Sports in Society: Issues

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Sports in SocietyIssues Controversies

• Chapter 5
• Sports and Children
• Are Organized Programs Worth the Effort?

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Origins of Organized Youth Sports

• Organized youth sports emerged in the 20th
  Century
• The first programs focused on masculinizing
  boys
• Organized youth sports grew rapidly in many
  industrialized countries after World War II
• Programs in the US emphasized competition as
  preparation for future occupational success
• Girls interests generally were ignored

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Youth sports grew after World War II
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Social Changes Related to the Growth of Organized
Youth Sports

• Increase in families with both parents working
  outside the home
• New definitions of what it means to be a good
  parent
• Growing belief that informal activities provide
  occasions for kids to get into trouble
• Growing belief that the world is a dangerous
  place for children
• Increased visibility of high-performance and
  professional sports in society

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Youth Sports
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Major Trends in Youth Sports Today

• Organized programs have become increasingly
  privatized
• Organized programs increasingly emphasize the
  performance ethic
• An increased in elite training facilities
• Increased involvement and concerns among parents
• Increased participation in alternative sports

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Youth SportsTypes of Sponsors

1. Public, tax-supported community recreation
   programs
2. Public, non-profit community organizations
3. Private, nonprofit sport organizations
4. Private commercial clubs

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Privatized Youth Sport Programs

• Growth is associated with the decline in publicly
  funded programs
• Most common in middle- and upper-middle income
  areas
• May reproduce economic and ethnic inequalities in
  society
• May not be committed to gender equity
• Private programs are not accountable in the same
  way as public programs

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Tennis

• Junior Tennis Tournaments
• 10 and under
• 10-12
• 14-16
• 16-18
• 18s

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The Performance Ethic

• Refers to emphasizing measured outcomes as
  indicators of the quality of sport experiences
• Fun becoming better
• Emphasized in private programs
• Related to parental notions of investing in their
  childrens future

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Elite Sport Training Programs

• Most common in private, commercial programs
• Emphasize the potential for children to gain
  material rewards through sports
• Children often work long hours and become like
  laborers, but programs are not governed by
  child labor laws
• Raise ethical issues about adult-child
  relationships

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New Interests in Alternative Sports

• A response to highly structured, adult-controlled
  organized programs
• Revolve around desires to be expressive and
  spontaneous
• May have high injury rates and patterns of
  exclusion related to gender and social class
• Are being appropriated by large corporations for
  advertising purposes

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Different Experiences

• Formal Sports Emphasize
• Formal rules
• Set positions
• Systematic guidance by adults
• Status and outcomes

• Informal Sports Emphasize
• Action
• Personal involvement
• Challenging experiences
• Reaffirming friendships

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Different Outcomes

• Formal Sports Emphasize
• Relationships with authority figures
• Learning rules and strategies
• Rule-governed teamwork achievement

• Informal Sports Emphasize
• Interpersonal decision-making skills
• Cooperation
• Improvisation
• Problem solving

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When Are Children Ready to Play Organized,
Competitive Sports?

• Prior to age 12, many children dont have the
  ability to fully understand competitive team
  sports
• They play beehive soccer
• Children must lean how to cooperate before they
  can learn how to compete
• Team sorts require the use of a third party
  perspective

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COMPETITION
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What Are the Dynamics of Family Relationships in
Youth Sports?

• Sports have the potential to bring families
  together
• Being together does not always mean that close
  communication occurs
• Children may feel pressure from parents
• Parent labor in youth sports often reproduces
  gendered ideas about work and family

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Tiger Woods and His Dad
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How Do Social Factors Influence Youth Sport
Experiences?

• Participation opportunities vary by social class.
• Encouragement often varies by gender and
  ability/disability.
• Self-perceptions and social consequences of
  participation vary by social class, gender,
  race/ethnicity, ability/disability, and sexuality.

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Recommendations for Changing Informal
Alternative Sports

• Make play spaces more safe and accessible to as
  many children as possible
• Be sensitive to social class and gender patterns
• Provide indirect guidance without being
  controlling
• Treat these sports as worthwhile sites for facing
  challenges and developing competence

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Recommendations for Changing Organized Sports

• Increase action
• Increase personal involvement
• Facilitate close scores and realistic challenges
• Facilitate friendship formation and maintenance

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Recommendations for Changing High-performance
Programs

• Establish policies, procedures, and rules to
  account for the rights and interests of children
  participants
• Create less controlling environments designed to
  promote growth, development, and empowerment

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Coaching Education Programs

• Are useful when they provide coaches with
  information on
• Dealing with children safely and responsibly
• Organizing practices and teaching skills
• Can be problematic when they foster a
  techno-science approach to controlling children
  as they teach skills
• Creating sports efficiency experts should not
  be the goal

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TEST Part 1

• True/False
• ____1. Organize youth emerged in the 20th
  century.
• ____2. Youth sport grew quickly after World War
  I.
• ____3. Girls interest after the war was ignored.
• ____4. A major trend today in youth sport is an
  increase in elite training facilities.
• ____5. Type of sponsors for youth today is
  private only.
• ____6. Private sponsors of youth sport always
  commit to gender equity.
• ____7. An example today of organize youth sport
  is tennis tournament.
• ____8. Today, all youth sport are traditional
  sports.
• ____9. Children must learn to cooperate before
  they learn how to compete.

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TEST Part 2

• Select either A. Formal Sport B. Informal
  Sport
• ____10. Learning rules and strategies
• ____11. Relationship with authority figures
• ____12. Cooperation
• ____13. Rule governed teamwork
• ____14. Improvisation
• ____15. Problem solving

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TEST Part III

• Match the statements with topics
• A. Recommendation for Changing High Performance.
• B. Recommendation for Changing Organized Programs
• C. Recommendation for changing Informal Sport
• D. Coaching Education Program
• E. Social Factor Influences on Youth Experience
• ____16. Participation opportunities vary by
  social class.
• ____17. Make play spaces more safe and
  accessible.
• ____18. Create less controlling environment.
• ____19. Creating sport experts should not be the
  goal.
• ____20. Increase personal involvement.