SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.
Introduction Adolescence is a pivotal stage marked by increased vulnerability to the development of body image concerns, disordered eating, and eating disorders. For adolescents involved in sport, where they may face pressure to conform to a certain body type to progress and achieve success, the risk may be even more pronounced. Consider some of the…
Brynna Kerr and Reema Shafi, University of Toronto
Highlights Concussion recovery depends on many factors, including biological factors (for example, anatomy) and gender-based factors (for example, societal norms in sport). Research shows that female athletes have a higher risk of concussion than male athletes, male and female athletes...
Project summary Many people who adopt the goal of improving physical activity do not succeed. The aim of this research was to examine goal conflict as a uniquely contributing factor to the low rate of success. Our experiments showed that...
Project summary Sport team membership provides people with opportunities to work together toward a common goal and build supportive social relationships. Quite simply, being a member of a sport team is associated with a host of psychosocial benefits. However, joining...
Some coaches rely on de facto drills that seem to be an essential part of their sport as a foundation for their practices; others turn to the latest gadgets and technology to drive their practice plans. Before integrating tradition or...
Whether you are a high performance athlete training for the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Tokyo, or a weekend warrior working on a personal best, learning to manage heat stress should be a priority. Heat stress and fatigue can...
At a time when athletes and coaches have been inundated with pseudoscientific ideas about the importance of accumulating 10,000 hours of practice, the importance of practice quality often does not receive the attention it should. Contrary to popular belief, there...
Project Summary A Hockey Intervention Program (HIP) was established as an innovative vehicle to evaluate the infrastructure-athlete relationship for training athletes in the sport of ice hockey. This research examined both system level and athlete level factors that influence stakeholders’...
It might be surprising to hear concussions are a serious risk in the sport of volleyball. But data collection from Volleyball Canada—dating back to 2016—has revealed exactly that. “Our research has shown that about 1 in 10 youth athletes in...
Once considered a fringe activity, weight training has grown in popularity in the last 20 years due to its benefits for improving health, physical fitness, and performance. Weight training is often included in high school physical education classes and promoted...
Parents who dream of their children becoming professional athletes, and coaches who believe that single-minded dedication is the only way to reach the top of their sport, have contributed to an increase in early sport specialization. However, there are many...
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