Camilla J. Knight

Understanding parental stressors: An investigation of British tennis-parents

Abstract In this study, we examined the stressors experienced by British tennis-parents. The parents (n = 123) completed an extensive survey focused on the internal and external demands that they had encountered through having a child compete in the sport. The survey consisted of open-ended questions related to competition, coaching, organizational, personal, and developmental issues. Inductive and deductive content analysis resulted in the development of seven core themes of tennis-parental stressor: competition, coaches, finance, time, siblings, organization-related, and developmental. Parents experienced a diverse number of competitive stressors indicating the particular difficulties they faced before, during, and after matches involving their child, opponents, other parents, and officials. They also reported a wide range of organizational stressors that paralleled the financial, social, and personal investments that accompanied their support roles. The results of this research reinforce the importance of parents possessing the necessary skills to cope with the psychological, developmental, and logistical demands of competitive tennis. Implications with respect to induction workshops and education for coaches and parents are presented, as well as consideration for governing bodies to enhance their communication channels and logistical support. Future research recommendations are posed to build upon the study of this domain in youth sport.

Meanings of play among children.

The purpose of this study was to examine meanings of play among children. Thirty-eight students aged 7–9 years from a suburban public school in Western Canada participated in focus groups. Data analysis revealed participants saw almost anything as an opportunity for play and would play almost anywhere with anyone. However, they perceived parents to have somewhat different views regarding play. The children frequently described adults as restricting play opportunities. This study therefore revealed that children had a relatively unrestrained view of play and these findings may be useful for helping to ensure that adults facilitate, rather than hinder, children’s play.

Junior Tennis Players’ Preferences for Parental Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to identify junior tennis players’ preferences for parental behaviors at competitions. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 42 high performance Canadian tennis players (M age = 13.5 yrs, SD = 1.2 yrs). Analysis revealed several themes describing athletes’ views of supportive parental behaviors. Specific preferences were that parents should not provide technical and tactical advice, but they should comment on effort and attitude, provide practical advice, respect tennis etiquette, and match nonverbal behaviors with supportive comments. By providing a childrens perspective, these findings offer guidance to enhance parental involvement in tennis.

Parental Behaviors in Team Sports: How do Female Athletes Want Parents to Behave?

Parents display various positive and negative behaviors at youth sport competitions. This study examined early adolescent female athletes’ preferred parental behaviors at team sport competitions. Individual interviews were conducted with 36 female athletes (M age = 13.5 years) who frequently competed in team sports. Data analysis led to the identification of three categories of parental behavior across different phases of competition (before, during, after). Athletes indicated preferences related to preparation for competition, parental support and, encouragement during competition, and the provision of feedback after competition. The results suggest that parents should engage in different types of behaviors as the temporal context of competitions change.

Parenting in Youth Sport : From Research to Practice

Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Overview of Issues Associated with Parenting in Youth Sport Chapter 3. Participation in Youth Sport Chapter 4. Youth Sport as a Vehice for Youth Development: Benefits and Risks Chapter 5. Parenting Styles Chapter 6. Parenting Involvement at Competitions Chapter 7. Talent Development and Roles of Parents Chapter 8. Stressors, Parenting and Coping in Youth Sport Chapter 9. Interactions Between Parents and Coaches Chapter 10. Putting Research into Practice: Working with Families Chapter 11. Communicating Research.

Parental stress and coping in elite youth gymnastics: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract Parents are essential in youth sport because they provide the emotional, informational, and financial support that enables their children to enjoy and succeed in their sporting endeavours. When providing such support, however, parents can experience a range of stressors from organisational, competitive, and developmental sources. This study sought to understand how parents of elite youth gymnasts cope within youth sport. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to facilitate an in-depth exploration of parents’ experiences. Seven parents of national and international level gymnasts aged 11–14 years participated in semi-structured interviews and data were analysed according to the guidelines set out by IPA. The results suggest that parents face numerous organisational, competitive, and developmental stressors in youth gymnastics including time and travel demands, child’s competition nerves, schooling, finances, and injury. Parents employed four categories of coping to manage these stressors: (a) detaching from gymnastics (e.g. by sharing parental tasks, relying on their children to cope, and maintaining balanced lifestyles); (b) normalising experiences (e.g. by recalling and comparing experiences); (c) willingness to learn (e.g. from others and from their own past experiences); and (d) managing emotional reactions (e.g. through emotional release, self-talk, distraction, and avoidance strategies). The findings suggest that parents’ stress experiences are dynamic and complex, with parents utilising different coping strategies to manage different stressors in different situations.

Parenting in sport

This paper provides a brief summary and commentary on the growing literature on parenting in sport, with a particular emphasis on literature from the last 2-3 years. Following a brief introduction overviewing the topic area, we firstly focus on the influence of parental involvement on children. Specifically, we examine the range of factors that influence childrens perceptions of parental involvement and the consequences of different behaviors. Next we discuss the factors influencing parental involvement, such as the challenges and stressors associated with parenting children in sport and the culture within different sports. Finally, our review focuses upon the strategies developed by parents to facilitate their involvement in their childrens sport, as well as the few papers focused upon parent education and support. We conclude by examining the need for further research and examination of support strategies for parents.

Parental Involvement in Elite Junior Slalom Canoeing

This studys aim was to examine elite youth athletes’ views on parental involvement in training, competition, and at home. Eight canoeists were interviewed up to 4 times and completed written diaries over a 6-week period. Results indicated that parents were generally deemed to have a positive influence through domain specific and cross-domain behaviors. Positive behaviors included parents focusing on their childrens holistic development at home, motivational and constructive evaluation at training, and limiting demands on athletes through the provision of practical support, reading and understanding the situation and their child, and supporting the development of growth mind-set across all domains.

A longitudinal examination of stressors, appraisals, and coping in youth swimming.

Purpose: Involvement in sport has the potential to cause athletes, coaches, and parents to experience stress. However, the extent to which experiences of stress are shared within the athletic triad is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual and shared stress experiences among youth swimmers, their mothers, and coach within the context of training, tapering, and competition. Design: Multi‐case study design. Method: Four female swimmers, their mother, and one coach completed daily diaries for six weeks and up to three semi‐structured interviews. Data were analyzed through within‐ and cross‐case thematic analysis. Results: The study showed evidence of shared stress experiences between all three members of the athletic triad. Participants predominately encountered organizational stressors, which they appraised in relation to movements between squad, interpersonal relationships, and overall progress towards performance goals/outcomes. Numerous coping strategies were employed by participants, with varying degrees of effectiveness, such as seeking social support, distancing, and lift sharing. The coping strategies used by coaches, swimmers, and parents were often interrelated with participants frequently seeking emotional support from one another. The majority of stressors and appraisals cited by parents and swimmers were shared, with both heavily relying on social support to help each other cope with the stressors encountered. Conclusion: Athletes, parents, and coaches have the capacity to influence one anothers stress experiences and as such their experiences should be considered simultaneously to maximize the impact of interventions. HighlightsThis study examined the individual and shared stress experiences of parents, coaches, and adolescent swimmers.A case study approach was adopted.Parents and swimmers shared many stressors and often relied on each other to cope.Coaches, parents, and swimmers appraisals and coping strategies were intricately related.Stress interventions would benefit from fully considering the interpersonal influences on stress experiences.

The Experiences of Being a Talented Youth Athlete: Lessons for Parents

Involvement in organized sport can be highly demanding for young athletes who encounter many difficult situations and stressors. This can be exacerbated among youth athletes who have been recruited into talent-identification youth sport programs. Given that there are a range of negative consequences that can result when talent-identified (TI) youth athletes are unable to cope with the stressors they encounter, additional support is therefore necessary. Parents are uniquely situated to assist in this regard, but they are not always equipped to provide optimal levels of support. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the experiences of being a TI youth athlete and present the findings as “lessons” for parents seeking to enhance their involvement in TI youth sport settings. This article reports on qualitative data collected from the 1st year of a 3-year longitudinal study involving TI youth athletes from South Australia. Fifty male athletes (M age = 14.6 years) participated in focus groups to hear their experiences of being a TI youth athlete and understand what difficulties they want their parents to know. From the thematic analysis, 3 major themes were identified from the focus groups with TI youth athletes: (a) difficulties with being talented, (b) negotiating the future, and (c) playing for improvement. From the findings, a number of lessons for parents and youth sport organizations are offered to assist the transmission of knowledge to an applied setting.