings of this study showed that physical activity improved fitness in adult athletes with ID, decreasing health risks. Athletes with lower ID obtained higher performance scores in motor coordination test. (Contains 2 tables.)