Knowledge Nuggets

Athlete development pathways in Para sport can be varied and complex, research shows. Different classification systems, disability-specific characteristics, and individual athletes’ histories can all impact development pathways. Researchers conclude that Para sport needs its own development models that account for the complexity of Para athlete experiences.

Do you like to sip a cup of coffee before a big game or match, or hitting the gym? A new study of combat sport athletes showed that caffeine ingestion enhances upper-body strength endurance and increases handgrip strength. This is particularly beneficial for grappling athletes competing in judo or jiu-jitsu.

Thriving is the joint experience of development and success. In sport, thriving is important for athlete well-being. Evidence-based strategies for coaches to facilitate thriving include placing athletes in challenging situations that promote learning, fostering a trusting environment, and encouraging bonds between teammates, coaches and other program staff.

Before implementing a new technology for your sport or physical activity program, consider the burden it might impose on program leaders, participants and support staff. Using technology can often cost time, energy or convenience. For example, using GPS to monitor a soccer team’s training volume could easily take up to 4 hours a day: 1 hour to...

Competing objectives, such as increasing grassroots participation and selecting the top athletes for high performance programs, can complicate the work of national and provincial/territorial sport organizations. Data-driven decision-making allows sport organizations to solve complex issues in more innovative ways instead of relying on “how it’s always been done.”

Psychological skills training can help athletes enhance performance, self-satisfaction, and enjoyment in sport. For this reason, researchers at the University of Windsor developed a free, online psychological skills training program for para-athletes. This evidence-based program provides training to support skills such as goal-setting, concentration, and relaxation.

Compared to early specializers, youth who participate in multiple sports early in their development often experience fewer injuries, enhanced movement skills and a greater likelihood of long-term sports participation. But in Canada’s North, sport participation opportunities for youth can be few and far between. Discover how table tennis and hockey came together to enhance player...

The Safe Sport journey involves a cultural change in sport. Such a change can challenge traditionally accepted assumptions and practices, such as having coaches share hotel rooms with athletes to save costs or using exercise as punishment. For sport leaders, understanding the process of change and associated emotions (i.e., denial, resistance, exploration, commitment) is important...

Many top performers experience perfectionism, the need for their performance to always be perfect. While striving for flawless performance may seem like a good thing, research shows that perfectionism positively predicts burnout among competitive athletes. Burnout is also more prevalent among athletes who perceive their coaches as perfectionistic.

For Para athletes, existing concussion assessment tools, like the SCAT5, can be useful, but may require modification. In its first position statement, the Concussion in Para Sport Group address adaptations for concussion assessment, management and return to sport for Para athletes. For example, the Wheelchair Error Scoring System (WESS) can be used with the SCAT5...