Inclusion requires action! Creating inclusion for newcomers to Canada
It is clear that the next generation will be diverse, multicultural and, apparently, much less fit than the previous generations. Research points in this general direction, but results from the recent TOPO survey, released in May 2018, demonstrates this trend clearly. The 2017 survey engaged 13,400 children and 7,800 parents across all school boards on…
Promising practices to support multi-sport programming
When kids specialize early in one sport or activity, it doesn’t guarantee they will be successful athletes in the long term (Malina 2010). To the contrary, research has revealed that they tend to get injured more frequently, burnout, and quit (Jayanthi et al. 2013, Jayanthi et al. 2015, Fraser-Thomas et al. 2005). This is why…
Increasing engagement by addressing de-selection practices in youth sport
As researchers and educators who have been (and still are!) extensively involved in sport, back to school time also means back to school SPORT time! Through our personal experience and our research, we know firsthand the positive impact that participation in sports can have on child development. We are also acutely aware that many children…
The Development of Executive Functions and Social and Emotional Learning Skills Through Sport
One of the biggest stories coming out of the 2018 Winter Olympics was the success of the Norwegian Team, who topped the overall medal count with 39 medals (7.33 medals/million population), compared to Canada’s third-place standing with 29 medals (0.81 medals/million population). In team rooms and in the media, everyone was asking “How did such…
Happy birthday? How your birthdate contributes to success or failure due to the “relative age effect”
Have you ever stopped to wonder the difference a day can make? Say, being born December 31st or January 1st? This small 24-hour window could be the difference between competing in elite vs. recreational sport, or being identified as “gifted”, or (mis)diagnosed with a learning disability in school. Many youth development systems (e.g., sport and…
Tips on How to Deliver a Quality Youth Sport Program
This is the first blog in a series on positive youth development in sport. If this is your first visit to this series, considering taking a few minutes to read the other two posts: Teaching Life Skills Through Sport and Supporting the Transfer and Application of Life Skills Beyond Sport. Many individuals and organizations have…
Introduction to eSports
Whether or not you believe that eSports, or competitive video gaming, is a real sport or that gamers are athletes, its popularity and how it is being developed within the sport industry can not be ignored. For some amateur sport organizations, eSports may be seen as a competitor to traditional sports. However, it may also…
Pushing for a multi-sport approach to kids’ sport and activity
We know that today’s kids face a myriad of obstacles to getting active and developing physical literacy. From obsession with smartphones and video games, to increasing confinement in urban spaces, kids today are facing challenges that most of their parents never had to confront. As a consequence, for better or for worse, organized sport and…
Fostering Leadership in Youth Sport through a Tri-Level Mentoring Model
Many coaches in youth sport understand the positive benefits of sport participation, in helping youth adopt social relationships, perseverance, and building life skills. However, it isn’t enough to simply thrust a child into sport and hope they develop character. It is necessary for coaches to provide intentional opportunities for youth engagement and empowerment to help…
Children’s influence on adult fandom of amateur sport
Research shows sport fandom being developed within families usually from a top-down approach. This is typically in the form of parents, in particular fathers, directly influencing their children’s sport fan choices through various socializing activities, including watching games together on television, taking them to a game in person, purchasing fan merchandise, or teaching them the…