<p>The purpose of the present study was to investigate, the effectiveness of a balance<br />training program in male professional handball players. Thirty professional handball players<br />were randomly divided into experimental and control group. The experimental group (N=15), additional to the training program, followed an intervention balance program for 12 weeks. All<br />subjects performed a static balance test (deviations from the horizontal plane). The results<br />revealed that the 12-week balance training program improved (p<0.01) all balance performance<br />indicators in the experimental group. Thus, a balance training program can increase balance<br />ability of handball players, and could used as a prevent tool for lower limbs muscular skeletal<br />injuries.</p>

<p>The research deals with cross-section analysis of ontogenetic characteristics of basic<br />kinematic parameters of the running stride in terms of age and gender from 7 to 18 years of<br />age. There were monitored: average velocity, stride frequency and length, duration of support<br />and flying phase, as well as other derived indicators at 10 m with 15 m flying start. Sample<br />consisted of 1299 male and 1288 female students of elementary and high schools in<br />Bratislava. Authors determined high age dependency of running speed and stride length on<br />age. On the other hand, there was high ontogenetic stability of the indicators (stride<br />frequency, duration of support and flying phase) in the population of 7 to 18 year-old youth. Ontogenetically stable parameters deteriorated partially in prepubescent and at the beginning<br />of the pubescent period in the age 11 ñ 15. This relates to rapid growth of body height and<br />weight and deterioration of biomechanical and coordination conditions of an organism. Those<br />finding lead the authors to the conclusion, that ontogenetically stable indicators comprise so<br />called dispositional factors in evaluating the rate of talent for running speed.</p>

The aim of this study is to determine the motivational structure of youths for practicing sports. The research included 60 participants, of both sexes, all aged between 13 and 16. The survey method was applied. The research results showed the following facts: that intrinsic motivation is the main instigator for practicing sports and 58.33% of the participants personally made the decision to start doing sports. As for the structure of motives, health is in the first place of importance, followed by love for sports, then success, friendship, popularity and good looks. Money as primary motive is penultimate instigator, while fun is the last main motive for doing sports. The hierarchy of motives for initial involvement in sports activities does not differ on the basis of gender. Children are most intensively involved in sports between 6 and 10 years of age. The main conclusion of the research is that coaches should improve the consciousness of practicing sports for the purposes of fun and friendship.

<p>The article intends to show the impact of a pedagogical proposal in Physical Education (PE). The proposal was focussed on autonomy, personal and social responsibility, and decision-making in order to prepare the individual to be able to keep an active lifestyle, in terms of exercising, after finishing compulsory education. This proposal could be considered as an interactive teaching model (Blanchard, 2009) in which the students play an active and reflexive role in all the decisions taken during the teaching-learning process. Also, it shares aspects with the Sport Education model by Daryl Siedentop and the Social and Personal Responsibility model by Don Hellison. The research is a longitudinal study that used an ethnographic methodology to study the teaching-learning process of a mixed group of 25 students led by a PE teacher at a school in CataluÒa, Spain. The aim was to learn about studentsí opinion on their learning in PE lessons, their current exercise habits and their own autonomy and initiative to keep on exercising. The results show that the specific learning environment, the personality of the teacher, the teacher- student relationship, the strategies and the contents had had a significant impact on students. This impact exceeded any expectations related to concepts of physically active lifestyles and it included aspects of social awareness, responsibility, respect, empathy and recognition of the importance of PE in their lives.</p>

<p>This study compared self reported physical activity (PA) (MET min/week) with<br />pedometer determined PA (steps/day). Participants in this study were 300 adults, (25 - 56 years<br />of age). PA was assessed with the IPAQ long form and the number of steps was assessed with<br />the Yamax model SW-200. Participants wore the pedometer for 7 consecutive days. Data<br />(categorical score) was analyzed using cross-tabs analysis. Two-way ANOVA (gender 2 x level<br />of PA 3) was performed on the number of steps/day. Significant main effect was reported only<br />for the factor ìlevel of PAî with adults in the moderate and the high activity group performing<br />more steps/day than adults in the low PA group. Adults in Greece performed less steps/day than<br />the international recommendations PA suggest even though the majority of them were assigned<br />by IPAQ long form at the moderate and very high PA groups.</p>

<p>Usage of unallowed stimulative drugs for recovery implies consuming or giving to others substances which artificially improve physical and psychical condition of an athlete and thus improve his/her success in sport. The goal of the study is to examine attitudes of football players of various length of sports experience, towards unallowed stimulative substances for recovery. The sample of examinees consists of 120 football players divided into two groups, on basis of the sports experience length (first group: 4-8 years of sport experience, second group: 9-14 years). The sample of variables consists of a system of 10 items (claims) assessed on a 5-grade scale. The importance of the differences between the groups was determined by a multivariate and univariate analysis of variance, discriminative analysis, Royís test, Pearson's coefficient of contingency and the coefficient of multiple correlation. It is evident that football players of different length of sport experience differ among themselves in their attitudes towards unallowed drugs for recovery, however, those differences are not big.</p>

<p>The last National programme for sport (2000) has been prepared for the 2000 ñ 2010 strategic period and as such it will run its course at the end of 2010. Methodological starting- point for preparation of the new National programme for sport for 2011 ñ 2020, which could become a fundamental strategic document for progress and development of Slovenian sport in the coming decade, was based on the methodology of strategic management (énidaröiË Krajnc, 1996; Kolar, 2007; PuËko, 2003; 2008). A project team has prepared a proposal for the new National programme for sport for 2011 ñ 2020, which will have to undergo a long path of changes and amendments until it will be passed in the Slovenian Parliament. Responses of all types of public were critical but encouraging.</p>

<p>The subject of present research was relations between basketball playersí social characteristics and their conformity toward coach and club management. Study aim was to explore the relationship between basketball playersí social characteristics and their conformity toward coach and club management. Sample of examinees was consisted of 113 adult basketball players. Research instruments were modified social questionnaire SSMAXIP (Hoöek, 2004), and modified conformity scale (The Conformity Scale, Mehrabian, & Stefl, 1995). Internal reliability of the conformity scale was ·=.74. Spearmanís coefficient of rank correlation was used in order to examine significance of relations between social characteristics and conformity of basketball players. This analysis has shown that significant relationships between the majority of social characteristics and conformity toward coach and club management of basketball players do not exist, indicating that some outer factors contribute to playersí high conformity.</p>

<p>The ample attendance of adults in dancing associations in order to learn Greek traditional dancing has rendered it necessary to investigate the reasons that lead them to participate in such activities. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the demographic characteristics constitute differentiation factors of the attendance motives in Greek traditional dancing classes. Adapted on the Greek population the Participation Motivation Questionnaire by Gill, Gross, and Huddleston (1983) was used for the data collection. In the study 454 individuals of over 30 years of age who were taught Greek dancing in dancing associations took part. A frequency analysis, OneñWay Anova and Man Whitney U test was used for the data statistical process. From the results it seems that the demographic characteristics of the sample partly differentiate the factors of the attendance. More specifically, age and years of attendance do not in the least influence the motives of attendance (p<.05) while sex, educational level, place of residence and previous dancing experience partly influence the attendance motives (p<.05).</p>