HOW CAN WE OPTIMIZE SPORTS ENVIRONMENTS FOR YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES? ”THE GIRL CHALLENGE” CENTER FOR YOUTH STUDIES, COPENHAGEN

ISSUE AT STAKE The girl drop out – how do we deal with it? Teenage girls often choose other things in life than being active in sports Especially in the transition periods from fundamental school to gymnasium or other youth educations, and from gymnasium to higher/further education, we see a large drop out among girls. How can we convince young girls to keep being active in sports?

PROJECT ”SPORTS ENVIRONMENTS FOR GIRLS” In cooperation with 10 sport federations: swimming, handball, soccer, gymnastics, athletics, taekwondo, cheerleading, kayaking, badminton, volleyball Survey among 80 different sports environments (754 useful responses) Observations and interviews with young female athletes, coaches and parents

We have asked the girls… How does everyday life look like? Motivation for the sport? Perspectives on perfectionism

HOW DOES EVERYDAY LIFE LOOK LIKE? School and sports are the highest priority – but school is the most important arena The girls are very good at structuring their time – they are able to do both sports and school, but time for other activities is limited 1. School arena  investment in the future (the actual career) 2. Sports arena  an arena for experiences The amount and intensity of activities increase in high school (gymnasium) It is difficult for girls in high school to find time for all the activities they want to engage in

THE YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES’ MOTIVATION FOR SPORTS Most important is progression – development! Next: ’having fun’, ’it’s a good way to exercise’ and ’being with my friends’ 94,2 pct. of the girls believe that the social community in sport is great Here ’common interest’ and ’laughing together’ is important 37,1 pct. of the girls have at some point in their life considered stopping sports  Reasons why: ”I would rather prioritize my time differently”, and ”injuries”, ”lack of progression”, and ”my friends stop”

MALE AND FEMALE ATHLETES - PERFECTIONISM Prefer to be perfect at everything – ” ’the perfect’ has become the normal ” Male athletes A more selective strategy in order to manage the performance culture

THE GIRLS’ PERSPECTIVE ON PERFECTIONISM Everything has to be perfect! Especially in school and sport – it is important to them Focus on failures in training and competition – they don’t pay attention to the good things in a their achievements Constantly raise the bar for what is a perfect and acceptable performance

THE GIRLS’ QUOTES ON PERFECTIONISM ”Perfectionism is a part of who I am – and it is part of the environment I’ve been part of since I was 8-9 years old. I just don’t do things halfway” (elite athlete, 9th grade) (”perfektionisme er en del af den, jeg er – og den er en del af det miljø, jeg har været en del af, siden jeg var 8-9 år. Jeg vil bare ikke gøre tingene halvt”) ”Perfectionism creates a sense of inadequacy … I think if I was a bit less perfectionist, I would be more satisfied with myself” (elite athlete, 9th grade) (”det skaber en følelse af utilstrækkelighed… jeg tror, at hvis jeg var lidt mindre perfektionistisk, så ville jeg være mere tilfreds med mig selv”) ”I have always been a perfectionist, but ’the perfect’ has been incredibly high!” (”Jeg har altid været perfektionistisk, men det perfekte er blevet utrolig højt!”)

The good thing is that we know something about what is important for girls in sports…

ACCORDING TO THE GIRLS, WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN SPORTS ENVIRONMENTS FOR YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES? ”Maybe coaches could get a little more understanding that boys and girls are not the same, and girls are much more perfectionistic and they want to be perfect and they think a lot more about things, so it may be a little difficult sometimes to hold all the thoughts in one’s head” (badminton player, 9th grade) ”Måske kunne trænere få lidt mere forståelse for, at drenge og piger ikke er ens, og piger er meget mere perfektionistiske og vil være perfekt og tænker meget mere over tingene, så det kan godt være lidt hårdt nogle gange at rumme alle de tanker i ens hoved.” ”No matter what, the most important thing is always to have fun. You don’t earn money when you win or just train. You are doing it for pleasure” (cheerleading, 9th grade) ”uanset hvad, er det vigtigste altid at have det sjovt. Man tjener jo ikke penge når man vinder, eller bare ved at træne. Man gør det for fornøjelsens skyld.”

ACCORDING TO THE GIRLS, WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN SPORTS ENVIRONMENTS FOR YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES? Focus on social relations – your teammates are also your friends! One has to feel safe and secure in the sports environment The male coach should know that there are many more emotional factors involved with female athletes compared to boys A lot of personal conversations with the coach – ”We like to talk about things” / ”You have to listen to us!” Seriousness and opportunities to develop Understanding … of other activities and priorities Sport must be fun!

THERE ARE MANY GREAT COACHES WHO CARE ABOUT THE YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETES!  coaches who take the girls seriously – from a holistic perspective Maribo Kayak Club  conversations, interest for the individual (eg. the coach helps the athletes doing their homework before training sessions) Vildbjerg Sports Club  conversations and the coach helps the athletes to structure their week schedule Lyngby-Gladsaxe volleyball  always a fun activity (a play or game) in a training session and the girls are involved in decision-making

A GOOD CASE… ”It has to be fun to do gymnastics!” TeamGym Aarhus is an example of a sports environment working with girls’ perfectionism and resistance to failing Development before perfect performances Coaches make deliberate choices – and they communicate with the girls! Focus on social activities outside the sports arena Coaches across teams in the club have talked about values and culture on the girls teams  recognisability in transitions from one team (junior) to another (senior)

TeamGym Aarhus, DK Issue: the girls’ perfectionism… ”If you do not fail, you can’t join the training” Punishment for not trying The toolbox…

THE RESULT? More girls this season than ever before The girls develop and they are no longer scared of trying new difficult gymnastic jumps The girls are no longer determined by perfectionism in training – the result is that they develop! They qualified for the finals for the first time last season

In general… THE CHALLENGE FROM A COACH’S PERSPECTIVE? When coaches find it difficult to handle young female athletes, it seems to be a matter of ignorance more than unwillingness. They simply don’t know how young female athletes prioritize, how their mentality is and how their everday life looks like.

QUESTION… Workshop question: How can we convince young girls to keep being active in sports? How can we help young female athletes to become aware that sport is more than ”just another activity”?  perspectives on life skills…