Module 8, Physical Activity Across the Lifespan (youth)

Question 1

Objectives of Youth Sport: 3PS

Answer 1

the 3Ps:
- performance (1)
◦ learning performance of motor skills (it is a really
good way to learn how to move your body in
certain ways / teach youth the basic motor skills so
they can advance and apply it to other sports later
on (have the competence to do a variety of
physical activities))
- participation (2)
◦ opportunity to by physically active
◦ can lead to improved health outcomes (can
improve physical and psychological health)
* personal development (3)
◦ opportunity to develop life skills (eg. cooperation,
discipline, leadership, self-control)
‣ learn to work together, self-control by
participating in certain drills (this can help
them in many other areas of their lives
outside of sport)
- sport organizations are often focused more so on performance and does not focus on the other two P’s (programs should possess all 3)

Question 2

Youth-Sport Participation: Outcomes

Answer 2

• we often hear and focus on the positive outcomes of youths sport
  ◦ eg. health benefits, increased self-confidence,
  friendships, teamwork
• however, kids frequently have negative experiences in youth sport (talked about less)
  ◦ eg. pressure from parents, insensitive coaches,
  aggression, decreased self-esteem, peer bullying
  (it is important to identify these)

Question 3

Youth-Sport Participation: Physical Health (positive and negative)

Answer 3

positive outcomes
- cardiovascular fitness
- weight control
- muscular strength/endurance
- adult physical activity
- decreased risk of adult heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer
there can be a lot of positive physical outcomes

negative outcomes
- overuse injuries (had to rehab, long-term problems)
- eating disorders

Question 4

Youth-Sport Participation: Psychological Development
(positive and negative)

Answer 4

positive outcomes
* fun, enjoyable and challenging experiences (teaches them persistance)
* increased self-esteem (being better about oneself)
* decreased stress
* increased life satisfaction
* increased happiness

negative outcomes
* decreased self-perceptions (feeling negative about yourself / body)
* decreased confidence/self-esteem
* isolation from teammates (bullying, for example)
* excessive pressure (by parents, coaches, peers, themselves)
* burnout (if they are engaging in lot of training at a very young age)

Question 5

Youth-Sport Participation: Social Development (positive and negative)

Answer 5

positive outcomes
* positive intergroup and peer relationships
* citizenship (notion of being good citizen, helping others)
* social status and success
* social mobility
* leadership skills
* academic performance
* enhanced adult career achievement
* decreased school dropout and delinquent behaviour

negative outcomes
* aggression
* assault
* poor sportspersonship
* decreased moral reasoning
* increased drinking

Question 6

Activities in Youth Sport

Answer 6

deliberate play <-> deliberate practice

Question 7

Deliberate Play

Answer 7

deliberate play is
* activities designed to maximize enjoyment
* flexible rules adapted from standardized sport rules
* monitored by the children or an adult(s) involved
* minimal equipment required and can adapt to any environment
ex. kids playing ball hockey with not rigid rules and for fun

Question 8

Deliberate Practice

Answer 8

deliberate practice is
* highly structured activity that requires effort (high structured activity can be a drill for example)
* generates no immediate rewards (do not get immediate rewards of fun, for example - rather long term rewards, like improving skills)
* motivated by the goal of improving performance rather than inherent enjoyment
our most effective learning of motor skills comes from deliberate practice

Question 9

2 Types of Early Sports Environments (early sampling)

Answer 9

1. early sampling
   two main components of early sampling
   - involvement in many sports (1)
   ◦ children can experience a variety of physical,
   cognitive, affective and social environments
   ◦ multiple experiences can provide children with
   the skills required to specialize in one sport later
   - participation in deliberate play (2) - meant to maximize enjoyment

Question 10

2 Types of Early Sports Environments (early specialization)

Answer 10

• characterized by high volume of deliberate practice in one sport
• as early as 6 or 7 the focus is on performance
• focuses on the outcome as opposed to the process (not so much about learning the skills rather winning)
• usually early selection of “talented” kids
• increase in resources for a special group of athletes (very small group of youth get given tons of resources
• training is not always consistent with what we know about children and motivation (children are motivated by fun but this type may not give it)
  sports like gymnastics and figure skating where peak reaches before puberty (elite performance)

Question 11

Early Specialization (benefits and costs)

Answer 11

• benefits:
  ◦ sport specific skills learned
  ◦ self confidence in one sport
• costs:
  ◦ increase injury and reduced health
  ◦ lack of diverse experiences
  ◦ reduced enjoyment
  ◦ parental expectation/pressures
  ◦ coaching expectation/pressures
  ◦ dropout
  ◦ burnout
  early specialization comes with more costs than benefits (in their teen year or early adulthood children become burnt out and no long want to play)

Question 12

Developmental Model of Sport Participation (trajectories of sport participation)

Answer 12

1. recreational participation through sampling
2. elite performance through sampling
3. elite performance through early specialization

Question 13

Recreational Participation through Sampling

Answer 13

Sampling Years (6-12)
Activities
- More deliberate play
- Less deliberate practice
- Multisport involvement
Context
- Safe environment
- Supportive Parents
- Coach as sport helper
- Focus on skills
- Challenge and learning

Recreational Years (after puberty)
Activities
- More deliberate play
- Less deliberate practice
- Fitness & health activities
Context
- Safe environment
- Supportive relationships
- challenge and learning experiences

Probable Outcomes
- Recreational participation
- Enhanced physical health and psychosocial health
they continue to play in their adult years
- seen good long-term outcomes as we get recreational participation in later years

Question 14

Elite Performance through Sampling

Answer 14

this is a common pathways for sports in which peak performance occurs after puberty
Sampling Years (6-12)
activities
- more deliberate play
- less deliberate practice
- multisport involvement
Context
- Safe environment
- Supportive Parents
- Coach as sport helper
- Focus on skills
- Challenge and learning

Specializing Years (13-15)
activities
- balance play and practice
- reduction in multisports (maybe 2-3)
context
- child-centered/sport-specific

Investment Years (15-18)
activities
- more deliberate practice
- focus on one sport
context
- performance-oriented

probable outcomes
- elite performance
- enhanced physical and psychosocial health

Question 15

Elite Performance through Early Specialization

Answer 15

• this is common pathway for sports in which peak performance is achieved before puberty
• engaging in sport-specific training at a young age may have negative consequences for long term-sport participation
  early specialization and investment
  context
• perfomance-oriented
• parents encouraging specialization
• coach as sport specialist
  activities
• more deliberate practice
• less deliberate play
• focus on one sport

permanent dropout
(reduced physical health, reduce psychosocial and motor development)

probable outcomes
- elite performance
- reduced physical health and enjoyment

Question 16

Developmental Model of Sport Participation: Postulates (1)

Answer 16

1. sampling does not hinder elite sport participation in sports in which peak performance is reached after maturation
2. sampling is linked to a longer sport career and long-term sport involvement (when you early sample more likely to be involved in long term)
3. sampling allows for participation in a range of contexts that contribute to positive youth development (the 3P.s)

Question 17

Developmental Model of Sport Participation: Postulates (2)

Answer 17

1. high amounts of deliberate play during sampling years build intrinsic motivation through involvement in enjoyable activities (if people are intrinsically motivated for reasons like pleasure they are likely to stick with the sport)
2. high amounts of deliberate play establishes a range of motor and cognitive experiences
3. around 13 years of age, children should have the opportunity to choose to specialize in favourite sport or continue recreational sport (linked to most positive benefits / be given the choice)
4. around 16 years of age, adolescents have developed the physical, cognitive, social, emotional and motor skills needed to invest in highly specialized training in one sport
   * might want to know 3 trajectories for final exam

Question 18

Parents’ Expectations and Child’s Sport Enjoyment/Enthusiasm (picture)

Answer 18

• talking more about interpersonal relationships
• we see a U shaped curve (the more expectations go up the more enthusiastic the child is about to sport up until a certain point, and then it becomes too much and children’s enjoyment then begins flopping down

Question 19

Roles of Parents (3 types)

Answer 19

under-involved ~ moderately involved ~ over-involved
* under-involved: generally lack emotional involvement (do not want to talk about children to sport) / or lack financial involvement / can lack social involvement as well (like do not go to games, but there can be reasons for that

• moderately involved: sweet spot where they are allowing children to make their own decisions but also put down rules and their own firm decisions
• over involved: can lead to a lot of pressure for children

Question 20

Roles of Parents

Answer 20

parents are socializers of children’s experiences in youth sport:
◦ providers of experience (parents need to provide
that opportunity but signing you up, taking you
and getting equipment)
◦ interpreters of experience (make sense of
children’s experience - ex. car ride back home)
◦ role models
* socializers influence choice of behaviour through their own beliefs and behaviours (what parents show their children is what the children will display)

Question 21

Roles of Parents (positive and negative influence)

Answer 21

positive influence
* parents’ participation
* encouragement
* social support
* mastery/task goal orientation
* discipling their child for misbehaving in practices
* being good fair-play role models

negative influence
* outcomes-based love/attention (a lot of love and attention when they play well but do not sure that when they are not playing well)
* coaching child from sidelines (contradicting coach)
* encouraging cheating
* saying negative things to opposing players
* parent fighting with other parents or coaches

Question 22

“Problem Parents”

Answer 22

• disinterested parents (do not care about children’s involvement in sport)
• overcritical parents (very critical of child over and over) - can offer critical feedback in a good way however
• parents who scream from the bench (can be embarassing for children)
• sideline coaches
• overprotective parents (overly-involved)

Question 23

Coaches Influence

Answer 23

• coaches influence competence beliefs, shape youth’s performance, participation and personal development
• help develop motor skills (teaching particular skills)
• influence athlete’s enjoyment and intrinsic motivation (whether athletes enjoy the sport environment that the coach shapes)

Question 24

Coaching Young Athletes

Answer 24

coaches who enhance competence, confidence, connection and character (4 Cs) usually:
* include athletes in decision-making
* display care and concern
* evaluate based on self-improvement and effort
* acknowledge athletes’ feelings and input
* promote discussions
* behave in clear and consistent manner

Question 25

Effective Coaching Requires (3 things)

Answer 25

1. professional knowledge
   A. sport specific skills (maybe not necessarily at
   young level but at competitive level, yes)
2. interpersonal knowledge
   A. create and maintain relationships
3. intrapersonal knowledge
   A. learn from one’s own practice (be able to learn
   and reflect on thier own coaching practices)

Question 26

Roles of Peers (positive and negative)

Answer 26

positive influence
* enhances performance, participation & personal development
* increases sense of belonging, self-esteem, competence, and intrinsic motivation
* facilitates development of personal and social skills

negative influence
* may detrimentally affect relationship dynamics
* interactions may emphasize athlete’s poor performance, engage in awkward competition, showing off, and demonstrating rivalry

Question 27

Best Practices: Youth-Sport Programs (5-brief)

Answer 27

1. attempt to include all children as opposed to selecting athletes based on their performance
   * encouraging participation from all athletes leads to:
   ◦ less drop out
   ◦ longer participation in sport
   ◦ better elite performance in adulthood
2. focusing on athletes’ self-improvements as opposed to performance outcomes (eg. winning)
   * focusing on self-improvement promotes motivation in athletes
3. when athletes learn motor skills, allow them to learn through play activities and fun involvement
4. opportunities to engage in fun and playful low organization games should be provided for young athletes
5. use sport as a way to enhance psychological and social development