Children and Sport Psychology Flashcards
why study the psychology of a young athlete?
Many children are involved in sport.
~44m in the United States, 63% of Australian, 59% of English, 63% of South African.
Children are intensely involved in organised youth sports.
They can spend 10-16 hours/week training and competing.
sport participation peaks around 12-13 in a childs life.
Sport participation has important physical and psychological consequences for children (e.g. self-esteem, identity, and social development).
Organised sport is not automatically beneficial - qualified, competent adult leadership is needed.
define the youth sports systems model ?
youth sports systems model that views youth sports as a dynamic arrangement of factors that often interact in reciprocating ways to influence sport experiences and outcomes of all people involved.
Young athletes do not participate in a vacuum.
They are influenced by their own personality and demographic characteristics as well as by their family and team environment, sport organizations, their community and society in general.
why do children participate in sport?
Children have reasons that differ from adults for participating in sport
For example:
To have fun
Improve skills
Get exercise
Be with and make new friends
Compete
Boys and girls have similar motives for involvement, but these may vary in impo
what are the facets of fun for young athletes?
Team rituals
(e.g., doing a cool team cheer)
Swag
(e.g., traveling to new places to compete)
Learning and improvement
(e.g., developing new skills)
Game-time support
(e.g., having people cheer at the game)
Team friendships
(e.g., goofing off with teammates)
Practices
(e.g., having well-organized practices)
Games
(e.g., receiving play time)
Mental bonuses
(e.g., experiencing stress relief from playing)
Positive coaching
(e.g., when the coach treats players with respect)
Positive team dynamics
(e.g., being supported by teammates)
Trying hard
(e.g., working hard in practice)
Why do Children Discontinue Participation in Sport?
Participation statistics:
Peak participation occurs between the ages of 10 and 13 years and then consistently declines to the age of 18.
For every 10 children who begin a sport season, 3 or 4 quit before the start of the next season.
Motives for withdrawal:
Major reason is that they have other things to do.
Negative reasons are cited by children
For females versus males, lack of teamwork, team affiliation issues and lack of ability were most important reasons.
Social identity was related to sport enjoyment, which in turn predicted sport dropout.
What is the importance of perceived competence in youth Sport?
- Children with low perceptions of their athletic abilities drop out or do not participate in sport.
- Children with high perceptions of their competence participate and persist.
- Therefore, a good way to increase participation is through enhancing perceived competence
- You can enhance perceived competence by getting athletes to focus on improving their own performance
- Sport-specific dropouts withdraw from a particular program but enter into other sports.
- Sport-general dropouts withdraw from all sport participation. Sport-general dropouts are a special concern.
what are the Youth Sport Participation Implications?
Most of the motivations children have for participating in sport are intrinsic. winning clearly is neither the only nor the most common reason for participation.
Most young athletes have multiple reasons for participation, not one single motive. Although most children withdraw because of interest in other activities, a minority discontinue for negative reasons, such as: lack of fun, too much pressure, or disliking a coach.
Factors underlying the descriptive reasons for support withdrawal is the child’s need to feel worthy and competent:
When young athletes feel worthy and competent then they tend to participate.
If they don’t feel confident about performing the skills then they tend to withdraw
what are The needs of young athletes ?
Skill development (positive instruction)
Fun (keeping practices active)
Relatedness or affiliation (time to make friends)
Excitement (incorporate a variety of drills into practices)
Fitness (teach athletes how to monitor their fitness)
Success (allow children to compete)
what are the Role of Friends in Youth Sport?
Affiliation motive is a major motive that children have for sport participation and is important in its own right.
Children enjoy sport because of the opportunities it provides to be with friends and make new friends.
Sport psychology researchers have also discovered that friends and the peer group have other important effects on young athletes.
what are the Positive dimensions of friendship in youth sport?
companionship
pleasant play association
enhancement of self-esteem
help and guidance
prosocial behaviour
intamacy
emotional support
conflict resolution
attractive personal qualities
what are the negative dimensions of friendship in youth sport?
Conflict
e.g., insults, arguments
Unattractive personal qualities
e.g., self-centered
Betrayal
Inaccessibility
lack of opportunity to interact
what are the implications of Stress and Burnout in Children’s Competitive Sport?
- Are young athletes placed under too much stress?
- No. The majority of young athletes are not under excessive stress (less than 10% are).
- Is state anxiety heightened in young athletes?
- High stress (state anxiety) levels are relatively rare but affect 2.5 million children in specific situations.
- State anxiety levels in children during sport competitions are not usually significantly higher than those during other childhood evaluative activities.
- Stress among elite junior competitors is caused by fear of failure and feelings of inadequacy.
- Children at risk for heightened state anxiety exhibit certain personal characteristics.
what are the Situational Sources of Stress?
Defeat versus victory:
Children have more state anxiety after losing than after winning.
Event importance:
The more importance placed on a contest, the more state anxiety is felt by the participants.
Sport type:
Children in individual sports have more state anxiety than children in team sports
what are the Effective Coaching Practices for Young Athletes?
Use affirming, instructional, supportive, and autonomy-supportive behaviors
Catch kids doing things right and give them plenty of praise.
Give praise sincerely.
Develop realistic expectations.
Reward efforts as much as outcome.
Focus on teaching and practicing skills (maximize participation in an activity).
Modify skills and activities so they are developmentally appropriate.
Modify rules to maximize action and participation.
Reward correct technique, not just outcome.
use a positive sandwich approach when you correct errors.
Create an environment that reduces fear of trying new skills
Be enthusiastic.
what are the points for Elite Athletic Talent Development?
Most champion athletes did not start out with champion aspirations in mind.
Most champion athletes were exposed to active lifestyles and played multiple sports as children.
Only when champions fell in love with the activity and showed talent, did the develop elite sport aspirations.
This research suggests to optimize talent, young athletes should not specialize in a single sport too early, and parents and coaches should emphasize fun and development.
