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Latest Research
Research Details
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| Research Title: |
Safety attitudes and beliefs of junior Australian football players. |
| Type of Research: |
Publication Articles |
| Category: |
Conditioning
Preventative Techniques
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| Keywords: |
Football
Australian football, Safety, Attitudes, Beliefs, Junior, AFL
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| Author(s): |
C Finch, S Donohue, A Garnham |
| Author(s) Bio Box: |
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| Release Date: |
18 July 2006 |
| Research Summary/Text: |
While Australian football is not the most popular sport for males, ranked 15th overall and the 3rd most popular team sport, it is consistently associated with the highest number of medically treated sports injuries, accounting for over 20%. One group of non-AFL (Australian Football League) players with a high injury risk are the top junior players, that is, players aged 16-18 years who are being groomed for AFL teams after they turn 18. Because their skills are highly sought, these players often participate in their school team, the local community club and an elite team aligned with the AFL. These top players are at particular risk of injury due to a combination of three factors: high motivation to play and establish career; perception of risk of injury less than an adult’s; and high level of exposure to injury risk.
One hundred and three players from four metropolitan and two country Under 18 VFL (Victorian Football League) teams participated in the study at the start of the 1999 season by completing a questionnaire based on the principles of the “theory of reasoned action”. As well as demographic data and the attitudes and perceptions of respondents towards injury risk, data was also collected for each of the three settings of players’ perception of support from each.
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| Research Objectives: |
The research aims to describe the self reported safety attitudes and beliefs of top junior Australian football players to help shape injury prevention programs for these players.
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| Research Outcomes: |
Although only 6% of survey respondents believed it was safe to play with injuries, 58% were willing to risk doing so. This increased to almost 80% when players perceived that their chances of being selected to play for an AFL team would be adversely affected. There were significant differences in the perceived level of support and in the ranking of safety as a high priority.
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| Research Implications: |
This study highlights a number of adverse attitudes and beliefs towards safety which should be addressed in future injury prevention programs for these players.
While the majority of players indicated that they were willing to risk playing with an injury, very few thought that it was safe to do so. Players’ desire to play AFL football may be so attractive that many are willing to take risks that could lead to further injury, including playing with existing injury or returning to play before fully rehabilitated.
Media coverage of AFL football, in which players are glorified to continuing to play while injured, may act to minimize the perceived consequences of high risk behaviours and influence young players attitudes and behaviours.
In general, VFL U18 clubs were perceived to provide better safety training and rehabilitation for injured players than local clubs and particularly schools. The availability of full-time administrators and first aid support for the elite teams is probably responsible for this difference. However, local club coaches were perceived to be more supportive of injured players than the coaches of VFL U18 or school teams. Support for injured players assists in both the physical and psychological rehabilitation of players.
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| Availability of Full Research Paper: |
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