SIRC

You’ve probably heard of the Relative Age Effect – the concept that when children are placed into groups such as school classes or sports based on their chronological age, those born early in the cohort may have physical or intellectual advantages compared to those born late, leading to selection for enriched opportunities that tend to compound the advantage. Research into sport shows relative...Read more

Canada’s Long Term Athlete Development Model offers an important conceptual framework to chart athlete development along the continuum of sport participation from playground to podium. Yet among athletes with a disability, each of whom enters and engages within the sport system in a unique way, it can be difficult to delineate a common pathway. Individuals with disabilities come at sport from...Read more

Young girls today have quite a few options to choose from when deciding which sport they wish to dedicate their time and effort to, particularly regarding sports that have traditionally been reserved for boys. While the number of girls in sport is growing and the gender gap is getting smaller, there is still a noticeable absence of women in sport leadership positions. There are many factors that...Read more

SIRC is pleased to be working together with Sport Canada to share current research on topics informing policy and promoting quality sport programming. This week we are sharing highlights from a recent article examining the RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHES AND THE LONG-TERM ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT MODEL . Coaches' adoption and implementation of Sport Canada’s long-term athlete development model. Charlotte...Read more

There is extensive research on the health benefits of being physically active; despite this fact, a great number of Canadian youths are still not meeting the recommended level of daily physical activity . Being physically active not only improves physiological outcomes but research has shown it can also improve cognitive function and mental health . For youth to participate in physical activity...Read more

Setting goals for any athlete creates a vision and sets a plan of what they hope to accomplish. Goals should be challenging but also realistic in order to keep the athlete motived. Writing them down ensures that the process is more effective since they are able to refer to objectives on a regular basis. Having short-term, medium-term and long-term goals allows an athlete to dream, develop...Read more

No two athletes are the same. Most athletes have their own ways of approaching practice and competition. As a coach, to get the best out of your athlete you have to get to know them as individuals and as athletes. To do this you have to understand what gets them motivated, their learning style and their feedback preferences. Most athletes are interested in developing their abilities, as athletes...Read more

Goal setting is great way to help an athlete be able to achieve their ideal performance. Having a set of goals keeps the athlete motivated to be consistent with training and get results during competition as the goals should be realistic, offer feedback, and provide a sense of accomplishment. There are two types of goals orientation presented in athletic achievement goal theory : task orientation...Read more