The purpose of this study was to develop a knowledge test for in-game situational awareness to evaluate the presence or absence of knowledge about fast-break situations in basketball. Because the amount of knowledge, which is the basis for making decisions, reportedly affects the superiority of decision-making ability in ball games, the presence or absence of basic knowledge for athletic performance is thought be related to in-game decision-making ability. First, we developed a 44-scene, 88-question original test that included plays on the backcourt and frontcourt for three typical fast-break offensive situations. Seven coaches who had participated in the all Japan intercollegiate championships and 190 college basketball players classified into national championship and local tournament groups completed the original test. As a result, 33 scenes and 45 questions were selected that satisfied the criteria of reliability, internal consistency, and criterion validity. A cross-validity evaluation of this 33-scene, 45-question test conducted by 60 different college basketball players found a significant difference between the national championship group and the local tournament group, thereby validating the test's applicability. This test, which evaluates the presence or absence of knowledge about decision-making for tactical actions in basketball games, could be used to determine the acquisition of necessary knowledge for appropriate decision-making in fast-break situations in basketball games.

    The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the level of organizational commitment and the social power of sports coaches, and to identify the social power that coaches can rely on to increase organizational commitment based on that relationship. An online-questionnaire was used in this study, and 464 basketball players enrolled in the Division 1 of Kanto Collegiate Basketball Federation was a target for this study. A total of 166 basketball players participated in a self- administered questionnaire between the 29th of July and the 9th of August, 2020 (response rate: 35.8％). A multiple regression analysis was performed with the level of organizational commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1990) as the dependent variable and the five types of power resource (Mori, 2005) as the explanatory (Independent) variable. It was suggested that in order to increase organizational commitment, it is important for coaches to provide guidance that relies on the passion for coaching power and the expert powers.

    This study aims to develop a psychological difficulty scale for Japanese high school baseball coaches, thereby clarifying the difficulties they face in coaching “Kokoyakyu” activities. Further, it seeks to clarify what difference in “difficulties” for them according to the competition level of the baseball team they are coaching and their coaching career regarding “Kokoyakyu.”
    We administered a questionnaire survey to 415 high school baseball coaches in Japan. We found that their psychological difficulties could be assessed based on six factors comprising a total of 20 items. These factors were “building relationships with patrons,” “baseball coaching skills,” “career education for club members,” “legacy of Kokoyakyu,” “securing the environment for activities,” and “work-life balance.” Moreover, the higher the competition level of the team they are coaching, the higher their difficulty scores for “building relationships with patrons,” “career education for club members;” and “legacy of Kokoyakyu.” Conversely, the coaches of teams with lower competition levels had significantly higher scores for “baseball coaching skills,” “securing the environment for activities,” and “worklife balance.” Furthermore, regarding the coaching career of “Kokoyakyu,” we found that mid-career coaches obtained higher difficulty scores for “career education for club members” than veteran coaches.
    The results of this study clarified the structure of the unique coaching environment of “Kokoyakyu.” From the difficulties faced by high school baseball coaches, some of the difficulties in various sports coaching in Japan can be seen. Additionally, the scale developed in this study may be useful for the mental support of high school baseball coaches.

    The purpose of this study was to identify the game performance indicators associated with victory in men's handball from elementary school students to university students in Japan and to elucidate the age-related characteristics and changes in game performance in a cross-sectional manner. We analyzed the performance in attack and their corresponding match outcomes in 53 matches at Japan's national championships of various age groups (elementary school students, junior high school students, high school students, and university students). We obtained the following outcomes: (1) The winning team is excellent in the attack efficiency, the shot frequency, and the shot efficiency. (2) In the elementary school age group, neither the shot frequency nor the shot efficiency is a performance indicator that independently affects the match outcome. In the junior high school age group, the shot frequency and the shot efficiency affect the match outcome. Since the shot frequency is high for all the teams in the high school age group and the university age group, only the shot efficiency affects the match outcome. (3) The efficiency of an attack, especially in the organized attack phase and in a 6:6 situation, becomes increasingly more important in older age groups.

    The purpose of this study is to identify specific actions that athletes practice in the field to break out of performance slumps and recover their performance quickly. To achieve this goal, we organized the training actions taken by college student-athletes to recover from performance slumps. Eighty-six undergraduate sports students participated in the study. Of the 86 participants, we excluded 11 who had never recovered from a performance slump, resulting in 75 study participants. The subjects used a survey form to visualize their past performance and wrote the factors that caused their performance changes and actions. In turn, we extracted the keywords that created their performance slump and recovery from their completed text. Three researchers examined the descriptive data and the keywords reflected by the participants, perused them, and validated and modified them to define performance slump and recovery concepts. The results of our study show that four factors create performance slumps in college student-athletes:” The four factors are “physical,” “environment,” “content of training,” “decline in motivation,” and “minority cases.” We identified several patterns of recovery from each factor. However, the common actions for most of the factors were related to “identifying the problem through proper analysis of the current situation,” “setting and implementing training methods to solve the problem,” and “goal setting.” Our research findings contribute to athletesʼ recovery and improved performance through psychological and synergistic approaches.

    In recent years, several “no fault or negligence” anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) have occurred in Japan. The World Anti-Doping Code stipulates that the burden of proof is on the athlete to prove that the result of a positive sample was not “intentional” and that the athlete was “no fault or negligence”. In this study, a web-based survey was conducted to find out what criteria top-level coaches and support staff in Japan use to determine whether a violation is “unintended” and what preparations they make in case a “unintended” ADRV occurs on the “risk and crisis management” point of view. 56 top-level coaches and support staff from 23 sports and 1 NOC support staff responded. The questions covered the level of interest in and understanding of anti-doping activities, the borderline between negligence and “no negligence” in ADRVs, the actions being taken for “unintended” ADRVs, and the preparations being made after a “unintended”ADRV has occurred. The results of the web survey showed that there was a statistically significant difference (5％ level) in the determination of whether or not a violation was “unintended” depending on whether or not the prohibited substance was labeled on the package and whether or not the athlete was confirmed it for pharmaceutical products. For dietary supplements, the borderline was whether or not the product had gone through a certification program, which also showed a statistically significant difference (5％ level). In terms of coping strategies for “unintended” ADRVs, respondents understood the risks by learning about past violations. However, it has been shown that there is little actions of themselves or guidance to athletes about recording evidence used to track “routes of entry” in case of positive sample. This suggests the need to develop educational programs on “risk and crisis management”.

    This study aimed to examine the effects of an intervention program on the coaching behaviors of a soccer coach. The experimental study employed a single-case design (AB design). The study was conducted for 19 weeks, excluding 6 weeks of interruption. The participant was a soccer coach who was in charge of teams of eighth graders or younger players. The target behaviors were participant's coaching behaviors during weekday training sessions, which included instruction and feedback used in Synchro-Coaching. We confirmed the social validity of the program through evaluation by coach development expert, measurement and evaluation of team performance, and interviews with the participant. Three out of four target behaviors improved as a result of a three-step intervention program that utilized knowledge from coaching behavior guidelines and behavioral coaching. Finally, we discussed the future issues and limitations of this study.

    The purpose of this study was to clarify the issues that Japanese American football players need to overcome in trying to sign a contract with an NFL team through interviews. The subjects were four Japanese American football players who had participated in the training camp of an NFL team in the past. Interviews were conducted in person. The content of the interviews was recorded with the subjects' permission, and the recorded audio was transcribed. The content related to each issue was coded and classified. As a result, three main issues were identified: issues related to competition, issues outside of competition, and issues related to the athletic experience in the United States. When Japanese players aspire to play in the NFL, they must deal with the athletic challenges they face at each football position and overcome the non-athletic challenges they face by learning the language and receiving support from various people. In addition, they need to adapt to the competitive environment in the United States by gaining football playing experience as soon as possible.

    The purpose of this study was to overview how the local university women's volleyball team was affected by the global outbreak of the COVID-19 infection and how they responded to it, and to clarify the process of winning the intercollegiate tournament.
    A single-case design adopted as the method, and game performance items were collected. The tau-u test was used for statistical processing, and the significance level was set at less than 5％.
    The results showed that the number of service ace (Tau-u＝0.64, p＝0.05) and reception return rate (AB) (Tau-u ＝0.82, p＝0.011) increased in the university.
    The university had been practicing with the intention of scoring and breaking down by serving. The university improved because they aimed to strengthen the serve and receive, which can be practiced with limited time and fewer people.
    Furthermore, the university showed an increase in the number of attack points (Tau-u＝0.69, p＝0.03), the total number of back attacks (Tau-u＝1.00, p＝0.00), and the number of back attack points (Tau-u＝1.00, p＝0.00), increased in the match phase compared to the baseline phase. The university realized on the first day of the reinforcement match (October 3) that using the back attack was effective, and implemented it the next day. This suggests that the number of back attack decisions and spike decisions increased by increasing the number of attackers and increasing the uncertainty of the opponent's defense.