Carreres-Ponsoda F, Escartí A, Cortell-Tormo JM, Fuster-Lloret V, Andreu-Cabrera E. The relationship between out-of-school sport participation and positive youth development. J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 671-683, 2012. Despite growing evidence that participation in out-of-school activities and especially physical activity and sport programs facilitates positive development, little developmental research has been conducted on out-of-school sports programs compared with no participation in these activities or participation in other activities. Our study examined the participation of youth in out of school sport activities compared with participation in other out-of-school activities and the influences in self-efficacy, prosocial behaviour and personal and social responsibility. Results showed that youth participating in out-of-school sport programs have significant higher levels in self-efficacy, prosocial behavior and personal and social responsibility respect to those adolescents participating in other activities or among those who do not practice in any kind activity.

Fitness test profiles in children aged 8-12 years old in Granada (Spain). J. Hum. Sport Exerc. Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 135-145, 2011. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of physical education in body composition and health-related fitness among boys and girls aged 8 to 12 years old in Granada (Spain) in a longitudinal, randomized study of 5 months. 106 children (49 boys and 57 girls) between 8 and 12 years old completed the study. They were healthy students of the public schools and no history of formal exercise training. Subjects were tested (body composition and health-related fitness, measured by EUROFIT) at baseline and at week 20. After 5 months of study, girls showed more fat mass than boys (p<0.05) and boys was more height than girls (p<0.05). Health-related fitness showed differences by gender only in slalom (boys vs. girls (p<0.05)). The results of body composition and health-related fitness revealed that the physical activity at school is not sufficient to support an ideal level of health-related fitness.

In the context of physical activity and sport, perfectionism and the regular practice of physical activity are related to psychological well-being and the regulation of psychological resources necessary for adaptation to effort and satisfaction. At the same time, the most active students are also those who show greater appetites for physical education classes. The goal of this work was to identify the influence of perfectionist beliefs and the regularity of the practice of physical exercise on psychological well-being. The participants were adolescents (n = 436) aged between 14 and 19 years (M = 16.80, SD = 0.77). They were administered the Multidimensional Perfection Scale, the Psychological Wellbeing Scale, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQv2), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The results showed, under a non-random and transversal design, that the participants gave important value to physical exercise because they feel both active and vigorous. Regarding perfectionism, the functional aspects of perfectionism (expectations of achievement and organization) correlated positively, while the dysfunctional aspects (fear of committing errors and external expectations) did so negatively with the importance given to physical exercise performed by adolescents; this in turn positively predicted psychological well-being. In this way, the hypothesized model contemplated the relevance of the included variables and reflected the mediation of the degree of importance given to the practice of physical exercise on perfectionist beliefs and psychological well-being. Currently, most physical activity practice proposals for adolescents focus on federated and structured environments for competition, and those that deal with recreational and health-oriented sports are far less common. Hence, “the perfect way of doing sports” for a teenager should be accompanied by cognitive schemes aimed at strengthening psychological resources that allow the regulation of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of 6-week strength training with whole body vibration (WBV) on leg strength and jumping performance in volleyball and beach volleyball players. Twenty-three sub-elite male volleyball (VB; n=12) and beach volleyball players (BVB; n=11) aged 21.2±3.0 years were divided into two groups and subjected to 6 weeks of strength training (three one-hour sessions per week): (I) 12 players (6 VB and 6 BVB players) underwent training with WBV (30-40 Hz, 1.7-2.5 mm, 3.0-5.7 g), and (II) 11 players (6 VB and 5 BVB players) underwent traditional strength training. Squat jump (SJ) and countermovement squat jump (CMJ) measurements by the Ergo Tester contact platform and maximum leg press test (1RM) were conducted. Three-factor (2 time x 2 WBV use x 2 discipline) analysis of variance for SJ, CMJ and 1RM revealed a significant time main effect (p<0.001), a WBV use effect (p<0.001) and a discipline effect (p<0.001). Significantly greater improvements in the SJ (p<0.001) and CMJ (p<0.001) and in 1RM (p<0.001) were found in the WBV training groups than in traditional training groups. Significant 3-way interaction effects (training, WBV use, discipline kind) were also found for SJ, CMJ and 1RM (p=0.001, p<0.001, p=0.001, respectively). It can be concluded that implementation of 6-week WBV training in routine practice in volleyball and beach volleyball players increases leg strength more and leads to greater improvement in jump performance than traditional strength training, but greater improvements can be expected in beach volleyball players than in volleyball players.

The objectives of this study were to determine the results of the analysis of single and double outdoor badminton men’s matches and to determine the relationship between technical and tactical aspects in a study organized by the BWF (Badminton Word Federation), on a sand surface. Twenty men’s singles matches were recorded using video cameras and analysed with a Dartfish video analysis software package. Along with this, percentages of use of technical elements were analysed by comparing the different modalities. For the single format Lob, Clear, Drop, Smash, Drive were used, different from the double format that used Lob, Clear, Drop, Smash, Drive. The study confirmed the applicability of computerized notation analysis to determine the characteristics of Outdoor Badminton on sand.