Knowledge Nuggets

Life skills transfer in sport involves the application of skills learned on the playing field, such as teamwork, communication or honesty, to situations at home, school or work. This process is essential to helping youth athletes thrive within and beyond sport. Learn more in the newest SIRC blog.

Trying a new sport often means learning a new language of technical and tactical terms. Running is no different. If you’re new to running and wondering about “interval workouts,” “tempo runs” and “fartlek runs,” this article from Runners World will ensure you’re in the know.

While accessible sport activities, venues, and services are necessary for people of all abilities to participate in sport, accessibility does not guarantee positive sport experiences. A positive experience is about more than access: it’s about meaningful activities that provide participants with feelings of belonging, choice, challenge and success. For this reason, researchers from the Canadian...

Perfectionism is related to numerous motivational, performance, and mental health-related outcomes in sport – both positive and negative. New research examined the influence of parents and coaches on the development of perfectionism among athletes aged 16-19 and discovered that while both coach pressure and parental pressure were positively correlated with perfectionism, only coach pressure predicted...

Overuse injuries are common in volleyball. Research reported in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy discovered that women collegiate volleyball athletes performed twice as many overhead swings, serves, and hits during practice, compared to volumes during games (with both games and practices lasting approximately 2 hours). This has important implications for managing training, especially...

Research reported in the International Journal of Sport Coaching explored athletes’ perceptions of what coaches can do to build athlete confidence. Through surveys with collegiate student-athletes, five key categories were identified: creating a positive environment; responding to athletes productively; developing effective practices for training; developing interpersonal relationships with athletes; and coach possession of effective intrapersonal...

Most Canadians would not consider artistic swimming a contact sport, but athletes and coaches know the risks. The physical demands, technical components and water environment of the sport require unique concussion policies and practices, especially related to athletes’ “Return to Sport.” Learn more in today’s SIRC blog.

The first Arctic Winter Games was hosted in 1970 engaging 500 athletes from Alaska, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. In March of 2020, an estimated 2,000 athletes from across the Circumpolar North will be in Whitehorse, Yukon as the Games mark their 50th anniversary. Learn more about the Games and its role in athlete development in...

Evidence suggests that a number of preconditions are necessary to achieve at the highest levels of sport, including a family culture of striving and achievement, positive sport-related experiences during early development, late sport specialization, and an ability to “push yourself to the maximum” in competition and practice. But what differentiates elite athletes (those that compete...

The sport sector has been abuzz about the potential risks of early specialization, including physical injury, athlete burnout, and dropout from sport. However, the link between early specialization and burnout is not well supported by the evidence. Research from the University of Alberta discovered coaches can help avoid burnout and dropout by supporting athletes’ sense...