Kelsey Kendellen

Examining the life skill development and transfer experiences of former high school athletes

Previous research has demonstrated how participation in high school sport can be conducive to the development of various life skills. However, there is a lack of exhaustive knowledge regarding the life skills that are developed in high school sport and how athletes believe these skills transfer to different life domains. The purpose of the current study was to examine the life skill development and transfer experiences of former high school athletes. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 male and 10 female participants (Mage = 31.95; SD = 13.74). A deductive thematic analysis was conducted using the conceptual model for life skills interventions. The findings illustrate specific examples of life skill development in sport and subsequent life skill application in life by the same participant, thereby providing evidence for the occurrence of the process of transfer. Participants discussed how they developed in high school sport and subsequently applied in life many of the life skills theorised to be associated with the basic psychological needs of autonomy (e.g. self-control), competence (e.g. coping with stress), and relatedness (e.g. social responsibility). The current study offers empirical evidence consistent with the notion that the life skills developed in high school sport can be transferred and applied in other life domains.

Integrating life skills into Golf Canada's youth programs: Insights into a successful research to practice partnership

ABSTRACT This article offers insights into a successful research to practice partnership created between the University of Ottawa and Golf Canada, who worked together over the span of two years to integrate a life skills curriculum within two national programs for young golfers: (a) Golf in Schools and (b) Future Links Learn to Play. More specifically, the purpose of this article is to (a) describe how the partnership was created, (b) explain how the life skills curriculum was developed, and (c) share lessons learned from establishing a successful partnership with a national sport organization.

Moving Beyond the Gym: Exploring Life Skill Transfer Within a Female Physical Activity-Based Life Skills Program

Physical activity programs are viable contexts to foster life skills. Researchers contend that programs must be structured to deliberately teach life skills and teach how such skills can be transferred. The purpose of this study is to understand female youths’ perceptions of life skills transfer from participation in a physical activity-based life skills program. Interviews were conducted with eight youth. Results indicated that youth learned intrapersonal (i.e., emotional regulation, focus, goal setting), interpersonal (i.e., respect, responsibility, social skills), and physical activity skills and applied these skills in other life domains. Leaders’ practical strategies used to explicitly teach transferable skills are discussed.

Facilitators and Barriers to Leadership Development at a Canadian Residential Summer Camp

An extensive body of literature has demonstrated how residential summer camps, when appropriately structured, can expose young participants to experiences that are conducive to their global development (Bialeschki, Henderson, & James, 2007; Garst, Browne, & Bialeschki, 2011; Thurber, Scanlin, Scheuler, & Henderson, 2007). However, much less is known about how the development of camp staff members, those who oversee camp activities, is influenced by their camp participation (Duerden et al., 2014). This is an especially important area of inquiry given that in most cases, camp staff members are adolescents and emerging adults still in an ongoing process of development. Some studies have shown how there are positive developmental outcomes associated with working as a staff member at camp, with a primary outcome being the development of leadership (Brandt & Arnold, 2006; Garst & Johnson, 2005). However, to date, no studies have specifically examined staff members’ perspectives on their camp participation and leadership development. The purpose of this study was to examine the facilitators and barriers perceived to influence leadership development at a Canadian residential summer camp. The current study took place at a nonprofit residential summer camp in the province of Ontario, Canada. Interviews were conducted with 12 individuals (seven females, five males) who were in different leadership positions at camp, and the interviews were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings revealed how the majority of participants believed being placed in positions of authority at camp exposed them to learning situations that facilitated the acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed to become effective leaders. More specifically, some participants described how learning communication skills, developing confidence, and shadowing more experienced counselors facilitated leadership development. However, many participants also faced situations that hindered their ability to develop leadership skills as they experienced internal conflicts and discussed the lack of constructive feedback they received. Taken together, the findings of this study demonstrate how residential summer camps can offer staff members a wide range of experiences that can both facilitate and hinder their leadership development. The current findings have important practical implications, highlighting how administrators can deliberately structure their camps to promote the development of staff members’ leadership skills.

Putting program evaluation into practice: Enhancing the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun program

In recent years there has been a call for increased community physical activity and sport programs for female youth that are deliberately structured to foster positive developmental outcomes. In addition, researchers have recognized the need to empirically evaluate such programs to ensure that youth are provided with optimal opportunities to thrive. This study represents a utilization-focused evaluation of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, a female-only physical activity-based life skills community program. A utilization-focused evaluation is particularly important when the evaluation is to help stakeholders utilize the findings in practice. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to gain an understanding of the ongoing successes and challenges after year two of program implementation and (b) to examine how the adaptations made based on feedback from the first year evaluation were perceived as impacting the program. From interviews with youth participants and program leaders, three main themes with eight sub-themes emerged. The main themes were: (a) applying lessons learned can make a significant difference, (b) continually implementing successful strategies, and (c) ongoing challenges. Overall, this evaluation represents an important step in understanding how to improve program delivery to better meet the needs of the participants in community-based programming.

Strategies for coaching for life skills transfer

ABSTRACT For athletes, life skills transfer represents the vital ongoing process in their personal development whereby they internalize the skills they have learned in sport and apply them to multiple life domains. The purpose of this article is to offer coaches practical strategies that they can integrate into their coaching to explicitly promote life skills transfer beyond sport. Seven broad strategies, emanating from a synthesis of current literature, are presented alongside specific activities for coaches to help their athletes transfer life skills from sport to other life domains.

Examining needs support and positive developmental experiences through youth’s leisure participation in a residential summer camp

ABSTRACT Summer camp represents an important leisure activity for youth. The purpose of this study was to explore if differences existed based on demographic variables (gender, age, years of camp experience, ethnicity) related to basic psychological needs support and positive developmental experiences, and to examine whether needs support predicted positive developmental experiences in youth within this context. Little research has examined if differences exist on these constructs based on various demographic variables and few studies have examined if needs support predicts these developmental experiences in youth who attend camp. This study aimed to address such gaps in the literature. Ninety-five youth who attended a 10-day residential summer camp completed two measures at the end of their camp experience. Results indicated differences existed based these identified demographic variables related to youth’s perceived needs support and developmental experiences, and that needs support predicted positive developmental experiences.

Facilitating Positive Youth Development through Residential Camp: Exploring Perceived Characteristics of Effective Camp Counsellors and Strategies for Youth Engagement

Previous research has demonstrated that participation in a residential camp can lead to positive outcomes such as the development of a sense of identity, increased responsibility, enhanced self-esteem, and improved social skills. Despite these promising findings, there is minimal research that examines the specific processes that lead to these positive outcomes. Researchers have identified that leader characteristics and youth engagement play an important role in influencing outcomes within positive youth development programs. The purpose of this study was to explore perceived camp counsellor characteristics and strategies for youth engagement that are believed to facilitate positive youth development within the residential camp setting. This study applied a qualitative exploratory approach to collect data from residential camp counsellors. The research took place at a Canadian residential summer camp that serves children and youth between the ages of 8 and 16 primarily from low-income families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with camp counsellors and a thematic analysis was used to identify themes. The results outline two main themes: perceived characteristics of an effective camp counsellor and youth engagement strategies. Within the first theme related to characteristics of being an effective counsellor, four subthemes emerged, including (a) being understanding and compassionate, (b) ability to maintain equanimity, (c) having a sense of humour, and (d) being a positive role model. Within the second theme related to strategies for youth engagement, there were four themes, including (a) individualizing the activities, (b) facilitating initial engagement by making it fun, (c) creating an autonomy-supportive environment, and (d) providing leadership opportunities. Findings are discussed in relation to current research and recommendations are provided regarding how to utilize these findings in an applied context. These include recommendations related to (a) the utilization of recruitment and training approaches that aim to identify necessary staff characteristics in new recruits and promote these characteristics with new camp counsellors, (b) the provision of programs and services that support stress management for staff while working in the camp context, and (c) the development of capacity building opportunities for staff that includes evidence-based training on how to engage youth and highlights best practices for initially engaging youth as well as how to maintain engagement over time.

Examining Former Athletes’ Developmental Experiences in High School Sport

The purpose of this study was to examine former athletes’ perspectives on their developmental experiences in high school sport. Retrospective interviews were conducted with 14 former high school athletes (seven females, seven males) between 18 and 28 years of age (M = 23.0, SD = 2.66). An inductive thematic analysis led to the identification of two main findings. First, it appears that different types of life skill experiences emanated from high school sport participation. Specifically, the participants believed that high school sport allowed them to (a) acquire new life skills or (b) practice and refine existing life skills. Second, the participants shared numerous examples of negative experiences, suggesting that the aggressive subcultures of some sports have permeated into high school sport. Overall, the findings provide a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of the varied developmental experiences that can ensue from high school sport participation.

Strategies for fostering basic psychological needs support in high quality youth leadership programs

Youth leadership programming has become an increasingly common context to foster basic psychological needs and promote youth development. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore strategies involved in fostering youth needs support within six leadership programs. Two leaders and 30 youth participated in semi-structured interviews to better understand the strategies used to foster needs support. Findings revealed that leaders were able to foster a sense of relatedness among youth through building trusting adult-youth relationships and nurturing an inclusive environment. Maximizing choice and negotiating youth voice helped to foster youths autonomy. Finally, creating a task-oriented climate and providing intentional opportunities for skill-building helped to foster youths competence. Findings suggest that training for leaders is critical in understanding what, and how strategies should be employed to help foster youth needs support in leadership programming. Limitations and future directions are outlined.