The negative effects of concussion on cognitive and physical performance can linger beyond return to sport and may result in reduced sport performance. The effect of concussion history, including time since concussion and number of concussions, on sport performance is not well understood. The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of…

Objective Explore the association between varsity athletes' fitness perceptions and symptoms of depression while sidelined from sport for an extended period, and test whether fitness-related self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame, guilt, authentic pride, and hubristic pride) mediate this relationship. Participants Varsity athletes (N = 124) from a…

Varsity athletes face an array of stressors, including balancing academic obligations with athletic competitions. Student-athletes appraising a situation as a "challenge" or "threat" directly impacts coping responses. Objective: To investigate whether pre-season self-reported mental toughness and self-regulation strategies…

The mental health of Canadian university students is fairly well researched, but there is relatively little evidence concerning the mental health of Canadian university student-athletes. Recent research in the United States and Canada has suggested that mental health (e.g., anxiety and depression) differs between student-athletes and student…

We examined the level and prevalence of mental health functioning (MHF) in intercollegiate student-athletes from 30 Canadian universities, and the impact of time of year, gender, alcohol use, living situation, year of study, and type of sport on MHF. An online survey completed in November 2015 (N = 388) and March 2016 (n = 110) revealed that…

Purpose: Winning several national championships is an extraordinary feat that very few university coaches have accomplished. The objective of this study was to investigate how some of Canada's most accomplished university team-sport coaches created and sustained a culture of excellence in their programs. Method: Six university coaches who had won…

Relative age effects (RAEs) explain the (dis)advantages individuals experience as a result of when they are born relative to a pre-determined cut-off date. Within an interuniversity setting, academic timing (AT) may moderate the RAE pattern due to some student-athletes having eligibility years that do not correspond with their birth years. The…

Podcast assignments in higher education foster students' deep engagement in course content, knowledge construction, technical skills, and problem-solving abilities. We designed a podcast assignment in a First Year Seminar course based on student-led interviews comparing theoretical concepts to lived experiences of the interviewees. Students were…

Context: Competency-based education requires strong planning and a vehicle to deliver and track students' progress across their undergraduate programs. Clinical presentations (CPs) are proposed as 1 method to deliver a competency-based curriculum in a Canadian undergraduate athletic therapy program. Objective: Validation of 253 CPs. Setting:…

Limited tools assess positive development through university sport. Such a tool was validated in this investigation using two independent samples of Canadian university athletes. In Study 1, 605 athletes completed 99 survey items drawn from the Youth Experience Scale (YES 2.0), and separate a priori measurement models were evaluated (i.e., 99…

Coed sport environments can be paradoxical settings where pre-existing gender biases influence participants' enjoyment and success. Furthermore, gendered messages and stereotypes as well as low expectations for females within coed sports can create participation barriers by reducing feelings of confidence and performance. Within university…

This study is a qualitative examination of the experiences and impact of participating in an outdoor-based and adventure education-based orientation as an alternative to traditional forms of sport team initiation. Traditional forms of initiation for the participants in this study had included hazing ceremonies, whereby new team members were forced…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the levels of burnout among student-athletes at two Canadian universities and to investigate whether there were significant differences related to gender, sport, year of university sport participation, academic year, and academic program. Burnout was measured by administering Raedeke and Smith's…

The purpose of this study was to investigate coaches' perspectives on the personal development student-athletes experience through interuniversity sport. Additionally, it explored the ways in which coaches understand, enable, and facilitate the personal development of student-athletes. Eight in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with…

Although honors students are highly motivated and intellectually promising, they are not empty cognitive vessels ready to be filled with professorial knowledge. They are, instead, complex, multifaceted young people, sometimes troubled, often delighted and delightful. While at college they are learning how to live their lives not just as…