Knowledge Nuggets

Youth who participate in multiple sports may be able to improve their performance in a given sport more quickly than their specialized peers. For example, in a study of 12-year-old soccer players, those who participated in multiple sports demonstrated greater improvements in match-play performance over the next 2 years than youth who were already specialized...

The mental health of athletes and key leaders supporting them is essential for performing consistently at the highest levels and achieving success in sport. The Mental Health Strategy for High Performance Sport in Canada provides a new roadmap for improving mental health outcomes for all Canadian athletes, coaches, and staff.

Unexpected competition stressors, such as an injury or unfavourable referee call, are common for athletes. In fact, some athletes report experiencing unexpected stressors not because they are unfamiliar with the stressor, but because they didn’t think it would happen to them. Asking athletes to list the ways that other athletes might experience the competition encourages...

High volumes of interval training can lead to increased injury risk and athlete burnout. An optimized interval training program is necessary for helping athletes safely reach their goals. Improvements in endurance performance can be seen in as few as 2 weeks of sprint interval training (SIT) or 4 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

Formal leaders usually receive their assigned role from the coach or team’s selection process. Informal leaders emerge based on their interactions and behaviours with teammates. Athletes can be task-oriented, motivational, social, or external leaders. Discover how role diversity can allow many athletes to fulfil a leadership position and distribute the leadership load.

Unexpected stressors can negatively affect athletes’ feelings of stress, ability to cope with stress, and performance during competition. But preparing athletes for the possibility that the competition won’t go exactly as planned can help. Acknowledging that the competition might not go the way an athlete had hoped or expected is the first step towards coping...

A role outlines the specific behaviours that are expected of an individual to achieve established team goals. On a team, each role should interact seamlessly to help the team reach its untapped potential. Members will perform better individually when they understand their role, and role clarity sets the stage for team success.

As sport leaders and organizations, we’re often concerned with participant retention. We rarely consider how dropout may play an important role in sport development pathways, or potential pathways for sport re-engagement later in life. The inclusion of sport dropout as a potential pathway in long-term sport participation models could push for a dialogue on how...

A significant culture change in sport is needed to address athlete maltreatment, experts say. One way to bring about change is to amplify athletes’ voices. Including athletes in decision-making can help address the power imbalances that often underpin maltreatment in sports.

In Canada’s North, sport development opportunities for youth can be few and far between. Small population sizes, large distances between communities, and limited resources create barriers to sport programming. But partnerships between different sports offer a unique opportunity for youth to reap the benefits of participation in multiple sports. They can also increase participant pools...