CPSS Sport-Specific Needs Analysis 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A needs analysis for gymnastics highlights the importance of relative strength. What does 'relative strength' mean in this context?
- Absolute maximal force production regardless of body weight
- Strength expressed per unit of body mass (Correct answer)
- The ratio of upper-body to lower-body strength
- Strength measured at slow isokinetic speeds only
Correct answer: Strength expressed per unit of body mass
Relative strength (force per kg of body mass) is critical in gymnastics where athletes must support, elevate, and control their own body weight.
Question 2: Which of the following best represents a 'qualitative' component of a sport-specific needs analysis?
- Heart rate data collected with GPS monitors during match play
- Expert observation and description of dominant movement patterns and skill demands (Correct answer)
- Force plate ground reaction force measurements
- VO2max values from laboratory ergometry
Correct answer: Expert observation and description of dominant movement patterns and skill demands
Qualitative analysis involves systematic expert observation and description of movement qualities and tactical demands that cannot easily be quantified numerically.
Question 3: For a sport dominated by overhead throwing mechanics, a needs analysis should identify which shoulder girdle quality as a priority for injury prevention?
- Excessive glenohumeral external rotation ROM beyond 120°
- Adequate posterior rotator cuff strength and scapular stabilizer function (Correct answer)
- Maximum pectoral hypertrophy for anterior force production
- Eliminating all glenohumeral internal rotation
Correct answer: Adequate posterior rotator cuff strength and scapular stabilizer function
Overhead throwers are at high risk for rotator cuff and labrum injuries, making posterior cuff strength and scapular control critical preventive priorities.
Question 4: A needs analysis of ice hockey identifies that defensemen skate less total distance but engage in more physical contact than forwards. How should this positional difference inform training?
- Defensemen should follow identical programming to forwards
- Defensemen should emphasize contact strength and power; forwards should prioritize skating endurance (Correct answer)
- Forwards require less conditioning than defensemen
- Body composition goals should be reversed for defensemen
Correct answer: Defensemen should emphasize contact strength and power; forwards should prioritize skating endurance
Positional distinctions in game demands justify differentiated training emphases, with defensemen needing more contact-based power and forwards needing greater skating-specific endurance.
Question 5: In a needs analysis framework, 'physiological profiling' of elite athletes in a sport is used primarily to do what?
- Rank athletes for contract negotiations
- Establish benchmark physical standards that guide testing and goal-setting for developing athletes (Correct answer)
- Replace sport-specific skill assessment entirely
- Determine lifetime injury probability scores
Correct answer: Establish benchmark physical standards that guide testing and goal-setting for developing athletes
Elite athlete physiological profiles set evidence-based performance targets that practitioners use to evaluate and develop athletes across the performance continuum.
Question 6: Which statistical approach is most appropriate when using a needs analysis to compare an athlete's physical profile to sport-specific normative data?
- Simple subtraction of raw scores
- Z-score or percentile rank comparison against position-specific normative databases (Correct answer)
- Correlation of the athlete's scores across test battery items only
- Averaging all athletes' scores regardless of position
Correct answer: Z-score or percentile rank comparison against position-specific normative databases
Z-scores and percentile ranks contextualize an individual's scores relative to position-specific normative populations, enabling meaningful profiling.
Question 7: A needs analysis identifies that a sport has a high incidence of ACL injuries occurring during deceleration tasks. Which training quality should be foregrounded in the injury prevention component?
- Maximal concentric quadriceps strength only
- Eccentric hamstring strength, neuromuscular landing mechanics, and single-leg stability (Correct answer)
- Upper-body hypertrophy training
- Aerobic base training to reduce fatigue
Correct answer: Eccentric hamstring strength, neuromuscular landing mechanics, and single-leg stability
ACL injuries during deceleration are linked to poor eccentric hamstring capacity, valgus collapse, and suboptimal landing mechanics—all addressable through targeted training.
CPSS Sport-Specific Needs Analysis 5
A needs analysis for gymnastics highlights the importance of relative strength.
What does 'relative strength' mean in this context?