Abstract
Climbing as a competitive youth sport is rapidly expanding in both participation and popularity as it has transitioned from an unorganized recreational activity to a formalized sport with a national governing body, organized competitions, formal coaching, and team structure. In spite of this growth, little to no research has been conducted regarding indoor competition climbing as a developmental experience for youth. This study examined the contributions of indoor competition climbing to youth development outcomes based on qualitative responses collected from 623 parents and climbers (youth and adults) in late Fall 2014. Themes were constructed related to climbing as a youth development experience, including: holistic development; supportive relationships; confidence and self-efficacy; and sportsmanship and character development. Holistic development, which included growth in the areas of strength and health, cognition and mental conditioning, and social skills, appears to be a hallmark of the sport of indoor competition climbing. The identified themes mapped well to the 5Cs model of positive youth development (PYD), providing evidence for the existence of the 5Cs among youth who play sports. In response to calls for intentionality in youth programming, future research examining underlying programming, coaching, and parenting mechanisms that contribute to PYD is recommended.
Highlights
Sports-Based Positive Youth Development With 60 million U.S youth participating in organized sports annually (National Council of Youth Sports, 2008), there has been considerable interest in the relationship between sport participation and positive youth development (PYD)
The uncovered themes strongly convey that the current supportive environment of Indoor competition climbing (ICC) contributes to PYD for USA Climbing (USAC) members
While the present study was exploratory in nature and the underlying theory emerged from the data, the identified themes mapped well to the existing “5Cs” framework of PYD
Summary
Sports-Based Positive Youth Development With 60 million U.S youth participating in organized sports annually (National Council of Youth Sports, 2008), there has been considerable interest in the relationship between sport participation and positive youth development (PYD). Researchers have categorized the benefits of sports participation for youth using physical, social, psychological/emotional, and intellectual development as a framework (Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2005). Frameworks like this have positioned sport as a viable mechanism for enhancing developmental outcomes, empirical support for the developmental benefits of organized sports for youth has been mixed (Coakley, 2011; Nicholls, Giles, & Sethna, 2010). Due to these assumptions, Coakley (2011) proposed that participating in youth sport would produce no identifiable developmental outcomes
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