Janice Deakin

Youth sport programs: an avenue to foster positive youth development

Concern about the growth in adolescent problem behaviours (e.g. delinquency, drug use) has led to increased interest in positive youth development, and a surge in funding for ‘after school programs.’ We evaluate the potential of youth sport programs to foster positive development, while decreasing the risk of problem behaviours. Literature on the positive and negative outcomes of youth sport is presented. We propose that youth sport programs actively work to assure positive outcomes through developmentally appropriate designs and supportive child–adult (parent/coach) relationships. We also highlight the importance of sport programs built on developmental assets (Benson, 1997) and appropriate setting features (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2002) in bringing about the five ‘C’s of positive development (competence, confidence, character, connections, and compassion/caring: Lerner et al., 2000). An applied sport-programming model, which highlights the important roles of policy-makers, sport organizations, coaches and parents in fostering positive youth development is presented as a starting point for further applied and theoretical research.

Examining Adolescent Sport Dropout and Prolonged Engagement from a Developmental Perspective

This study examined youth sport dropout and prolonged engagement from a developmental perspective focusing on physical and psychosocial factors. Twenty-five dropout and 25 engaged adolescent swimmers, matched on key demographic variables, participated in a retrospective interview. Results indicated that dropouts were involved in fewer extra-curricular activities, less unstructured swimming play, and received less one-on-one coaching throughout development. Dropouts reached several developmental milestones (i.e., started training camps, started dry land training, and were top in club) earlier than engaged athletes. Dropouts were more likely to have had parents who were high-level athletes in their youth, were more likely to be the youngest in their training group, and were less likely to have a best friend at swimming. Findings are discussed in relation to past research; future directions and implications for researchers, sport programmers, coaches, and parents are suggested.

A new view: exploring positive youth development in elite sport contexts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of the setting features within elite youth sport contexts from a coach’s perspective. Coaches are key aspects to programme delivery and in the physical, psychological and social development of youth. Coaches of elite youth sport participants in particular have the responsibility of developing talented young people and, hence, play an important role in their lives and personal development. A qualitative triangulation approach including interviews and observations was used in the data collection and in the analysis of the practices and techniques of five elite youth sport coaches. Based on these findings and by amalgamating previous knowledge, a new view emerged outlining three key elements: the existence of an appropriate training environment, the provision of opportunities for physical, personal and social skill development, and the presence of supportive interactions. These elements are discussed as a framework for promoting positive youth development within elite youth sport settings.

Understanding Seniors' Perceptions and Stereotypes of Aging

Research suggests there is a connection between stereotypes, beliefs, and behavior in older individuals. To explore this link of stereotypes affecting beliefs and beliefs affecting behavior, we interviewed young (age 60 to 75) seniors in an effort to further examine these relationships. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 seniors. Questions focused on the broad themes of aging stereotypes and attitudes towards active living. Responses from the participants indicated the variety of opinions and beliefs seniors hold about the aging process. Intriguing results emerged on the topic of role models. Participants often had someone in their lives who represented what it means to age successfully. Generally, this was an individual older than themselves, active, vigorous, and illustrative of the high quality of life that is possible into a very late age. In addition, these individuals provide a direct contrast to the most negative stereotypes of aging.

Skilled memory in expert figure skaters

The present studies extend skilled-memory theory to a domain involving the performance of motor sequences. Skilled figure skaters were better able than their less skilled counterparts to perform short skating sequences that were choreographed, rather than randomly constructed. Expert skaters encoded sequences for performance very differently from the way in which they encoded sequences that were verbally presented for verbal recall. Tasks interpolated between sequence and recall showed no significant influence on recall accuracy, implicating long-term memory in skating memory. There was little evidence for the use of retrieval structures when skaters learned the brief sequences used throughout these studies. Finally, expert skaters were able to judge the similarity of two skating elements faster than less skilled skaters, indicating a faster access to semantic memory for experts. The data indicate that skaters show many of the same skilled-memory characteristics as have been described in other skill domains involving memorization, such as digit span and memory for dinner orders. Correspondence should be addressed to Janice M. Deakin,

An evaluation of personal and contextual factors in competitive youth sport.

Because millions of youth are involved in sport, the sport context is important to consider in advancing the growth experiences of young people (Côté et al., 2007; Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005). Furthermore, research in developmental psychology has highlighted the value of structured programs, including sport, in helping to promote positive youth development (Fredricks & Eccles, 2006). Youth sport involvement has been linked to high levels of enjoyment (Scanlan et al., 1989), however, negative outcomes, such as burnout, have also been reported (Gould et al., 1996). In the present study, the Developmental Assets Profile (Search Institute, 2004) was used to explore personal (internal assets) and contextual (external assets) outcomes associated with youth sport. Results suggest that three particular assets (positive identity, empowerment, and support) are important to focus on in youth sport programs to decrease burnout symptoms and enhance enjoyment. Path analyses were also conducted to test a proposed model and exploratory results confirmed links of particular assets to sport outcomes. The results are discussed in terms of integration with Bronfenbrenners ecological theory (1999) and recommendations are suggested for sport programmers to consider to develop these assets within youth sport.

Stereotypes of Aging: Their Effects on the Health of Seniors in North American Society

Seniors are routinely subjected to negative stereotypes regarding their physical and cognitive abilities. The power and prevalence of cultural stereotypes of aging essentially results in a “double-whammy” to seniors. First, they influence the way that seniors are treated by society. Second, cultural stereotypes affect how seniors see themselves. The ramifications here are important, for research suggests that stereotypes influence decisions to engage in cognitive and physical activity, the ability to recover from disease and, ultimately, the length and quality of life. Considering the demographic trends in North America, finding ways to effectively minimize and counteract the most negative stereotypes remains a pressing social concern.

Patterns of early involvement in expert and nonexpert masters triathletes.

The ultraendurance triathlon presents a unique sport for examining Masters-level involvement. On the one hand, involvement in this sport represents a fairly extreme form of physical activity with applicability to a small cohort of athletes, while on the other its general structure promotes continued participation across the lifespan, unlike sports such as gymnastics and figure skating. Here, Baker, Cote, and Deakin explore the early involvement and training in triathlon-related sports as well as other activities in a group of male Masters-level triathletes.

Chapter 6 Declarative Knowledge in Skilled Motor Performance: Byproduct or Constituent?

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses three studies in the domains of hockey, figure skating and diving, and basketball, to determine the relationship between what a person does and what a person knows. It is possible that declarative knowledge is the consequence of the number of hours spent by expert motor performers in their particular environment, and is not essential for the expression of the actual skill. The three lines of evidence are presented, from studies of the classification of pictures, of the advantage in judging a sport enjoyed by those who can also perform the skills required of the activity, and of the different types of declarative knowledge required by experts having different roles within a particular skill domain, all speak to the importance of declarative knowledge in expert motor performance. Declarative knowledge is a constituent of skill, rather than a byproduct of time spent in a particular domain. Therefore, it is important to determine the nature of the procedural-declarative relationship; to examine how it is possible for knowing and doing to influence each other and how the two forms of knowledge impact learning.

The Role of Scheduling in Learning Through Observation

Abstract In the 2 experiments reported in the present article, participants (N = 40, Experiment 1; N = 60, Experiment 2) learned to solve complex puzzles under different schedules of physical practice, observation, or a combination of the two. The results of both studies indicated that observation, in the absence of any physical practice, allows the development of an accurate but relatively nonfunctional cognitive representation. The data suggest that, even when the motor demands are minimal, the functional significance of the cognitive representation is not maximally realized until physical interaction with the task is possible. Thus, providing the participant with an interspersed practice schedule during acquisition enables that interaction to occur, thereby allowing the absolute number of physical practice trials to be reduced and replaced by observation trials, but leading to equivalent learning.