Eileen Wolfe University of West Florida

Youth sports act as a microcosm of society Socialization Problem solving Leadership Discipline Cooperation/teamwork Dealing with adversity Overcoming fear Facing challenges Stress/arousal regulation Healthy lifestyle Coordination Self-efficacy

Nearly 45 million youth participate in sports every year in U.S. Represents 66% of all out-of-school activities for youth (Ewing & Seefeldt, 2002) #1 reason for involvement is To have fun Other main reasons: improve skills, get in shape, be with friends (Ewing & Seefeldt, 1996)

For every 10 youth that begin sport, 3 to 4 discontinue by next season (Gould & Petlichkiff, 1988) 50% of youth dropout of sport involvement by age 12 70% dropout by age 14 (University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, ) In any given year, 3 to 4 out of 10 will drop out before the next season. Reasons? _____________________________

Frequent worries about adult expectations and evaluation by others Fear of failure Less perceived fun Less satisfaction with their performance, regardless of winning or losing Perception that participation is important to parents Outcome goal orientation and low perceived ability Maladaptive Perfectionism

Proper interventions can decrease dropout rates and increase positive developmental outcomes 1)Positive reinforcement, 2)technical instruction, and 3) mistake-contingent encouragement from adults most important interventions Focus on increasing desirable behaviors by rewarding Coaches and parents can be trained

Need continuous and immediate reinforcement: positive approach Not all want to become Elite Stages of Athlete Development ( Co ̂ te, 1999; Co ̂ te, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009) Sampling years Specializing years Investment years Recreational years

Majority of youth in this stage Characterized by deliberate play Kids voluntarily try variety of sports Positive outcomes: Form opinions on sports, develop fundamental motor skills, socialize, learn to work with others Essential building block of sport development Can go into specializing or recreational

Characterized by a balance between deliberate play and deliberate practice Kids begin to focus on one or two sports that they enjoy Skills such as problem solving, imagery, and goal- setting, along with socialization, self-concept, and self-esteem development (Chase & Drummer, 1992; Harter, 1978) Should be challenging, yet fun! Can go into investment or recreational

Characterized by deliberate practice Investment of training time, money, focus Development of elite athletes Win-at-all cost focus on performance and competition Can teach leadership, responsibility, commitment, stress regulation

Characterized by enjoyment and focus on healthy lifestyle, socialization Not place for overly competitive level of play Reason many join community sports rather than school-sponsored sports Less pressure Everyone given equal opportunity More likely to experience less negative effects However, less likely to develop PSTs for stress regulation

Majority are untrained volunteers Most coach how they were coached Trained coaches have only 5% dropout rate compared to untrained at 26% (Barnett, Smoll, & Smith, 1992) Majority use combination of negative and positive approach Should follow 5:1 RULE Phil Jackson vs. Bobby Knight Positive Coaching Alliance

Understand individual athlete goals Model Sportsmanship Increases peer-to-peer positive reinforcement ROOTS: Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates, Self Practice PSTs to regulate own stress/arousal Imagery, self-talk, relaxation/breathing Use positive, sincere feedback Sandwich Approach: Positive statement, Future- oriented instruction, compliment Smith, Smoll, Curtis (1979) CBAS Study Barnett, Smoll, & Smith (1992) follow-up

Single most important thing kids need from parents: Support Emotional Informational Companionship Tangible Continuum from underinvolved to overinvolved parents The healthiest development of the child athlete takes place when the parent shows support and respect for the child athlete, teammates, coaches, officials, fans, and opponents alike, through a moderate level of involvement.

The Overinvolved Parent Examples

Parents strongly influence their childs goals (Duda & Hom, 1993) and perceived competence (Brustad, 1993). May not realize the impact of their influence May not know how to communicate effectively with coaches and the child Parent Orientation Meetings Parent Responsibilities and Code of Conduct (American Sport Education Program, 1994) Can use as opportunity to tackle Myths (pg )

Which of the following is best characterized by deliberate practice in athlete development? a) Sampling stage b) Specializing stage c) Investment stage d) Reinforcement stage e) None of the above

The stage of athlete development in which an athlete invests all of their resources into one sport is known as the sampling stage. a. True b. False

According to the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, approximately what percentage of athletes dropout of youth sports by the age of 14? a) 20% b) 30% c) 50% d) 70% e) None of the above

Reinforcement for young athletes should be __________ and __________________? a) Continuous and delayed b) Continuous and immediate c) Intermittent and delayed d) Intermittent and immediate e) None of the above Feedback should be task oriented (not outcome oriented) and self-comparing (not peer comparing)

Which of the following should coaches use to deal with stresses of coaching and to be a good role model? a) Self-talk b) Relaxation/Breathing techniques c) Imagery d) All of the above e) None of the above

True or False: Bobby Knight is a spokesperson for the Positive Coaching Alliance and is displays a considerate coaching style. a) True b) False

According to Youth sport coaches should follow the 2:1 Rule by giving 2 positive feedbacks to every 1 negative feedback. a) True b) False

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