"I lied a little bit." A qualitative study exploring the perspectives of elite Australian athletes on self-reported data

The influence of physical fitness qualities, individual characteristics and contextual factors on youth basketball players' perceived exertion and recovery responses to official games

BACKGROUND

This study examined the influence of physical fitness qualities, individual characteristics, and contextual factors on perceived exertion and recovery responses to official games in youth basketball players.

METHODS

Twenty-six males (age: 15.8±1.2 years; 12 guards, 9 forwards, and 5 centers) and 7 females (age: 16.1±0.9 years; 3 guards, 4 forwards) were monitored for an entire basketball season (N.=635 observations). Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery (level 1) and countermovement jump (CMJ) tests were administered, with players categorized as high and low Yo-Yo and CMJ groups according to test results. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected after each official game. Before the game and the day after, the Total Quality of Recovery (scores) were collected, and the difference between post- and pregame TQR was calculated (TQRΔ). Separate linear mixed models evaluated the effects of sex (M; F), fitness qualities (high Yo-Yo; low Yo-Yo) (high CMJ; low CMJ), playing position (guard; forward; center), game outcome (won; loss) and game location (home; away).

RESULTS

Male players reported higher RPE (7.0±0.3) than females (5.5±0.4) (P=0.003, effect size [ES]: moderate). Players with high Yo-Yo performance also reported higher RPE (6.7±0.4) than low Yo-Yo (5.8±0.3) (P=0.049, ES: small). TQRΔ was higher in guards (-1.3±0.2) than forwards (-0.8±0.2) (P=0.041, ES: trivial), and lower after lost games (-0.8±0.2) compared to won games (-1.2±0.2) (P=0.002, ES: small).

CONCLUSIONS

In youth basketball, postgame perceived exertion and recovery responses are influenced by players' sex, intermittent endurance capacity, and game outcome. Current findings can help youth basketball practitioners to better understand their players' performances and perceptual responses.

'After they see what you have, they contact you': a qualitative study of national team football players', coaches' and clinicians' experiences in engaging with a context-specific injury surveillance system

BACKGROUND

Sports injury surveillance systems aid injury prevention, but their development without considering end-users' perspectives has led to low adherence and honesty in self-reporting by players, compromising their effectiveness. Context-specific injury surveillance systems have been proposed to address these challenges, but there is a limited understanding of stakeholders' perceptions and experiences in using them.

OBJECTIVE

Following the implementation of a context-specific injury surveillance system with 100% player adherence over 60 weeks, the study aimed to investigate Under-21 Maltese national football team players', coaches' and clinicians' experiences of how and why they engaged with the system.

METHOD

Seventeen semi-structured interviews with Under-21 Maltese male national football team players (n = 12), their coaches (n = 3) and clinicians (n = 2) were conducted. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Participants highlighted questionnaire-related factors that motivated engagement with the context-specific injury surveillance system (theme 1) and factors influencing further engagement with the system based on stakeholders' actions (theme 2). Perceived outcomes experienced as a result of engaging with the injury surveillance system (theme 3), in turn, motivated players to continue reporting and engaging with the system.

CONCLUSION

To encourage players' sustained reporting, injury-related information collected from well-designed questionnaires should serve to stimulate communication and teamwork among stakeholders, to prevent injuries and enhance performance.

What is the Prevalence of General Anxiety Disorder and Depression Symptoms in Semi-elite Australian Football Players: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in semi-elite Australian footballers is unknown. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and depressive symptoms in semi-elite Australian Football players. Our secondary objective was to explore the association between demographic and football-specific factors with GAD and depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional epidemiological study including 369 semi-elite Western Australian Football League (WAFL) players from the Men and Women's 2022 season (n = 337 men, 91%) was conducted. Symptoms of depression were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale (PHQ-9) and symptoms of GAD with the GAD-7 scale.

RESULTS

Our response rate was 82.9%. Thirteen players had missing data. The prevalence of GAD symptoms was 8.5% in men and 28.6% in women (10% overall). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 20% in men and 57% in women (23% overall). Being a woman (gender) was associated with a sevenfold increased risk of GAD and/or depression symptoms [odds ratio (OR): 7.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.18-16.92; p < 0.001]. Players of 'Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander' ethnicity were two times more likely to report GAD and/or depression symptoms in comparison to players of 'Australian' ethnicity (OR: 2.13; 95% CI: 1.01-4.49; p = 0.048). Concussion history was not a significant risk factor for GAD or depression symptoms.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that approximately 1 in 10 WAFL players met the diagnostic cut-off criteria for probable GAD, and 1 in 5 for probable depression. The prevalence for depression symptoms in this study were far higher than the national average in the comparative age bracket. WAFL women's players also reported a substantially higher prevalence of GAD and depressive symptoms than men, and should be further investigated as a priority by the WAFL.