From the Paper "This paper will review literature, which has investigated the relationship between personality and sports performance. Primarily, the discussion will center around the issue of introversion and player position. An experiment will be proposed which will attempt to describe the possible differences between offensive and defensive positions and introversion.
Personality and Sports Performance Studies
The growing knowledge about aptitude, abilities, and skills has just begun to explain performance differences, in terms of depending to some extent on the individual's unique and personal and behavioral dispositions. Such dispositions that an individual brings to a performance are not fully understood, neither as to the nature of the predisposition nor as to the predictive value. This is not surprising, given that the field (...)"
From the Paper "For years the problem of drug abuse, particularly the use of anabolic steroids, was hidden and/or denied at all levels of the sports world. To speak of it was almost taboo. Now, however, the problem has become too widespread, the results too obvious, the dangers too terrible. The purpose of this paper will be to discuss the use of anabolic steroids in sports; their success in building muscular power while also destroying the body and the mind. In addition, the criticisms aimed at the use of steroids as well as what the sports world is attempting to do to restrict their use will also be discussed.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone (6:88). Athletes have come to rely on the drugs to build up muscle, strength and endurance. In small doses, these drugs have legitimate medical uses such as for cases of soft- ... "
This paper studies the effects of various drugs on athletes and performance; how professional sports associations are reacting to athletic drug abuse and the reasons for the current trend.
2,475 words (approx. 9.9 pages), 17 sources, 1990, $ 87.95
From the Paper "Within the area of professional sports, there are two major problems that are concerned with drugs in athletics: steroid use and other illegal substance abuse. Within this framework, there are various problems--legal, psychological, physical, and sociological, associated with drugs in professional athletics. This paper will examine those two major issues, first dealing with steroids and their effect on athletic performance and attitude, then dealing with various effects that drugs have had in professional sports.
Anabolic steroids are quickly becoming a major, world-wide social problem. The problem focuses on the world of sports, but is not limited to that area of society. Examples are rife in the abuse of steroids. A Florida newspaper reported the tragic effects of a teenage boy who wanted to become "more muscular" and ... "
From the Paper "The United States had celebrated its 100th birthday. Lying ahead was manifest destiny, river transportation was being overtaken by rail, the East Coast was linked to the West, the Industrial Revolution was just ahead, and, oh yes, a "boy's game" was making its presence felt. By the 1880's, baseball was in full swing. Both the American and National leagues had been established, and the game was not only a recreation, but also a professional sport.
People were curious about the regulations and intricacies of baseball. How will the batters and pitchers be affected by the new size of the pitcher's box, now 7 feet by 4 feet? What about the new rule that requires an umpire to have two balls in his possession at the start of every game? What about the rule ... "
From the Paper "Japan is considered "golf-crazy." Its love of this sport dates back to the turn of the century when Kobe Golf Club was built in 1901 by an English Tea Merchant, Arthur Groom. The English originated golf in many countries, and Japan was no exception. The first Japanese golf courses were designed, constructed and organized by English and Scottish (and later American) residents, whose enthusiasm and love of the game inspired the Japanese to take it up for themselves.
The Japanese Professional Golfers' Association was established in 1926 and the women's counterpart in 1967. During the 1960s many top international professionals began to visit Japan, including Palmer, Player and Nicklaus. The 1970s brought increased professional participation in international competition, and the emergence of several world-class players ... "
From the Paper "In order to examine the sociological gender issues inherent in women's bodybuilding, it is necessary to use the concepts of "sport" and "woman" as symbolically-loaded social constructs. The most useful paradigm for a clear analysis of the masculine and "feminine" connotations of each is that of androgyny, both on a cultural and on an individual level.
Felsher (1982) and Postow (1982) argue that sport is a "masculine" social institution revolving around the inculcation and glorification of traditionally male traits and values, such as power, aggression, and competition. Felsher and Postow also agree that when sport is conceptualized in this genderized way, it is not surprising that female participation is considered aberrant and socially unacceptable. The social construct of femininity involves all the qualities antithetical to masculine..."
From the Paper "Abstract
This study investigated the contention of numerous workers that self-concept possessed by hearing-impaired primary students negatively influences their sports performance, particularly during physical education activities. The experimental hypothesis advanced that negative self-concept possessed by hearing-impaired primary students negatively influences sports performance. The sample was selected from the population of all hearing-impaired fifth-grade boys and girls in attendance at Martinson Elementary School, located in Carson, California, which provides for mainstreaming activities in all classes, including physical education. All such students were screened for their levels of cognitive development and degrees of hearing-impairedness. The sample was then randomly selected from those..."
From the Paper "Chapter 1
Introduction
While there are a variety of skill groupings that prove important to the play of baseball, those entailing the batter's hitting the baseball prove most difficult. As a result, the batter's hitting of the baseball is one of the most important skills needed in the game. There are primarily three phases, or skill groupings, that comprise the swing of the baseball batter: the preparatory phase, the force phase, and the follow-through phase (Hay, 1985, p. 205). The preparatory phase of the batter's swing entails the stance, while the stride and the swing consist of the force phase. McKinney and Logan report that the follow-through phase consists of those actions taken by the batter as he or she is recovering from the swing (McKinney & Logan, 1977, p...."
From the Paper "Any person aspiring to be a world class athlete will need an adequate training program in order to meet that goal. Not everyone is qualified to endure the training which is required. Only the most dedicated and disciplined athletes will be able to push themselves to the levels of international competition. The first stage in working out an adequate training program is that of creating a schedule. For all sports, it is a good idea to develop this schedule under the guidance of a competent coach or trainer. In addition, it is a good idea to carry out the entire training program under such guidance. A good coach can point to an athlete's mistakes and thereby help eliminate the problems that are holding that athlete back.
Time is a very important consideration in working out a training program. The aspiring athlete must be able to make time..."
From the Paper "Sport termination has a strong psychological impact on the athletes who experience it. Some athletes find it relatively easy to cope with the termination of their careers. However, the majority of athletes feel a sense of trauma at that time. One survey found that 61 percent of Olympic athletes "reported feelings of panic or fear when faced with the final decision of leaving high performance sport" (Orlick, 1990, p. 169). Most retiring athletes feel a sense of loss and many go through stages similar to those experienced by terminally-ill patients when they learn they are about to die. Elite athletes, such as professionals and Olympic stars, often experience identity crises at the close of their careers. Nevertheless, there are many ways in which the sport participant can cope with termination. In particular, a smooth transition to a new way of life can be made..."
From the Paper "The Effects of Glasnost on Sports
Glasnost, translated generally as greater openness in the society of the Soviet Union, is a component of the reform program introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev subsequent to his assumption of political leadership in that country. This research examines the effects on sports of reform in the Soviet Union. Sports, in the context of this research, encompasses both amateur and professional activity in competitive athletics"both individual and team"at national and international levels.
The Character of Reform As It Affects Sports
In the six plus years since Gorbachev was elevated to the political leadership of the Soviet Union, far reaching social, political, and economic reform initiatives have been implemented. The content of these reforms is referred to as perestroika..."
From the Paper "Women In Sports: Separate and Still Unequal
No one really noticed when the women's professional basketball league fell apart, women's professional indoor volleyball vanished, or when basketball player Ann Myers failed to make the New York Knicks in tryouts back in the early 1980s. So what is it about women in sports that continues to gnaw and tug at the insides? How about this sports fans? Like the real world, women continue to receive less money in professional sports for their performances and less for endorsements regardless of viewership. In this atmosphere, women's pro sports continue to have difficulties in establishing successful footholds as spectator sports, particularly in large cities. As a result of less money and less ongoing league play, women's sports ..."
From the Paper "This paper will be concerned with the controversial career of Bob Knight, head basketball coach at Indiana University. Knight is known for his bad temper and for throwing tantrums during games. He has often gotten himself into violent screaming matches with referees, players and fans. In addition, he has often been seen kicking or throwing things when he has been dissatisfied with the performance of his players. Despite such outbursts, however, Knight has developed an incredible record for winning. Furthermore, he has gained the respect of most of his players. Therefore, despite Knight's controversial reputation as a coach, he has clearly established himself as an authority on basketball and winning.
Bob Knight was born on October 25, 1940, in the town of Massillon, Ohio. In high school, Knight began developing a ..."
From the Paper "Olympism evokes "the ancient principles of pure athletic emulation for the sake of serving and disseminating ideals of humanism, peace and simplicity.". As such, the sport of Boxing holds a place in Olympic history as one of the oldest exemplars of this spirit. Although not one of the original sports included in the ancient Greek festival contests, Boxing was added early on, in the twenty-third Olympiad (708 B. C.).. Indeed, it was the Boxing event that marked one of the Olympic Games' earliest dramas. In 480 B. C., even as the fate of Greece lay in the balance while the famous "300 Spartans" held off the invading Persian juggernaut at Thermopylae, the stadium in Olympia was full: thousands watched the finals of the Boxing tournament being played out to their conclusion..
Drama has always been a major part of Boxing, presenting as..."
The 1978 World Cup Match in Buenos Aires was viewed by a television audience which numbered in excess of 1 billion people (Soar & Tyler iii). This represented the greatest gathering of an audience for any single event in the history of Man. It also generated more column inches of advertising, emotion, excitement commitment, and general "interest" than any other sporting event. Clearly, soccer has a predominant role in the world.
The game, in its organized form, originated in Great Britain's private school system during the 19th century. The game itself however, has been played in the United States for over 200 years having been brought from England by the early colonial settlers. Once the game became codified, it spread rapidly in popularity in all parts of the world except in North..."
