United States Sports Academy
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The Sport Digest - ISSN: 1558-6448

2009

ISSN: 1558-6448

Did You Know?
They are trying to make administering CPR easier for bystanders?

The AHA is promoting Chest-Compressions-Only Bystander-Initiated CPR. AHA scientific advisory board is labeling this action as bystander response – trying to get more of the general public to help during a cardiac episode. This method is not better than the other – but will be sufficient enough to get the heart to respond. The emergency professionals are still advised to continue to utilize mouth-to-mouth.

Source: Medscape.com March 31, 2008. Medscape-Medical News. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/572238_print

Serious injuries in gymnastics rival those in ice hockey?

“We don’t typically think of gymnastics as a dangerous sport. It has the same clinical incidence of catastrophic injuries as ice hockey,” says Lara McKenzie, PhD at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. McKenzie also stated, “We may be able to prevent and reduce the number of injuries if we were to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for gymnasts, trainers and coaches.”

Source: HealthNewsDigest.com April 7, 2008. Sports News. www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Sports_50/Number_of_Serious_Injuries_in_Gymnastics_Rival_Those_in_Ice_Hockey.shtml

Coaches and parents are hurting young athletes?

Little athletes are suffering big injuries due to coaches and parents piling on too much training. Any athlete can be injured by overtraining – more so with young athletes under the age of 12. More children are being pushed beyond their physical limits – sports injuries often seen at the pro level are being seen on the children’s playground. Coaches and parents need to take into consideration the age and developmental stages of physical growth.

Source: Stinchfield, Kate. TIME - Heath Section. Little Athletes, Big Injuries. February 25, 2008. Pg 51.

American’s waistlines are bulging?

In the past 25 years, obesity among U.S. adults has shot up from 15 to 32 percent.

Source: Bryner, Jeanna. Yahoo News.com, Study: Obesity is Socially Contagious. July 26, 2007.

Childhood obesity is tipping the scales?

50% of the obese elementary-school kids and 80% of the obese teens are apt to battle the scales for the rest of their lives. Half the kids walked or biked to school a generation ago; today, some 10% do.

Source: Kotz, Deborah. U.S. News & World Report – Health & Medicine Section. How to Win the Weight Battle. September 10, 2007 Pg 60. www.USNEWS.com

Walking has many benefits to your health?

Recent studies have shown that women who walk 30 minutes a day catch less colds. Just 45 minutes to an hour of walking, three days a week, helps older adults over 60 increase their brain volume. A single 30 minute walk can help boost your mood immediately if you are depressed.

Source: Staff Writer. Arthritis Today – Arthritis Foundation Advertisement Promo. March 31, 2008, Pg 3.

That exercise is good medicine?

Sport and exercise medicine has been a medical specialization in Finland since 1985. Dr. Heikki Tikkanen, Director of the Institute of Clinical Medicine’s Unit for Sports and Exercise Medicine at the University of Helsinki stated, “More and more is known about the health implications of physical activity and the positive affects on diseases. In the future exercise will serve as medicine for more people.”

Source: Wuolio, Tinu. Motion: Sport in Finland. For More and More People, Exercise Is Medicine. Volume 2, 2007, Pg 52.

Helpful Hints
6 Ways Parents Can Create a Healthier Environment for Children

Parents need to consider creating a healthier environment to help manage their children’s weight. Here are some tips.

  1. Stock up on good food
  2. Make sweets a treat
  3. Ditch the drive-through
  4. Turn off the TV
  5. Equip the house for exercise
  6. Encourage them to dance

Source: Hellmich, Nanci. USA Today, A Better Life – Health Section, A lifetime of danger in childhood obesity. January 14, 2008, Pg 4D.

5 Ways Parents Can Get Their Children Moving

Parents need to help their children burn more calories by helping them find ways to be more active. Here are some tips.

  1. Park farther away from entrances
  2. Take the stairs
  3. Get off the school bus one stop earlier
  4. Do physical chores: take out the garbage, put away things, clean the yard
  5. Bike or walk to a friends’ house

Source: Writing Staff – Resources for Educators, Aspen Publishers, Inc. Teen Food & Fitness Newsletter Advertisement Promo. Five easy steps to fitness. January 2008, Pg HO1452.

10 Ways to Eating Healthy During Pregnancy

Eating healthy is essential during pregnancy. Eating well will help to meet your body’s needs and help avoid the common discomforts of pregnancy. Here are some tips.

  1. Eating breakfast every day
  2. Eat high fiber foods
  3. Keep healthy foods on hand
  4. Eat smaller meals to prevent heartburn
  5. If you have morning sickness – talk to your healthcare provider
  6. Avoid Alcohol
  7. Avoid fish known to have high levels of mercury
  8. Avoid soft cheeses and processed meats that may have high levels of nitrates and bacteria
  9. Cook fish, meat and poultry thoroughly
  10. Cut back on caffeine

Source: Staff Writer, NIH Medline Plus. Health Lines for Pregnancy, Tips for healthy Eating. Winter 2008, Pg 25.

5 Lifestyle Changes that can Increase HDLs

HDLs are a group of proteins that attaches itself to cholesterol and carries it to the liver for disposal. They act like the cleaners of the bloodstream. HDLs also play a part in the prevention of heart disease, inflammation, oxidation and helps keep the blood vessels flexible to ward off blood clots. Here are some tips.

  1. Exercise more
  2. Maintain a healthy weight
  3. Stop smoking
  4. Adopt a Mediterranean-type diet: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats – olive oil, less saturated and trans fats, more fish and less red meat
  5. Drink alcohol in moderation (one a day for women, two a day for men)

Source: Staff Writer, The New Frontiers of Medicine. Harvard Medical School, How to raise HDLs with lifestyle changes. February 2008, Pg 6.

Tips for Keeping a Healthy Heart

Simple lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease. Here are some tips.

  1. Feed Your Heart: Cut back on fat, increase your fiber; eat fish high in omega-3s and low in mercury; utilize vegetable oils like olive and canola; avoid trans fats; limit dietary cholesterol; cut back on salt; drink moderately; consider plant stanols and sterols.
  2. Get Moving: Do at least 30minutes of moderate-intensity activity, 5 days a week; Do 1-2 sets of resistance strength training to the major muscles of the body, 2 days a week.
  3. Trim Your Waistline: Work on decreasing excess fat around the belly – eat slow; eat small portions; avoid seconds; do not skip meals, especially breakfast; avoid fried foods, full-fat dairy products, refined carbohydrates and soft drinks; start meals with a salad, broth; eat dishes full of vegetables and fruit.
  4. Cool Your Anger: Decrease anger and stress in your life; do some yoga, tai chi, meditation and deep breathing exercises; keep active and exercise everyday.
  5. Be A Quitter: Quit smoking.
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Book Review: The Yankee Years (2009) by Torre, Joe & Verducci, Tom

The Yankee Years gives an in depth review of Joe Torre’s stint as the manager of the New York Yankees. The highly successful run of Torre’s early years with the organization (Four World Championships from 1996-2000) contrasts his later years and the events that led to his downfall. Students involved in sport management have an opportunity to examine the relationships between administrative positions-Manager, General Manager, and Owner-of the most famous professional sport organization in the world.

Triple Tragedy of The Black Student Athlete

Abstract

Black people in the US have achieved a lot in athletics since being allowed into main stream sport in the late 1940s. However, the overwhelming obsession with selected sports by the people of color has been raising fundamental sociological as well as academic issues. This paper therefore discusses the triple tragedy that Black Student Athletes unknowingly face when they exclusively pursue their dreams of becoming professional athletes at the expense of a college education. This tragedy is due to the racist ideology of sport that defines and channels blacks into “physical and athletic” endeavors and it is recommended that time is ripe to chart a new course for the black student athlete and the black community as a whole.

Three Hours a Meal or Three Meals a Day?

Introduction

As a personal trainer and a person who strives to improve health, performance, and appearance, I have been taught to eat five to six meals a day. This eating habit is practiced by bodybuilders, performance athletes, and people wanting to accomplish fat loss. I find it to be a staple in what it is I teach to my clients and practice on a daily basis. Come to find out, there really is not a lot of research on eating six meals a day. The research that is available tends to side with eating less meals instead of more meals. Also, calorie restriction is still in favor, stressing that calories in must be less than calories expended. If you divide the waking hours of a person who has an eighteen-hour day, eating six meals a day would average out to about one meal every three hours. This is definitely a step away from the common acceptance of three square meals a day! Although this concept is widely accepted in the fitness and sports performance world, it is still somewhat unknown to the average person. In fact, it seems to be a rather difficult task to have a well controlled research study that involves many participants willing to eat five to six meals a day. Inaccuracies such as dishonesty in daily food journals and insufficient measurement indicators plague current research of this topic. Also, there are crucial aspects that are often left out of studies done on meal frequency, such as physical activity prior to the research, sex, content of the meals and other areas that could influence the research outcome. This review aims to explore some of the available research and provide insight on an eating technique that can lead to successful weight loss for anyone.

The “TIGER” effect on P.G.A. Television Coverage

Introduction

Another major golf tournament has come and gone, one in which Tiger Woods, did not win. In 13 years of competitive golf on the PGA tour, Tiger has won 14 majors, which is impressive. But my question is not with the golfer, but with the golfing coverage. The broadcasting networks (ABC, CBS, ESPN) live and die with tiger. If I were a PGA golfer I would be offended by the amount of coverage given to one man. Case in point, Steve Stricker.

Assessing the Importance of Building Self-efficacy to Impact Motivation, Performance Levels, and Team Effectiveness

Introduction

As I have studied leadership in this course and compared and contrasted self-efficacy and self-confidence for an assignment in an earlier course, it seems obvious to me that leaders can impact follower levels of motivation, performance, and team effectiveness by building individual and group self-efficacy. Not wanting to place an overemphasis in regards to building self-efficacy, I am on a quest to learn more about this issue and discover research-based answers. In an attempt to recognize the essence of an increased self-efficacy, I will begin by searching for what self-efficacy really means. The focus will then turn to essential factors for increasing self-efficacy and attempt to identify ways to build a stronger sense of self-efficacy. It will then be determined if communication and feedback can improve follower self-efficacy and conclude by looking at authority dynamics to see if there is a certain style that works best to improve overall self-efficacy levels.

Prosthetic Litigation and the Effect of Increased Physical Activity among Amputees

Introduction

Purpose

As many young soldiers from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have returned with one or more missing limbs, the amputee population has become a younger, more active community. This has lead to an increase in physical activity among the entire amputee population, military and civilian. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of liability and litigation within prosthetics focusing on the increased need for protection due to the trend of increasing physical activity among amputees. Through reading journals, magazines, and newspapers, and through the author’s personal observations, the research was gathered.

Cracks in the Foundation

Brick by brick, the physical structures of colleges and universities are built; however, these bricks can also be used to symbolize the intangible beliefs and values of a school. Bricks of integrity, respect, and responsibility should form a foundation strong in pride and reputation, and the mortar that holds them together should function as the school’s mission statement. Unfortunately, a growing trend exists where certain bricks are overriding the value of others, and the necessary equilibrium needed to uphold institutional integrity is no longer being achieved. As the bricks representing collegiate athletics place mounting pressure upon universities, the mission statement mortar can no longer effectively support them, and it is only a matter of time before cracks in the foundation begin to form.

Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU)

The United States Sports Academy has always supported organizations that promote Sport around the world. The United States Sports Academy is proud to introduce such an organization that represents some 144 National University Sports Federations. The Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire (International University Sports Federation) was founded in 1949.

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Book Review - Applied Sport Management Skills, written by: Robert N. Lussier and David C. Kimball

Lussier and Kimball have created the ultimate sport management textbook for both students and professors. Applied Sport Management Skills is jam-packed with applied exercises in sport management techniques that build students skill levels. The text is filled with a variety of exercises such as: Self Assessments, Skill Building, Applying the Concept, Case Studies, Tim-Outs and Take it to the Net exercises. Each and every one of these exercises is designed to teach the reader the valuable skills associated with sport management.