Knowledge Nuggets

Coaching Tip “Helpful” instructions shouted by coaches and parents from the sidelines aren’t always useful. It’s easy for young athletes to become overwhelmed and misinterpret the messages. Here are five things you yell at your hockey player that only confuses them. Use simple, direct language (no jargon!) that reinforces previous lessons.

Nutrition New front-of-package labelling has been proposed by Health Canada to help Canadians identify foods high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium. The initiative is part of Health Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy, which aims to make the healthier choice the easier choice for all Canadians. Be part of the public consultation until April 26, 2018.

Spring 2018 SIRCuit The Spring SIRCuit is now available! This issue presents a range of articles relating to sport leadership, athlete development, and high performance sport – all from Canadian sport thought leaders. Learn more regarding great information on mentoring, concussions, positive parenting in sport, sport event hosting and social responsibility activities.

Capturing the innovative ideas and energy generated during retreats and planning sessions once staff and volunteers are back in their daily routines can be difficult. Documenting insights in vivid ways, findings ways to reactivate “aha” moments, and holding people accountable for tasks and associated deadlines can help sport leaders turn insight into execution.

Infographic Consumption of carbohydrates both before and during competition is a nutritional strategy commonly recommended to soccer players to maintain energy stores and avoid declines in physical and skilled performance. However, carbohydrate consumption at the beginning of the inactive half-time break in soccer and similar sports can peak blood glucose levels and negatively impact second...

Nutrition Finding inspired ideas to fuel active kids can be a challenge. Young athletes needs carbohydrates to fuel them through the day, and protein or healthy fat when participating in intense activities longer than 1.5 hours. Here are some healthy after school and pre-game snacks for active kids.

Teaching moment Findings from a recent Canadian study confirm the importance of early intervention to develop habits that support life-long participation in sport and physical activity. Research results indicate that children that were inactive during childhood were less likely to be active during adolescence.

  SIRC Blog Endurance athletes need to persevere through pain in training and competition. According to Kent University’s Samuele Marcora “our mind is what dictates our physical limits”. Fortunately, perception of effort can be manipulated with the use of three mental skills: goal-setting, motivation, and self-talk.  

Infographic Do you ever wonder about the value of small surfaces or fields for children’s sport? This infographic based on data captured by the NHL’s data analytics division, indicates that young athletes playing on a cross-ice surface touched the puck more often, attempted more passes, and took twice the number of shots as kids who...

Best Practice A first in Commonwealth Games history, the Queensland Government led the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan that articulates a commitment to delivering genuine and meaningful outcomes for Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Plan is designed to create a lasting legacy from the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games through employment and training...