Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming XI

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legs than they could float motionless on their front or back. Despite Harrod’s findings, the Red Cross never did introduce gliding skills prior to floating in their learn-to-swim program (American Red Cross, 1992). At least with adults, it appears that floating probably can be taught prior to introducing the gliding skills. Interestingly, the two gliding skill items were as difficult for the current sample to perform as were the elementary backstroke and sidestroke. This difficulty is somewhat surprising since both front and back gliding nominally would appear to be much less complicated and difficult items than the two resting strokes. Based upon these results, the authors could not suggest to the American Red Cross that there was any evidence-based support to alter the order in which the thirteen selected skill items ought to be presented in the revised 2009 American Red Cross learn-to-swim program. The study obviously did not test all pertinent skill items involved in the Red Cross’ learn-to-swim program and therefore the results should not be interpreted to apply to the validity of the order for skills in the entire learn-to-swim program. Because the current sample was limited to a relatively small convenience sample of normally-abled young adult college students, it also is not possible to suggest that even the order of these items with the strong coefficient of reproducibility actually applies to other individuals such as preschool or elementary-age children or to individuals who may be differently-abled. Samples drawn from other specific populations would be required to understand whether this order of acquisition, and by extension, instructional order, should be considered to be universal or whether the order is unique to different age and ability groups. Understanding how much variability in order is associated with different ages and ability groups would be crucial pieces of information to support future evidence-based revisions to learn-to-swim programs such as the American Red Cross. The study and its results have some very definite limitations. A sample size of thirty-one was relatively small which limited the statistical power with which the descriptive scalogram could identify variability in the order of item difficulty. We initially had intended to test all sixty class participants, but some students did not volunteer while others were absent some days and did not complete all items. The sample was definitely a convenience sample which meant that some of the less skilled individuals opted not to participate, skewing the participant skill levels as evidenced by the high average number of successful item completions. A scalogram relies upon testing a truly heterogeneous sample that should include persons who are capable of passing few if any of the items. The current sample of young adults was definitely skewed toward a more homogeneous and skilled sample which is not surprising given that they were recruited from instructional swimming classes of college students. Because the testing occurred during the middle instead of the beginning of the semester of study, it is probable that previous instruction biased the sample toward greater skillfulness. It also appears that the individual swim instructor who was an assistant swim coach emphasized learning and practice of the competitive swim strokes of front and back crawl, breaststroke, and butterfly and not resting strokes of elementary backstroke and sidestroke. Presumably this explains the lower success rate observed in performance of the elementary backstroke and sidestroke items. Many students appeared puzzled and had never heard of these two strokes when presented with them as test items in the study. The instructional bias also presents a challenge to the potential utility of the scalogram and interpretation of the robustness of the coefficient of reproducibility. It was generally presumed by Guttman (1950) that item difficulty possessed some inherently invariant task qualities and characteristics not substantively influenced by intervention and instruction. In the current sample, it appeared fairly clear that familiarity with competitive strokes and lack of familiarity with resting strokes influenced the degree of success demonstrated by some participants. This definitely could have influenced the order of item acquisition. The authors have personal instructional experience that both the elementary backstroke and sidestroke can be effectively introduced prior to front chaPter5.education,adviceandBiofeedBack and back crawl strokes. The current results tend to negate those personal observations. The observation of potential instruction or intervention bias means that further studies using a scalogram should be conducted under experimental conditions. Samples with well defined differences in experiences and instruction need to be compared to clarify the degree to which the coefficient of reproducibility is altered. For example if the first author and the assistant coach instructor of the classes in the current study both taught similar groups of young adults, one emphasizing acquisition of resting strokes and the other focusing on the competitive strokes, would different orders and coefficients of reproducibility result? There are definitely pedagogical and methodological questions that should and could be addressed. conclusIon The current study employed Guttman’s (1950) descriptive scalogram technique to examine the validity of swim skill item order of acquisition in a small convenience sample of young adults. The instructional order of thirteen swimming skills used by the 2004 American Red Cross learnto-swim program was tested using a scalogram. The Red Cross order of the thirteen swimming items produced a very strong coefficient of reproducibility (CR = 0.93) and provided some evidence-based support for the Red Cross to continue presenting those swimming items in a similar order in their learn-to-swim programs. The results of the study revealed several limitations in the conduct of the study (e.g., relatively small convenience sample, limited skill and age range of participants) as well as raised questions about the robustness of the scalogram technique itself and the interpretation of the coefficient of reproducibility. The authors have proposed several subsequent studies to clarify the technique and interpretation of the results. reFerences American National Red Cross. (1981). Swimming and aquatics safety. Washington, D.C. American Red Cross. (1992). Water Safety Instructor Manual. St. Louis: Mosby Year Book. American Red Cross. (2004). Water Safety Instructor’s Manual. Yardley, PA: StayWell. American Red Cross. (2009). Water Safety Instructor’s Manual (r.09). Yardley, PA: StayWell. Darwin, C. (1877, July). A biographical sketch of an infant. Mind, 285- 294. DeOreo, K. (1976). Dynamic balance in preschool children: Quantifying qualitative data. Research Quarterly, 47, 526-531. Erbaugh, S.J. (1978). Assessment of swimming performance of preschool children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 47, 1179-1182. Erbaugh, S. (1980). The development of swimming skills of preschool children. In C. Nadeau, K. Newell, G. Roberts, & W. Halliwell (Eds.), Psychology of motor behavior and sport-1979 (pp. 324-335). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Gesell, A. (1940). The first five years of life. New York: Harper and Row. Guttman, L.L. (1950). The basis for scalogram analysis. In S.A. Stouffer, L. Guttman, E. Suchman, P. Lazerfeld, S. Star, & J. Clausen (Eds.), Measurement and prediction (pp. 60-90). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Harrod, D. (1990). A scalogram analysis of the American Red Cross Beginner swimming skill items. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Kent State University, Kent, OH. Harrod, D., & Langendorfer, S.J. (1991). A scalogram analysis of American Red Cross Beginner swimming skill items. National Aquatics Journal, 6, 10-16. Haywood, K.M., & Getchell, N. (2009). LifeSpan Motor Development (5 th Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Herkowitz, J. (1978). Developmental task analysis: The design of movement experiences and evaluation of motor development status. In 335
BiomechanicsandmedicineinswimmingXi M.V. Ridenour (Ed.), Motor development: Issues and applications (pp. 139-164). Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Co. Langendorfer, S.J., & Bruya, L.D. (1995). Aquatic readiness: Developing aquatic competence in young children. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. McGraw, M.B. (1939). Swimming behavior of the human infant. Journal of Pediatrics, 15(4), 485-490. McGraw, M.B. (1963). Neuromuscular maturation of the human infant. New York: Hafner. (Originally published 1943 by Columbia University Press). McGraw, M.B. (1975). Growth: A study of Johnny and Jimmy. New York: Arno. (Originally published 1935 by Appleton-Century. Piaget, J. (1973). The origin of intelligence in children (M. Cook, trans.). New York: Norton. Roberton, M.A. (1989). Development sequence and developmental task analysis. In J. Skinner, et al. (Eds.), Future directions in exercise and sport science research (pp. 369-381). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Shirley, M.M. (1931). The first two years. A study of 25 babies: Postural and locomotor development (Vol. 1). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. AcKnoWledGeMents The data for this research study were collected as part of KNS 470, Independent Study in Kinesiology, conducted while the second author was a student at Bowling Green State University. Both authors acknowledge resources and support provided by the BGSU Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS) that partially funded this study. 336 Imagery Training in Young Swimmers: Effects on the Flow State and on Performance scurati, r., Michielon, G., longo, s., Invernizzi, P.l. Università degli Studi di Milano, Facoltà di Scienze Motorie, Milan, Italy Imagery training is the ability to develop mental images that can increase human resources and performances. Flow is one of the peak moments corresponding to a state of optimal experience. This study in young swimmers aimed to observe the effects of specific imagery training on flow state and on swimming performance. Eight young swimmers completed a specific mental training program using imagery as a supplement to three weeks of regular swimming training. A Flow State Scale questionnaire was filled out before and after the training as well as the performance on 100m front crawl stroke was surveyed. The imagery training focused on improving three phases of the front crawl swim stroke and seemed to induce a trend to vary the flow state of the participants. Imagery training did not have effects on swimming performance. Key words: Flow, Imagery, mental training IntroductIon Exercise is related to physical fitness, perception of wellness and quality of life. Positive attitudes, self-esteem and lowering of stress are also induced by sports activities, where psychophysical energies can be focused on a specific target with the maximum of concentration and attention (e.g. in training or events), in the so called “peak moments” (Berger et al., 2001). Flow is one of these peak moments, corresponding to a state of optimal experience, with a complete attention to the action and a strong balance between challenges and skills (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Flow is not necessarily dependent on best performance, being a preparatory phase of it (Muzio et al., 1999). Flow state can be measured through the Flow State Scale (FSS) questionnaire ( Jackson, 1996), based on 36 items evaluated using a 5 point Likert scale, related to the 9 fundamentals or dimensions (4 items each) in which the Flow state can be subdivided (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Dimensions in the FSS (Muzio et al., 1999) are: D1, balance between the perceived challenge and the perceived personal skills required to act; D2, union between action and awareness (athlete is fully focused on the task, no panic or effort, there is only naturalness); D3, clarity of targets (athlete can visualize in advance the performance); D4, instantaneous feedback (inner or outer); D5, concentration on the task avoiding distractions; D6, Sense of control (management of the self-esteem improving confidence, quiet and empowerment and reducing the fear of failure); D7, lack of ones self awareness; D8, destructuring of time (athlete perceives the time expanding or condensing); D9, the autotelic experience (athlete is motivated in doing the activity just for pleasure, for fun or because it is exciting). Imagery training is the ability to develop mental images that can increase human resources and performances exerting a great effect on mind, feelings and behaviours (Hogg, 2000). Images built during the mental training have to be very precise, clear and detailed and they can be obtained through the aid of the kinaesthetic abilities. An inner or an outer vision can be built: in the inner vision, the kinaesthetic acuity leads athletes in imaging the actions as really performed; in the outer vision, the athlete watches himself acting as through the eyes of a third person or as in a movie. Mental training can transform negative images into positive ones, aiding athletes to overcome anxiety, stress, technical and tactical troubles, difficulty in concentration on the performance (e.g. visualizing during the mental training some memories of a situation experienced during a previous event).
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average VO2 measured during resting
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Figure 2. Repeatability of the LTin
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Pahlen Norge AS Pahlen Norge AS Cha
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