Using video docuseries to explore male professional football head coaches' well-being experiences throughout a season.

Football coaches have disclosed how their work environment is unpredictable and demanding, comprising a multitude of stressors which can impede well-being. Additionally, the masculine culture within football often promotes suppression of voice, causing internalisation of thoughts and isolation. Due to professional football head coaches being a seldom-heard group, little is known about how they experience well-being within their given context (i.e., ecological niche). The present study utilised football docuseries and a bioecological framework to explore how four male professional head coaches experienced well-being whilst working in one of the top European football leagues (Premier League, La Liga). Four docuseries were sampled and resulted in the analysis of 31 episodes (Mduration = 46.6 min, SD = 4.5 min). The study implemented an adapted interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to illuminate convergences and divergences in contextual accounts. These accounts resulted in five group experiential themes: 'I belong to the game'; 'he belongs to the game'; 'you need the right people around you'; 'it's difficult to describe the manager without describing the person'; and 'people are trying to stab you'. The findings indicate that football coaches may experience identity conflicts and become deeply absorbed in their work. This impacts not only their well-being but also their family's, who they often turn to for social support. Consequently, by unveiling nuanced challenges to coaches' well-being, organisations may be better informed to offer more aligned and bespoke well-being support systems.

It Can Be a "Very Fine Line": Professional Footballers' Perceptions of the Conceptual Divide Between Bullying and Banter.

This study explores professional footballers' perceptions of where banter crosses the conceptual line into bullying. The study's focus is of importance, given the impact that abusive behaviors have been found to have on the welfare and safeguarding of English professional footballers. A phenomenological approach was adopted, which focused on the essence of the participants' perceptions and experiences. Guided by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), individual semi-structured interviews (M Duration = 44.10 min, SD = 10.81) were conducted with 18 male professional footballers (M age = 19.83 years, SD = 2.96) from three Premier League and Championship football clubs. The findings from this study revealed several key superordinate themes in relation to the dividing line between bullying and banter. These themes included "perception," "intentionality," "detecting the line," and "having a bit of banter." The findings demonstrate how perceptions of bullying and banter are nuanced by individual differences among the players and the culture of the professional football context. Specifically, it was found that the professional football context can legitimize forms of humor blurring the lines between bullying and banter, challenging the typically positive view of the concept of banter in this environment. From an applied perspective, these findings highlight the need for coaches, players, and football clubs more broadly to address cultural expectations around banter in their environment, while educating individuals around their own perceptions of bullying and banter.

Assessing post-game emotions in soccer teams: The role of distinct emotional dynamics.

This study examined the relationships between team (n = 10) and player post-game emotions following two consecutive games. In addition, the relationship between emotional contagion susceptibility and player post-game emotions was assessed. Applying an experience sampling methodology, male amateur and semi-professional soccer players (N = 114, Mage = 25.46 years, SD = 9.24) completed a sport emotion questionnaire shortly after the conclusion of two competitive games. Participants also completed a dispositional emotional contagion questionnaire prior to post-game data collection. Multilevel regressions revealed that teams' collective post-game emotions were strongly associated with players' post-game emotions, after accounting for within- (e.g. time, game outcome) and between-person (e.g. formal leaders, emotional contagion susceptibility) differences. In addition, partial support was found to indicate that emotional contagion susceptibility was associated with players' post-game emotions. In this context of soccer, the findings suggest that collective emotions following a game are more indicative of individual players' emotions than an individual's general tendency to mimic the emotions of others. From an applied perspective, the findings demonstrate the importance of coaches and players being mindful of the team's emotional climate after a game and the impact it may have on players, especially when that climate is negative. HighlightsWe assessed the relationship between soccer team (n = 10) and player (N = 114) post-game emotions.We also assessed how emotional contagion susceptibility was linked to post-game emotions.Multilevel regressions revealed that team's collective post-game emotions are more indicative of players' post-game emotions than a player's emotional contagion susceptibility.

Influence of rapidly successive head impacts on brain strain in the vicinity of bridging veins.

Acute subdural hematoma due to a bridging vein rupture is a devastating but rare injury. There has to date been no satisfactory biomechanical explanation for this infrequent but costly injury. We surmise that it may be associated with multiple head impacts. Though numerical models have been used to estimate vein strains in single impact events, none to date have examined the influence on localized brain strain of rapidly consecutive impacts. Using the Simulated Injury Monitor, we investigated the hypothesis that such double impacts can increase strain beyond that created by any single impact. Input to our parametric study comprised hypothetical biphasic rotational head accelerations producing a maximum angular velocity of 40rad./s. In each of 19 simulations, two identical angular inputs are applied at right angles to each other but with time separations varying from 0 to 40ms. For these double impacts, it has been generally found that strain in the region of the bridging veins is different, than what would be associated with any corresponding single impact. In some cases, the effect is to actually reduce the tissue strain. In others, the strain in the region of the bridging veins is increased markedly. The mechanistic explanation for the strain increase is that the tissue strain from the first impact has not diminished fully when strain from the second impact is initiated. Rapidly consecutive impacts could be a potential mechanism leading to vein rupture that warrants further investigation.

Effects of external helmet accessories on biomechanical measures of head injury risk: An ATD study using the HYBRIDIII headform.

Competitive cycling is a popular activity in North America for which injuries to the head account for the majority of hospitalizations and fatalities. In cycling, use of helmet accessories (e.g. cameras) has become widespread. As a consequence, standards organizations and the popular media are discussing the role these accessories could play in altering helmet efficacy and head injury risk. We conducted impacts to a helmeted anthropomorphic headform, with and without camera accessories, at speeds of 4m/s and 6m/s, and measured head accelerations, forces on the head-form skull, and used the Simulated Injury Monitor to estimate brain tissue strain. The presence of the camera reduced peak linear head acceleration (51% - 4m/s impacts, 61% - 6m/s, p<0.05). Skull fracture risk based on kinematics was always less than 1%. For 4m/s impacts, peak angular accelerations were lower (47%, p<0.05), as were peak angular velocities (14%) with the velocity effect approaching significance (p=0.06), with the camera accessory. For 6m/s impacts, accelerations were on average higher (5%, p>0.05) as were velocities (77%, p<0.05). Skull forces were never greater than 443.2N, well below forces associated with fracture. Brain tissue strain, the cumulative strain damage measure at 25% (CSDM-25), was lower (56%, p<0.05) in 4m/s but higher (125%, p>0.05) in 6m/s impacts with the camera accessory. Based on CSDM-25 for 4m/s tests, the risk of severe concussion was reduced (p<0.05) from 25% (no camera) to 7% (camera). For 6m/s tests, risks were on average increased (p>0.05) from 18% (no camera) to 58% (camera).

An integrated helmet and neck support (iHANS) for racing car drivers: a biomechanical feasibility study.

A new form of head and neck protection for racing car drivers is examined. The concept is one whereby the helmet portion of the system is attached, by way of a quick release clamp, to a collar-like platform which is supported on the driver's shoulders. The collar, which encircles the back and sides of the driver's neck, is held in place by way of the on-board restraint belts. The interior of the helmet portion of the assembly is large enough to provide adequate volitional head motion. The overall objective of the design is to remove the helmet from the wearer's head and thereby to mitigate the deleterious features of helmet wearing such as neck fatigue, poor ventilation and aerodynamic buffeting. Just as importantly, by transferring the weight of the helmet and all attendant reaction forces associated with inertial and impact loads to the shoulder complex (instead of to the neck), reduced head and neck injury probability should be achievable. This paper describes the concept development and the evolution of various prototype designs. Prototypes have been evaluated on track and sled tested in accordance with contemporary head neck restraint systems practice. Also discussed is a series of direct impact tests. In addition, low mass high velocity ballistic tests have been conducted and are reviewed herein. It is concluded that this new concept indeed does address most of the drawbacks of the customary helmet and that it generally can reduce the probability of head and neck injury.