United States Sports Academy
America's Sports University®

The Sport Digest - ISSN: 1558-6448

volume 16 number 1

A Razor's Edge

Athletic competition is all about getting an edge. Whether it’s the latest technique in swinging a bat or the newest innovation in sportswear or equipment, competitors are always looking for the advantage. Furthermore, that edge a majority of the time has nothing to do with equipment or techniques, but has everything to do with strength, stamina, and recovery time. With that said, there is heightened sensitivity of the use of illegal substances; more specifically steroids, in today’s professional sports. What often goes unnoticed, is the negative effects they have on their users. Anabolic steroids and their relatives may provide an edge to their users, but the effects they have on said users and the seepage of the drugs from professional sports on down to the scholastic sports level is far too high a price to be paid for a slight edge in the game.

Ethical Code for Coaches

A code of ethics is a tool that provides minimum standards of conduct expected of coaches as they mature into professionals. It is a tool to encourage coaches to provide common values and do their best in their jobs (Ring, 1992). In many studies related to the relationship between the moral education and competition concepts, it has been stated that there is a sensitive relationship between physical education and moral education in that physical education and athletic programs can be harmonious in the promotion and development of sportsmanlike behaviors, ethical decion-making skills, honesty and a total curriculum for moral character development (Bergman, 2000; Carry, 1998; Sabock,1985; Singleton, 2003; Stoll, 1995).

Re-Introducing an Elementary Sport from the Past: Kickball

As the new intramural director at Florida College in Temple Terrace, I was given the assignment to re-energize the intramural department and expand playing opportunities for the student body.

As a small college (enrollment 520) intramurals is the biggest activity on the school calendar so I searched for a sport in which the most students would likely participate.

Survival of the Fittest: The Lifestyle-DNA Intersection

Introduction

We have found that the critical weakness with training and nutrition programs today is that everyone is treated as though they were all exactly the same, which quite simply is an oversimplification of complex physiological processes. At any given point in time, two powerful forces intersect to determine who we are and shape our individual differences: our genetics (DNA) and lifestyle. Appreciating the impact these forces have in creating those individual differences will help empower you to build a high performance-fitness lifestyle

The Injustice of Native American Mascots: A Legal Perspective

Native American imagery is ubiquitous in our society. There are many towns, counties, and states that derive their names from Native American languages, tribal names, or terminology. The same is true regarding the origin of many sports teams’ mascots. Unfortunately, many images are based on Native American people of several hundred years ago or upon stereotyped misunderstandings of their diverse culture, language, and history. “Consequently, society often accepts images of Native Americans as a single war-like group frozen in time” (Trainor, 1995).

Keeping Employees Healthy can Increase the Bottom Line

As a result of staggering rise in medical costs, many organizations, are beginning to realize that keeping employees healthy costs less than treating them once they are sick. Pro-active thinking companies are finding that an investment in their employees’ health may translate into substantial dividends to their bottom line.