Battaglia's expertise was recently showcased in a Maclean's magazine article, .

According to Battaglia, young athletes can face increased risks of stress and burnout when they are constantly concerned about earning playing time, making a team, avoiding cuts or living up to parental expectations. In those situations, the potential drawbacks of sport participation can begin to overshadow its benefits.

He notes that as families invest more money in organized sports, expectations often rise as well. Rather than focusing on personal growth or character development, some parents become preoccupied with their child’s on-field success, whether they are getting enough opportunities to play or attracting attention from scouts and recruiters.

Battaglia, who also works in mental performance consulting, says he occasionally declines requests from families when he believes the emphasis on achievement has become excessive, particularly with very young children. He recalls hearing from parents who want their child to become dominant in a sport at an age when they should primarily be enjoying the experience and building fundamental skills. In some cases, these expectations are placed on children as young as eight years old.

Dr. Heather Edgell

The European Respiratory Society Congress is one of the world’s largest respiratory medicine meetings, bringing together clinicians, researchers, and allied professionals for scientific exchange and collaboration.

A new project led by Burelle and Erickson, and conducted in partnership with Peterborough Rugby Club, is exploring how players, coaches and families can be better supported when introducing or reintroducing contact in rugby. The work focuses on three areas: youth athletes learning contact rugby for the first time; participants in mixed-ability programs; and adults returning to contact rugby later in life.

See the full story in YFile.

The researchers ultimately received survey responses from 1,505 CR programs across 90 countries. Program leaders completed questionnaires about how care is delivered, how people utilize services and the financial challenges both patients and providers face. The researchers then analyzed the results by country income level.

Among the study's observations was the limited adoption of systematic referral systems, which automatically refer eligible individuals to cardiac rehabilitation rather than relying on a clinician to manually make the referral.

For full coverage, see the YFile story.

Ashley Day, assistant professor, is a co-investigator with Kate Dunn, assistant professor in the Faculty of Health, who was awarded $761,174 to work with First Nations communities on culturally grounded approaches to liver wellness and hepatitis C awareness, screening and care. Building on previous CIHR-funded research, they are working with a team of co-investigators, including 91ÑÇɫ’s Mia Biondi, Karen Campbell, and Tarama Barnett.  The  will co-design community-integrated pathways that combine Indigenous knowledge, creative engagement and clinical access to improve awareness and access to services.  

Dr. Day has also received a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for her project Wiisokotaatiwin – gathering to re-imagine decolonial health education.

For further information, see the YFile story.

Yuka Nakamura, also in the School of Kinesiology and Health Science in the Faculty of Health has also received funding from SSHRC of $172,229. Dr. Nakamura's project is on Community and Connection: Understanding the Growth and Social Impact of Ethnic, Cultural and Religious Sport Organizations in Toronto.

See YFile for full story with all recipients.

For more details, see YFile.

For more details, see YFile story.