The purpose of this study was to reveal the differences in game performance between winning and losing European teams, with special emphasis on a comparative analysis of shooting situations. The sample of games comprised 1111 scenes (losing team scenes: 559, winning team scenes: 552) played between the European women's national team and the data were processed using Fisher's exact test and the Mann-Whitney U test. The main results were as follows:
1) Total attack efficiency and shot efficiency were significantly lower for the losing teams, but there was no difference in the occurrence rate of technical faults.
2) The occurrence rate of fast breaks and shot efficiency in organized attacks were significantly lower for losing teams compared to winning teams.
3) The occurrence rate and efficiency of 6-m shots were significantly lower for losing teams compared to winning teams.
4) The efficiency for in-contact shots was significantly lower for losing teams compared to winning teams.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between perceptions of self-efficacy and collective efficacy at the family/community level and mental health status among the families of Special Olympics athletes. The study participants were 96 parents of people with intellectual disabilities. Volunteer coaches in the sports program distributed the questionnaires to parents (who had provided consent) either during the program or after the program ended. The survey results showed that the fathers' perceived efficacies at the family level were significantly higher than the mothers'. For the fathers, self-efficacy and collective efficacy at the community level was significantly related to current mental health status. In comparison, perceptions for all four efficacies (especially collective efficacy at the community level) were significantly related to mental health among the mothers. In conclusion, it may be important to enhance the sense of self-efficacy and collective efficacy of Special Olympics families towards their community related to improve their mental health. Furthermore, development of a Special Olympics sports program that considers the mental health of the family is recommended.

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When infielders field a ground ball, decreasing the interval from catching to releasing the ball (release time) increases the probability of outing a batter or runner. The present study examines the relationship between lower extremity kinematics and release time. Right-handed fourteen infielders caught a ground ball that was rolled towards them from a distance of 5 m and then they threw the ball as quickly as possible towards a net located 20 m in front. The interval between the catch to the left-foot lift-off (foot off phase), and the stride-foot contacting the ground after the step motion (stride phase) significantly correlated with release time. We assessed relationships between these phases and lower extremity movement. The angular variation of the joints of the right lower extremity from the catch to the right foot lift off significantly correlated with the foot off phase. Forward mid-hip and left foot variation significantly correlated with the stride phase. Velocity data did not significantly correlate with these phases, indicating that the size, rather than the speed of the fielding motion has a greater effect on release time.

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Purpose: The present study determined the effects of the timing of carbohydrate gel ingestion before exercise on metabolic responses and exercise performance during prolonged exercise.
Methods: Seven male triathletes completed 4 different trials in a randomized order. Subjects ingested placebo immediately before the exercise (P0), or carbohydrate gel (180 kcal) immediately before exercise (C0), 45 min before exercise (C45) or 120 min before exercise (C120). Time-course changes in metabolic, hormone and subjective fatigue during 80 min of exercise (80-60% of maximal oxygen uptake) were compared among 4 trials. A 40 s maximal pedaling test was conducted immediately after 80 min of exercise.
Results: Serum insulin concentrations immediately before exercise were significantly higher in the C45 trial than in the other trials (P<0.05). Blood glucose concentrations were significantly lower in the C45 trial than in the P0 and the C0 trials during the initial part of the exercise (P<0.05). During exercise, the C0 trial showed highest glucose concentration (P<0.05 vs. the other trials). The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) at 40-80 min during the exercise was significantly lower in the C0 and C120 trials than in the P0 trial (P<0.05), with no significant difference between the P0 and C45 trials. Power output during 40 s of maximal pedaling was not significantly different among the trials.
Conclusions: Carbohydrate ingestion immediately before prolonged exercise resulted in higher glucose concentrations and lower subjective fatigue, especially during the last 40 min of the exercise period. However, peak and average power output during 40 s maximal pedaling immediately after the 80 min of exercise did not differ significantly among the trials.

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This prospective cohort study examined the associations of shoulder dislocations, instability or rotator cuff injuries in collegiate rugby union players with potential risk factors recognized in preseason medical screening examinations. The study subjects were 69 elite rugby players from one university rugby club. Basic demographics, injury experience and current physical findings were assessed, and shoulder injuries sustained during two playing seasons were recorded. Risk factors for shoulder injuries were determined using a logistic regression model. Fifteen players sustained shoulder injuries during the two seasons. A history of injury (OR, 6.56; 95%CI, 2.04-20.98; p=0.00), a positive result in the load and shift (LAS) test (OR, 2.55; 95%CI, 0.92-7.06; p=0.07) and the internal/external rotational (IR/ER) muscle strength ratio (OR, 1.39; 95%CI, 1.08-1.77; p=0.00) were associated with shoulder injuries. A history of injury, a positive LAS test result, and the IR/ER muscle strength ratio are important risk factors for injury in collegiate rugby players.

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We investigated the influence of cycling cadence (60, 80 and 100 rpm) on the gross efficiency (GE), net efficiency (NE), work efficiency (WE) and apparent efficiency (AE) with different cycle exercise work rates standardized by ventilatory threshold (VT). Firstly, the participants (6 male young adults) performed 3 ramp exercise tests to determine ventilatory threshold (VO₂@VT) and AE at each cycling cadence. They then carried out 9 steady state tests (the combination of each work rate (50%VO₂@VT, 75%VO₂@VT and 100%VO₂@VT) and cycling cadence). There were no significant differences among the cycling speeds in AE during the ramp exercise. The oxygen uptake values during unloaded cycling exercise significantly increased related to the increments of cycling cadence (p<0.01). In all steady work rates, GE, NE and WE were decreased associated with the increase of cycling cadence (p<0.05). In all cycling cadence, each efficiency was heightened related to the magnitude of work rate below VT (p<0.05). These results rearranged in terms of relative value to VT would provide significant basis for light exercise treatment like in active recovery.

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This paper inquires into the possibility to connect athletes from the sense of empathy that athletes could have for each other. For this purpose, the potentiality of empathy has been interpreted from the notion of ‘pure experience’ which Kitaro Nishida (1870-1945) developed. Empathy is considered as a bodily and interactive communication between the self and the other, and means we are to assume an event has occurred on the other (object) as well as on the self (subject). But this framework to understand empathy formally as the relation between subject and object seems to have some methodological limitations. Nishida attempts to overcome this theoretical difficulty in western thought by introducing ‘pure experience’ into the issue of identifying subject with object. According to Nishida, while a person remains within his/her individual experience, he/she would be still a subject in relation to an object, i.e. he/she cannot transcend the limitation of western dualism. But we can recognize the potentiality of perceiving the other at the physical level, i.e. empathy, according to Nishida's notion of ‘pure experience’ as transcendental conception. In this paper individual athletics and interpersonal athletics have been set as examples. For example, a Judoka is required to react to the opponent's attack as swiftly as possible. In that moment he/she could perceive the opponent's state at the corporeal level regardless of his/her (moral) consciousness. We could find the possibility of understanding others and solidarity in sport by inquiring about the role empathy plays in such situations.

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The purpose of this study was to uncover the characteristics of zanshin (spirit that remains after striking an opponent) of kendo practitioners. Kendo practitioners and non-kendo practitioners were compared from a unique perspective: the relationship between their eye blink control and the duration of their contingent negative variation (CNV). The CNV is related to continuation of expectancy or attention.
The participants were divided into kendo and non-kendo groups. The participants performed discriminative stimulus tasks (Go and No-go button press tasks). The following were measured in these tasks: the area of the CNV plotted on a graph between 1800 and 2000 ms after the first light stimulus (S1); duration of the CNV after the second light stimulus (S2) (CNV resolution time); button-press reaction time in response to S2; and the timing of the first eye blink between 1000 and 2000 ms after S2. Data analysis showed no significant differences in reaction time and the CNV area between the two groups. The CNV ended significantly later for the kendo group than for the non-kendo group in the Go task. Also, the kendo group blinked their eyes after S2 significantly later than the non-kendo group. There was therefore a significant positive correlation between the CNV resolution time and the timing of eye blinking. The study uncovered one of the characteristics of zanshin by indicating that the kendo group sustained their attention during internal information processing even after completion of the task.

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Discussions on “collective efficacy” (CE; Bandura, 1986; 1997) in recent research have provided important knowledge about group functions. However, suitable CE scale for the field of sports coaching has not yet been developed. The purpose of present study was to develop a more general and versatile measure, by reconstructing the Collective Efficacy Scale for Basketball developed by Ikeda and Uchiyama (2012), and to verify its validity and reliability. Moreover, we investigated relationships among CE and gender, performance level.
Factor analysis revealed that the Collective Efficacy Scale for Basketball Offense (CESBO) comprised 21 items within the following subscales of “Tactics”, “Characteristics” and “Adjustments”, and its construct validity was certified. With a Cronbach's alpha and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the CESBO was confirmed to have high reliability. Regarding concurrent validity, the Japanese versions of Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) and Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sports (CEQS) was used as an external criterion. The results supported our hypotheses (p< .05). Also, the result of a two-tailed unpaired t-test indicated that no difference in CESBO was found between female and male athletes (n. s.). Furthermore, one-way ANOVA showed that higher performance level group had a significantly higher CE score (p< .05). According to analysis of effect size, it was suggested that the influence of CE on the collective performance is differed by competition categories. These findings of present study establish support for usefulness of the CESBO.

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