Significant Others and Professionalized Sport Attitudes

Abstract

Using an extension of Webb's concept of professionalized sport attitudes, it was explored whether the type of significant other and degree of parental psychological support were related to professionalized sport attitudes (win/skill orientation) or to nonprofessionalized sport attitudes (fair play/total participation orientation). Comparisons were made between 1236 economically disadvantaged boys and 1096 economically disadvantaged girls enrolled in the summer portion of the National Youth Sports Program, resulting in the following findings. Males demonstrated a more professionalized sport attitude than did females. Males perceived their father/male guardian as the most important significant other whereas females perceived their mother/female guardian as the most important significant other. No relationship was found between the type of significant other (mother/female guardian, father/male guardian, teacher/coach, or friend) and professionalized sport attitudes for both boys and girls. However, parental psychological support factors were found to be related to professionalized sport attitudes for males but not for females. Explanations for the demonstrated relationship between parental psychological factors and professionalized sport attitudes were discussed which included support for the growing concern that parents may be in part responsible for developing “winning” and “skill” values in youth sport participants. This adult intervention, however, presently may only be significant for male youth sport participants.     

An Examination of Sport Participation Tracking and Adult Physical Activity for Participants of the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study

ABSTRACT

Research tracking sport participation from youth to adulthood is relatively rare, as is research that tracks youth sport participation with regard to adult physical activity (PA) levels, especially in the United States. Aims of this study were: 1) To investigate the degree to which sport participation tracked across youth, adolescence, and early adulthood in a sample of participants from the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study (MPS), and 2) Determine if differences existed in their levels of adult PA relative to prior sport participation. In total, 256 (60.8%) former participants from the MPS completed follow-up surveys regarding routine sport participation and PA across the previous year. Sport participation tracked consistently from youth to college. Further, regardless of the level of youth sport participation, adult leisure time PA was relatively consistent among groups. Although the study did not directly test the influence of the MPS on subsequent adult outcomes, our findings suggest that participants’ past sport participation was not a good predictor of adult PA for those who were involved in a program that emphasized fundamental motor skills in youth. Further investigation of such programs can help to better inform their influence on adult PA.     

Young people's perspectives of parent volunteerism in community youth sport

This interpretive study sought to critically examine young people's subjective meanings and experiences related to parent volunteerism in community youth sport. Using a constant comparative method of data analysis, the perspectives of 19 participants from 7 different family units (9 sons and 10 daughters) in Ontario, Canada were examined. The findings call attention to the gendered importance of fathers in highly visible volunteer roles (e.g., coach, game announcer) and the lack of recognition or appreciation for mothers’ formal volunteer roles (e.g., assistant coach, league's board of directors) as well as informal volunteer roles (e.g., fundraiser). Moments of conflict in relation to peer groups as well as siblings and the potential for volunteerism to enhance a sense of connection through moments of togetherness and skill development are also emphasized.     

A systematic review of social support in youth sport

The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic review of studies concerning social support in youth sport from 1990 to 2013. A total of 73 studies were evaluated and are reported in four sections: sample characteristics; research designs; social support provider type; and key correlates relating to social support. Samples ranged from 1 to 564. Studies examined a wide range of sports, ages (10–22 years) and competition levels. Studies used qualitative (23%), quantitative (75%) and mixed-model (2%) designs. The main conclusion is that recent advances in the conceptualization of social support have generated a more diverse set of methods to examine the quantity and satisfaction of social support in a sports context. Coaches were identified as the most prevalent provider of social support through offering participants unique forms of tangible, informational, emotional and esteem support. Furthermore, coach, parent and peer support plays a significant role in shaping youth sport experiences both from a positive (athlete motivation levels, elite sport participation) and negative (drop-out) perspective. The discussion focuses on the current status of the research area, limitations, suggested practical implications (e.g., providing proactive support) and future research directions (e.g., examining optimal support matching).     

Predictors of poor sportspersonship in youth sports: personal attitudes and social influences

The present study examined personal and social correlates of poor sportspersonship among youth sport participants. Male and female athletes (n = 676) in the fifth through eighth grades from three geographic regions of the U.S. participated in the study. Young athletes involved in basketball, soccer, football, hockey, baseball/ softball, or lacrosse completed a questionnaire that tapped poor sportspersonship behaviors and attitudes, team sportspersonship norms, perceptions of the poor sportspersonship behaviors of coaches and spectators, and the sportspersonship norms of coaches and parents. Preliminary analyses revealed significant gender, grade, sport area, and location differences in self-reported unsportspersonlike behavior. The main analysis revealed that self-reported poor sport behaviors were best predicted by perceived coach and spectator behaviors, followed by team norms, sportspersonship attitudes, and the perceived norms of parents and coaches. Results are discussed in relation to the concept of moral atmosphere.     

An examination of father types and the subsequent framing of coach–father relationships in English youth football through the eyes of an expert coach

The 2014 FIFA World Cup produced a poor performance by England which reinforced the view of Gary Lineker, former England captain turned media pundit, that the youth development system was failing and that a ‘parental cultural revolution’ was a necessary element for future improvement. This paper researches fathers in English youth football from the perspective of an expert coach with two aims in mind. Firstly, the paper will identify more father types than the one Lineker based his revolution on. Secondly, the paper will discuss how different father types subsequently frame different coach–father relationships. The paper concludes by recommending that the UEFA Coach Accreditation system embeds knowledge of different father types and the subsequent different coach–father relationships in their courses to assist future coaches. Lastly, there is a call for further research to be carried out into father/parent types in youth sport, especially from the perspective of coach.     

The outcomes of running a sport camp for children and youth with visual impairments on faculty members’ teaching,research, and service activities: a case study

Abstract

We explored the outcomes of running a sport camp for children and youth with visual impairment on faculty members’ roles. Seven adapted physical activity faculty members were interviewed. Questionnaires and documents were also analyzed and a variety of strategies were employed to ensure the study’s trustworthiness. Regarding the teaching role, disability knowledge and real life examples gave faculty more credibility in conducting their class. As for the research role, the outcomes were not shared by the majority of participants and seemed to rely on aspects such as camp maturity, directors’ aptitudes, and partnerships. In turn, running the camp was a means for faculty members to perform their external service roles. These potential outcomes may become a significant part of the process by which people enact their institutional roles and may serve as a framework for future studies with a more hypothesis-driven approach.     

Snapchat and child sexual abuse in sport: Protecting child athletes in the social media age

Child sexual abuse is a pervasive problem that sport organizations must confront to protect the integrity of sport. While previous researchers have examined this topic, few have explored the role that technology plays. The authors address this gap by examining how coach perpetrators utilize Snapchat to facilitate sexual abuse, using Cense and Brackenridge’s (2001) Temporal Model of Sexual Abuse with Children and Young Persons in Sport as a framework. Analysis of 99 media reports from 2013 to 2018 found that Snapchat provides motivation for coach perpetrators to sexually abuse that allowed them, in varied ways, to overcome internal inhibitions, external barriers, and break down victim resistance. The results indicate that youth sport organizations must develop clear policies that govern coach-athlete communication and relationships in the digital age. To further protect young athletes, youth sport organizations must develop programming to educate parents and athletes on these boundaries, to increase understanding about how sexual abuse and sexual maltreatment occur in virtual spaces.     

Teaching for transformative educational experience in a sport for development program

Despite the assumption that Sport for Development and Peace programs can foster social change, many fail to provide intentional educational experiences. This limits the attainment and sustainability of positive outcomes for participants and communities. The literature calls for such programs to use sport as an educational tool that shifts power to participants in a way that is responsive and respectful to the local context. In this article, we present findings from a program designed to promote youth development and social change through youth sport in a Central American nation. The teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) model provides the instructional framework for this program and local coach training was guided by the principles of critical pedagogy. Participants were eight youth sport coaches who became local trainers in the program. Data sources include interviews, observations and artifacts. Participants appeared to have meaningful educational experiences characterized by the following themes: reframing the coach's role; personal reflection; developing a critical perspective; and increasing feelings of agency. Findings indicate that in this program, TPSR was a relevant instructional framework that combined effectively with the principles of critical pedagogy to foster transformative learning among the participants.     

Recreational and developmental youth coach learning

Background: Within the field of coach development, previous research has ascertained that elite coaches learn through a variety of formal, non-formal, and informal sources. Little is known, however, about how coaches from different coaching contexts such as recreational and developmental learn to coach.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how coaches from youth recreational and developmental coach contexts access and appreciate various coach learning sources, and whether there were any differences between these two contexts.

Data collection and analysis: Basketball and soccer coaches (N?=?758) from the two different contexts (recreational and developmental) were recruited through their respective sport organizations to participate in an online questionnaire about their coach learning. Specifically, they were asked about which learning sources they consulted and how helpful they found each source to be. The two groups were compared using chi-square and odd ratios, independent t-tests, and factorial ANOVA analyses.

Findings: Findings suggest that developmental coaches access a greater number of learning sources than do recreational coaches; however, for most sources both groups of coaches report the same level of helpfulness. Together, these findings suggest that the specific coaching context (recreational versus developmental) is an important consideration when examining coach learning.     

The professionalisation of sports coaching: relations of power,resistance and compliance

This paper analyses the capacity of youth sport volunteering to contribute to the development of social capital. Following a review of the emergence of social capital as a key theme in UK sport policy, the paper focuses on the ability of a structured sports volunteering programme to equip young people with skills for effective volunteering, and provide opportunities for ‘social connectedness’ through sports volunteer placements. The study uses survey data (n=160) and qualitative interviews (n=10) with young people to examine how the national Step into Sport programme impacts on participants’ personal and skill development, and on their commitment to community involvement. Interviews with education and sport professionals (n=33) provide additional expert perspectives on the programme's impact on participants. Both sets of respondents report strong individual benefits to participants from their involvement, and increased social connectedness in a range of contexts. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the study for claims about the potential contribution of sport to social capital.     

Sport experience is correlated with complex motor skill recovery in youth following concussion

ABSTRACT

A previous study showed prolonged cognitive–motor integration (CMI) deficits in youth with a history of concussion who were classified as asymptomatic by current return-to-play protocols, highlighting potential differences between clinical symptom recovery and skill recovery. The present study examines factors that may influence skilled performance recovery (defined as matching the skill level of no-concussion history peers) post-concussion in a similar cohort. Sixty-four asymptomatic youth (M?=?13 yrs.) soccer, hockey, and lacrosse players with a concussion history (M?=?14 months post-concussion) who returned to play and sixty-two age-matched team members with no previous concussion participated in this study. They performed two touchscreen-based eye–hand coordination tasks, including a direct interaction and a CMI task. We analysed the relationship between CMI performance and concussion history, and whether age, sex, number of concussions, and years of sport experience in their sport affected skill recovery. Individuals with concussion history and higher amounts of sport experience (7–12 years) reached a performance level matching their no-history peers quicker (after 12 months) than those with concussion history and lower sport experience (1–6 years; recovery after 30 months). This effect was independent of the number of concussions, age, and sex. The present results point towards an important role of eye–limb coordination-related sport experience in functional CMI recovery post-concussion. Youth with a concussion history but greater sport experience may have more skill-related motor “reserve”. This reserve may directly aid in behavioural recovery post-concussion, or the greater neurological efficiency associated with athletic experience provides a compensatory mechanism that provides faster functional recovery.     

Expert-Novice Differences in Cognitive and Skill Execution Components of Youth Baseball Performance

Abstract

Previous research has shown that experts exhibit superior response selection and skill execution during performance in youth sport. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in cognitive and skill execution components of game performance in young baseball players (N = 159) with, varying levels of expertise. Three levels of expertise (low-, average-, and high-skilled players) were identified at each age level (7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age). Game performance was videotaped, and measures of skill execution (throwing accuracy, throwing force, fielding, catching, batting average, and batting contact) and cognitive components (positioning, decisions) were developed from observational analysis. The results indicated that baseball skill execution during game play maximally discriminated expertise levels.     

‘Trying to get our message across’: successes and challenges in an evidence-based professional development programme for sport coaches

This paper reports data from the evaluation of a coach education programme provided by a major national governing body of sport (NGB) in the UK. The programme was designed for youth sport coaches based on research evidence that suggests that CPD is most effective in supporting practitioner learning when it is interactive, collaborative and located in practice. At the same time, the NGB was keen to ensure that in order to meet the objectives of the organisation, there was some consistency in delivery across the various practice sites. The research aimed to investigate how the original CPD programme was enacted across eight professional sports clubs, and to understand how professional knowledge was interpreted and negotiated between participants at the NGB and sports club levels. Over a 2-year period, data were collected from a series of focus groups and extended individual semi-structured interviews. Participants were 7 senior managers, 8 coach educators, 8 Academy club directors and 12 sports club coaches. Data were initially analysed inductively and, drawing on the theoretical work of Bernstein [(1999). Vertical and horizontal discourse: An essay. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 157–173, (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control and identity: Theory, research, critique (Rev. ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield], illustrate the numerous ways in which programme knowledge was interpreted, facilitated and blocked at different levels of the organisation. The paper adds new insights into the complexities of coach education settings and the inherent challenges faced when attempting to ‘roll out’ a coach education intervention – even when it is ‘evidence-based’.     

Kids speak: preferred parental behavior at youth sport events

News reports (e.g., Abrams, 2008) and scholarly research (e.g., Wiersma & Fife, 2005) have indicated increasing concern that parent-spectator behavior at youth sport events may be problematic. Multiple strategies have been used to influence spectator behavior in youth sport contexts (e.g., "Silent Sundays"). However it is unlikely that interventions aimed at changing parent-spectator behaviors have adequately considered young athletes' perspectives, because little is known about how children want parents to behave during youth sport events. Therefore, children (ages 7-14 years) were asked to describe how parents actually behaved at youth sport events and how they wanted parents to behave. Through grounded theory analysis (Charmaz, 2000), three parent "roles" emerged from the data-supportive parent, demanding coach, and crazed fan.     

Faster,higher, stronger,older: Relative age effects are most influential during the youngest age grade of track and field athletics in the United Kingdom

The relative age effect (RAE) is a common phenomenon in youth sport, whereby children born early in the selection year are more likely to experience success and to sustain participation. There is a lack of research investigating variables which influence RAEs within track and field athletics. Such information is vital to guide policies in relation to competition structure, youth development squads and coach education. A database of competition results was analysed to determine the extent to which RAEs were present in track and field athletics in the United Kingdom. Subsequent analyses examined whether age, sex, event and skill level influenced the RAE. Examination of 77,571 records revealed that RAEs were widespread, but most pronounced during Under 13 (U13) competitions; that is, during athletes’ first exposure to formal track and field competition. Sex, event and skill level further influenced the existence and magnitude of RAEs at different age grades. Relative age is a key influencing factor within track and field athletics, especially at the youngest age category. Consequently, national governing bodies need to consider what administrative and stakeholder initiatives are necessary to minimise the effects of RAEs on young athletes’ early experiences of competition.     

Association between relative age effect and organisational practices of American youth football

The popular method of organising youth sport participants into age divisions, based solely on their birthdate, can result in an imbalance of the distribution of players. This is known as relative age effect (RAE), which inadvertently creates bias and is associated with deleterious short and long-term consequences. The overall purpose of this study was to examine how the potential for RAE is mitigated when simultaneously accounting for additional player criterion, supplementary to age. A mid-Atlantic American youth football registration database was acquired, including chronological (age), anthropometric (weight), and competency (skill) factors. Player (n = 1,265) data were classified into quartiles and multiple chi-square goodness of fit tests were conducted using proportions of live births as expected theoretical distribution values. When data were categorised by a single developmental criterion (e.g. age), results indicated significant departures (p ≤ 0.002) from expected proportions. However, when categorised using multiple criteria (i.e. age, weight, and skill), equitable birthdate distributions were observed. Findings from this study indicate using only one developmental criterion for organising players is associated with RAE, whereas approaches accounting for multiple variables are not associated with RAE. This study provides youth football programs with early evidence for considering alternative methods of organising players.     

Positive youth development and gender differences in high performance sport

ABSTRACT

We examined positive youth development within a high performance sport environment. Youth football players (N = 455; Males = 315; Females = 140) completed a range of questionnaires including: the Youth Experiences Survey for Sport; Self-Confidence subscale of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2 Revised; Sport Competence Inventory; Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour in Sport Scale; and the modified Coach-Athlete Relationship questionnaire. The players reported a relatively high level of self-confidence, competence and positive youth experiences. They felt a strong coach-athlete relationship and displayed higher levels of prosocial than antisocial behaviour. Males scored significantly higher than females on self-confidence, perceived self-competence, antisocial behaviour to teammates and opponents, relationship with their coach, and cognitive skills. Findings suggest a relationship between high performance sport environments and positive youth development.     

Jump higher,run faster: effects of diversified sport participation on talent identification and selection in youth basketball

ABSTRACT

The aims of this study were to examine the medium-term effects of previous experiences during early stages of sport development on physical capacities of under-13 (U-13) talented basketball players and, to identify variables that discriminated under-14 (U-14) national team training camp selection. Anthropometrical and physical measurements were collected during a basketball training camp. Previous sport experiences (6–10 years), maturity offset, power outputs for jumping and sprinting were determined. A cluster analysis was used to allocate the subjects according to their different levels of sport experiences (more specialized vs. less specialized) to allow creating a dummy variable for the subsequent analysis of the physical variables. A stepwise discriminant analysis was computed to identify the construct that best classifies selected and non-selected players for U-14 national team training camp. The less specialized group outscored more specialized in all physical parameters, irrespectively of gender. The Abalakov Jump Peak Power and Predicted Adult Height (PAH) could successfully discriminate selected from non-selected players for U-14 national team training camp in boys and PAHin girls. The diversified and non-specific sport stimulus during early ages seem to be determinant to the acquisition and development of fundamental movement skills of talented basketball players.