There has been considerable debate concerning the benefits of children participating in weight training programs. With the potential benefits of such training in specific rehabilitation regimens, the safety/efficacy of weight training is a topic in need of scientific study. Fifty-two experimental and 39 control subjects participated in this study. A 2 x 2 x 2 (gender by treatment by Tanner stage) ANOVA was used to examine pre- to post-test differences in six strength measures, eight anthropometric measures, five motor performance measures, and one flexibility measure associated with participation in a 12-week progressive resistance programme. In addition, safety of the weight training programme was examined. For strength differences, there were two significant main effects favouring strength gains in males and four favouring the experimental group. For anthropometric changes, 3-way interactions occurred that were not easily explained. However, the predominant main effect was treatment; the experimental group generally experienced gains in body segment girths with decreases in skinfold thickness. For motor performance, the experimental group had greater improvements in three of five parameters. The experimental group also had significantly greater gains in flexibility. The weight training programme was associated with only one injury. These findings support the general observation that physical benefits can be gained safely by children who participate in a weight training programme.

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Objective: Altered postural presentations have been associated with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Therapeutic exercise interventions are often utilized to manage patients with increased thoracic kyphosis or "round shoulders," yet few controlled studies have evaluated their efficacy. Design: A prospective, randomized, controlled design was used to evaluate the influence of a home-based exercise regimen on these postural variances. Seventy-one patients with real or perceived concerns about their thoracic posture completed the 13-week study. Patients with 23-80 • of thoracic kyphosis entered the study. Pre-and post-intervention flexicurve measurements of thoracic kyphosis were made. Patients were randomly assigned to an exercise (n = 32) or control group (n = 39). A mixed design ANOVA tested main effects and interactions. Results: A statistically significant (p < 0.05) interaction was found between group assignment and delta kyphosis values. Posthoc analysis of the multiple comparisons produced a marginal p-value (p = 0.0557). Mean delta kyphosis values were (+) 0.5 • (±7.0 •) for the control group and (−) 3.0 • (±6.1 •) for the experimental group. Conclusions: This 13-week home exercise program targeting modification of thoracic kyphosis angles had a statistically significant impact. However, post-hoc statistical analyses and clinical implications are marginal.

Harter's (1979) perceived competence subscale was modified to specifically apply to soccer in order to compare young soccer players' general self-esteem, perceived physical competence, and perceived soccer competence scores in predicting players' actual soccer ability. Young soccer players (N = 217), 8 to 13 years of age, were tested on five soccer skill tests. Players also completed Harter's (1979) Perceived Competence Scale for Children and our perceived soccer competence subscale. We hypothesized that perceived soccer competence would have high internal consistency and would be a better predictor of soccer ability than either perceived physical competence or general self-esteem. Results indicated that the perceived soccer competence subscale had the highest internal consistency reliability coefficient, and that it was also slightly more predictive of soccer ability than perceived physical competence as indicated by multivariate multiple regression analysis and canonical correlation analysis. Future studies investigating perceived competence as a motivational variable in specific youth sports may find the sport-specific perceived competence measure to provide additional information to Harter's questionnaire.