Supporting positive parental decision-making in sport
Parents and guardians have significant influence on their children’s sporting experiences, as well as broader sport culture. As such, their decisions can have long-lasting impacts on their children’s sport enjoyment, performance and long-term participation. Parents must decide when to start or end a child’s participation in a sport program, how many sports to do at…
Using life skills to promote social justice: Youth sport as a vehicle for social change
Sport can serve as a setting for addressing social justice. By expanding the meaning of life skills, seeing life skills through a sociopolitical lens, and teaching life skills that address youth’s social realities all stakeholders in the sport system can work together to progress the positive development of youth and evolve life skills. An important…
Committing to keeping kids safe in sport
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has worked with the Coaching Association of Canada to offer the Commit to Kids program. This program includes tailored resources for sport organizations, coaches, officials, parents and volunteers to promote awareness about boundaries and best practices for keeping sport safe and fun for kids.
Rural children and their communities leading the way toward the enhancement of sports and recreation
View the summary of this research here. The purpose of the study was to engage rural preadolescent children in the development of research questions that are relevant and meaningful to exploring their participation and commitment to sport and other recreational activities. The three objectives were 1) To understand the children’s experience in participation of sport,…
Keeping the ride home positive
70% of kids quit sports before high school. The way that parents communicate with their kids about sport, including their performance at practices or games, influences whether or not that child will want to stay in sport. The Ride Home webpage, hosted through True Sport, offers advice and examples of how parents can communicate positively…
Early specialization
There has long been debate regarding the benefits versus pitfalls of early specialization in sport. A recent study of young basketball players shows that early sport specialization does not provide a physical fitness advantage.
Language matters in the context of athlete development
Consistency when it comes to language is important to consider in the context of athlete development. Some terms that are frequently used in sport have blurry or competing meanings, such as what it means to have “talent,” what it means to be “elite,” or what it means to have “character.” Researchers advise being specific with…
Accessible communications and technologies in sport for people with disabilities
Accessibility is a human right. And it’s essential for 1 in 5 Canadians aged 15 or older, who live with at least 1 disability. This blog post explores why accessibility is important and suggests strategies for coaches and sport organizations to prioritize and improve accessibility, specifically involving technology and communications.
Promoting outdoor recreation for youth
Because natural environments have natural rules with real and immediate consequences, they offer youth maximal opportunities for mastery of new skills. Evidence demonstrates that outdoor recreation not only improves youth wellbeing but may also enhance the likelihood of participation in outdoor activities.
Parenting styles and practices: Promoting exemplary parenting in youth sport
Project summary Our research question was: How do exemplary youth sport parents support their daughters in competitive team sport? To answer this question, we interviewed 8 coaches and asked them to discuss the best parents they had ever worked with. These coaches then nominated 10 parents of female youth sport athletes, who they considered to…