Knowledge Nuggets

A study on elite junior ice hockey players found sleepers, overlooked athletes who later excel, had superior planning skills and unique eye movements. These traits helped scouts predict late drafted players’ success, emphasizing the value of psychological profiles in identifying hidden talent.

Elite athletes face unique mental health challenges, including a higher risk of problem gambling and gaming disorder, particularly among males. Tackling these behavioural addictions is crucial to safeguarding their wellbeing.

While physical activity typically strengthens the immune system, high-intensity training can weaken it, leaving some high performance athletes more susceptible to upper respiratory infections. Discover key nutritional strategies to stay healthy and perform at your best!

A new review of the academic literature shows that positive engagement and development in elite youth sport hinge on supportive environments, strong relationships, and age-appropriate training. Remember, even top performers need developmentally appropriate activities that focus on overall well-being, ensuring they thrive both in and out of sport.

Did you know that professional skiing and snowboarding has an injury incidence rate of 3.49 injuries per 1000 days? Among these injuries, lower extremity injuries are most prevalent, with freestyle skiing exhibiting the highest risk at an alarming 6.83 injuries per 1000 days.

A growing awareness of mental health needs among elite athletes has emerged, but the mental well-being of coaches and high-performance support staff (HPSS) in elite sports is less understood. Heightened levels of psychological distress, risky alcohol consumption, and sleep disturbances were found among coaches and HPSS, highlighting the need to extend mental health support to...

Muscle cramps are a common issue in marathons, often affecting runners’ performance. This study compared muscle damage and dehydration between marathoners with and without exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC). Runners with EAMC had higher levels of muscle damage markers but similar dehydration and electrolyte levels compared to those without cramps.

It was once believed that being slightly behind in a game could boost winning chances in basketball, but new research challenges this idea. Tests across other sports like football and rugby found no similar effect.

In aesthetic sports, athletes often perceive pressure to be thin to maximise performance. A recent study of elite-level gymnasts in Sweden showed a relationship between body dissatisfaction and symptoms of disordered eating over time, suggesting that monitoring of behaviours driven by body dissatisfaction, such as exercising for weight control, is important to identity athletes at...

Many high-performance athletes scrutinize their own performances and often aim for perfection. A recent study delved into how perfectionistic athletes view success and failure in sports. Through interviews and season-long diaries, researchers found that an athlete’s ability to deal with failure depended on the type of perfectionism they exhibited.