Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a test that can assess the distribution skills of soccer goalkeepers and to then test its reliability and validity. Methods: A goalkeeper-distribution skills assessment test (G-DAT) was developed that improved on the previous situational judgment skills test. As a validation procedure, we conducted a reliability test on 30 high-school and college soccer players using the test-retest reliability. In addition, the G-DAT was validated using criterion-related validity by comparing the results of the G-DAT with those of existing situational judgment skills tests. Results and Discussion: In the reliability test of the G-DAT, only the GK group showed high reliability (Cohen’s Κ=0.6-1.0). In addition, validity testing showed high validity in the situational awareness and total scores of the G-DAT. Conclusion: These results indicate that the G-DAT developed in this study is reliable and valid as a test for assessing the distribution skills of goalkeepers.

This study determined how many days of data were needed to predict weekly travel behavior in older adults. Seven days of travel behavior data were collected from 142 older adults aged ≥ 65 years, who participated in health promotion classes conducted in Shizuoka, Japan. Using these data, we calculated the time spent walking, cycling, and using cars and public transportation each day. We then assessed intraclass correlations among the combinations of days with regard to travel behavior and conducted multiple regression analysis to examine the extent to which these data explained weekly travel behavior based on the estimated adjusted coefficients of determination. To ensure values ≥ 0.80 of the intra-class correlations, information on car use and other travel behaviors (walking, cycling, and public transportation use) was needed for at least four and three days, respectively. The range of adjusted R2 was 0.77–0.89 for walking, 0.76–0.94 for cycling, and 0.74–0.93 for public transportation use based on travel data for three days, and 0.76–0.93 for car use based on data for four days. Our results suggest that the specific single-day or twoday data collection that Japanese travel surveys commonly administered may be not sufficient to predict the weekly travel behavior of older adults, whereas information about travel behaviors over three-four days would greatly enhance the predictability of such behavior with an acceptable level of accuracy.

This study investigated immediate effect of resisted sled sprint (RSS) running on sprint performance. Eleven male sprinters and three male decathletes (height, 1.75 ± 0.05 m; weight, 67.4 ± 5.9 kg; age, 21.1 ± 1.1 years; best record of 100 m sprint, 10.91 ± 0.24 sec) participated. After a warm-up which was left to the participants’ discretion, a 30-m sprint (three-point start) was performed. Fifteen minutes later, they performed another RSS. Subsequently, after 8–12 min of rest, they performed 30-m sprint for the second time. The loads were 20%, 50%, and 80% of body mass (BM). This experiment was performed for three consecutive days with different loads. The average sprint speed, step frequency, and step length in the 30-m sprints before and after RSS, and the sprint speed, step frequency, step length, support time, and flight time in the 0–2 step phase were analyzed and compared. Results showed a significant main effect of time factor on average sprint speed in the 30-m sprints before and after RSS. Average step length in 30-m sprints was significantly increased at 80%BM. Sprint speed and step length in the 0–2 step phase significantly increased at 80%BM. These findings indicate that RSS immediately improves sprint performance.

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the rectus femoris (RF) in junior soccer players was developed predominantly compared to non-soccer players. Twenty junior soccer players and 15 junior non-soccer players participated in the present study. The muscle thicknesses of RF and the vastus intermedius (VI), pennation angles and fascicle lengths of RF were measured in three regions (proximal, middle and distal) using ultrasonography technique at rest. The percentages of the muscle thickness of RF relative to the total muscle thickness of knee extensors (RF and VI muscle thickness) was calculated. The average of relative muscle thicknesses in the three regions were calculated as an index of representative value of whole muscle size. No significant interaction of group × region was observed in the relative muscle thicknesses of RF and VI, the percentage of RF, and the fascicle lengths and pennation angles of RF. The muscle size index of RF did not differ between groups. The present results showed that the muscle architecture of RF and VI are same between junior soccer players and non-soccer players. The present findings do not support the present hypothesis that predominant muscle development is observed in RF for junior soccer players.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a drop-jump measurement method involving an inertial measurement unit (IMU), by calculating evaluation items using the IMU, and comparing the calculated values with the values measured using a mat switch. Nineteen healthy university students were recruited for the study and were asked to perform a drop jump from a height of 0.3 m. The jump was performed on a mat switch and the participants wore a waist pouch containing an IMU on the posterior side of their waist. The sensor coordinate system acceleration was converted to global coordinate system acceleration by using Madgwick AHRS, and linear acceleration and linear velocity were calculated by removing the effect of gravity acceleration in order to optimize the timing of the drop-jump ground contact and takeoff by setting a threshold. The ground contact time, flight time, and drop-jump index calculated using the threshold set in this study showed “Very high correlation”, as determined by Pearson's correlation coefficient, with the measured values obtained using the mat switch. Therefore, the drop-jump measurement method involving an IMU in this study was found to be capable of evaluating the performance of drop jumps with the same level of accuracy as the measurement method involving a mat switch.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Japanese women, with approximately 90,000 new diagnoses reported in 2017. Physical activity and obesity prevention have been reported to be effective in preventing breast cancer recurrence in Europe and the United States. However, there are no studies in Japan that have simultaneously evaluated physical activity and dietary intake using validated methods in patients with breast cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate physical activity and dietary intake among Japanese breast cancer survivors. This cross-sectional study recruited patients with breast cancer from St. Luke’s International Hospital and measured their current physical activity and dietary intake using an accelerometer and validated questionnaire, respectively. All values for descriptive statistics were expressed as mean ± standard deviation or percent. We collected data from 271 patients. All patients underwent breast surgery and the average body mass index at recruitment was 21.7 ± 3.4 kg/m². Mean moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and dietary intake was 462 ± 185 minutes per week and 1655 ± 474 kcal per day, respectively. The results suggest that the amount of physical activity and dietary intake of patients with breast cancer is comparable to that of healthy Japanese women. However, caution is required when generalizing the results because of sampling bias.

This study aimed to compare junior-high-school football players’ running speed grading ability at different levels of football performance. The elite (10 participants: national-level football players) and standard (seven participants: general football players) groups participated in the experiment. All the participants were evaluated for their ability to grade running speed in a short-distance running experiment assuming a football scene. For each participant, three target speeds were set, corresponding to 50%, 70%, and 90% of the maximum travel speed. Participants ran at speeds subjectively determined to be consistent with their respective target values. A two-way analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis with the target value and performance level factors. The experiment results showed that football players in junior-high school were no different in their ability to grade run speed regardless of their level of football performance. This finding indicated that there may be a low relationship between higher and lower performance level and superiority of running speed grading ability in the junior-high school football players included in this study.