SPORTS IN SOCIETY:SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES AND

CONTROVERSIES

CHAPTER 5

SPORTS AND CHILDREN:Are Organised Programs Worth the Effort?

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Origin and Development of Organised Youth Sports

• Organised youth sports emerged in the 20th century.• The first programs focused on 'masculinising' boys.• Organised youth sports grew rapidly in many

industrialised countries after World War II. • Programs emphasised competition as preparation for

future occupational success.• Girls’ interests generally were ignored.

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Social Changes and the Growth of Organised Youth Sports

• Increase in families with both parents working outside the home.

• New definitions of what it means to be a 'good parent'.• Growing belief that informal activities provide

occasions for kids to get into trouble.• Growing belief that the world is a dangerous place for

children.• Increased visibility of high-performance and

professional sports in society.

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Major Trends in Youth Sports Today

• Organised programs have become increasingly privatised.

• Organised programs increasingly emphasise the 'performance ethic'.

• An increase in elite training facilities.

• Increased involvement and concerns among parents.• Increased participation in 'alternative sports'.

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The Rising Cost of Organised Programs

• Increasingly dependent on fundraising, membership dues.

• Often too expensive for lower income families and suburbs. May reproduce economic and ethnic inequalities in society.

• May not be committed to gender equity. Private programs are not accountable in the same way as public programs.

• Market forces become primary factors in who plays.

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Emphasis on the ‘Performance Ethic’

• Refers to emphasising measured outcomes as indicators of the quality of sport experiences.

• Fun = becoming better.• Emphasised in private programs.• Related to parental notions of investing in their

children’s future.

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New, Elite, Specialised Sports-Training Programs

• Most common in private, commercial programs.• Emphasise the potential for children to gain material

rewards through sports.• Children often 'work' long hours and become like

'labourers’, but programs are not governed by child labour laws.

• Raise ethical issues about adult-child relationships.

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Increased Interest in Alternative and Action Sports

• A response to highly structured, adult-controlled organised programs.

• Revolve around desires to be expressive and spontaneous.

• May have high injury rates and patterns of exclusion related to gender and social class.

• Are being appropriated by large corporations for advertising purposes.

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Different Experiences

Formal sports emphasise:• Formal rules• Set positions• Systematic guidance

by adults• Status and outcomes

Informal sports emphasise:• Action• Personal involvement• Challenging experiences• Reaffirming friendships

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Different Outcomes

Formal sports emphasise:• Relationships with

authority figures• Learning rules and

strategies• Rule-governed

teamwork and achievement

Informal sports emphasise:• Interpersonal and

decision-making skills• Cooperation• Improvisation• Problem solving

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When are Children Ready to Play Organised, Competitive Sports?

• Prior to age 12, many children don’t have the ability to fully understand competitive team sports.– They play 'beehive soccer‘.

• Children must lean how to cooperate before they can learn how to compete.

• Team sports require the use of a 'third-party perspective'.

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What Are the Dynamics of Family Relationships in Youth Sports?

• Sports have the potential to bring families together.• Being together does not always mean that close

communication occurs.• Children may feel pressure from parents.• Parent labour in youth sports often reproduces

gendered ideas about work and family.

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How Do Social Factors Influence Youth Sports Experiences?

• Participation opportunities vary by social class.• Encouragement often varies by gender and

ability/disability.• Self-perceptions and social consequences of

participation vary by social class, gender, race/ethnicity, ability/disability and sexuality.

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Competitive Sports in SchoolsImpact on the quality of education:1. What are the arguments for and against the

programs? 2. How are the programs related to the educational

experiences of competitors and other students in secondary schools?

3. What effects do the programs have on the organisation of schools and the quality of educational programs?

4. What are the major problems associated with the programs and how might the problems be solved?

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Additional Effects of Secondary School Sports

• Being noticed and rewarded

• Attracting adult advocates • Providing occasions for learning

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Competitive Secondary School Sports: Problems and

Recommendations

1. An overemphasis on 'sports development'

2. Limited participation access

3. School cultures in which certain competitors are privileged over other students

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Do Competitive Sports Contribute to Education?

• No consistent evidence that school sports produce negative consequences for participants.

• Secondary school sport programs usually create school spirit among some students and staff.

• School programs subvert the achievement of educational goals when they (1) overemphasise sports development, (2) limit participation among certain segments of the student body, and (3) distort the status system and organisational culture that exists in a school.

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Recommendations for Improving Informal, Alternative and Action Sports

• Make play spaces more safe and accessible to as many children as possible.– Be sensitive to social class and gender patterns.

• Provide indirect guidance without being controlling.• Treat these sports as worthwhile sites for facing

challenges and developing competence.

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Recommendations for Improving Organised Sports

• Increase action.

• Increase personal involvement.

• Facilitate close scores and realistic challenges.

• Facilitate friendship formation and maintenance.

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Recommendations for Improving High-performance Programs

• Establish policies, procedures and rules to account for the rights and interests of child participants.

• Create less controlling environments designed to promote growth, development and empowerment.

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Obstacles to Change

• Often subverted when priority is given to efficiency and organisation over age-based developmental concerns.

• May be subverted by national organisations concerned with standardising programs.

• May be subverted by adult administrators with vested interests in the status quo.

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Coaching Education Programs

• Are useful when they provide coaches with information on:– dealing with children safely and responsibly.– organising practices and teaching skills.

• Can be problematic when they foster a 'techno-science' approach to controlling children as they teach skills– creating 'sports efficiency experts' should not be the goal.

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