Heather Morris-eyton - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Heather Morris-eyton

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

Health, Sport & Rehabilitation Medicine, Mar 21, 2023

African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, Sep 1, 2015

African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 2015

Football is the most popular sport in South Africa. Despite its laudable acclaim, research has sh... more Football is the most popular sport in South Africa. Despite its laudable acclaim, research has shown that there is a high turnover of football coaches in the country. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the work-related barriers experienced by such coaches in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. A quantitative approach was adopted for this study. Eighty-six football coaches completed a 34-item questionnaire on the perceived hindrances to coaching, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.952. Results indicated that coaches identified lack of support for women players and coaches, unfair treatment of women, difficultly in gaining entry to the coaching profession, and inadequate salary as major barriers to their coaching. It is recommended that the South African Football Association (SAFA) should take note of these findings and develop remedial measures to alleviate the challenges facing football coaches. The association should also ensure that all forms of discrimi...

African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 2014

The establishment of a global framework recognising coaching competencies and qualifications is p... more The establishment of a global framework recognising coaching competencies and qualifications is part of the International Council for Coaching Excellence key objectives for the period 2009-2015. It is partly for this reason that the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has developed a framework for Long-Term Coach Development in order to identify, recruit, support and provide recognition to coaches (SASCOC, 2011). As part of a study exploring the impact of coach education on coaching practice, a national survey of lifesaving coaches was conducted (n = 120). This was done using the Survey Monkey® internet tool and targeted all coaches and administrators listed on the Lifesaving South Africa's database. Survey questions focused on obtaining a demographic profile, coaching experience and the foci of athlete training. Questions also sought to gather information on the coach education process, its content and the way it was assessed. Results from the surv...

Student Success

Self-directed learning skills are known to influence successful learning outcomes in a higher edu... more Self-directed learning skills are known to influence successful learning outcomes in a higher education environment. Moreover, first year students entering higher education lack self-directed learning skills, as these are not always developed at school level. A digital promise tool was used for a first-year student cohort to reflect on their personal learning experiences and behaviour over a period of two semesters. The researchers used the augmented community of inquiry as the theoretical framework in this study, focusing on the student learning presence. Two cycles of data were collected using student reflective and reflexive responses. The first cycle included developing a digital promise, where students reflected on their typical learning behaviour and commitments during their journey. After this cycle, opportunities were given for students to adjust their digital promise for the second semester. The results from the student reflections indicated an increase in self-motivated an...

Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstractD.Phil. (Sports Science

South African Journal of Sports Medicine

Background: Menstruation is the recurring discharge of the endometrial lining of the uterus as me... more Background: Menstruation is the recurring discharge of the endometrial lining of the uterus as menstrual blood and tissue. The menstruation cycle affects most adolescent females and, although largely overlooked, affects women participating in sports. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether coaches were aware of their swimmers’ menstrual cycles and whether coaches considered this information when adjusting training sets. Methods: Within the case study, a partial mixed-method, sequential dominant status approach was used. Data werecollected in the form of questionnaires, focus group discussions, and one-on-one interviews. Coaches’ awarenessof their female swimmers’ menstrual cycles was based more on observation than communication from the swimmer. Results: Coaches explained that training is adjusted based on their observations, but whether this is being done correctly during the menstrual cycle requires more research. Swimmers and coaches alike seem to have minimal ...

International Sports Studies, 2020

The purpose of this study was to examine sources of stress among football coaches in Gauteng Prov... more The purpose of this study was to examine sources of stress among football coaches in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Participants were 150 football coaches who completed the twenty-six item Stressors in Sports Coaching Questionnaire (Kubayi, Toriola, and Didymus, 2018). Players were generally seen as providing the greatest source of stress through ‘players underperforming in training’ and ‘lack of discipline and commitment from players’. The most important task related stressors came from the ‘lack of recognition of good coaching’ and ‘performing multiple roles’. ‘High expectation to win’ and ‘my performance is judged on players’ results’ were the major sources of performance stress and ‘job insecurity’ was the leading environmental stressor. It is recommended that sport clubs and managers in Gauteng need to increase the resources available to their coaches to cope with the stresses that have been identified. Particular attention should be paid to assist coaches in improving their r...

Despite the overwhelming amount of literature on athlete motivation, research concerning coach mo... more Despite the overwhelming amount of literature on athlete motivation, research concerning coach motivation in South Africa is sparse. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the motivational factors among sport coaches in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The sample consisted of 224 sport coaches who were purposively recruited to participate in this study. A Coach Motivation Scale (CMS) designed to assess extrinsic and intrinsic motives in coaching was used to collect data. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the CMS. Results indicated that sport coaches scored significantly higher on intrinsic motives than on extrinsic motives. Although sport coaches were more motivated intrinsically than extrinsically, the coaching environment should be modelled in such a way that it promotes both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation among coaches. Keywords: Motivation, sport coaches, intrinsic and extrinsic motives

Journal of Sports Sciences, 2020

The purpose of this study was to develop and preliminarily validate a questionnaire to examine ba... more The purpose of this study was to develop and preliminarily validate a questionnaire to examine barriers to coaching that are encountered by women sports coaches in South Africa. Two series of studies were conducted to assess content and face validity, factorial structure, and reliability of a new questionnaire. In study one, 40 items were developed based on LaVoi and Dutove's ecological model of barriers and supports for female coaches and a thorough literature review. A panel of experts was employed to explore content validity and suitability of the provisional items. In study two, an initial 35-item questionnaire (the Barriers to Sports Coaching Questionnaire for Women; BSCQW) was administered to 152 women sports coaches who were working in South Africa. Principal component analysis was used to reduce items and determine factorial structure of the questionnaire. Analyses resulted in a 32-item BSCQW, which consists of intrapersonal, interpersonal, organisational, and socio-cultural barriers to coaching. The most proximal barriers were organisational (M=2.71, SD=1.24) and interpersonal (M=2.22, SD=1.04). The findings indicate that the overall internal consistency of the BSCQW was .81, demonstrating that the questionnaire was reliable. Thus, the BSCQW is a valid tool to assess barriers experienced by women sports coaches in South Africa. Further rigorous psychometric assessments are warranted.

African Health Sciences, 2021

Background: Resource allocation and access to comprehensive treatment in the public healthcare se... more Background: Resource allocation and access to comprehensive treatment in the public healthcare sector are always under pressure. This pressure takes the form of staff shortages, treatment models and the holistic care of patients, compromising basic healthcare in South Africa. Objectives: The study’s aim was to determine the challenges that healthcare practitioners experience while assessing patients with non-communicable diseases, in private and public healthcare sectors in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Methods: The research design was exploratory and contextual. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups and semi-structured interviews among healthcare practitioners (n = 12). Data analysis took place using Atlas.ti 8.4 Windows (2020). Inter-rater reliability (r = 93.68%) was calculated to ensure the rigour and validity of the results. Results: From the discussion, four themes emerged: 1) limited consultation time; 2) overwhelming economic impact and healthcare cost...

South African Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020

Background: Rugby union is a popular and continuously growing sport globally. With the advance of... more Background: Rugby union is a popular and continuously growing sport globally. With the advance of technology, practices have been implemented to quantify the match running demands of rugby union players. The aim of this study was to analyse the match loads of rugby union players between the 2016 and 2018 Varsity Cup competitions. Methods: The sample consisted of 562 match observations of male university rugby union players competing in the Varsity Cup tournaments. Results: The backline players ran significantly longer total distances (5105 m; p = 0.001; ES = 0.49); have greater high- speed running (496 m; p = 0.001; ES = 1.03), very high-speed running (260 m; p = 0.001; ES = 1.50) and sprint distances (117 m; p = 0.001; ES = 1.32) than forward players. Backline players also accumulated a high number of metres per minute (238 ± 94; p = 0.001; ES = 0.46), total Player Load (488 ± 203; p = 0.001; ES = 0.31), RHIE (9 ± 8; p = 0.001; ES = 0.75) and number of accelerations (4 ± 5; p = 0.0...

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the work-related constraints encountered by female c... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the work-related constraints encountered by female coaches in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Participants were 100 female coaches who completed a 34-item questionnaire on the perceived constraints/hindrances to coaching. A Cronbach’s α of 0.953 was recorded for the questionnaire. Results indicated that coaches identified lack of support for women coaches, inadequate salary, job insecurity, difficulties in working with parents/spectators and coaching at weekends and evenings as the major constraints to their coaching. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that female coaches should be provided with support programmes which could ensure fair treatment of female coaches, promote equitable salaries, alleviate all forms of discrimination and ensure that their needs are well catered for.

Journal of Human Kinetics, 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine perceived hindrances encountered by sport coaches in the... more The purpose of this study was to examine perceived hindrances encountered by sport coaches in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. A total of 224 sport coaches (122 males and 102 females) were purposively recruited to participate in this study. An exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the Perceived Hindrance Scale. The results of this study indicated the following as major hindrances encountered by sport coaches: “Lack of support systems for women players”, “Lack of support for women coaches from superiors”, “Low salary”, “Lack of opportunities for promotion”, “Difficulties with parents/spectators” and “Lack of job security”. Recommendations on strategies to overcome these perceived hindrances are discussed.

South African Journal of Sports Medicine, 2013

Background. The potential performance-enhancement effect of pseudoephedrine (PSE) use has led to ... more Background. The potential performance-enhancement effect of pseudoephedrine (PSE) use has led to its prohibition in competition sports (urine concentrations >150 µg/ml). Data are, however, scarce regarding whether therapeutic PSE use enhances swimming performance. Objective. To investigate the effect of therapeutic PSE use on performance in aerobic and explosive sprint swimming events. Method. A double-blinded cross-over study design was used. Participants in the control group initially received a placebo and those in the experimental group received a divided PSE dose of 90 mg/d. Anaerobic power (50 m sprint) and aerobic (2 000 m) swimming testing was conducted at (i) baseline; (ii) after ingestion of a placebo or PSE; and (iii) after the groups were crossed over, following a wash-out period of 4 days, to determine changes in performance between trials. Results. The participants (mean age 44 years; N=7) were competitive masters swimmers with normal resting heart rates (68 beats per minute (bpm); standard deviation (SD) ±14) and blood pressures (BPs) (171 (SD ±27)/83 (SD ±16) mmHg). The use of PSE during the anaerobic swim test showed only a trivial chance (68%) of improvement, with a likely enhancement in systolic BP (86%). The aerobic swim test did not affirm performance enhancement as measured by time to completion (52% chance of a positive effect; 41% chance of a negative effect), nor did any other physiological variable of interest (peak heart rate and exercising BP) differ significantly from baseline results. Conclusion. The use of a therapeutic amount of PSE in short and endurance swimming trials did not appear to have any major ergogenic effect on performance.

The global population is ageing, and with it has been a growth of mature aged participation in sp... more The global population is ageing, and with it has been a growth of mature aged participation in sport. Following this trend, swimming amongst the adult population in South Africa, whether it is for recreation or competitive purposes, has increased. This research reports ...

Coach Education in Football

International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 2022