1. Chapters 23-24 (LeUnes) Youth Sports Psychology of Sport Dec 2, 2009 Class #39

2. Youth sports 40 years ago Free from adult interaction - the sandlot. Kids played for the sake of playing - learning the same lessons they learn today, but from each other rather than from adults. Very few organized youth sports programs.

3. Youth Sports Today Most towns have organized leagues for children as young as 5 years old. Both school-sponsored and non- school youth sports programs have drastically increased their offerings. Increased involvement of parents as coaches and spectators has led to increased pressure to win and succeed.

4. Good or Bad? Good: Involvement of parents and coaches in young people’s lives through the intentional teaching of positive values, social interactions, and physical skills. Bad: Over-emphasis on winning, competition and specialization can diminish the potential benefits youth sports have to offer and even lead to “burnout” in athletes.

5. Achievement By Proxy Parents and coaches who live vicariously through their kids  “Frustrated jock syndrome”

6. Its not fun anymore... Studies conducted by the National Youth Sports Coaches Association showed that nearly three out of four children in organized sports programs drop out between the ages of 8 and 13. The two most common reasons? The sport was no longer fun and players felt abused by their coaches.

7. Defining Burnout A syndrome of physical/emotional exhaustion, sport devaluation, and reduced athletic accomplishment. A multi-dimensional problem that can have many causes including increased stress, loss of investment, and an over- controlling social structure.

8. Physiological Symptoms of Burnout Increased resting and exercise heart rate Increased resting systolic blood pressure Increased muscle soreness Increased presence of biochemical indicators of stress in the blood Increased sleep loss Increased cold and respiratory issues Decreased body weight Decreased maximal aerobic power Decreased libido and appetite

9. Psychological Symptoms of Burnout Increased mood disturbances Increased perception of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion Decreased self-esteem Negative change in the quality of personal interaction with others (cynicism, lack of feeling, impersonal relating) Negative cumulative reaction to chronic everyday stress as opposed to acute doses of stress

10. Can premature specialization lead to burnout in youth sports? American Association of Pediatrics: “Children involved in sports should be encouraged to participate in a variety of different activities and develop a wide range of skills”. “Those who participate in a variety of sports and specialize only after reaching the age of puberty tend to be more consistent performers, have fewer injuries, and adhere to sports play longer than those who specialize early”.

11. Burnout Journal of American Chiropractic Association: “Young children who have played in structured sport programs tend to have higher levels of pre-competitive anxiety that predisposes them to emotional trauma and injuries. Also, higher levels of pre-competitive anxiety have been linked to low levels of enjoyment Sport psychologists have determined that a lack of fun and enjoyment is the No. 1 reason children leave organized sport.”*

12. What was your youth sports experience like? Did you specialize in a sport? At what age did you specialize? Would you want your children to specialize?

13. McElroy and Kirkendal (1980) 2,000+ children, average age 11.9 selected one of the following as their most important reason for playing a sport: to defeat your opponent or the other team (winning orientation) to play as well as you can (personal performance) to play fairly, by the rules at all times (fair play) everyone on the team should get to play (total participation)

14. McElroy and Kirkendal (1980) Most Important Reason for Playing Sports Males Females Winning13.5% 04.6% Personal Perform.51.0% 48.3% Fair Play24.4% 37.6% Total Participation11.0% 09.4%

15. American Youth and Sport Participation Study Ewing & Seefeldt (1990) The Athletic Footwear Association commissioned Drs. Martha Ewing and Vern Seefeldt of the Youth Sport Institute at Michigan State University to investigate children’s reasons for participation and/or dropping out from nonschool youth programs. Boys’ and girls’ (N=10,000) were asked: è Why they participate? è Why they quit? è How they feel about winning?

16. American Youth and Sport Participation Study Ewing & Seefeldt (1990) Highlights of the Study: Sport participation, and the desire to participate in sports, decline sharply and steadily between ages 10 and 18. “Fun” is a pivotal reason for being in a sport, and lack of fun is a leading reason for dropping out. Young participants do not consider winning as a major benefit of sport competition. Motivations to participate differ greatly within and in between athletes.

17. CHILDREN’S RANK ORDER OF THE MOST IMPORTANT REASONS FOR PLAYING THEIR BEST SCHOOL SPORT OR DROPPING OUT FROM YOUTH SPORTS REASON FOR PLAYINGREASON FOR DROPPING OUT 01TO HAVE FUN01 I LOST INTEREST 02TO IMPROVE MY SKILLS02 I WAS NOT HAVING FUN 03TO STAY IN SHAPE03 IT TOOK TOO MUCH TIME 04TO DO SOMETHING 04 COACH WAS A POOR I’M GOOD AT TEACHER 05FOR THE EXCITEMENT OF05 TOO MUCH PRESSURE (WORRY) COMPETITION 06TO GET EXERCISE06 WANTED NON-SPORT ACTIVITY 07TO PLAY AS PART OF A07 I WAS TIRED OF IT TEAM 08FOR THE CHALLENGE OF08 NEEDED MORE STUDY TIME COMPETITION 09TO LEARN NEW SKILLS09 COACH PLAYED FAVORITES 10TO WIN10 SPORT WAS BORING 11 OVER-EMPHASIS ON WINNING Reproduced from Ewing, M. E., & Seefeldt, V. (1990). American youth sports participation: A study of 10,000 students and their feelings about sport. North Palm Beach, FL: Athletic Footwear Association.

18. THE 12 MOST IMPORTANT REASONS I PLAY MY BEST SCHOOL SPORT BOYS GIRLS 01TO HAVE FUN01 TO HAVE FUN 02TO IMPROVE SKILLS02 TO STAY IN SHAPE 03FOR THE EXCITEMENT 03 TO GET EXERCISE OF COMPETITION 04TO DO SOMETHING04 TO IMPROVE SKILLS I’M GOOD AT 05TO STAY IN SHAPE05 TO DO SOMETHING I'M GOOD AT 06FOR THE CHALLENGE06 TO BE PART OF A TEAM OF COMPETITION 07TO BE PART OF A TEAM07 FOR THE EXCITEMENT OF COMPETITION 08TO WIN08 TO LEARN NEW SKILLS 09TO GO TO A HIGHER09 FOR THE TEAM SPIRIT LEVEL OF COMPETITION 10TO GET EXERCISE10 FOR THE CHALLENGE OF COMPETITION 11TO LEARN NEW SKILLS11 TO GO TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF COMPETITION 12FOR THE TEAM SPIRIT12 TO WIN Reproduced from Ewing, M. E., & Seefeldt, V. (1990)

19. THE 6 MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES I WOULD MAKE TO GET INVOLVED AGAIN IN A SPORT I DROPPED “I would play again if…” BOYS GIRLS 01PRACTICES WERE 01 PRACTICES WERE MORE FUN MORE FUN 02I COULD PLAY MORE02 NO CONFLICT WITH STUDIES 03COACHES UNDERSTOOD 03 COACHES UNDERSTOOD PLAYERS BETTER 04 NO CONFLICT WITH 04 NO CONFLICT WITH SOCIAL STUDIES LIFE 05COACHES WERE BETTER05 I COULD PLAY MORE TEACHERS 06NO CONFLICT WITH06 COACHES WERE BETTER SOCIAL LIFE TEACHERS Reproduced from Ewing, M. E., & Seefeldt, V. (1990)

20. Achievement Goal Theory 3 major factors in determining the motivation levels of children in youth sport settings: 1. Goal Orientation Task-orientation – success is defined as self-referent improvement Ego-orientation – success is defined by social comparison and out-doing others 2. Motivational Climate  Mastery climate – focus is on learning, effort, cooperative strategies, and skill development  Performance climate – competitive, beating teammates, demonstrating superiority over others 3. Perceived ability High – greater competence Low – less competence

21. Violence in Youth Sport 45.3% of young athletes have been called names, yelled at or insulted while participating in sports 17.5% of young athletes say they have been hit, kicked or slapped while participating in sports Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission

22. Stats in Youth Sports 15% of parents at youth sporting events display obnoxious, unruly, or unsportsmanlike behavior *** 15% of parents at youth sporting events display obnoxious, unruly, or unsportsmanlike behavior *** 8.2% of young athletes report that they were pressured to intentionally harm others while playing sports ** 8.2% of young athletes report that they were pressured to intentionally harm others while playing sports ** 19,000 members of the National Association of Sports Officials are now offered assault insurance**** 19,000 members of the National Association of Sports Officials are now offered assault insurance**** *The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports of Michigan State University ** Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission *** National Alliance for Youth Sports **** US World News & World Report (2000)

23. Intervention Strategies Sport psychology consultants Sport administrators Parents Athletes/Teammates Media League officials/referees Coaches

24. HERE ARE FAIR PLAY RULES FOR PLAYERS AND COACHES

25. They saw Knight get away with it...

26. Well, eventually Bobby got fired...

29. Credits http://www.basketballalberta.ca/clientuploads/Youth_Sports_Web.ppt #309,25,Conclusions http://www.basketballalberta.ca/clientuploads/Youth_Sports_Web.ppt #309,25,Conclusions http://academic.missouriwestern.edu/wrussell/WhatisSportPsychPres entation.ppt#259,4,Global Sport Psychology Specialties: http://scott.allenby.com/Site/Sports_Psychology_files/Specialization% 20and%20Burnout.ppt http://scott.allenby.com/Site/Sports_Psychology_files/Specialization% 20and%20Burnout.ppt http://ajvisek.com/ss493H/Classnotes6_YouthSport.ppt#281,2,Violen ce in Youth Sport: Case Studies