OBJECTIVES: to develop a questionnaire to measure factors associated with physical activity (PA) in adolescents and analyze its reliability and validity. METHODS: a total of 248 adolescents from 14 to 19 years old took part in this study. The factors associated with PA measured were: attitude, self-efficacy, social support of PA and perceived environment. Cronbach's alpha (α) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to test reliability, and exploratory factor analysis to evaluate validity. RESULTS: attitude was measured as a single factor (attitude: α=0.76, ICC=0.89); self-efficacy consisted of two factors: resources for PA (α=0.76, ICC=0.75) and social support and motives for engaging in PA (α=0.76, ICC=0.67); social support was measured as two factors: support for PA from friends (α=0.90, ICC=0.89) and support for PA from parents (α= 0.81, ICC=0.91); and the environment was measured as three factors: access to and attractiveness of places to engage in PA (α=0.69, ICC=0.82), security/safety when engaging in PA (α=0.73, ICC=0.67), and general infrastructure of the neighborhood (α=0.70, ICC=0.75). CONCLUSIONS: the questionnaire exhibited satisfactory validity and reliability and can be recommended for studies investigating adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to examine the variation in accumulated basketball training experience, body size, functional performance, deliberate practice motivation, achievement and competitiveness motivation and sources of enjoyment among young female basketball players, partitioning the potential variation by individuals´ biological characteristics (menarche status) and contextual characteristics (competitive age group and competitive level). We considered 114 adolescent female basketball players aged 14.3 (1.8) years. We used multilevel regression and poststratification estimations. The adolescent female basketball players selected for state-level had more accumulated experience, were taller and with better functional performance. Conditional on the data, youth female coaches tend to value (probably overvalue) size and function when selecting/promoting players, even at early age groups, likely contributing to an overrepresentation of early maturing girls in at early age groups. Players from club- and state-level were similarly highly motivated for deliberate practice and to achievement. Only for competitiveness, state-level players had higher values than club level players. The sources of enjoyment were influenced by context (competitive levels) for self-referenced competencies and others-referenced competencies. Structured programs of training and competition in youth female basketball provide a nurturing environment for the development of players´ engagement and commitment to training and excellence attainment.

Background: Early sport specialization has increased its popularity mostly based on the deliberate practice theory premises. In this study, we examined the influence of the age of onset of deliberate basketball practice on body size, functional performance (countermovement jump, line drill and yo-yo intermittent recovery level 1), motivation for achievement and competitiveness, motivation for deliberate practice and sources of enjoyment among young Brazilian basketball players. In addition, we adjusted for the influence of gender, age group, maturity status and state basketball federation on the outcomes. Methods: The sample included 120 female and 201 male adolescent basketball players aged 14.0 (1.7) years, on average. We grouped players by the age of onset of deliberate basketball practice as related to biologic maturation milestones (pre-puberty deliberate practice onset, mid-puberty deliberate practice onset and late-puberty deliberate practice onset). Results: There was no substantial variation among contrasting players by the onset of deliberate practice in all of the outcomes. Adjusting for gender, male players with late-puberty deliberate practice onset had better functional performance than players with pre- and mid-puberty onset of practice. Females players with late-puberty deliberate practice onset had slightly worst functional performance than players with pre- and mid-puberty onset of practice. Conclusions: Early deliberate basketball practice does not appear to provide an advantage for the development of physiological functions. Likewise, enjoyment, motivation for deliberate practice and motivation for achievement and competition do not appear to be negatively influenced by early deliberate basketball practice. The debate about the relationship between time spent in deliberate practice and performance development in young athletes will need to emphasize the coaching pedagogical quality and the training environment and account for informal practice and deliberate play.

In this study, we examined the probability of coaches’ survival in the top Brazilian professional football championship considering variation across the competitive seasons between 2012 and 2017, considering a multilevel framework. We also considered whether previous coaching experience in the top Brazilian professional football championship would change the probability of coaches’ survival across the season. The data considered 4,560 games from the top professional Brazilian football league (Campeonato Brasileiro Série A) between the 2012 and 2017 seasons. At the start of each season, the coach from each team was followed, being recorded at the time the event occurred, i.e., the coach being sacked. A total survival of 120 coaches was considered between the seasons of 2012 and 2017, i.e., 20 coaches at the beginning of each season. Coaches were assigned as novice (no previous experience as head coach in the top Brazilian championship) or experienced (with at least some previous experience as head coach in the top Brazilian championship). Data were available and extracted from the official website of the Brazilian Football Confederation¹. On average and considering un-pooled observations, the median life of a coach was about 16.5 rounds. Considering variation between 2012 and 2017 seasons, only about 26.3% (95% CI: 18.2–36.1) of the coaches ended a season without being sacked. By mid-season, at round 19, the probability of coaches’ survival was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.32–0.53). Variation between season on survival estimates per round was substantial (between-season standard deviation = 0.48, 95% credible intervals: 0.25–0.95; corresponding to an inverse logit = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.56–0.72). There was no substantial variation between novice and experienced coaches’ survival probability. The present results expose the vulnerability of the coaching context in Brazilian football, potentially highlighting an excessive emphasis on short-term results to mediate club management decisions.

The patterns of cumulated structured volleyball practice and other structured sports activities of elite adult Brazilian players, considering age of specialization in volleyball and achievement of international competition representing the national team, were examined using Bayesian multilevel models. Elite volleyball players (n = 78) with an average age of 19.2 (SD = 0.9) years were considered. We used retrospective quantitative questionnaire to track individual training history. The mean age of specialization in volleyball was 10.7 (95% CI 10.3 to 11.0) for players that specialized early (before age 12), 14.1 (95% CI 13.9 to 14.3) for players that specialized intermediate (between ages 13 and 15), and 16.2 (95% CI 15.7 to 16.7) for players that specialized late (after age 16). Consequently, the earlier the specialization age in volleyball, the more years of training experience were accumulated. International and national level players were similar in both specialization age and pattern of engagement in other structured sport activities. Conditional on the data and models, attainment of expertise in volleyball may be favored by the accumulation of nonspecific sport experiences at early ages, and specialization may occur at a rather late age during adolescence.

O objetivo desta investigação foi analisar a carreira de professores de Educação Física, considerando os ciclos da trajetória profissional docente. Participaram do estudo descritivo-exploratório bietápico 64 professores de Educação Física atuantes em escolas municipais de Porto Alegre/RS. No primeiro momento foram aplicados questionários (n=64) e no segundo momento realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas (n=13). Os resultados possibilitaram a identificação de cinco ciclos que caracterizam a carreira docente dos professores de Educação Física, nomeadamente a Entrada na Carreira, Consolidação das Competências Profissionais na Carreira, Afirmação e Diversificação na Carreira, Renovação na Carreira e Maturidade na Carreira. A continuação dos estudos é sugerida para acompanhar docentes após o processo de aposentadoria, bem como ampliar a caracterização dos diferentes ciclos da carreira de professores de Educação Física.