This study aimed to explore the temporal relationships between psychological states and performance among players in the National Hockey League (NHL). We used an intensive longitudinal design, with 22 players reporting their psychological states daily between 7 February 2024, and 14 March 2024. Performance was measured using Game Score (GS), a composite metric based on weighted performance variables to provide an overall objective measure of individual performance, commonly used by teams in the NHL. Bayesian multilevel models were utilised to analyse the data, focusing on temporal effects between psychological states and performance. The results showed that none of the other psychological states predicted subsequent performance. In the opposite direction, performance predicted several different psychological states the following day, where better performance positively predicted positive states and negatively predicted negative states. In summary, psychological states appear to have a small effect on how NHL players perform, whereas how they perform seem to affect a wide range of psychological states the following day. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

We investigated players’ and coaches’ experiences and perceptions of bio-banding in U15 and U16 elite ice hockey teams. Secondarily, the distribution of maturity timing and the relationship between maturity status and fitness performance were examined. Forty-three male players (14.7 ± 0.6 years) participated. Maturity status and timing were estimated using the Khamis-Roche method and population reference data. Fitness tests were also performed. Perceptions were assessed using 5-point Likert-scale questionnaires and coach interviews. Players reported opportunities for new social contacts during bio-banding, which contradicted the coaches’ initial concerns. Players moving to a less advanced (maturity status) bio-band perceived more responsibility and beneficial use of speed/size and reported more puck possession (Likert score 4.0/5). Players moving to a more advanced bio-band saw more technical/tactical challenges (4.3/5). Coaches recognized benefits such as individualizing training and improving selection procedures. U16 players showed earlier maturity timing compared to the Swedish reference population (P < 0.05); U15 players did not differ. Maturity status correlated with strength (r = 0.59), agility (r = −0.6), explosive power (r = 0.51), and endurance (r = 0.53) (all P < 0.01). We conclude that bio-banding offers benefits for players across the maturity timing spectrum and for coaches in several areas. © 2025 The Author(s).

In the self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & Deci, 2017) literature, interpersonal styles by motivators (e.g., parents, teachers, coaches) are purported to be key influences on the motivation and functioning of the motivatees, the people with whom they interact (e.g., offspring, students, athletes). Hence, understanding the antecedents of these styles is important for both conceptual and applied reasons. Our objective in this review was to systematically synthesize the candidate antecedents of need supportive and need thwarting interpersonal styles. We analyzed 122 eligible studies, primarily cross-sectional, without any restrictions on life domains or research designs. Our systematic review identified 59 specific candidate antecedents, most of which we categorized into 13 general factors and three higher-order themes: sociocontextual, motivators' personal factors, and motivators' perceptions of motivatees' motivation and behavior. Our meta-analysis showed that adaptive motivation factors within motivators (primarily autonomous motivation and need satisfaction) were the strongest and most consistent predictors of their provision of overall need support to motivatees, as well need-specific support (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). In contrast, maladaptive motivation (primarily amotivation and need frustration) within motivators was the most consistent and moderately strong predictor of their overall need thwarting style (and need-specific thwarting styles) when interacting with motivatees. Our review presents an integrative classification system of candidate antecedents of interpersonal styles. These could act as moderators of intervention effectiveness by influencing the degree of intervention fidelity in trials targeting need-supportive styles, or they could serve as intervention targets in their own right. © American Psychological Association

Objectives Sport injuries in youth sports are common, and holistic predictive approaches have been called for to better understand how combinations of risk and protective factors contribute to injury occurrence. This study utilises a person-centred approach to identify how combinations of psychological and physical factors are associated with injuries in youth floorball players.Methods At season start, 222 youth athletes conducted physical field tests and measures of self-reported mental health and demographics. Postseason, participants reported any sustained acute or overuse injuries during the season. Latent profile analysis, using psychological (anxiety and depression) and physical (field test performance) factors, such as input variables, was employed to identify risk profiles. Covariate analysis was conducted with demographic predictors of profile membership. Finally, sport injury occurrence was compared between profiles.Results Three profiles were identified: 'Moderate mental health/high physical performance' (profile 1, n=101), 'Very low mental health/average physical performance' (profile 2, n=49) and 'High mental health/low physical performance' (profile 3, n=72). Athletes injured at baseline were less likely to belong to profile 1. Profile 1 had higher injury occurrence than profile 2 (OR=3.63, 95% CI (1.34 to 9.81)) and profile 3 (OR=2.63, 95% CI (1.06 to 6.47)) during the season.Conclusion Our results indicate that players in the profile characterised by moderate mental health and high physical performance (profile 1) at the start of the season, reported the highest injury occurrence during the season (based on retrospective injury reporting). Future studies should explore factors that can explain this relationship, such as engagement in risk situations, load and recovery. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC.

This study investigates how sport enjoyment and the immediate impact of social interactions with peers and coaches influence short-term sport participation among early adolescent female handball players. By using a diary study approach, data from 27 players over 10 practices in 4 weeks (270 measurement points) were collected. The findings revealed that coach controlling use of rewards during practice increased the risk of non-attendance at the subsequent practices, while peer relatedness support after practice increased attendance probability. Contrarily, peer intra-team conflict, coach negative conditional regard, and sport enjoyment did not predict attendance, suggesting that peer relatedness support and coach controlling use of rewards are more influential in short-term participation decisions for this group of players. Sport enjoyment during practice, as well as peer relatedness support during and after practice, predicted sport enjoyment the following practice. These results highlight the importance of feedback timing and interaction quality in youth sports. Further exploration is proposed on these dynamics across a wider range of demographics, and longer time periods to understand the impact of short- and long-term sport participation. © 2025 The Authors

Introduction Injury prevention exercise programmes with multiple components are efficacious in reducing injuries in youth and adult football. However, obtaining high adherence to the programmes over time is an unsolved challenge. Previous studies report that players lack motivation for injury prevention training and that coaches need ongoing support when using these programmes. The overall purpose of this study is to compare the added value of implementation support on the implementation and preventive efficacy of the Knee Control+programme in male and female, youth and adult amateur football teams. Methods and analysis This is a type 3 hybrid cluster-randomised controlled trial with adherence to the Knee Control+ injury prevention programme as the primary outcome and preventive efficacy as secondary outcomes. The study will take place during the 2025 football season (April/May to October/November) in Sweden, and we aim to enrol a minimum of 117 teams with players 10 years of age and older. All teams will have access to Knee Control+ via the Swedish Football Association (FA) website and are instructed to use the programme throughout the season. Teams randomised to the intervention group will receive support for implementation of Knee Control+, and the control group will receive no implementation support. This support primarily targets coaches and consists of a smorgasbord of activities and material including physical and digital workshops, leaflets, digital material and site visits to the teams. Codesign with coaches and players was employed during the design of the implementation support. Players report use of Knee Control+ and any injuries or complaints monthly, and coaches report training and use of Knee Control+ weekly, via web-based questionnaires. Adherence to Knee Control+ (primary) and preventive effects on injury incidence and prevalence (secondary) will be compared between groups. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr 2024-07394-01). Implementation support interventions that are appreciated by the players and/or coaches will be made available and free to use on the Swedish FA website after the study's conclusion. Fitness trainers will be able to hold workshops and make site visits after the study has been completed. Trial registration number Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06748443). © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Introduction: Puberty has been identified as one of the main contributing factors for girls dropping out of sports during adolescence. Knowledge and social support can, however, help athletes navigate the biopsychosocial (BPS) puberty-related changes associated with this period. Yet, research on female athletes' knowledge about BPS puberty-related topics is lacking. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine female athletes' perceived knowledge and knowledge needs of BPS puberty-related topics during adolescence, explore interconnections across BPS domains, and investigate differences between athletes in team and individual sports. Method: A total of 1,323 Swedish and Norwegian female athletes (M age 18.7 ± 2.3 years, range 16–24) from ten sport disciplines [n = 657 (49.7%) team sport athletes; n = 656 (49.6%) individual sport athletes] completed an online survey in 2024 on perceived knowledge and knowledge needs regarding BPS puberty-related topics during adolescence. Results: Findings revealed low perceived knowledge and high knowledge needs among female athletes. A Mann–Whitney U test revealed higher perceived knowledge among team sport athletes regarding individual differences, social cohesion, social comparison, acceptance within the group, and recovery, compared to individual sport athletes. Additionally, team sport athletes reported higher knowledge needs regarding social comparisons, sports nutrition and recovery, while individual sport athletes reported higher knowledge needs regarding changes in sex hormones, individual differences, and changes in body composition. A network analysis identified clusters of biological, psychosocial, and behavioral topics in perceived knowledge and knowledge needs, indicating that knowledge is concentrated within domains. Discussion: The findings highlight gaps in knowledge among female athletes regarding BPS puberty-related topics across various sporting contexts. The results also underscore the urgent need for holistic and interdisciplinary educational programs addressing these knowledge gaps in the sporting context of female athletes. © 2025 Radovan, Solstad, Kjær, Melin, Ausland, Bjärsholm, Ivarsson, Torstveit, Laxdal, Ryman Augustsson and Linner.

This study explored professional Judokas' experiences of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury process, the consequences of the injury, and their perceptions of underlying factors contributing to the injury. Eleven professional Judokas treated with ACL reconstruction were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis of the transcripts revealed two main themes: 'from the mat to mastery: a Judoka's quest in the wake of injury' and 'beyond the physical: the silent struggle for psychological victory.' Judokas described judo as a lifestyle, with their injuries impacting both physical performance and mental health. Fatigue, high training intensity, and bad luck were identified as contributing factors to their injuries. While the injury posed significant physical and mental challenges, Judokas emphasized the role of the discipline and structure learned through judo to navigate the recovery process. Judokas attributed their ACL injuries to a mix of preparation and unpredictable elements, and reported both positive and negative consequences of their experiences. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.

Objectives Hamstring strain injury (HSI) is the most common time-loss injury in football and is prone to recurrence. This exploratory study aimed to describe the relationship between short-term external training load (TL) and HSI occurrence in male senior football players at the professional level. Methods TL data in terms of global positioning system (GPS) variables and HSI incidence were collected over four seasons from 25 senior professional football players. GPS variables included total distance (TD), very intense accelerations (>3.00 m/s2), very intense decelerations (<–3.00 m/s2), high-speed running distance (>19.8 km/ hour), maximal sprint distance (>29.8 km/hour) and maximal velocity. For each injury case, TL during the 7 and 14 days preceding the injury was compared with matched control periods from the same player. Results 25 hamstring injuries were included for analysis. Large interindividual variation in TL patterns was observed, with some players exhibiting higher and others lower TL in the periods preceding injury compared with control periods. No consistent group-level trends were identified between injured and control periods. Conclusion This exploratory study found considerable individual variability in TL prior to HSI and no clear group-level patterns. These findings suggest that short-term TL metrics alone may have limited utility in predicting HSI risk at the group level in professional football players. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. 

Background: Participating in youth sports can benefit individuals’ psychological (e.g., fewer depressive symptoms, improved self-esteem), social (e.g., improved social skills, learning to work with others as a team), and physical health-related outcomes (e.g., higher physical activity levels, lower body fat), aligning with global sustainable development goals. Nevertheless, little is known about the magnitude concerning the effects of youth sport participation on such health-related outcomes compared with nonparticipation over time from childhood to adulthood. In this paper, we systematically review the extant longitudinal research and estimate the effects of youth sport participation on several psychological, physical, and social outcomes compared with nonparticipation.

Methods: Electronic database searches were employed to identify English-language peer-reviewed studies published from the earliest date until October 4, 2024. By using a priori criteria for inclusion and exclusion, we included 46 out of 4588 identified individual studies in the systematic review and 38 of the eligible studies for calculation of Cohen’s d effect size estimates.

Results: Together, the follow-up measurements of the included studies varied from 1 to 54 years after baseline, and the sample sizes ranged from 76 to over 50,000 participants. The meta-analysis revealed that youth sport participation had positive and statistically significant low- to medium-sized effects on physical activity, health and wellbeing, and negative small- to medium-sized effects on unhealthy body composition and mental ill-being over time.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that participating in youth sports can have health-promoting effects throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This advocates for collaborative efforts among national governments, sport governing bodies, communities, and sports clubs to create an accessible and inclusive youth sport environment where young people can thrive and reap the health benefits of sport participation. © The Author(s) 2025.