United States Sports Academy
America's Sports University^®

Introduction
Athletics are about competition and being the best one can be. When that desire is taken too far, athletes may feel the need to use performance enhancers to get the added edge. This abuse has dated back for centuries, and was not prohibited until 1974. A diverse group of individuals, both athletes and non-athletes, have abused anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). In the challenge to alter their bodies and improve their performances, men and women experience a number of physical and psychological effects, along with varying effects on body systems of the two sexes.

Many factors go into the development of a systematic, progressive resistance training program. It is important to consider these factors when creating a program and evaluating clients’ progress through that program. First, before beginning any type of physical training, the client should see a physician. A physical exam performed by a physician will reveal whether an individual thinking of starting a resistance training program is physically ready to do so. The exam may also reveal health conditions that may limit the client. Through the physical exam, the fitness professional may learn the general health history of the client. For a client cleared to begin training, the fitness professional should perform some initial evaluation of physical fitness. This fitness evaluation will indicate strengths and weaknesses of the client. Results of the fitness evaluation should be documented, so that they can be consulted periodically throughout the training program to demonstrate progress in specified areas. Most fitness tests measure flexibility, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, strength, muscular endurance, quickness, body fat, and stability.

Most people see sport as an unscripted event pitting two opposing entities against each other, resulting in a victor and a loser. Sport is an unobjective series of events, a chance for viewers to watch a drama in its purest form. The ever-increasing popularity of sport can be directly linked to advances in and popularity of television broadcasting. Rada and Wulfemeyer (2005) argued that the marriage of sport and television produced one of the more mutually beneficial relationships in the marketplace. While the relationship may have been beneficial in terms of revenue, it has produced some negative effects on viewers.

Dropout rates in youth sports continue to be a major issue, perhaps nowhere more so than in the sport of hockey. In my job as a collegiate hockey coach, I also work with youth players during summer camps, and I volunteer with local youth hockey organizations. Those of us who care about the sport of hockey have spent and will continue to spend a lot of time researching why so many kids drop out of youth hockey—even in hockey-crazed northern Michigan towns with deep histories in the sport.

This paper is a discussion of the relationship between leadership behavior and team cohesion among competitive cheerleading squads, particularly in Taiwan. Cheerleading can be traced back more than 100 years in America (Neil & Hart, 1986). In recent years, cheerleading has also become a popular sport in Taiwan. In the past, cheerleading squads were usually associates of sports teams, their general purpose being to motivate athletes for better performance. Today, some cheerleading teams are associated with athletic teams, but others, representing various organizations and institutions, test their cheerleading skills and performance in their own competitions. Effectively managing a cheerleading team for better competitive results is similar to effectively managing other sports teams. It requires such leadership skills as intrinsic motivation, communication, and building team cohesion. Beyond perfecting skills and motivating players, a good coach must be a teacher and a student at the same time. He or she must be aware of individual differences, must be a good listener, must set a good example, and must help with goal setting (Arnold & Jack, 2002).

Businesses, individuals, and sports teams have sought out many ways to improve performance. Goal setting is one way for groups or individuals to attempt to improve their success. Goal setting can be a way of improving motivation and helping athletes to enhance performance. Reaching an appropriately set goal can represent a small victory and show athletes that they are on their way to continued success (Robson, 2007).

As a swim coach, I know that races are won in the starts and turns. Olympic champion Michael Phelps is a master of starts and turns. He has taken underwater hydrodynamics in the form of the dolphin kick to a new level. He has trained hard and has used that specialized training to achieve greatness.

A business plan certainly aids one in the pursuit of a successful sport management business. The business plan functions as a road map for the entity (Schweizer, 2006). It allows an individual or a group to clearly define intentions about how, where, and why the business will succeed. To fully understand the planning process, one must review each section of the business plan.

It is well documented that participating in physical activity or exercise is associated with health and fitness benefits that may be physiological, metabolic, or psychological and furthermore prevents the development of chronic diseases and mature mortality (ACSM, 2006). Prior to 1992, 40 studies had been published of blood pressure effects of endurance training by essential hypertension patients. In that research, for up to 72% of the study samples, training was shown to lower systolic blood pressure at 11 mm Hg from the initial 153 mm Hg, while diastolic blood pressure was reduced at 9 mm Hg from initial 99 mm Hg. These reductions, again, were a result of hypertensive participants taking part in endurance exercise training (ACSM, 1993). Findings from these hypertension studies suggest that endurance exercise training that was measured in a laboratory or clinical setting can lower blood pressure in patients who experience mild blood pressure elevation. However, moderate intensity endurance activities (those at 40–60% of maximum work capacity) appear to be more effective for lowering blood pressure than is exercise training at higher intensity (ACSM, 1993).

Bringing International Care to New Regions of the World

Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to participate as a healthcare provider at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Atlanta the Costa Rican National Olympic Games in San Jose, Costa Rica and the Central American Games in Guatemala City, Guatemala. As a Doctor of Chiropractic rehabilitating the athletes for their injuries you attain a special relationship with the individuals. I was not only their Doctor but their higher education as well. Most of these athletes had never even heard of a Doctor of Chiropractic much less the rehabilitative powers of the “adjustment.” As with most western nations, their perspective had been more with the traditional medical approaches of pain relievers, muscle relaxers and/or performance enhancers. Of course at any level of competitive athletics these pharmaceutical approaches are frowned on, tightly regulated, and in most cases banned during competition. The formal testing to ensure a level playing field discourages even those approved drugs should they cause any level of suspicion. The natural Chiropractic approach is hand and glove with the Olympic Ideals espoused at the highest levels of athletic achievement.