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Sports
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Sport, Disability, and Well-Being: Research on Physical and Mental Health
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Sport, Disability, and Well-Being: Research on Physical and Mental Health

A Special Issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 2102

Editor

Prof. Dr. Lawrence W. Judge

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Marieb College of Health & Human Services, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd South, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA
Interests: coaching science and education; strength and conditioning for athletic performance; paralympic and adaptive sport performance; evidence-based coaching practice; athlete development and high-performance training

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Participation in sport and structured physical activity has emerged as a powerful pathway for enhancing physical health, psychological well-being, and social inclusion among individuals with disabilities. The existing evidence increasingly demonstrates that adaptive sport participation can improve functional capacity, support mental health, foster resilience, and enhance quality of life across diverse disability populations. Despite these advances, critical knowledge gaps remain regarding the mechanisms linking sport participation to health outcomes, the effectiveness of evidence-based training and rehabilitation models, and the structural and environmental barriers that continue to limit equitable access to sport and physical activity.

This Special Issue invites rigorous empirical investigations, systematic reviews, and theoretically grounded contributions that advance scientific understanding of the complex relationships among sport participation, disability, and well-being. We particularly encourage interdisciplinary scholarship examining adaptive sport performance, exercise and rehabilitation interventions, psychosocial outcomes among disabled athletes, inclusive sport environments, and policy or community-level strategies that promote equitable participation. Submissions integrating perspectives from exercise science, rehabilitation science, psychology, public health are especially welcome.

Prof. Dr. Lawrence W. Judge
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adaptive sport
  • disability
  • mental health
  • physical activity
  • well-being

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  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 681 KB  
Article
Discriminative Validity of Field-Based Propulsion and Sprint Tests in Elite Wheelchair Court Athletes with Different Functional Profiles
by Jordi Sanchez-Grau, Roger Font, Víctor Toro-Román, Gerard Carmona and Adrián García-Fresneda
Sports 2026, 14(6), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14060220 - 28 May 2026
Viewed by 585
Abstract
Purpose: Field-based tests are widely used to assess propulsion and sprint performance in wheelchair athletes; however, their ability to discriminate between functional performance profiles associated with different impairment characteristics remains insufficiently explored. This study evaluated the discriminative capacity of propulsion, sprint, and [...] Read more.
Purpose: Field-based tests are widely used to assess propulsion and sprint performance in wheelchair athletes; however, their ability to discriminate between functional performance profiles associated with different impairment characteristics remains insufficiently explored. This study evaluated the discriminative capacity of propulsion, sprint, and manoeuvrability tests in elite wheelchair court athletes. Methods: Nineteen male elite athletes (ten wheelchair basketball, nine wheelchair rugby) performed the initial maximum push-rim propulsion (IMPRP), a 12 m linear sprint (3, 5, and 12 m splits), and a wheelchair manoeuvrability test (3L3R). Test reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Results: Test reliability was high across all assessments (ICC ≥ 0.82). The higher functional performance profile group demonstrated substantially greater IMPRP mechanical outputs, including mean velocity (ES = 2.69), maximum velocity (ES = 3.29), mean power (ES = 1.75), and maximum power (ES = 2.09) (all p < 0.001). Sprint performance also showed large between-group differences at 5 m (ES = 1.53) and 12 m (ES = 1.68) (p < 0.001), whereas manoeuvrability differences were moderate (ES = 0.62; p = 0.043). Conclusions: IMPRP and short-distance sprint tests appeared sensitive to differences between ecologically distinct wheelchair court sport athletes characterised by different real-world functional performance profiles. These field-based assessments may be useful for performance monitoring and may complement ecologically distinct athlete groups in wheelchair court sports. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport, Disability, and Well-Being: Research on Physical and Mental Health)
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15 pages, 432 KB  
Article
Combining Multisensory Cueing and Velocity-Based Training to Enhance Shot Put Performance in an F12 Para-Athlete: A Case Report
by Lawrence W. Judge and Exal Garcia-Carrillo
Sports 2026, 14(5), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14050181 - 1 May 2026
Viewed by 1066
Abstract
This case report documents the multi-season development of a 38-year-old elite F12 shot putter with macular degeneration (<10% functional vision) who improved from 13.00 m to a personal best of 14.41 m between 2021 and 2023. Athletes classified as F11–F13 compete with significant [...] Read more.
This case report documents the multi-season development of a 38-year-old elite F12 shot putter with macular degeneration (<10% functional vision) who improved from 13.00 m to a personal best of 14.41 m between 2021 and 2023. Athletes classified as F11–F13 compete with significant visual impairment that limits spatial feedback during rotational tasks, yet longitudinal evidence describing integrated training frameworks remains scarce. A 12-month macrocycle integrated phase-dependent velocity-based resistance training using mean concentric velocity targets (0.70–1.00 m·s−1) monitored via linear position transducers with a 10% velocity loss threshold, combined with structured auditory and tactile cueing, including metronome pacing and environmental anchors. High-volume warm-ups and prehabilitation addressed a prior L4–L5 disk herniation. The athlete achieved 14.41 m at the 2023 U.S. Para Athletics Trials, with TrackMan®-verified release velocity of 11.3 m·s−1. Bench throw velocity improved by 35.4% (0.65 to 0.88 m·s−1) and squat jump velocity improved by 22.9% (1.18 to 1.45 m·s−1), while post-session RPE remained manageable, indicating improved neuromuscular readiness and training tolerance. No lumbar symptom recurrence occurred. This case illustrates that integrating velocity autoregulation, multisensory stabilization, and injury-informed preparation can support meaningful performance gains in visually impaired throwers and offers an applied framework for coaches working with F11–F13 athletes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport, Disability, and Well-Being: Research on Physical and Mental Health)
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