Improving Youth Sports Participation: A Psychology-Based Approach

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)