Articles

SIRC articles provide evidence-based and actionable insights from sport researchers, athletes, coaches, sport organizations and thought leaders to advance sport in Canada.

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Beyond the Stats: Understanding Sleeper Athletes with Dr. Joe Baker

In a sports culture obsessed with early success, Canada may be missing out on some of the best athletes, sleepers, those who develop later, defying the traditional timelines of talent. Dr. Joe Baker, a leading expert on talent development and professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, says…

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Ski like a girl: Researchers reveal hidden histories of women in Nordic sport

March 18, 2024
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Oumar Salifou
From a U of A varsity ski club to the Canadian Birkebeiner and the Olympics, women have always been part of the landscape of winter sport. When Lyndsay Conrad dove into her archival research on early 20th-century ski history in...

“It means so much for Canadian tennis”: How Marina Stakusic’s post-BJK Cup claim predicted a rise for tennis in Canada

January 31, 2024
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Tennis Canada
A Canadian flag draped around her shoulders, a beaming, then-18-year-old Marina Stakusic is flanked by captain Heidi El Tabakh and Gabriela Dabrowski on the hard courts of Estadio de la Cartuja. Just minutes earlier, Leylah Annie Fernandez flung her racquet...

The power of mentoring in sports: Who, what, and how? 

January 17, 2024
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Gabrielle Cadotte & Veronica Allan
Mentorship is a powerful resource with the potential to positively influence the growth and success of people in sport. Mentoring is a relationship where one or multiple mentors (i.e., a senior person in age or experience) provide guidance and support...

Using motor learning concepts to enhance athlete skill development

June 28, 2023
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Matt Krueger
Motor learning is the process of acquiring and refining skills, such as movements or strategies, through practice and experience. It is an important concept in sport because it helps coaches create effective training programs to help athletes improve performance. Coaches...

How to harness the power of team cohesion in sport

June 21, 2023
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Erika Degabriele and Cailie McGuire
In sport, we often hear athletes and coaches talking about how “united” their team is and the great “chemistry” that they have. Broadly, these terms reflect the concept of cohesion. Cohesion is frequently described as the glue that holds a...

Safe, quality and values-based: 3 approaches to optimize sport experience

April 24, 2023
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Jennifer Coletti and Veronica Allan, SIRC
Highlights  There are several evidence-informed approaches to sport delivery that researchers and sport organizations encourage, and that you can engage with, to promote positive experiences and combat harmful cultures in sport and society  Quality sport, values-based sport and safe sport...

Emotion as a form of communication

March 22, 2023
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Sarah Nirenberg and Cailie McGuire
In game 6 of the 2021 NHL playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs were down 1-0 in the third period and on the penalty kill. Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner shot the puck over the glass, resulting in a penalty. While...

How youth athletes can support their own life skill development through sport

February 22, 2023
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Mandisa Lau, Corliss Bean and Caroline Hummell
Sports help to develop crucial skills on and off the court, field, or ice. Participating in sports can help youth athletes stay physically healthy, build positive relationships with coaches and other players and learn valuable skills.  While coaches often play...

Key considerations for Para athlete recovery

February 15, 2023
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Sara W. Szabo and Michael D. Kennedy
Para sport has grown substantially in the past decades with increases in athlete participation as well as training intensities and sport performance (Patricios & Webborn, 2021; Fagher et coll., 2016). Yet, there is still limited research to help inform practice,...

Using life skills to promote social justice: Youth sport as a vehicle for social change

February 1, 2023
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Corliss Bean, Tarkington J. Newman, Martin Camiré, Leisha Strachan
As youth sport researchers, we seek to understand how youth develop and transfer life skills. In recent years, cultural issues have urged us to evolve our understanding of life skills. For instance, the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements continue...
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