Class
Article
College
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Department
Kinesiology & Health Sciences
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
While participation in youth sport is often linked with positive psychosocial and physical outcomes (Holt et al., 2017), this context can also cultivate ideals that lead to the development of unethical beliefs and unsafe sport practices (Al-Yaarbi & Kavussanu, 2017). The sport ethic is described as the deviant overconformity by an athlete to fit societal expectations of a sport's high-performance culture (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). Strong beliefs in the sport ethic can lead to moral disengagement, antisocial behavior, and treating sport like warfare (Shields, Funk, & Bredemeier, 2015). Although the sport ethic has been widely studied in competitive adult sport, the development of this belief system among youth remains unexplored. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's (1986) ecological systems theory of development, the present study employed a case study approach to investigate the cultivation of the sport ethic in a recreational youth lacrosse team over the course of a four-month competitive season. Data were collected through 64 total hours of participant observation of seven games and 27 practice sessions, and semi-structured interviews with athletes (n = 4) and one parent. Data analysis was conducted using a general thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2013). Key themes at the micro and mesosystem levels (athletes, parents, peers, coaches) highlight that an overemphasis of masculinity, specialization, and sacrifice may predispose athletes to internalize deviant ideals of the sport ethic. The findings draw attention to the social factors (e.g., promoting lacrosse as a "man's game" or encouraging violent play) in a youth athlete's sporting context that may impact the development of unsafe practices (e.g., playing through injury, hurting opponents), and provide practical implications for youth sport coaches, parents, and athletes by creating an environment where safe sport practices are encouraged.
Location
Room 155
Start Date
4-10-2019 9:00 AM
End Date
4-10-2019 10:15 AM
Included in
"Get Tough!": A Case Study on the Development of the Sport Ethic in Youth Lacrosse
Room 155
While participation in youth sport is often linked with positive psychosocial and physical outcomes (Holt et al., 2017), this context can also cultivate ideals that lead to the development of unethical beliefs and unsafe sport practices (Al-Yaarbi & Kavussanu, 2017). The sport ethic is described as the deviant overconformity by an athlete to fit societal expectations of a sport's high-performance culture (Hughes & Coakley, 1991). Strong beliefs in the sport ethic can lead to moral disengagement, antisocial behavior, and treating sport like warfare (Shields, Funk, & Bredemeier, 2015). Although the sport ethic has been widely studied in competitive adult sport, the development of this belief system among youth remains unexplored. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's (1986) ecological systems theory of development, the present study employed a case study approach to investigate the cultivation of the sport ethic in a recreational youth lacrosse team over the course of a four-month competitive season. Data were collected through 64 total hours of participant observation of seven games and 27 practice sessions, and semi-structured interviews with athletes (n = 4) and one parent. Data analysis was conducted using a general thematic analysis approach (Braun & Clarke, 2013). Key themes at the micro and mesosystem levels (athletes, parents, peers, coaches) highlight that an overemphasis of masculinity, specialization, and sacrifice may predispose athletes to internalize deviant ideals of the sport ethic. The findings draw attention to the social factors (e.g., promoting lacrosse as a "man's game" or encouraging violent play) in a youth athlete's sporting context that may impact the development of unsafe practices (e.g., playing through injury, hurting opponents), and provide practical implications for youth sport coaches, parents, and athletes by creating an environment where safe sport practices are encouraged.