ARCAA Contents & Abstracts, Volume 32, 2017

ISBN 978-0-89641-560-7

  • purchase button
    Review button

    Athletic Trainers’ Workload in Relations to Appropriate Concussion Management (as defined by the 2014 NCAA Concussion Guidelines) in Big Sky Conference SchoolsCaroline E. Faure — This study investigated how athletic trainer workload in Big Sky Conference (BSC) schools was affected by the implementation of 2014 NCAA Concussion Management Guidelines and how compliant athletic trainers were with those guidelines. Head athletic trainers at nine of the 11 BSC schools participated. Overall, there was a willingness to incorporate the strategies prescribed by the NCAA, although no school implemented all recommendations. The adoption of the new guidelines prompted a systematic increase in athletic training workload. Most notably, workload was affected by the amount of time dedicated to baseline and post-concussion testing. Athletic trainers also acknowledged spending time assisting with educational outreach to coaches and student-athletes, and working with student disability and academic support services. Despite the increase in workload, few additional resources, most notably money and personnel, were allocated. (1-32)>

  • Tweets of Self-Presentation: Assessing In-Game Sport Consumer Behavior via TwitterElisabeth B. Delia, Jordan R. Bass, Daniel L. Wann — Scholars have studied the self-presentation techniques of sport fans in a variety of contexts, however an empirical investigation of such behaviors via social media is absent from the literature. In this study, we examine self-presentation of sport fans via Twitter. Data were collected during multiple points of a mega-sporting event involving two traditionally passionate and highly identified fan groups. Twitter activity was used to identify general themes of self-presentation for the pre-game, halftime, and postgame time periods. In general, basking in reflected glory (BIRGing) and blasting were reflected in numerous forms based on the game situation and individual affiliation. Examining self-presentation through social media is especially relevant as the popularity of the medium grows. Further, the real-time nature of Twitter and other platforms allows researchers to capture behaviors immediately after a positive or negative event during an athletics competition. Finally, a number of theoretical and practical implications are identified and presented. (33-62)

  • Interpersonal Communication in Strength and Conditioning: The Role of the Facilitative Conditions in Establishing Rapport and Building Relationships by the Strength and Conditioning CoachDwayne Massey, Mark Maneval — The facilitative conditions are described as the fundamental building blocks of all human communication. Consisting of empathy, respect, genuineness, concreteness, self-disclosure, immediacy, and confrontation these dimensions are present in any caring, nurturing, growing relationship. The qualities that facilitate growth, change, and a higher level of functioning in one relationship are present in all other similar relationships, including the strength and conditioning paradigm. The facilitative conditions are introduced to the strength and conditioning community as the linchpin in the process of building rapport and establishing relationships within the strength coach-athlete dynamic. (63-84)

  • The Impact of NCAA Division I Women Soccer Coaching Style on Player Well-Being: A Qualitative Analysis Molly Williams, Daniel R. Czech, David D. Biber — NCAA Division I college coaches interact with their players on a daily basis, sometimes more than once a day. Research has claimed that a coach-athlete relationship is a critical relationship when talking about psychological effects, and was even compared to that of a parent-child relationship (Sterling & Kerr, 2013). The importance of the athlete-coach relationship stems from the fact that coaches influence athletes’ lives in a plethora of different ways Sterling & Kerr, 2013). For example, a coach can influence the motivational climate, or the atmosphere in which an athlete performs (Olympiou, Jowett & Duda, 2008). The purpose of the current study examines the impact of coaching on the perceptions of well-being of NCAA Division I athletes. Participants included NCAA Division I female soccer players (n = 8) from a southeastern United States university. Participants’ positive and negative experiences were categorized into six themes (playing time, individual meetings, and positive feedback, no communication, injury, and unrealistic expectations). The impact of the results on player well-being in relation to previous research is discussed as well as implications for future research. (85-96)

  • University Students’ Perceptions of a Coaches Gamesmanship Behaviors: How They See ThemselvesDavid Barney — Gamesmanship has been defined as “pushing the rules to the limit without getting caught, using whatever dubious methods possible to achieve the desired end” (Lumpkin, Stoll, & Beller, 2003). Gaming regularly happens in sporting events. Because of this, many young athletes are exposed to these gamesmanship episodes, thinking it is part of the game. In many instances these young athletes will become coaches with the strong possibility of gamesmanship being repeated. Coaching Educators have their work cut out for them to overcome these coaches in training (CIT) perceptions of gamesmanship. For this reason the purpose of this study was to gain knowledge of what CIT perceptions are regarding gamesmanship behaviors. It was found that many of the gamesmanship examples from the survey given would be repeated by many of the male CIT. (97-114)

  • Coaches; Need for and Use of Coping Strategies: A Narrative Case Study from One DII HBCU Jamie E. Robbins, Jenelle N. Gilbert, Alexandra M. Clifton — A dynamic relationship exists between college coaches and their athletic environment. The context of a Division II (DII) Historically Black College/University (HBCU) provides challenges that may place demands on, and impact the coping resources of, its coaches. Given the scant research on DII HBCU coaches, the current study explored this context and its coaches’ self-described coping resources. Participants included head (N= 7) and assistant (N=5) coaches from one Southern DII HBCU, who engaged in a semi-structured interview (Olusoga, Butt, Hays, & Maynard, 2009). Interviews were content analyzed, yielding four major contextual themes (i.e., funding inadequacies, infrastructure weaknesses, cumbersome workload, and student-athletes). Coaches explained coping with such issues primarily through modifying perspectives, talking/venting, distracting themselves, letting go, and using their faith. Overall, coaches’ contextual struggles appeared to surpass coping resources, leading the researchers to speculate that DII HBCU coaches would benefit from increased support. (115-143)

  • Experiences and Challenges of Women Working in NCAA Division I Athletic Department Elizabeth A. Taylor, Allison B. Smith, Robin Hardin — A dynamic relationship exists between college coaches and their athletic environment. The context of a Division II (DII) Historically Black College/University (HBCU) provides challenges that may place demands on, and impact the coping resources of, its coaches. Given the scant research on DII HBCU coaches, the current study explored this context and its coaches’ self-described coping resources. Participants included head (N= 7) and assistant (N=5) coaches from one Southern DII HBCU, who engaged in a semi-structured interview (Olusoga, Butt, Hays, & Maynard, 2009). Interviews were content analyzed, yielding four major contextual themes (i.e., funding inadequacies, infrastructure weaknesses, cumbersome workload, and student-athletes). Coaches explained coping with such issues primarily through modifying perspectives, talking/venting, distracting themselves, letting go, and using their faith. Overall, coaches’ contextual struggles appeared to surpass coping resources, leading the researchers to speculate that DII HBCU coaches would benefit from increased support. (144-184)

  • Perceptions of Sexual Harassment and Awareness of Female and Male Division I AthletesDani M. Moffit, Sibongile D. Kamusoko, Justin N. Thorpe, James H. Yizar — Sexual harassment at institutions of higher learning is not new. Within the athletic jurisdiction, recent events have demonstrated unfavorable results in athletic departments (Bryant, 1993; Volkwein-Caplan & Sankaran, 2000; ESPN College Sports, 2012; Grasgreen, 2012; Maehrer & Cranney, 2014). This study investigates sexual harassment perceptions by athletes, and explores the extent to which the institution provides policies and training to the athlete regarding sexual harassment. A survey sent via Survey Monkey to athletes at a northwest Division I university indicated that many athletes were not aware of what constitutes sexual harassment. Although the athletic department indicated all of the athletes had received training at some point during their athletic careers, their responses indicated otherwise. (185-214)

  • Predicting Success of College Baseball Umpires on Personality Characteristics and TraitsJohn C. Winters — The purpose of this study is to examine whether a cluster of personality characteristics and traits is possessed by Big XII Conference baseball umpires which might inform the selection process of potential major college baseball umpires. The current training process for college baseball umpires has been primarily concerned with their technical abilities on the field and the umpire’s knowledge of playing rules. A total of sixty collegiate umpires participated in the study, (n=21) staff members of Big XII Conference and (n=39) collegiate umpires of which are aspiring to become conference umpires. The participants in the study was administered the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. The results of the study reported the Big XII umpires were found to be extraverted, fundamentally altruistic persons, eager to be helpful to others, with normal levels of emotional stability. While the potential major also demonstrated to be extraverted persons, yet they are less agreeable, and more prone to prefer the familiar than to the novel. (215-235)

  • Gender Differences in Youth Sport coaches’ Perceptions of Organizational Child Maltreatment Policies and TrainingJeff Noble, Mark Vermillion — With the growth of youth sports programs, issues concerning the safety and health of participants have increased. One issue garnering considerable attention involves the society-wide problem of maltreatment in youth sports, and how coaches address potential incidents of abuse and neglect, defined as child maltreatment. This study examined gender differences in youth sport coaches’ perceptions of their organizational policies regarding child maltreatment, and their confidence in identifying the various forms of abuse and neglect. The results indicated female youth sport coaches exhibited greater confidence in their awareness of incidents of maltreatment than their male counterparts. Conversely, when responding to their perceived awareness of organizational policies on child maltreatment, there was no statistically significant difference between genders. Overall, these findings suggest a need for greater education and training of coaches of youth sport programs in identifying and reporting suspected child maltreatment. (236-257)

  • Leadership Styles and the Potential Cause of Burnout in Athletic AdministratorsKara Edwards — The purpose of this literature review was to investigate burnout centered on the various leadership styles emphasized by athletics administrators. This study evaluated the effect of leadership styles and program goals on key stress of emotional exhaustion, daily job stress, and level of perceived personal accomplishment reported by intercollegiate athletics administrators. This literature review was conducted by using scholarly articles in databases correlated to the research topic. These articles assisted with research by providing details about the different types of leadership styles athletics administrators’ use and the program goal outcomes based on the leadership styles. In addition, it is suggested that all athletics administrators should determine reasonable program goals by creating philosophies and practices focusing on the prevention of occupational burnout. (258-278)


  • COACHES' CORNER

  • Social Media Best Practices in College Football Division I National Championship Game Claire Fischer, Peter Titlebaum — This research study report analyzes best practice of College Sports Information Directors as it related to social media centering around the 2016 National Championship Football National Championship Game between the University of Alabama and Clemson University. Information was gathered by interviewing two sports information directors, one social media director, and using social media analytics. This research can be used to determine best practice in measuring social media success within organizations, especially college football organizations. Comparing and contrasting the two schools’ social media strategies shed insights into best practice by providing an extensive look into the interactive world of social media in college football. (279-289)


  • BOOK REVIEW

  • Introducion to Intercollegiate Athletics Reviewed by Warren K. Simpson (290-292)
E-mail americanpress@flash.net to order PDFs of any article.