Competitive Youth Sport Research Articles

The road towards infusing positive youth development in competitive youth sport programs: the case of futsal in minas tenis clube

ABSTRACT Previous research has provided relevant outputs about positive youth development. However, more research is needed across cultures to move beyond North American-centric understandings. The purpose of this case study was to explore futsal coaches, athletes, sport administrators and parents’ perceptions about the processes and mechanisms associated with making positive youth development a feasible quest in a competitive youth sport program delivered in Minas Tennis Club, a Brazilian sport organisation. Findings showed that before it was possible to infuse positive youth development, there were several organisational changes needed. Once several organisational changes occurred positive youth development was validated as a resource for better athlete development and consequently became a worthwhile objective. Moving forward, it is important to consider political, cultural, and social influences and variables when developing and delivering positive youth development-focused youth sport programs within competitive environments. This is a challenge that youth sport scholars may need to embrace.

Delivering project SCORE in competitive youth sport settings.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Project SCORE intervention in fostering Positive Youth Development (PYD) within competitive youth sport settings in Portugal. Project SCORE is an online PYD-focused tool developed to assist coaches in promoting the 4Cs-competence, confidence, connection, and character-within their coaching. The research involved 13 coaches and 70 youth athletes from football and rowing teams. Methodologically, this study analyzed the pre- and post- Project SCORE intervention data, assessing the perceptions of coaches and athletes towards the development of the 4Cs. Results indicated significant improvements in athletes' perceptions of 4Cs post-intervention, and among coaches' perceptions, there was a significant improvement in the practice and transfer of life skills. Particularly, coaches showed enhanced abilities in fostering life skills and facilitating the transfer of these skills to competitive environments, although some dimensions like sport climate did not sustain positive changes. The findings highlight the benefits of customized PYD-based programs in competitive youth sports and suggest the need for further research to enhance their widespread and consistent implementation.

Examining the Impact of the Funding System on Organized Youth Sport in Portugal: Implications for Research and Practice

The purpose of this critical commentary is to provide insights about the impact of funding structures on youth sport research and programming, with a particular focus on research priorities and access to quality youth sport experiences across competitive youth sport programs. Portugal is used as a case studyto provide insights about how funding structures may be strategically positioned to positively influence competitive youth sport programs and associated research efforts. The field of competitive youth sports constitutes a complex network influenced by cultural, social, and political factors, where multiple decision makers are driven by funding requirements, performance ideals, and societal norms. This context, although promising, faces challenges such as the prevalence of a lucrative market that prioritizes competitive outcomes, exacerbating inequalities and inherently neoliberal ideals. A strong emphasis placed by funding on winning and performance development may undermine other concerns to emerge across competitive youth sport programs. Furthermore, research programs play a crucial role in understanding and providing novel pathways for competitive youth sport. However there are challenges in seeking funding and academic recognition for these endeavours, which can create a disconnect between knowledge creation and actual needs. This reflection seeks to stimulate an open and constructive dialogue, calling on all actors that are part of the competitive youth system to develop collaborative efforts to make competitive youth sport a holistic experience accessible to all.

Relation of general-perceptual cognitive abilities and sport-specific performance of young competitive soccer players.

In soccer, skill is significantly influenced by motor skills and physical constitution. In addition, perceptual-cognitive abilities are thought to affect sport-specific performance. Nevertheless, there are hardly any studies investigating the relationship of general cognitive abilities with sport-specific performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze relationships between general perceptual-cognitive abilities and soccer-specific performance in competitive youth sports. Thirty highly talented male youth soccer players aged 12-14years completed various perceptual-cognitive (selective attention, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, working memory, peripheral perception, and choice response) and sport-specific on-field tests. Cognitive abilities were assessed using a computer-based test system. Soccer-specific performance skills were evaluated by two sport-specific on-field tests. The relation between perceptual-cognitive abilities and soccer-specific performance was examined using a correlation analysis as well as a four-stage regression analysis. Overall, the expression of general perceptual-cognitive abilities was found to have an impact on performance in soccer-specific test situations, particularly cognitive flexibility and selective attention. Our results suggest that general cognitive tests could be an important tool for the evaluation of cognitive abilities in soccer. This study brings together key approaches in expertise research and makes a significant contribution to a better understanding of expertise in soccer.

“It’s Necessary Work”: Stories of Competitive Youth Sport Coaches’ Developing Critical Praxes

In this study, nine Canadian competitive youth sport coaches’ challenges and successes in creating safer and more inclusive sport spaces were explored through individual pre- and postseason interviews and an in-season reflective portfolio of their coaching experiences. From a story analyst approach, the central narrative theme of “it’s my responsibility to enact change” was identified. A storyteller approach was then used to communicate the meanings of the central theme as accessible creative nonfiction composite stories: When is it okay to intervene?; burning out … it’s consuming me; and breaking through … it’s necessary work. Building on previous research, the findings demonstrate how coaches’ critical praxes shift on a continuum of awareness and advocacy. The creative nonfictions may be used by coach educators and mental performance consultants to help coaches and leaders in sport assess their critical praxes toward challenging social issues in sport and acting in ways that support advocacy and empowerment.

“So, You’re Saying There’s a Chance …”

Competitive balance in sport is a desirable state for leagues to aspire to attain. Indeed, uncertainty of outcomes (Kringstad & Girginov, 2018) have been noted to be desirous. At the highest levels of professional sport, measures to promote competitive balance (e.g., amateur drafts, revenue sharing) are commonplace. It has been noted before (i.e., Wigfield & Chard, 2018) that competitive balance is similarly sought after in competitive youth sport settings. Here, the current study was completed to assess the competitive balance in various associations competing in Ontario’s boys’ representative minor hockey system. Results from the provincial championships since the 2005-06 season were analyzed for age groups ranging from U11 to U20 and across all competition levels (i.e., A, AA, AAA) by conducting a chi-square test of independence. Findings indicate that the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) dominates Ontario rep hockey across all age groups and competition levels—with few exceptions. This article offers an innovative solution to roster construction that Ontario minor hockey associations can implement to combat the GTHL’s dominance.

The Duality of Sport Social Workers Coaching Critical Positive Youth Development Within Competitive Youth Sport

To meet the diverse needs of youth athletes within contemporary society, the privilege and responsibility of youth sport coaching must be reimagined. Critical positive youth development (CPYD)—which is grounded in Freire’s critical consciousness—emphasizes the urgency to empower youth to promote social justice and increase their ability to contribute to societal change. Considering the scarcity of CPYD in coach education, sport social workers may offer unique educational experiences and critical learning opportunities that may help fulfill a CPYD mandate within the youth sport landscape. From a social constructivist perspective, the aim of the current study was to explore the duality of sport social workers coaching competitive youth sport. Findings from 10 sport social workers suggest that the values, knowledge, and skills of the social work profession—particularly sport social work—seem to offer a transferable skillset and lessons to be emulated by CPYD coach education. For instance, because of their unique education and training, social workers are taught to use a strengths-based approach, maintain a holistic perspective, and teach life skills that contribute to PYD. However, findings also emphasize the notion that education may not solve all challenges concerning the need to foster CPYD, as many other variables make up the sport system.

A Nordic Ski Coach’s Learning Journey Towards Creating More Inclusive and Safer Sport

Competitive youth sport coaches who aim to foster inclusive and safer sport often face challenges from their peers, their organisations, and the sociocultural systems in their contexts. A personal learning coach may support coaches’ critical awareness, reflection, and readiness for working towards changing their youth sport contexts. This study details a 15-month collaboration, as Sara acted as a personal learning coach to support Sophie’s critical praxis as they reflected on social issues and experienced shifts in their coaching towards creating more inclusive and safer sport. Grounded in a narrative inquiry methodology, two virtual interviews and 11 virtual meetings occurred. Sara and Sophie also shared reflections through messages and voice notes and one in-person meeting during one of Sophie’s training sessions. Through time-hopping snapshot vignettes, Sophie’s learning journey is presented as they attempt to figure out what to fight for, grow through discomforts and unknowns, and experience progress. Sophie believed that their “mind shifted” towards becoming a “better coach” throughout the collaboration, developing their critical consciousness to change oppressive social conditions in sport. By sharing insights from the collaboration, the study provides vivid examples of the steps coaches and sport stakeholders can take to become more confident in enacting positive change in sport.

What are the perceived barriers for building and maintaining a culture of mental health support in Australian competitive youth sport?

The mental health of young people in youth sport has received growing academic attention and sporting clubs are identified as important settings for prevention and early intervention. Despite this, very few studies have explored the perceptions of multiple stakeholders about youth sporting clubs as spaces for mental health awareness, education, and training. The purpose of the study was to understand the capacity of youth sporting clubs 1 to become a site for general mental health support and explore parents, coaches, club leaders and youth participants perceptions about their sporting club’s readiness for mental health awareness, education, and training initiatives. Using an Interpretive Description (ID) research methodology, 26 participants (parents, youth, club leaders/coaches) involved in community-level youth sport participated in a qualitative telephone interview. Data was analyzed thematically, leading to the construction of three themes about the barriers for building and maintaining a culture of mental health support in youth sport: (a) initial resistance, (b) teething issues and (c) turbulence. The themes reflected perceptions about varying levels of club readiness for meaningfully supporting positive mental health and indicated that many youth sporting clubs may find it difficult to sustain long-term, positive change. The study suggests that while sport can be a promising avenue to promote positive mental health, it is not without multiple forms of resistance, which if not navigated, may discourage efforts to establish and maintain club settings as sites for mental health, education, awareness, and first aid training. Implications for the field are discussed. Lay Summary: Parents, youth sport participants and club leaders/coaches were interviewed for the purpose of understanding their views of youth sporting clubs’ capacity to become a site for mental health support. The thematic findings suggest that clubs are differentially equipped to support meaningful cultural change surrounding mental health and sport. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Clubs seeking to become a site for mental health support encounter various barriers and therefore display differential levels of “readiness” for change. To meaningfully and sustainably create clubs that support mental health, additional intervention methods are necessary to support mental health education, awareness-raising activities and first aid training in youth sport.

Peer-initiated motivational climate, mental health and adherence in competitive youth sport

Through interactions with important social agents (coaches, parents, and peers), youth athletes will infer that being successful in sport falls somewhere along the continuum between (a) improvement and hard work and (b) winning at all costs. The environment created as a result of these interactions has important implications for athlete mental health and future sport participation. This study examined the relationships between peer-initiated motivational climate, athlete wellbeing, and intention to return to the team. Youth athletes ( N = 130; Mage = 13.45 years) from nine competitive ice hockey teams completed a questionnaire near the end of season. Using mixed-effects linear modeling, findings revealed that a task-related peer climate significantly predicted wellbeing ( β = 0.32, 95% CI [0.18, 0.47]) and intention to return ( β = 0.43, 95% CI [0.17, 0.68]), whereas an ego-related peer climate was not significantly related to wellbeing ( β = 0.10, 95% CI [−0.07, 0.26]) or intentions to return ( β = −0.29, 95% CI [−0.58, 0.01]).

Forearm muscle oxygenation and blood volume parameters during sustained contraction performance in youth sport climbers.

Forearm muscle strength and endurance are essential determinants of sports climbing success. This study aimed to investigate whether delayed rates of muscle oxygen saturation and total hemoglobin correlate to sustained contraction performance of youth climbers. Twelve recreational and competitive youth sport climbers (six females, six males) participated in the study. Variables included finger flexors muscle maximal voluntary contraction, sustained contraction test (SCT), muscle oxygen dynamics (SmO<inf>2</inf>), and blood volume (tHb) parameters. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the correlation between physiological and performance variables. SCT had a significant positive relationship to SmO<inf>2</inf> delayed rate (r=0.728, P=0.007), and a significant negative relationship to tHb delayed rate (r=-0.690, P=0.013). SmO<inf>2</inf> delayed rate and tHb delayed rate also had a significant negative correlation (r=-0.760, P=0.004). According to the results of this study, it can be suggested that delayed rates of SmO<inf>2</inf> and tHb could be used in determining and predicting sustainable finger flexors performance in youth climbers. However, future studies investigating delayed rates of SmO<inf>2</inf> and tHb in climbers of different ability levels are warranted to investigate this issue in more detail.

Part of the Team: The Social Identity Questionnaire for Sport Parents (SIQS-P)

ABSTRACT Drawing from theory of the multidimensional nature of social identity, the purpose of this study was to assess an adapted measure of social identity in sport that captures the extent to which parents identify with their child’s team. Using the Social Identity Questionnaire for Sport (SIQS) with items specifically modified for parents, we assessed competitive youth sport parents’ perceptions of ingroup ties, cognitive centrality, and ingroup affect. Using an exploratory and confirmatory analysis process, a conceptually grounded three-factor structure was supported in a sample of 788 ice hockey parents. Measurement invariance testing found strong invariance for the measurement tool based on participants’ biological sex, previous sport experience, and proximal competition outcome. Finally, differences emerged when comparing latent means across their child’s most recent game outcome. Taken together, this study offers a novel tool to better understand and measure perceptions of social identity among sport parents.

Translating care from policy to practice: limits and lessons from an institutional ethnographic study examining Ontario youth volleyball

ABSTRACT Socio-cultural research on athlete maltreatment is well documented, with much work focused on examining the spectrum of mistreatment and programmatic/policy responses. While some sport governing bodies have implemented a ‘duty of care’ approach, more definitional analyses of care and caring in competitive youth sport remain absent. This gap served as point of departure for an institutional ethnographic study designed to examine practices of care and caring within the context of youth competitive volleyball through a socio-philosophical lens. Informed by the philosophical frameworks espoused in the Ethics of Care and the Ethics of Need, this paper utilises textual and interview data from the larger study to examine how athletes, coaches, and parents interpret and practice care in relationship to notions of care established in the sport organisation’s governing policies. The results showed how, at the institutional level, notions of care expressed in the sport organisation’s governing documents focused more so on identifying and preventing uncaring practices rather than illuminating what constitutes care and caring, while participants negotiated and interpreted their lived experiences of care as the prioritisation of the needs of athletes over the performance imperative. This was particularly true for coaches who were dually tasked with the care-taking of youth athletes on their teams, whilst also ensuring performance success on the playing field. Thus, coaches are responsible for practices of care in situ that are not fulsomely addressed in governing policies, which presents challenges for coaches when balancing athletes’ needs while also adhering to the aims of competitive sport.

Profiling Coach Openness to Positive Youth Development Before, During, and After Their Participation in a Coach Education Course

Given that coaches who enroll in coach education courses may have diverse levels of openness to learning about positive youth development (PYD), the purpose of this study was to profile coaches’ openness to PYD before, during, and after their participation in a coach education course. A multimethod approach that involved field notes, nonparticipant observations, and interviews was used to create three profiles illustrating coaches’ varying levels of openness. Participants were three male coaches involved in competitive and recreational youth sport who had been coaching youth for more than 12 years. The profile of Graham represents a coach who was open to PYD. The profile of Fonseca represents a coach who was partially open to PYD. Finally, the profile of Taylor represents a coach who had no openness to PYD. Results are discussed in relation to how performance outcomes remain a high priority in youth sport, compelling some coaches to pay “socially desirable lip service” to PYD without any real intentions to modify their coaching practice. Revised policies and funding models, developed with input from multiple levels of stakeholders in the sport system, may prove useful in inspiring more coach openness to learning about PYD. This study may help further our understanding on how coach educators can use differentiated pedagogical approaches that may help make PYD a worthwhile and tangible objective for coaches who register in PYD coach education courses. Moving forward, future investigations on coach openness could be expanded to other sport contexts and coach development systems.

Track and Field Injuries in Children and Adolescents Presenting to us Emergency Departments-An Updated Review of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System

Background:Running is a highly popular activity that fosters healthy lifestyle habits in athletes of all ages. Track and field is a popular competitive youth sport with injuries estimated at 0.84 per 1000 athlete exposures among high school athletes. Injury patterns have been noted to vary by age and differ from those sustained in adult runners. Prior work has examined the epidemiology of youth track and field and running related injuries, but data from the recent decade in the setting of increasing sport specialization and year-round participation is lacking.Purpose:To examine the evolving epidemiology of track and field and running related injuries prompting emergency department presentation.Methods:A retrospective review of data obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was performed identifying children 10-18 with injuries associated with the Track & Field/Running product code (5030) from 2008-2020. National injury estimates were calculated annually and overall. Descriptive statistics were utilized to summarize injury characteristics of the entire cohort. Annual injury estimates were calculated to identify trends over the study period, which included the 2020 season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.Results:We identified 8,399 track and field associated NEISS cases occurring from 2008-2020 representing a national estimate of 271,788 injuries [95% Confidence Interval: 250,288 to 294,24]. The majority (52%) of injuries occurred among patients 15 to 18 years of age. Injuries occurred most frequently in the lower extremity (52%) and most commonly involved the ankle (17%) and knee (15%). Sprain/strains were the most frequent injury type (40%). The majority of patients (97%) did not require hospitalization. Injury estimates of each demographic and injury characteristic with 95% confidence intervals are reported in Table 1. There was a rising annual frequency of track and field injuries seen peaking in 2017 with a notable decline in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion:Track and field injuries requiring emergency department presentation appear to be increasing from prior study estimates, but demonstrate similar distribution of injury characteristics. Severe injuries requiring hospitalization remain rare. The majority of injuries involve the knee and ankle and involve older adolescents. This data provides meaningful data for providers caring for and counseling adolescent athletes.Table 1:Track-Related Injuries in Children aged 10-18 Treated in US Emergency Departments

The annual costs of participation in the Sport-études programs in Quebec

In Canada, organized sports practice for youth is influenced by households’ socioeconomic status. However, few studies have examined the socioeconomic accessibility to competitive youth sport. The purpose of this study was to identify the annual costs of participation in the Sport-études programs in Quebec and to situate them with reference to disposable income and leisure spending of Quebec households. Employing a telephone survey, information was collected from 77% of the 580 available programs (N = 448). Programs costing between $2000 and $4999 represented 51.6% of all programs, and programs costing $5000 or more represented 38.9% of all programs. When examined with reference to household disposable income and leisure spending, the cost of participation in Sport-études programs likely exerts financial pressure on some households and renders the programs inaccessible for others.

Achievement goals and self-determined motivation in Botswana elite youth athletes: An extension of Achievement Goals and Self­ Determination Theories

This study examined whether data from an elite African youth sport context support the tenets of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and if the youths’ achievement goals were associated with their self-determined motivation. Eighty-two male (n =37) and female (n = 45) national athletes from Botswana aged 13-18 years old (M = 16.46, SD = 1.40) who participated in the African Youth Games completed the revised Sport Motivation Scale (SMS-II) and the Perception of Success Questionnaire. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the SMS-II showed that data from Botswana support the relative autonomy continuum postulated by the SDT. A multiple regression analysis showed task-orientation to be a significant ( β= .25, p = .04) predictor of relative autonomy, while ego-orientation was not. The study offers support to existing findings on the relationship between SDT and achievement goal orientations and presents a valuable perspective from a less studied sport context. Enhancing task-orientation in competitive youth sport may be a pathway to the development of self-determined motivation.

Does context matter? Unpacking differences in program quality and developmental experiences across competitive and recreational youth sport

To date, little research has explored differences between competitive and recreational youth sport contexts beyond descriptions of inherent features. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine if differences existed between competitive and recreational youth sport on (a) observed quality delivery and (b) youth’s perceptions of basic psychological needs satisfaction and developmental experiences. Forty-six youth sport teams participated in the study from competitive ( n = 23) and recreational contexts. This study adopted a multi-method approach of self-report questionnaires and researcher observations. Teams agreed to be involved in observations ( n = 3), questionnaires ( n = 12) or both methods of data collection ( n = 31). Quality was assessed through 216 observations ( n = 134 competitive; Mper team = 6.55), while basic psychological needs satisfaction and developmental experiences were examined through two questionnaires ( N = 413) completed at season end. Descriptive statistics and MANOVAs were calculated for all measures and associated subscales. Results revealed non-significant differences between competitive and recreational programs, despite high scores across the three measures. Significant effects are discussed related to of coaches’ years of coaching experience on program quality and ethnicity ratios on positive developmental experiences. Also discussed are notable effect sizes on opportunities for belonging and choice, where recreational contexts scored higher than competitive on each factor. Results offer understandings of how coach delivery can be enhanced, regardless of context, to optimize developmental benefits for youth. Implications are discussed for how future research can explore the complexities of different sport contexts, including associated coaching practices.

Effects of a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Model Intervention in Competitive Youth Sport.

The aim of this study was to implement the teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) model in a competitive context analyzing the differences between the intervention and the control group on personal and social responsibility, prosocial behaviors, and self-efficacy in youth soccer players. Participants were 34 youth soccer players between the ages of 14 and 16 years old (15.18 ± 0.72) divided into two different soccer teams of 17 members, corresponding to the control and intervention groups. The implementation of the TPSR model took place during 9 months, including initial and ongoing coach training (3 months), program implementation (three sessions per week lasting 90 min during 6 months), and a series of expert-led seminars for athletes (one session per week lasting 90 min during 4 months). The questionnaires used to collect data were the Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire, Prosocial Behavior Scale, and two Children’s Self-efficacy Scales. Results indicated that the TPSR intervention group obtained an increase in post-test levels of personal and social responsibility, prosocial behavior, and self-efficacy due to the application of the TPSR model compared with control group that used a conventional sport teaching methodology. The conclusion is that the TPSR model has the potential to be adapted and implemented with flexibility in youth sport competition contexts in order to improve personal and social responsibility, prosocial behavior, and self-efficacy.

‘It’s not like she’s from another planet’: Undoing gender/redoing policy in mixed football

Competitive sport is often a gender-segregated activity underpinned by binary thinking that associates sporting talent with masculinity. In response to political, internal and grassroots activism, the English Football Association conducted a series of pilots to ascertain whether they should raise the age limit for competitive mixed football from Under-11 to Under-14. This paper presents an analysis of these trials using the concepts of accountability, doing and undoing gender to explore participants’ support for policy change, and the ways that normative notions of gender were negotiated, reproduced and disrupted during the trials. Typical rationale for segregating sports which constitute gender accountability frameworks such as physical differences between boys and girls, perceived differences in ability, and concerns about risk of injury for girls were undone as girls demonstrated they could make the team, enjoy the experience and develop their skills in a safe environment. Key arguments in favour of mixed football included the benefit to female players, the importance of friendships between boys and girls, and the similarities in boys’ and girls’ footballing skills. Support for mixed football and policy change reflected participants’ expectations that girls should be assessed on their capacity to play football and ‘fit in’ rather than expectations of gender difference. This article contributes to the limited research on mixed competitive youth sport and provides unique insights into gender-based policy change.