In team sports. Jumping tests have been used as predictors of COD; however, there are not too many studies analyzing how dominance affects the best performance of the turn. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between tests pertaining to jumps (1 and 2 legs) and COD (right and left turns). Forty-two male students were selected at the Faculty of Physical Education (age: 20.1 ± 3.7 years; weight: 73.4 ± 8.4 kg; body mass index: 23.1 ± 2.6 kg·m−2; and fat mass: 17.1 ± 8.8%). All the subjects had right leg dominance. The COD tests were assessed using three 10-m sprint tests (90° right and left turns and 180° turn). Jumps were countermovement jumps (CMJs with 1 and 2 legs) and the drop jump (DJ). Pearson coefficient correlation and stepwise regression analyses were performed. Our results showed that both CMJs and DJs were associated with COD. The CMJ with the right leg had the best coefficient correlation with left COD time (r = −0.64; p < 0.01). Also, the CMJ was associated with COD180° time (r = −0.60; p < 0.01). After regression analysis, only right one-leg CMJ and CMJ were predictors of left COD time (adjusted R2 = 0.46; p < 0.01). The main finding of this study was that the CMJ, but not the DJ, was the best predictor of dominant side COD. Jumps are an important component of team sport training because they improve COD performance. However, coaches use several types of jumps during training; our results suggest that jumps similar to the CMJ should be useful tools to improve COD, which helps to specify better training prescription....

Background: Non-starters soccer players have a great role within the team, being indispensable to reduce fatigue, as well as to maintain and increase the team’s performance during the match. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the physical performance of the starter and non-starters players during competitive soccer matches. Methods: Twenty-two soccer players participated in this study, divided into two groups according to the role in the match (starters or non-starters). WIMU Global Positioning System devices were used in order to record physical performance metrics. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA tests were performed to compare starters and non-starters, and the playing position, respectively, and two-way ANOVA test was perform with these factors too. Results: There were no differences in the main physical performance metrics between starters and non-starters players during competition, although there were differences in physical performance metrics according to the playing position. Midfielders performed highest distance per minute, player load, and distance covered between 12 and 21 km·h^− 1 (p < .05). Finally, distance covered at speeds greater than 24 km·h^− 1 was predicted by the playing role (starters and non-starters) and playing position factors with 88% of explained variance (η_p² = 0.772). Conclusion: The main findings of this study showed that non-starter players had a similar physical performance during competitive matches as the starter players for whom they are substituted. In addition, the playing position determined different physical performance, contributing in this manuscript that behavior and decision-making of the players could be affected by their position in the field. More studies are needed on non-starter player performance and contextual factors that could influence the physical responses of these players.

The aim of this study was to analyze the level of satisfaction in three municipal sports centers in the city of Malaga and to learn and analyze the characteristics of users older than 40 years of age in these centers. A total of 303 persons (123 men and 180 women) from three sports centers in the city of Malaga participated in this study (M = 58.14, SD = 7.16 years). The Evaluation of Perceived Quality in Sports Services test (CECASDEP) was used, and the results demonstrated that the different dimensions studied—sports center, activity space, locker rooms, program of activities, and trainer—were very positively correlated. The level of customer loyalty increased with user satisfaction and perceived quality of services as well as the age of the person. Users were also found to be more motivated to take part in physical activities due to greater satisfaction. The highest scores were given to the trainers, who played a key role in all three sports centers. In conclusion, we gathered important insights into perceived quality in different sports centers. This information can be used by sports managers to strengthen dimensions with lower scores and improve those with higher scores. In addition, the study confirms that the level of customer loyalty is related to the perceived quality scores. Therefore, the use of measuring instruments is recommended to optimize the quality of sports services.

La presente investigación centra su foco de interés en el estudio de caso de una práctica innovadora en Educación Infantil relacionada con el fomento de la actividad física como potenciadora del desarrollo cognitivo, concepto que representa una de las cuestiones más debatidas en la investigación educativa actual. Esto, unido al papel esencial de dicha etapa en el desarrollo y a la alta tasa de inactividad infantil, hace de nuestro tema una prioridad en numerosos países, pero para abordar esta problemática es preciso un cambio radical en los modos de enseñar y aprender. Nuestro objetivo es profundizar en el conocimiento de metodologías activas implementadas en Educación Infantil y descubrir cómo favorecen la práctica de actividad física entre el alumnado, instaurando hábitos más activos en las escuelas. Para ello estudiamos una experiencia basada en ambientes de aprendizaje desde una perspectiva analítico-descriptiva, empleando la metodología del estudio de caso junto con otras técnicas y herramientas de recogida y análisis de la información. Los resultados evidencian que esta metodología precisa de un continuo movimiento por parte del alumnado, tanto para acceder a las distintas propuestas como para realizarlas, por lo que parece oportuno considerarla como favorecedora de la actividad física y, por ende, de un óptimo desarrollo de las capacidades físicas y cognitivas de los niños y niñas. This research focuses on a case study of an innovative educational practice in Early Childhood Education related to the promotion of physical activity as an enhancer of cognitive development, a concept that represents one of the most debated issues in current educational research. This, together with the essential role of this life period in children’s development, and the high rate of inactive youth, makes our topic a priority in many countries; however, a radical change in teaching is required in order to address this topic, including the implementation of active and innovative methodologies. The objective of this paper is to deepen the knowledge of active methodologies that are being implemented in Early Childhood Education and discover how they favor the practice of physical activity among students, contributing to establish more active habits in schools. To do so, we studied an innovative experience based on learning environments, and we investigated the way in which it encourages students’ physical activity from an analytical-descriptive perspective, using the case study methodology together with other techniques and tools for collecting and analyzing information. The results show that this methodology requires students to move continuously, both to access the different proposals and to perform them, so it seems appropriate to consider it as an enhancer of physical activity and, therefore, of an optimal development of children’s physical and cognitive abilities.

Soccer referees (SRs) encounter stressful situations during competitions and sometimes even outside them, which may affect their decision making. Therefore, it is important that they possess or acquire optimal levels of self-efficacy, since it is related to less stress during competition, also guaranteeing sports performance and prevent sports abandonment. The objectives of this study were to characterize the profile, in terms of self-efficacy, of SRs depending on their category, age, and experience and to determine the relationship of these factors on SR self-efficacy. Two-hundred fifty-six Spanish referees participated in this study and Referee Self-Efficacy Scale was administered and completed. The results indicated that the SRs older than 25 years, of national category, and with experience greater than or equal to 8 years, have higher levels of self-efficacy than those with the least (p < .01). Likewise, moderate positive correlations were also observed between global self-efficacy and the category, age, and experience of the SRs. In conclusion, age, category and experience factors relate the self-efficacy of the SR, which can explain up to 17% of the variance, affecting decision-making and other decisive behaviors in the competition. These findings are of interest to delegations and referee committees seeking to implement psychological intervention programs to prevent burnout and abandonment of sports practice due to the consequences of low self-efficacy.

The performance of postural control is believed to be linked to how children use available sensory stimuli to produce adequate muscular activation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to thoroughly explore postural stability under normal conditions and without visual information in postural control in children aged 6–12 years during static single-leg support. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 316 children (girls = 158). The analyzed variables were the mean and maximum values obtained in each of the three body axes and their root mean square during two static single-leg support tests: one with eyes open and one with eyes closed. Girls showed lower magnitudes in the recorded accelerations at all ages and in all the variables of both tests. Accelerations during the tests showed progressively lower values from 6 to 12 years of age. The sex had a significant influence on the magnitude obtained in the accelerations recorded during the tests. Improvements in balance with increasing age were greater with visual information than without visual information. The tests of single-leg support showed preferential sensorimotor strategies in boys and girls: boys tend to rely more on visual inputs, and girls process somesthetic information in a preferential way.