True-Sport-Report

• There is a current trend for children to
specialize in a sport at an early age and
train for that sport year-round. Experts
caution against this practice and instead
encourage children to participate in a
variety of activities to develop a wellrounded
and wider range of skills.
Participating in a variety of activities and
sport promotes a lifelong engagement
in physical activity. If children do not
have the opportunity to experience
diversity in sport, they may be less
likely to be motivated to specialize at a
later age and more likely to burn out. In
addition, focusing on one sport at an
early age may have serious psychosocial
and emotional consequences. Burnout
also can occur as a result of aggressive
coaches, physical and psychological
exhaustion, feelings of reduced accomplishment,
and no longer caring about
the sport.
• At the other end of the spectrum of
burnout is the risk of unethical behavior
stemming from prioritizing winning
at all costs, resulting from the overprofessionalism
of youth sport participation
and the promise and pressure of
significant extrinsic reward.
• Research has found that children cite
winning as more important in organized
sport than when they play informal
games with peers. This has led developmental
psychologists to suggest that
informal settings are important for
social and moral development.
In Search of Positive Role Models
• The Sport in America Report showed that
Americans believe those with whom
children interact directly, including
coaches, parents, teammates, and
teachers, all have a positive influence
on today’s youth, and they perceive
Olympic athletes as offering children
the greatest indirect positive influence.
Olympic athletes were recognized—
over college and professional
athletes—to be the greatest indirect
positive role models. Following the
Vancouver Olympic Winter Games,
research found that the U.S. Olympic
Committee continues to be the most
positively viewed sport organization of
all American sports organizations and
that it was considered to be a more
sportsmanlike organization than,
for example, the National Collegiate
Athletic Association. Olympic athletes
are seen in a positive light and are
considered by many to be positive role
models for children and to uphold a
strong moral and ethical code.
• Although parents, coaches, peers, and
celebrity athletes all play a role regarding
whether a child’s sport experience
is a positive one, the research shows
that coaches have the most influence.
Good coaches can encourage players
and help them improve their skills,
perform at their top ability, develop
character, and gain confidence. Coaches
have many roles, including instructor,
teacher, disciplinarian, substitute parent,
social worker, friend, manager, and
therapist. Coaches also are expected
to teach the skills and techniques needed
to play a sport, but often they are
volunteers who do not have in-depth
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