The purpose of this study was to investigate the technical factors in curve skating in inline speed skating on a flat track by comparing between an elite skater (n＝1) and a trained skater (n＝1) in flat track. Data on the three dimensional coordinates of the skaters who participated in the 60th East Japan Roller Speed Skating Championship were collected to calculate kinematic parameters such as the trajectory of the center of body mass, joint and segment angles of the support leg, and tilt angles of the body and shank of the support leg during the curve skating using the direct linear transformation technique. In the left leg stroke of the top skater, the forward rotation of the thigh was greater than the forward bent of the shank and the forward movement of the center of the body mass was greater than that in the left leg stroke of the trained skater. The tilt angles of the body and the shank of the support leg to the inside of the curve of the top skater were greater than those of the trained skater. The top skater tilted the body and the shank of the support leg sideward largely during the right and left leg strokes. These results suggest that high degrees of rotation of the thigh of the support leg, and tilting of the body and the shank of the support leg to the inside of the curve were good technical factors in curve skating among Japanese inline speed skaters.

    The purpose of this study was to obtain useful knowledge for constructing new Japanese Long-Term Athlete Development Program by a text mining analysis. Subjects were comprised of four countries, Germany, Hungary and Denmark as world top class, plus Japan. The main results were as follows:
1) Germany: Based on their physical advantage, Germany aimed to improve predictive ability by nurturing their decision making in the speed. So that they could acquire the ability to take an initiative in a game.
2) Hungary: Hungry aimed to encourage their physical strength as most important concept to improve team tactics which focuses on group combinations.
3) Denmark: Denmark aimed to improve predictive ability through trainings in numerically unequal situation at early stage.
4) Japan: Japan set the categories in broad age ranges and aimed to bring up from sensory play to intentionally play to reach worldʼs top level.
    When creating new Japanese Long-Term Athlete Development Program, these results suggest that necessities of drafting instruction contents and instruction plan which can achieve “Japanese Total Mobility”.

    This study investigated whether the rule modification (i.e., manipulating the number of touches of strokes) in tennis matches induced the shot to be offensive for effective coaching. Sixteen male tennis players with tennis experience over 3 years participated in this study. Each paired participants played tennis singles matches in normal- and modified-rule conditions. One-trap rule was adopted as the modified-rule (permitting two touches of strokes to return the ball). The performance during the match was evaluated by the winner (the shot which the opponent couldnʼt touch) rate and player/ball positions. Assuming that time allowance made by one-trap rule advances the hitting position, the distribution of the hitting position was calculated. In addition, the shortest distance from flying direction to position of the opponent when hitting (abbreviated to D-shortest after this) was calculated, because the advance of the hitting position can make players hit a ball to far place from the opponent.
    Results showed that the winner rate in the one-trap condition was significantly higher than that in the normal condition. The average of the hitting position was approximately 12m behind from the net in anterior-posterior direction in normal condition and approximately 7m behind in one-trap condition. In a rally, D-shortest in the one-trap condition was significantly longer than that in the normal condition. These results suggested that the appropriate rule modification may induce offensive shot.

    In the present study, using data from 280 soft tennis players in Japanese high school students, we developed scales to assess skills related to Self-Efficacy (SE) and Other-Efficacy (OE), and to assess psychological performance related to OE in a soft tennis. Subsequently, we examined the features and relevance of the 3 scales that we developed, and of the psychological performance SE scale. The results are summarized as follows:
    1) The reliability and validity of the SE and OE scales, and the psychological performance OE scale was confirmed for each skills in a soft tennis game.
    2) It was found that the SE and OE scores for each skill and the psychological performance SE score increased as the competition level increased. However, this was not observed with reference to psychological performance OE score.
    3) It was found that the SE and OE score for each skill, except those for net play, were significantly, positively correlated. Similarly, the psychological performance SE and OE scores were significantly, positively correlated.
    4) Additionally, the SE score on each skill was significantly, positively correlated with the psychological performance SE and OE scores, and this correlation was stronger with the psychological performance SE score.
    5) It was found that the OE score for each skill was significantly, positively correlated with the psychological performance SE and OE score, and the correlation was stronger with the psychological performance OE score.

    Psychological effects of an instructional strategy for gymnastics based on assorted experiences with versatile kinesthesis was examined and compared with mastery learning, for efficacy in achieving ideal movements. Participants were 24 healthy undergraduates. They were randomly divided into the “kinesthetic experiential group,” which experienced different movements and assorted kinesthesis, and the “model-mastery group” which practiced mastering ideal movements through balance exercises on a gymnastic ball. Psychological effects of the two types of instructional strategies were compared by using the Intrinsic Motivation Scale, the Sport Flow Scale, and the Two-Dimensional Mood Scale. Improvements in gymnastic performance were evaluated by self-assessment. Results indicated that participants in the kinesthetic experiential group had more intrinsic motivation, an increased flow state, a higher pleasure mood scores, and better self-assessed gymnastic performance than the model-mastery group. These findings suggest that instructional strategies using proactive trial and error learning, and assorted experiences with versatile kinesthesis would be more effective in promoting exercise performance and enjoyment.

    The purpose of this study was to clarify factors that affect the tension of pitchers during competition. We calculated heart rate change (HRc; the degree of tension) by measuring the heart rates of eight pitchers under both practice and competitive conditions. In analysis 1, we performed a multiple regression analysis using competitive situation factors (1. the number of balls; 2. the number of strikes; 3. the number of outs; 4. the presence or absence of a runner in a scoring position and 5. the score difference) and cognitive appraisal factors (6. subjective degree of tension and 7. subjective winning percentages) as independent variables, and HRc as the dependent variable. In analysis 2, we reconstructed analysis 1 to add a factor related to individual difference. Our results showed that the factors that can affect HRc were subjective winning percentages, subjective degree of tension, and the number of balls. Moreover, the accuracy of the model was improved by adding a factor related to individual differences (R²＝0.13－0.47). The differences in pitching stats among participants were considered as individual differences in this study.

    The purpose of this case study were to reveal the features all of the batters and the excellent batters by comparing the impact parameters of the regular and non-regular batters in college baseball. Subjects were four members (two regular batters and two non-regular batters) who belong to the college baseball team. The experiments, each player hit a hundred balls thrown by the machine. It took with two high-speed camera (300Hz) to calculate the impact parameters (swing velocity, batted ball velocity, conversion efficiency of the swing velocity and the batted ball velocity, batted ball angle), pitching course and impact position. Result, 1) Success trial was greater batted ball velocity than failure trial in the all batters. 2) Regular batters did not change the swing velocity for any course. 3) All batters hit at close to the pitcher as the inside pitch, and hit at close to the catcher as the outside pitch. 4) The regular batters had much number of success trial when they hit the ball at away from the basic position. From the above results, it is important to have the skill that fast swing for any course, further converted to faster batted ball velocity. Moreover it became the result to support the opinion of the coaching site that it is likely to be success trial to hit faster batted ball. On the other hand, it is need for active in the college baseball that not only the skill to hit at the basic position but also the skill to hit the success trial hit at away from the basic position.

    This study aimed to detect the factors affecting successful shots in basketball games by comparing the results of simple cross-tabulation analysis and multivariate regression analysis after recording 13 items presumed to affect successful shots in basketball games.
    Subjects were nation-wide top-ranking university players. The outcomes of all shots and 13 shooting-condition items (“Difference of gains and losses,” “Remaining seconds of shot clock,” “Locations of attempted shots,” “Directions of attempted shots,” “Ways of shooting,” “Plays leading to shot attempts,” “Whether screen play or not,” “Actions before shots,” “Movement of the ball before a shot,” “Distance between a shooter and the defense,” “Handwork of the defender,” “Block shots,” and “Whether fouls were committed or not”) relating to the four factors of “Game conditions,” “Shot attempts,” “Tactics leading to a shot,” and “Defensive conditions” were recorded at 10 games after the quarterfinal games of the 66th All-Japan Collegiate Basketball Championship.
    First, relationships were investigated using a Chi-square test after forming a cross-table between the outcomes of shots and various condition items. Second, logistic regression analysis was conducted using the outcomes of shots as a dependent variable and the 13 shooting-condition items as independent variables in order to investigate comprehensively their relationships. Finally, the two results were compared.
    As a result, the cross-table analysis found significant relationships in 11 shooting-condition items. In logistic regression analysis, the best-fitting model based on “Locations of attempted shots” in “Shot attempts,” “Whether screen play or not” in “Tactics leading to a shot” and “Distance between a shooter and the defense” in “Defensive conditions” etc. was derived. Although the result of the multivariate analysis was different from that of the simple cross-tabulation analysis, it is considered that the items chosen as the best-fitting variables in a logistic regression analysis are essential because the multivariate analysis keeps the relationship of other variables constant.

    This study examined differences in the pattern of motion on upper limb when delivering smash, clear, and drop shots in badminton to provide data regarding the partial movements of the body as a basis for the prediction of shuttlecock trajectories. Seven male badminton players, belonging to a team ranked at the top in the All Japan Badminton Championships, were instructed to deliver these strokes to record the pattern of motion in each case using MAC3D System Cameras.
    Significant differences in the shoulder abduction angle on the side of the dominant arm at impact were observed (p<0.05), as the values were lower when delivering drop compared with smash or clear shots. Significant differences were also observed in the shoulder horizontal flexion angle on the side of the dominant arm during the phase when the racket passes the playerʼs back preparing for impact (p<0.05), as the values were lower when delivering smash compared with drop or clear shots. Furthermore, the elbow angle significantly varied during the racket passes the playerʼs back preparing to impact of all phases of movement (p<0.05); while changes in the pattern of motion were similar between smash and clear shots, drop shots showed a tendency to slowly increase from the initiation of movement to impact.
    Based on these results, the probability of a drop shot being delivered is high when the hand remains in a lower position, and that of a smash shot being delivered is high when the shoulder horizontal flexion angle is small in the case of overhead strokes.

    It has been reported that coordination ability is important in acquisition of new skill. However, there is insufficient evidence on the role of coordination in acquisition of new skill. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the relationship between dribbling skills and coordination in soccer. We examined the relationship among dribble, ball control, sprint and coordination. Subjects were 84 male college students, and they were divided into the dribble training (DT) group and control (CT) group, and provided them with 10 weekly sessions of training. Ball control was calculated by dividing the sprint time by dribbling time. In their training, the DT group focused on dribbling, while the CT group focused on the game. Results showed that there was a statistically significant improvement in the dribbling time and ball control in the DT group alone. In addition, in both groups, sprint and ball control demonstrated significant correlation with dribbling and before and after the training. However, coordination and dribbling in the DT group demonstrated significant correlation only after the training. These results indicated that change in coordination is not required in acquisition of new skill. Moreover, even if the coordination ability is high, if it is not accompanied by appropriate stimulation, there will be no correlation with the acquisition of new skill. This indicates that a skill improves with high coordination ability that is accompanied by appropriate stimulation.

    In this study, the existing soccer training program(control group，n=10) and an originally suggested goalkeeper training program(experimental group，n=10) were carried out in order to compare and verify the effect. The verification items of the ability as a soccer player were a personal skill, the skill as a group and the understanding of tactical behavior, and those as a goalkeeper were the success rate of participation in offense, the ability of defense and a positive feeling toward a goalkeeper.
    The results are shown below. 1) As for the personal soccer skill, there were significant improvements in dribbling a ball and passing a ball in both the experimental group and the control group. 2) As for the soccer skill as a group, the rate of achieving offense and that of shooting in cooperation with teammates were not any significant changes in both groups. 3) As for the understanding of tactical behavior in soccer, the score in a tactical test significantly rose in both groups. 4) As for the personal skill as a goalkeeper, the success rate of participation in offense were not any significant changes in both groups. Also as for plays of a goalkeeper in defense, there were not any significant changes in both groups. 5) As for the score about a positive feeling toward a goalkeeper, it significantly rose in the experimental group but tended to decline in the control group.
    From these results, it was suggested that the originally suggested goalkeeper training program plays a certain role as a goalkeeper program with the aim of promoting for all junior soccer players.