A broad agenda with societal urgency — From improving children's learning performances to delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease. From productive employees to playing football to counteract radicalisation. From including the disabled to economic export product. Sport can make a positive contribution to dealing with social, cultural and healthcare issues more effectively and can stimulate both personal and economic growth. Two conditions must be satisfied if these contributions are to be realised in a structural, sustainable and successful manner. One: all parties involved must collaborate to realise the evidence-based added value of sport in practice. Two: politicians, industry, healthcare and health insurers must recognise that it is in everybody's interest that sport acquires this key role.
Sports are activities enjoyed by many across the globe, regardless of age. The existence and promotion of youth sports has often been based on various assumptions about its value and role in society. Sports participation is assumed to be fun and good and is assumed to contribute to the development of young people. As a result, sports are often seen as an essential part of life for youth. Participation in sports and physical activity is assumed to help young people to develop in a context in which they are able to learn important positive societal values (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005; Holt, 2008). Although there is a widespread belief in the positive dimensions of sports participation for young people, there is a need for research and theory that identifies and critically looks at the processes through which sports participation by youth is experienced and shapes their lives (Coakley, 2011). I return to this critical perspective after I elaborate on the ways sports are viewed as important effective activities for positive youth development.
The impact of organized youth sport on youth development depends on various conditions in the pedagogical climate, such as how sport is delivered by youth sport coaches. While this is broadly acknowledged and provides a basis to improve youth sport and its developmental outcomes, little is known about the pedagogical perspectives of youth coaches on their practice. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 32 youth sport coaches in diverse youth sport contexts in the Netherlands. Reflexive data analysis is employed to garner insights into coaches’ role perceptions, coaching goals, and underlying values. The findings show that while youth coaches focus on sport-centered activities, many foreground non-sport dimensions such as life mentoring and working towards social inclusion as critical elements of their work, reflected in five pedagogically-oriented goals: discipline, autonomy, resilience, social abilities, and aspirations. Underlying these goals are pedagogical values such as building and maintaining caring relationships with participants. These goals and values echo scientific literature on pedagogical sport climate conditions (e.g. positive youth development), and challenge notions of youth sport as a performance-oriented and uncaring setting. The results contribute to existing knowledge about youth coaches’ pedagogical orientations, and inform the development of strategies to stimulate positive sport practices and developmental outcomes for participants.
Vanaf schooljaar 2024-2025 loopt het eenjarig onderzoeksproject ‘Minder voedselverspilling door verwerken van reststromen fruit in een dessert’. Gedurende dit project gaan derdejaars mbo-studenten een onderzoek verrichten naar de ontwikkeling van een dessert dat gemaakt is van de reststromen van fruit. Wij zoeken een oplossing voor de reststromen van fruit vanuit de transport overslag van Olympic Fruit, een fruit importeur en distribiteur uit Barendrecht. Dit doen we in samenwerking met het bedrijf Half-Baked (een nevenonderneming van Olympic Fruit) dat de reststromen fruit van Olympic Fruit verwerkt. Half-Baked verwerkt reststromen van diverse soorten fruit (zoals druiven, citrusvruchten, steenvruchten en enkele exoten) tot een gepasteuriseerde pulp/puree, dat zijn weg moet vinden naar producenten. Met behulp van de systematiek van design thinking worden samen met het bedrijfsleven en studenten van diverse opleidingen (circulaire tuinbouw, logistiek, food) van de Lentiz mbo scholen oplossingsrichtingen bedacht voor deze reststromen. Deze oplossingsrichting moet uiteindelijk leiden tot de ontwikkeling van een dessert, dat zijn weg moet vinden in bestaande food productie bedrijven. Een mogelijke oplossingsrichting is de techniek van foodprinting, die gebruikt kan worden voor het verwerken van reststromen. Als het lukt om dit product tot stand te brengen zal het dessert gepresenteerd worden bij de World Food Expo in Osaka, door het bedrijf Van der Linde Catering. Het product wordt als meerwaarde ervaren als er een voedingsclaim kan worden toegevoegd (zoals eiwitverrijking, of rijk aan vezels).
Along with the rapidly growing number of disabled people participating in competitive sports, there is an increased need for (para)medical support in disability sports. Disabled athletes experience differences in body composition, metabolism, training load and habitual activity patterns compared with non-disabled athletes. Moreover, it has been suggested that the well-recognized athlete triad, and low energy availability and low bone mineral density in particular, is even a greater challenge in disabled athletes. Therefore, it is not surprising that sport nutritionists of disabled athletes have expressed an urgency for increased knowledge and insights on the nutritional demands of this group. This project aims to investigate energy expenditure, dietary intake, body composition and bone health of disabled athletes, ultimately leading to nutritional guidelines that promote health and optimal sports performance for this unique population. For this purpose, we will conduct a series of studies and implementation activities that are inter-related and build on the latest insights from sports practice, technology and science. Our international consortium is highly qualified to achieve this goal. It consists of knowledge institutes including world-leading experts in sport and nutrition research, complemented with practical insights from nutritionists working with disabled athletes and the involvement of athletes and teams through the Dutch and Norwegian Olympic committees. The international collaboration, which is a clear strength of this project, is not only focused on research, but also on the optimization of professional practice and educational activities. In this regard, the outcomes of this project will be directly available for practical use by the (para)medical staff working with disabled athletes, and will be extensively communicated to sport teams to ensure that the new insights are directly embedded into daily practice. The project outcomes will also be incorporated in educational activities for dietetics and sport and exercise students, thereby increasing knowledge of future practitioners.
Along with the rapidly growing number of disabled people participating in competitive sports, there is an increased need for (para)medical support in disability sports. Disabled athletes experience differences in body composition, metabolism, training load and habitual activity patterns compared with non-disabled athletes. Moreover, it has been suggested that the well-recognized athlete triad, and low energy availability and low bone mineral density in particular, is even a greater challenge in disabled athletes. Therefore, it is not surprising that sport nutritionists of disabled athletes have expressed an urgency for increased knowledge and insights on the nutritional demands of this group. This project aims to investigate energy expenditure, dietary intake, body composition and bone health of disabled athletes, ultimately leading to nutritional guidelines that promote health and optimal sports performance for this unique population. For this purpose, we will conduct a series of studies and implementation activities that are inter-related and build on the latest insights from sports practice, technology and science. Our international consortium is highly qualified to achieve this goal. It consists of knowledge institutes including world-leading experts in sport and nutrition research, complemented with practical insights from nutritionists working with disabled athletes and the involvement of athletes and teams through the Dutch and Norwegian Olympic committees. The international collaboration, which is a clear strength of this project, is not only focused on research, but also on the optimization of professional practice and educational activities. In this regard, the outcomes of this project will be directly available for practical use by the (para)medical staff working with disabled athletes, and will be extensively communicated to sport teams to ensure that the new insights are directly embedded into daily practice. The project outcomes will also be incorporated in educational activities for dietetics and sport and exercise students, thereby increasing knowledge of future practitioners.
