A Survey to Evaluate the Association of COVID-19 Restrictions on Perceived Mood and Coping in Australian Community Level Athletes

Coach leadership in a crisis context: Investigating effective coach behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic with a process view

Introduction

Drawing from the crisis leadership conceptualization, this study aims to investigate coaches' opinion patterns on effective leadership behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used a process view to explore how coaches as leaders act in pre, during, and post-crisis phases.

Method

Thirty-two fulltime professional coaches (28 males and 4 females) from individual and team sports who experienced the entire COVID-19 pandemic from January 2020 to July 2021 in the United Kingdom were invited to express their perceptions of effective leadership behaviors. The study used Q methodology to analyze coaches' perceptions and experiences.

Result

The study revealed that the most effective coach leadership behaviors occurred during-crisis phase, which has the most positive ratings (n = 48) compared to the pre-and post-crisis phases (n = 18). The study's main findings highlighted different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic demand various effective countermeasures from coaches. These practical and successful experiences were summarized as: division of labor, athlete-centered, team-driven, consulting, safe environment, and online coaching.

Discussion

The findings of this study further highlight (1) the importance of coach leadership in creating a safe environment as it provides a much better platform to prepare for a pre-crisis stage, (2) that coaches should employ more positive than negative behaviors while interacting with team members more frequently especially during the crisis period, reducing athletes' negative feelings such as anxiety and worry, and (3) that the online training-related activities and interactions during the crisis time can be expanded to noncrisis times, as a crisis event can have positive implications for the future if handled properly.

Effect of physical activity during COVID-19 on the sleep health of community-level athletes in Australia

The COVID-19 outbreak presents a serious health challenges, with Australia enforcing tight restrictions, impacting sporting activities and sleep health of many Australians. Routine lifestyle patterns (physical activity and employment) are important to maintaining overall sleep health. Current literature indicates COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the employment status and sport engagement. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of physical activity during COVID-19 on sleep health, and its association with employment and sport engagement of community-level athletes throughout Australia. Participants self-reported sleep health prior to COVID-19 (pre-sleep) and over the month prior to data collection (during-sleep) using the validated 5-item Satisfaction Alertness Timing Efficiency and Duration questionnaire (SATED). Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test assessed the difference in pre- and during perceived sleep health scores. A generalized linear model was used to assess the impact of sporting and demographic factors on a community athlete’s change in perceived sleep health score. A total of 139 community-level Australian athletes responded. The majority of participants were aged 18–30 and engaged in full-time employment prior to COVID-19 (n = 82, 54%). Eight percent of participants were unemployed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 12, 8%). Our findings show that sleep health values were higher during COVID-19, with 91.4% of respondents able to maintain some form of physical activity during the pandemic. Together, our results show better sleep health scores reported by the respondents who maintained or lost employment and maintained sporting engagements during the pandemic.

Levels of Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being in Non-Athletes and Martial Art Athletes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The objectives of this study were to identify which of the sociodemographic variables affected psychological well-being in two populations that differed in their sports practice at the end of the COVID-19 lockdown in Colombia. Methods: The study was conducted through an online survey using the IPAQ-S and PGWBI-S questionnaires six months after the first SARS-CoV-2 lockdown, between 8 and 22 September 2020 in Colombia. The total number of study participants was 582, subdivided into two groups: (i) non-athlete university population (NA) without constant practice in physical activity or sports training (n = 470); and (ii) martial arts athletes (n = 122) with a sports career (A), 7.4 ± 3.4 years of experience, at different levels (advanced belts and black belts). Results: Sports practice, normal BMI levels and high levels of physical activity translated into absence of distress (ND) in the psychological well-being of populations. The variance between the factors could be explained by the general health dimension (2.4% population; 4.2% sex; 12% physical activity; 2.6% age). A moderate correlation between vitality and MET was found (r = 0.33; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The practice of a sport such as martial arts, normal body mass index and high levels of physical activity were factors that positively reduced levels of distress, translated into better psychological well-being in populations, and the general health dimension presented important contributions to psychological well-being. Intervention plans must be carried out, especially in populations that do not practice physical activity—mainly female and those under 40 years of age.