Children and Sport Psychology

1. chapter 22 Children and Sport Psychology

2. Session Outline • The Importance of Children’s Sport Psychology • Why a Psychology of the Young Athlete? • Why Children Participate in Sport • Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport • Role of Friends in Youth Sport (continued)

3. Session Outline (continued) • Stress and Burnout in Children’s Competitive Sport • Effective Coaching Practices for Young Athletes • Role of Parents

4. The Importanceof Children’s Sport Psychology Some of the most important implications of sport psychology are found in the children’s sport arena, where participants are plentiful and are highly involved.

5. Why a Psychologyof the Young Athlete? • So many children are involved (an estimated 45 million in the United States). • Children are intensely involved in youth sport. • Participation peaks at a critical developmental period in the child’s life (age 12). • Organized sport is not automatically beneficial; qualified, competent adult leadership is needed.

6. Why Children Participatein Youth Sport Children have different reasons for participating in sport (have fun, improve skills, get exercise, be with and make new friends, compete) Boys and girls have similar motives for involvement but these may vary in importance. (See Motives for Participation in Youth Sports on p. 515 of text.)

7. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport Participation statistics • Peak participation occurs between the ages of 10 and 13 years. • For every 10 children who begin a sport season, 3 to 4 quit before the start of the next season.

8. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport Motives for withdrawal • Major reason: “Other things to do” • Some negative reasons (e.g., “Not as good as I wanted to be”; “Boredom”; Didn’t like the pressure”) cited by some children

9. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport The importance of perceived competence Children with low perceptions of their athletic abilities drop out or do not participate in sport, whereas children with high perceptions of their competence participate and persist.

10. Why Children Discontinue Participationin Sport Adapted, by permission, from D. Gould, and L. Petlichkoff, 1988, Participation motiveation and attrition in young athletes. In _Chaildren in sport, 3rd ed., editated by F. Smoll, R. Magill, and M. Ash (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 161-178.

11. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport • Sport-specific dropouts withdraw from a particular program but enter into other sports. • Sport-general dropouts withdraw from all sport participation. • Sport-general dropouts are a special concern.

12. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport Key Understand underlying motives for withdrawal.

13. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport Summary • Most of the motives children have are intrinsic (e.g., to have fun, learn skills). Winning clearly is neither the only nor the most common motive for participation. • Most young athletes have multiple reasons for participation, not a single motive. (continued)

14. Why Children Discontinue Participation in Sport (continued) Summary • Although most children withdraw because of change of interests, a significant minority discontinue for negative reasons (e.g., lack of fun, pressure) • Underlying the descriptive motive (e.g., fun) is the child’s need to feel worthy.

15. Strategies for StructuringSport Situations to Meet the Needsof Young Athletes Coaches can enhance motivation by structuring environments to meet specific needs.

16. Facilitating Motivationin Young Athletes Implications for practice • Enhance perceived competence—teach young athletes to define success as exceeding their own goals, not simply winning. • Keep participation and withdrawal statistics. (continued)

17. Facilitating Motivationin Young Athletes (continued) Implications for practice • When children discontinue, rigorously analyze why they are withdrawing from sport. • Is the child interested in another sport? • Is withdrawal permanent or temporary? • Did the child have a say in the decision? • What are effects on long-term welfare?

18. Positive Role of Friendsin Youth Sport • Companionship: spending time together • Pleasant play association: enjoying being around one’s friends • Enhancement of self-esteem: having friends say things or take actions that boost one’s self-esteem (continued)

19. Positive Role of Friendsin Youth Sport (continued) • Help and guidance: providing assistance in learning sport skills as well as general assistance, such as in school • Prosocial behavior: saying and doing things that conform to social convention, such as sharing or not saying negative things • Intimacy: mutual feelings of close, personal bonds (continued)

20. Positive Role of Friendsin Youth Sport (continued) • Emotional support: expressions and feeling of concern for one another; absence of conflicts (some friends do not argue, fight, or disagree) • Conflict resolution: ability of friends to resolve conflicts • Attractive personal qualities: positive characteristics such as personality or physical features

21. Negative Role of Friendsin Youth Sport • Conflict (e.g., insults, arguments) • Unattractive personal qualities (e.g., self-centered) • Betrayal • Inaccessibility (lack of opportunity to interact)

22. Role of Friends in Youth Sport Key Peer relations affect motivation for physical activity.

23. Friendship in Sport:Implications for Practice • Enhance peer relationships by creating motivational climates that enhance task goals and foster cooperation versus competition. • Conduct drills that require small groups of players to interact, which will maximize involvement. • Reduce displays of social status (e.g., public picking of teams).

24. Friendship in Sport:Implications for Practice • In sport settings, provide time for children to be with friends and to make new friends. • Encourage positive peer reinforcement. • Emphasize teamwork, foster cohesion, and emphasize the pursuit of group “team” goals.

25. Stress and Burnoutin Children’s Competitive Sport Are young athletes placed under too much stress? No, the majority of young athletes are not under excessive stress (less than 10% are).

26. Stress and Burnoutin Children’s Competitive Sport Adapted from Handbook for Youth Sport Coaches with permission from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191.

27. Stress and Burnoutin Children’s Competitive Sport Is state anxiety heightened in young athletes? • High stress (state anxiety) levels are relatively rare but affect 2.5 million children in specific situations. • Stress among elite junior competitors is caused by fear of failure and feelings of inadequacy. • Children at risk for heightened state anxiety exhibit certain personal characteristics.

28. Stress and Burnoutin Children’s Competitive Sport Key Excessive trait anxiety does not appear to be associated with youth sport participation.

29. Personal Characteristics of Children at Risk for Heightened State Anxiety • High trait anxiety • Low self-esteem • Maladaptive perfectionism • Low performance expectancies relative to team • Low self-performance expectations • Frequent worries about failure (continued)

30. Personal Characteristics of Children at Risk for Heightened State Anxiety (continued) • Frequent worries about adult expectations and evaluation by others • 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

31. Situational Sources of Stress Defeat versus victory Children experience more state anxiety after losing than after winning.

32. Situational Sources of Stress Event importance The more importance that is placed on a contest, the more state anxiety that is experienced by participants.

33. Situational Sources of Stress Sport type Children in individual sports experience more state anxiety than children in team sports.

34. Stress-Induced Burnout • Burnout is a special case of sport withdrawal in which a young athlete discontinues sport involvement in response to chronic stress. • Characteristics of burnout include one-dimensional self-definitions and little or no control in decision making.

35. Factors AssociatedWith Burnout in Young Athletes • Very high self- and other-imposed expectations • Win-at-all-costs attitude • Parental pressure • Long repetitive practices with little variety • Inconsistent coaching practices (continued)

36. Factors AssociatedWith Burnout in Young Athletes (continued) • Overuse injuries from excessive practice • Excessive time demands • High travel demands • Love from others displayed on the basis of winning and losing • Perfectionism

37. Stress and Burnoutin Children’s Competitive Sport Practical implications • Develop confidence and constructive attitude toward mistakes. • Use concrete physical strategies (e.g., stress bag to put worries in). • Use fun strategies (e.g., jelly belly, spaghetti toes relaxation). (continued)

38. Stress and Burnoutin Children’s Competitive Sport (continued) Practical implications • Use simple strategies (e.g., change channels). • Vary approaches to the same exercise. • Individualize approaches to the child’s interests. • Remain positive and optimistic. • Use role models (e.g., Michael Jordan).

39. Intensive Trainingand Elite Sport for Children Phases of athletic talent development • Entry or initial phase • Investment phase • Elite performance excellence phase • Excellence maintenance phase

40. Intensive Trainingand Elite Sport for Children Key findings: • Most champion athletes did not start out with champion aspirations in mind. • Most champion athletes are exposed to active lifestyles and play multiple sports as children. • Champions must fall in love with the sport before pursuing intense involvement. • To optimize talent, young athletes should not specialize in a single sport too early, and parents and coaches should emphasize fun and development.

41. Effective Coaching Practicesfor Young Athletes Key Children have special coaching needs, different from the needs of adults.

42. What the Research SaysAbout Coaching Children Smith, Smoll, and Curtis’ (1979) classic research notes that a coach’s instruction, reinforcement, and mistake-contingent instruction and encouragement correlate with a player’s self-esteem, motivation, and positive attitudes.

43. What the Research SaysAbout Coaching Children Learning a positive approach to coaching results in lower player dropout rates (5% compared with 26% for untrained coaches).

44. Effective Coaching Practicesfor Young Athletes Implications for practice Catch kids doing things right and give them plenty of praise. Give praise sincerely. Develop realistic expectations. Reward efforts as much as outcome. Focus on teaching and practicing skills (maximize participation in an activity). (continued)

45. Effective Coaching Practicesfor Young Athletes (continued) Implications for practice Modify skills and activities so they are developmentally appropriate. Modify rules to maximize action and participation. Reward correct technique, not just outcome. Use a positive “sandwich” approach when you correct errors. (continued)

46. Effective Coaching Practicesfor Young Athletes (continued) Implications for practice Create an environment that reduces fear of trying new skills. Be enthusiastic.

47. Different Parental Roles in Youth Sports(Fredericks & Eccles, 2004) • Socializer • Role model • Interpreter of child’s sport experience

48. Research Findings on Parental Roles • Parental enjoyment of physical activity is related to parental encouragement and a child’s perceived competence and participation. • Parental support buffers the adverse stressful effects that players experience. • The goal orientations of parent and child are significantly related. • Parents can play a highly positive or a highly negative role in the youth sport experience.

49. Parental Roles in Youth Sports • Keys • Educate parents about their responsibilities and the sport parent code of conduct. • Appreciate the tricky business of parental support.

50. Sport Parent Responsibilities • Encourage your children to play sports, but don’t pressure them. Let your child choose to play—and quit—if she or he wants. • Understand what your child wants from sport and provide a supportive atmosphere for achieving those goals. • Set limits on your child’s participation in sport. Determine when your child is physically and emotionally ready to play and to ensure that conditions are safe. • Make sure the coach is qualified to guide your child through the sport experience. (continued)