Improving Youth Sports Participation: A Psychology-Based Approach

In this ppt slide we will discuss about psychology and below are the summaries point:- Youth sports can improve children's health and wellbeing Poor participation due to lack of motivation, negative body image, and bullying Strategies such as extrinsic/intrinsic reinforcement, anti-bullying policies, and psychological theories can increase participation, and a workshop can be designed to address the problem.

PSYCHOLOGY
-CASE STUDY AND WORKSHOP

Introduction: Youth Sports
 Youth sports can help to improve the health and
wellbeing of children by improving their physical activity
and fitness (van Eck & Fu, 2018)
 Sports activities can also prevent the risks of several
health conditions (Lankhorst et al., 2015)
 The children lack motivation in the sports activity causing
poor participation
 The aim of the study is to identify how the children can
be motivated to participate in the event using
psychologically proven methods.
 Based on such understanding, an idea for a workshop
would be proposed that can be used to improve
motivation among the children to participate in the
soccer team

Overview
 Summary of the identified problem in the given
scenario
 Children are lacking enthusiasm to participate in the soccer team
 Rate or participation in the team is also very poor
 As a result of this, the children are not getting adequate physical
exercise
 This can impact their health and wellbeing on the long term
 Some of the children also have negative body image due to which
they feel shy to participate
 Incidents of bullying of the younger participants by the older
children have also been observed on several occasions
 Due to bullying, some of the children feel scared to participate in
the soccer team
 Effective motivation and leadership skills are also not used to
engage the children in a better way

Overview
 Psychology research findings used to address and
solve the problem
 Different approaches can be used to address and solve
the problem
 Based on research findings, the following strategies can
be used to improve motivate the children and increase
participation in the soccer team.
 Using extrinsic reinforcements in the form of external factors
(competitiveness and rewarding)
 Using intrinsic reinforcements (appealing to the children’s desire to
play)
 Creating the right environment for the activity through the
development of confidence and mutual respect
 Making the exercise and activities more fun for the children
 Developing strong anti-bullying policies
 (Rottensteiner et al., 2015; Russell et al., 2017)

Overview
 Relation of psychological theories
 According to Rottensteiner et al. (2015) motivation can
play a significant role to support effective performance in
and engagement with sports activities
 Incentive Theory of Motivation can be used to implement
positive reinforcements for participation in the sports
activity using rewards (Beckmann & Heckhausen, 2018)
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory can be used to
motivate the children at different levels in order to address
their psychological needs, safety needs, need for
belonging, self esteem and self actualization needs
(Fallatah & Syed, 2018)
 Expectancy Theory can also be used to motivate the
children to participate by setting up positive expectations
(Kiatkawsin & Han, 2017)

Solution to the identified problem
 In order to address the identified problem, a workshop
can be designed to motivate the children.
 The workshop can focus on achieving the following
outcomes
 Providing soccer training to improve skills of participants
 Using positive reinforcements for participation and good behavior
 Encouraging the children to participate through an approach of
inclusiveness
 Setting up positive expectations from participation in order to motivate
the children
 Providing psychological support to prevent negative self image and low
self esteem
 Developing an environment of inclusiveness and mutual respect
 Prompt intervention and prevention of bullying
 Using fun activity between practice to prevent monotonousness and
maintain enthusiasm

FOUNDATIONAL THEORY
 Foundational theories are “attempts to specify the facts in
virtue of which expressions of natural languages come to have
the semantic properties that they have”
 This involves the analysis of the information that can be used
to support ideas
 Multiple theories of psychology can be used to develop the
foundational theory for motivating the children to participate in
the soccer team
 The theory: The children can be motivated to participate in the
soccer team by 1) incentivizing participation in the sports
activities 2) addressing the psychological, safety, self esteem
and self actualization needs of the children 3) setting up right
expectations from participation in the sports activities.
 (Kiatkawsin & Han, 2017; Fallatah & Syed, 2018; Beckmann &
Heckhausen, 2018)

FOUNDATIONAL THEORY
 How the theory shapes the proposed solution to
the problem
 By incentivizing participation through positive
reinforcement can provide an extrinsic motivation to the
children to participate
 Addressing the psychological needs, the expectations of the
children can be understood and thereby motivate them
accordingly
 Creating an environment of safety can improve
involvement by preventing the risks of injuries
 Improving self esteem and self actualization can help to
develop confidence and satisfaction among the children
 Setting up the right expectations from the activities can
help the children to understand how they can benefit from
the sports activity

RESEARCH METHODS and
FINDINGS
 Description of research methods
 A qualitative research of literature is done to identify the
different theories that can be used to motivate people
 A thematic analysis is done on the literature data to
outline how they can be related to the context of the
case
 Secondary data is used for the study to understand the
expected outcomes from the proposed solution
 The study uses a confirmatory approach where the
design of the workshop is based on the predictions from
the Foundational theory discussed earlier
 The workshop would be designed based upon the
foundation theory to develop activities that can motivate
the children in a better way

Workshop Design
 Applying findings to develop a proposed solution
 The findings can be applied to develop a proposal for a program that
would include the following components:
 Giving participation rewards for participating in the sports activities in
the form of stars and merits which can enhance a sense of achievement
among the children.
 Providing psychological counseling to the children experiencing negative
self image, poor self esteem and confidence and improve participation
in the activities
 Ensuring a safe environment and conducting regular risk assessment to
eliminate environmental factors that can cause injuries to the children
 Developing an environment of respect and team bonding which can
prevent incidents of bullying
 Using fun activities (such as balloon tennis, short running, chalk
obstacle course, backyard bowling and sack race) between soccer
practices can increase the interest of the children as well as prepare the
children for the exercise routines.

RESEARCH METHODS and
FINDINGS
 How the findings shape the solution
 Outlined below is how the identified strategies
can improve motivation among the children and
improve their participation
 Incentivizing participation- This can provide a sense of
achievement and fulfillment by participation and thus
attract children
 Psychological counseling- This can help to overcome
low self esteem and a negative body image which
hinders participation
 Safe environment- This can reduce the risks of injuries
and therefore maintain the participation
 Respectful and inclusive environment- This can prevent
incidents of bullying and improve inclusiveness
 Fun Activities- This can make the exercise routines

CONCLUSION:
 How the proposed solution can impact the
health and wellbeing through behavior changes
 By improving the participation in sports activity, the
physical fitness of the children can be improved
 Improved physical fitness can reduce the risks of several
health risks such as obesity
 Physical fitness can support better growth and
development among children
 Improvement of self esteem through better physical
fitness and social interactions
 Strengthening of bones and muscles
 Improvement of balance and posture
 Development of new skills
 Improvement in concentration and focus

References
 Beckmann, J., & Heckhausen, H. (2018). Motivation as a function of expectancy and
incentive. In Motivation and action (pp. 163-220). Springer, Cham.
 Fallatah, R. H. M., & Syed, J. (2018). A Critical Review of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In
Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia (pp. 19-59). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
 Kiatkawsin, K., & Han, H. (2017). Young travelers' intention to behave pro-
environmentally: Merging the value-belief-norm theory and the expectancy theory.
Tourism Management, 59, 76-88.
 Lankhorst, K., van der Ende-Kastelijn, K., de Groot, J., Zwinkels, M., Verschuren, O., Backx,
F., ... & Takken, T. (2015). Health in Adapted Youth Sports Study (HAYS): health effects of
sports participation in children and adolescents with a chronic disease or physical
disability. SpringerPlus, 4(1), 796.
 Rottensteiner, C., Happonen, L., & Konttinen, N. (2015). The interplay of autonomous and
controlled motivation in youth team sports. Int. J. Sport Psychol, 46, 225-243.
 Rottensteiner, C., Tolvanen, A., Laakso, L., & Konttinen, N. (2015). Youth athletes’
motivation, perceived competence, and persistence in organized team sports. Journal of
Sport Behavior, 38(4), 1-18.
 Russell, W., Dodd, R., & Lee, M. (2017). YOUTH ATHLETES'SPORT MOTIVATION AND
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ENJOYMENT ACROSS SPECIALIZATION STATUS. Journal of
Contemporary Athletics, 11(2).
 van Eck, C. F., & Fu, F. H. (2018). The benefits of youth sports participation should
outweigh the risks. Annals of translational medicine, 6(Suppl 1).

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