the promotion and perception of the youth olympic...

Olympika XXI (2012), 33-57 33

* Lawrence Judge, Elizabeth Wanless, and Laura Simon are with Ball State University, Muncie, IN; Jeffrey C. Petersen is with Baylor University, Waco, TX; David Bellar is with the University of Louisiana Lafayette; Erin Gilreath is with Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN; Karin Surber is with Cisco Systems, Indianapolis, IN.

The Promotion and Perception of the Youth Olympic Games: The Case of Figure Skating

Lawrence W. Judge, Jeffrey C. Petersen, David Bellar,Erin Gilreath, Elizabeth Wanless, Karin Surber & Laura Simon*

In an effort to reignite interest in Olympic sports within the current generation ofadolescents, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge,with the approval of the General Assembly, led development of an Olympic Gamesfor youth beginning in summer 2010. As the newest member of the Olympic family,the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) has provoked responses from both loyal advocatesand equally-committed critics. In light of the tremendous influence of coaches atboth the grassroots and elite level, it is important to understand coaches’ YOGawareness and how they view the creation of such an event. The purpose of this par-ticular investigation was to collect data from figure skating coaches in the UnitedStates regarding their awareness and perceptions of the YOG approximately oneyear prior to the inaugural event. The participants in the investigation (n = 114)reported very low (Likert scale 1 to 7) personal familiarity (M = 2.32±1.70) andpublic awareness (M = 2.04±2.50) for the inaugural YOG. A tertiary researchquestion explored if “adequate preparations” had been made for the YOG, and67.5% indicated no. The low level of personal awareness and public awareness maybe linked to limited YOG marketing and promotional activities. An application ofhistorical institutionalism as a theoretical framework guides analysis of the IOC’sperformance staging the YOG. These findings are described and evaluated in order toprovide further insight into the development of this new international sport festival.

❖Introduction

The aim of the Olympic movement is to be associated with youth, health,sportsmanship, peace, education, and enjoyment—ideals encapsulated in theOlympic Charter.1 Unlike earlier decades, the youth of today face a number ofchallenges that limit their ability to engage in organized sport, including newtechnologies, the built environment, and escalating costs for sport, all of whichdiscourage active sports participation and have been linked to increasing obe-sity rates among youth worldwide. The International Olympic Committee(IOC) seeks to ignite interest in Olympic sports in a generation of increasinglyinactive and overweight adolescents. In light of these challenges, IOC Presi-dent Jacques Rogge and the IOC’s General Assembly developed and approved

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a plan for a Youth Olympic Games (YOG), a sporting event targeted specifi-cally for teenagers (14-18 years old). The first Summer Games took place inAugust 2010 in Singapore; the first Winter Games took place in January 2012in Innsbruck, Austria.2 This new proposal, however, has provoked debate fromadvocates and critics alike.

A common practitioner approach to youth sports includes the central goalof participation for all, and this outlook connects to the theory of egalitarian-ism.3 The idea of elite youth athletes competing at the YOG, however, directlycontradicts the theory of egalitarianism by promoting the best of the best, notparticipation for everyone. This elite focus may influence children and adoles-cents to specialize early in a sport and adhere to a strict training regime, sothat their abilities become perfected at a young age. According to Baker, Cob-ley, and Fraser-Thomas, the amount of time put into practice to become anelite athlete matters greatly.4 The research by Ericsson et al. shows that it takes10,000 hours (10 years) of intense training before athletes are able to do well ininternational competitions.5 Hence, the stringent training regimens the youthathletes follow may be dangerous to their overall health because their bodiesare still developing. Furthermore, young athletes may feel pressure to performat a high level, which can lead to disappointment if they fail to achieve theirgoals. Children who train hard, but who are not adopted as part of an elitegroup of athletes, can develop low self-esteem and low self-confidence.6 Simi-larly, many children may not have access to elite level clubs or training equip-ment required in sports, like gymnastics, due to financial limitations. Thismay create an unfair advantage for athletes from affluent backgrounds, whichcan lead to unequal access and may further deteriorate self-esteem among ath-letes from lower socio-economic backgrounds. At such an early age, low self-esteem can lead to a number of different disorders and problems within thechild’s life.7

It has been acknowledged that youth sport is often legitimized by a per-ceived intent focused on health and character development.8 Indeed, as thisorientation seems positive, healthy, and in the best interests of young people, itis still important to critically engage the discourses that underpin the intent ofthe YOG.9 Critics of the YOG worry that a worldwide spotlight on a youthcompetition will increase what is already negative about youth sport: over-training, increased dropout rates, cheating, and overzealous youth coacheswho expect their athletes to perform moves involving increased levels of risk.There are also a number of unintended consequences to consider, includingconcern that the YOG might fuel hyper-commercialism and other related neg-ative aspects of sport, such as doping at the youth level.10 Even though thewidely-held belief that sports help to build character remains a traditionalunderpinning of youth sport, researchers have shown that most sports donothing of the sort.11 Yet, advocates of the Olympic movement might argue if

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character-building experiences are to be found in sport, then they shouldcome from the Olympic Games, or now, especially, the YOG. The YOG couldpromote and support teaching values and life-skills through the doctrine ofOlympism.

Irrespective of the potential problems related to youth sport, the IOC’squick decision to enact the YOG lacks pragmatism because its promotion restson the idea that the Olympic Games are, ipso facto, a positive experience forthe promotion of Olympic ideals. On the surface, the YOG seem like the idealvehicle for getting the younger generation off the couch, out from behind theircomputer screens, and onto the playing fields, where Rogge and the IOCbelieve that kids will develop a lifelong love of sport and physical activity cou-pled with the values of Olympism. Initially conceived by Baron Pierre de Cou-bertin, Olympism is a life philosophy that espouses the joy found in effort, theeducational value of good example, and respect for universal fundamental eth-ical principles.12

In theory, the idea of Olympism holds great appeal. However, the positivemessaging about internationalism and peace is often lost on the viewing publicand, to a certain extent, the athletes. The obscuring of these messages can beattributed in part to the excessive commercialism and nationalism that struc-tures the way the Olympic Games are designed, promoted, played, and repre-sented in the media, where the ideals of global cooperation and understandingoften receive little attention. This circumstance has almost everything to dowith the selling of broadcasting rights of the Olympic Games.13 Since all net-works have their own interests and stakeholders to protect, the version of theGames they televise are usually nationalized and commercialized.14

The IOC appointed Media Corp, SingTel, and Star Hub as the officialbroadcasters within Singapore for the inaugural 2010 YOG. However, Olym-pic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the host broadcast subsidiary that is whollyowned by the IOC, was responsible for delivering to the three corporationsand other broadcasters around the world a number of live feeds, as well as a24-hour Youth Olympic News Channel that incorporated two daily highlightprograms. The coverage embraced all broadcast platforms, including free-to-air television, radio, cable television, mobile phone, and online plat-forms.15 It appears that the YOG, while potentially serving broader socialgoals, are also potentially a vehicle for corporate sponsors to expand theirreach into youth markets, as well as a means for host countries to espousetheir political ideology.

The aforementioned issues should lead us to question whether or not theYOG will lead the next generation towards an educational experience thatteaches young athletes the importance of sport for health, well-being, and self-esteem, as well as the importance of Olympic ideals such as “fair play”? Roggeand the IOC anticipated that the YOG, through its education and cultural pro-

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gram, will encourage youth participants to become “sport ambassadors” whowill raise awareness about the benefits of organized physical activities in theirhome community and country.16 An example of how the IOC will use theYOG to achieve its goal is the Olympic Youth Academy. Attendance at thiseducational program was compulsory for YOG participants. National Govern-ing Body officials and coaches were thus required to adjust their daily regi-ments so that their athletes could participate in this educational component.

Opponents of the YOG are troubled that a global focus on a single youthcompetition will only magnify the negative aspects of youth sport during theYOG’s training and competitive phases.17 IOC President Rogge stated that hefeels it will take a few years before the event will be able to make a significantimpact and gave the example of the traditional Olympic Games needing 116years to attain the current workable organization.18

The inaugural YOG in Singapore received very little attention from themedia.19 In a recent study by Judge, Petersen, and Lydum, personal and publicawareness of the YOG was reported to be extremely low among athletes,coaches, administrators/sport officials, and parents involved in six SummerOlympic sports in the United States.20 The results of Judge et al. raise someinteresting questions concerning the low personal and public awarenessreported for the YOG as a global event.21 Because of the tremendous influenceof youth coaches at both the grassroots and elite level, it is important to under-stand coaches’ YOG awareness and how they view the creation of such anevent. Youth coaches provide an indication of YOG awareness in the sportcommunity, and if the coaches lack event awareness, then it is safe to assumethere is a lower level of awareness among other members of the sport commu-nity, including parents, whose perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the YOGmay shape how they socialize their child athlete into the competitive youthsport culture. The YOG are an elite competition based on performance andparents are critical of the YOG in terms of being spectators, visitors, and ath-lete support/assistants (e.g., to carry and care for equipment like track andfield throwing implements). The purpose of this particular investigation wasto collect data from figure skating coaches in the United States regarding theirawareness and perceptions of the YOG.

Methods

A brief six-question survey was formulated to assess preliminary awarenessand opinion data on the YOG. Preliminary demographic information wasassessed in the first section of the survey labeled “default section.” The demo-graphic factors assessed included role in sport, age, gender, sport experience,and level of coaching certification. Responses to the first two content-basedquestions regarding familiarity and awareness of the YOG were achieved


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through Likert scaling with a range from totally unaware (1) to very familiar(7). The quantitative section of the survey concluded with a third item (“yes”or “no” response) that addressed if adequate preparations had been made forthe YOG. The final three survey items consisted of open-ended questions. Sur-vey item number four asked: “What do you see as potential benefits of theYOG?” Survey item number five asked: “What do you see as potential draw-backs of the YOG?” Survey item number six asked: “How should leaders insport be responding in preparation for the YOG?” Responses to open-endedquestions regarding the objectives, benefits, and drawbacks of the YOG, aswell as preparations for the 2012 Winter YOG in Innsbruck, elicited detaileddescriptions from the participants.

Competitive figure skating involves the performance of technically difficultskating skills in an artistic fashion in the presence of both judges and spectators.Figure skating coaching is a process in which a coach facilitates the developmentof a skater’s skill by using his or her knowledge and experience to recommendactions for the skater and his or her parents. In the United States, the process ofbecoming an instructor/coach in figure skating is clearly defined by the Profes-sional Skaters Association (PSA). Much training is required before an individualis qualified to teach/coach figure skating.22 This sport distinguishes itself in thelevel of technical expertise required for coaches at all levels, making this represen-tative sample important and unique. The evaluation of the perceptions of the fig-ure skating coach population concerning the YOG is both appropriate andstrategically vital for several reasons. First, figure skating is generally seen as oneof the marquee events of the Winter Olympic Games and will likely be a focalpoint of the Winter YOG. Second,

the age of the skating participantsin the Olympic Games tends tolean toward the younger athletesespecially for females, which maycreate a much younger potentialathlete pool for skating eventscompared to other late specializa-tion sports like track and field.23

Finally, the professional skatingcoaching community is a rathersmall group of skilled individualscompared to many other sports.According to Carol Rossignol,Director of Education andAccreditation for the PSA, in theUnited States there are approxi-mately 4000 rated coaches and

Table 1: Participant Characteristics (N=114)Attribute Age

Distribution 33.66 ±11.47yrs

Gender Female: 89.47%Male: 10.53%

Ethnicity Caucasian: 92.98%Non-Caucasian: 7.02%

Level of Athlete Coached Youth: 67.26% High School: 15.24% Both Combined: 17.70%

Level of Certification Master: 10.62%Senior: 3.54%Certified: 13.27%Registered: 15.93%Basic: 31.86%None: 24.78%

Geographic Region Midwest: 62.28% Southwest: 21.93%Southeast: 15.79%

Note: Participant characteristics listed as M ±SD, or as percentages of the total.

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only about 200 ranked coaches. The fees skating coaches charge are generallydetermined by their PSA rating. The highest level rating is Master, whichrequires that a coach pass his or her Senior level freestyle tests or coach a compet-itor through this level, teach for 5 years, attend all required PSA seminars, andpass an oral examination. In the case of the ranking system, ranked coaches willhave taken athletes through different tests and levels of qualifying competitions.Given this relatively small number of coaches, it creates the ability to collect a sig-nificantly large percentage of this population within a rather modest total samplesize and, thus, creates greater statistical power within the data analyses.

Participants in the study included 114 coaches (detailed in Table 1) with agender mix of 89.5% female and 10.5% male, all of whom were involved in thePSA coaches’ education nationwide seminars. The research questions were ana-lyzed according to key coaching demographics including: level of certification,geographic region, age of athletes coached, gender, and ethnicity. The PSA has afive-tier certification program with five rating levels (Basic Accreditation, Regis-tered, Certified, Senior, and Master) in ten skating disciplines. As rated by apanel of six qualified experts, the questionnaire instrument for the current studydemonstrated both content and face-validity. The panel of experts includedthree academics with experience in survey-based research and three practitio-ners involved in coaching education. The instrument was subsequently evalu-ated for construct validity, with the three research questions demonstrating highreliability with a Chronbach's Alpha of 0.765.

The responses to three open-ended questions were analyzed using contentanalysis.24 The content analysis included response review, identification of themes,and classification of responses according to the identified themes, thereby givingvoice to the viewpoints expressed regarding the YOG. The authors discussed andco-constructed the themes. To establish reliability, four coders completed an inter-coder reliability assessment according to accepted practice and coded a sample of10% of the qualitative data.25 Intercoder reliability was determined via kappa anal-yses ranging from .80 to 1.00 for all variables well above the standard threshold(.70) for acceptance. This qualitative data adds further depth of discovery regard-ing key issues surrounding the YOG. The primary researchers’ University Institu-tional Review Board approved all of the procedures.

In order to fully develop our understanding of the responses to the firsttwo survey questions (regarding personal awareness and perceived publicawareness of the YOG), a MANOVA analysis was carried out so that the influ-ence of all demographic variables on the pooled responses to the researchquestions could be assessed. Subsequent univariate F-tests were performed onthe relationships of interest that are identified from the MANOVA analysis,and finally Spearman's rho correlations were performed to assess the direc-tionality of the relationships. Significance was established apriori at an alphalevel of .05 for all analyses.


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Results

The initial survey question,“How familiar are you with thenew IOC initiative of the YouthOlympics?” produced a meanvalue of (M = 2.32, SD = 1.70).The secondary research ques-tion, “What is the level of publicawareness of the new IOC ini-tiative of the Youth Olympics?”resulted in a mean value of (M =2.04, SD = 1.50). An additionalresearch question asked if “ade-quate preparations” had beenmade for the YOG relating tounderstanding qualificationprocesses and preparation ofathletes, and survey participantsresponded 67.5% No, and 32.4%Ye s . Fu r t h e r a n a ly s i s v i aMANOVA revealed several sig-nificant differences within thedemographic groups in bothpersonal and public awareness,as well as the perception of ade-quate preparation. After analy-sis via MANOVA, the age of there s p on d e nt s w a s a d e m o -graphic characteristic that sig-nificantly influenced the meanvalues for all the research ques-tions regarding YOG (F(84,159)= 1.384, p = .041, ηp2= .422).Univartiate F-tests revealed that

age independently affected two of the research questions (Personally FamiliarF(30,53) = 6.189, p ≤ .001, ηp2 = .778; Public Awareness F(30,53) = 4.237, p ≤.001, ηp2= .706; Adequately Prepared F(30,53) = 1.382, p = 0.15, ηp2 = .439).The direction of the relationships was determined via Spearman's rho correla-tions to be positive between age and personal awareness (rs = .297, p = .001)and public awareness (rs = .164, p = .040) and negative, though non-signifi-cant, for Adequate Preparation (rs = -.150, p = .056). These results are summa-rized in Figures 1 and 5.

Figure 1: Mean responses to Personally Familiar and Public Awareness by age

Figure 2: Mean responses to Personally Familiar and Public Awareness by level of athlete coached

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The age of athletes coachedwas another demographiccharacteristic that significantlyinfluenced the mean values forboth personal and publicawareness of the YOG (F(6,104)= 4.163, p ≤ .001, ηp

2 = 0.194).The primary categorizationsfor athlete age were youth,youth and high school com-bined, and high school-agedathletes. Univariate F-testsrevealed that age of athletescoached independentlyaffected each of the researchquestions (Personally Familiar

F(2,53) = 91.789, p ≤ .001, ηp2 = 0.776; Public Awareness F(2,53) = 66.767, p ≤ .001,

ηp2= 0.716; Adequately Prepared F(2,53) = 17.648, p = .017, ηp

2= .400). The direc-tion of relationship was determined via Spearman's rho correlations to be posi-tive between levels of certification and Personal (rs = .354, p ≤ .001) and PublicAwareness (rs = .276, p ≤ .001) and negative for Adequate Preparation (rs = -.193, p = .020). These responses are visually represented in Figures 2 and 5.

The level of coaching certification significantly impacted the mean levelsof YOG personal and perceived public awareness, as well as the perceived

Figure 3: Mean responses to Personally Familiar and Public Awareness by level of certification

Figure 4: Response on Adequate Preparation by age, level of certification, age of athlete coached


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adequate preparation (F(12,159) = 2.617, p = .003, ηp2 = .165). The PSA certifi-

cation program has five tiers (Basic Accreditation, Registered, Certified,Senior, and Master) with five rating levels in ten skating disciplines. UnivariateF-tests revealed that level of certification independently affected each of theresearch questions (Personally Familiar F(5,53) = 15.175, p ≤ .001, ηp

2 = .589;Public Awareness F(5,53) = 11.769, p ≤ .001, ηp

2 = .526; Adequately PreparedF(5,53) = 3.045, p = .017, ηp

2 = .225). The direction of relationship was deter-mined via Spearman's rho correlations to be positive between level of certifica-tion and Personal Awareness(rs = .564, p ≤ .001) and Public Awareness (rs =.570, p ≤ .001) and negative for Adequate Preparation (rs = -.501, p ≤ .001).These results are detailed in Figures 3 and 4 respectively.

MANOVA analysis also revealed a significant level of certification by ageof athlete coached interaction effect (F(3,51) = 3.807, p = .015, ηp

2 = .183). Posthoc analysis revealed a general trend that individuals who had higher levels ofcertification and coached older athletes tended to report higher Personal andperceived Public Awareness of YOG as displayed in Figure 5.

Responses to open-endedsurvey questions regarding theobjectives of the YOG, the bene-fits and drawbacks of the YOG,and the preparation needed forthe YOG, raised more questionsand concerns because of the lackof awareness about such a poten-t ia l ly high impact event foryouth athletes. Participants wereasked to describe the potentialbenefits and drawbacks of theYO G v i a a n o p e n - e n d e dresponse item. The most common themed responses for benefits aredescribed in Table 2. A total of 114 responses regarding potential benefits ofthe YOG were analyzed, and this qualitative data resulted in the identifica-tion of four primary themes: combat childhood obesity, teaching sports-manship/fair play, motivate athletes/provide a carrot, and unite people (seeTable 2). The strong connection to ‘combating childhood obesity’ surpassed‘teaching sportsmanship/fair play’ as the most common theme within theresponses, as in the case of one subject who commented that the greatestbenefit of the YOG was “to combat obesity, and to organize sport programsfor children to get them off of the couch.” Nevertheless, ‘teaching sports-manship/fair play’ was the second most common theme identified for YOGbenefits, and, as one subject noted, “initiatives like this are important toteach fair play to the figure skaters.”

Table 2: Summary of Perceived YOG Potential Benefits (N = 114)

Response Theme Nr. %

Help combat childhood obesity 19 17

Teach sportmanship/fair play 18 16

Motivate athletes/provide a carrot 18 16

Unite people 17 15

Promote Olympic ideal 15 13

Great experience for athletes 12 10

Much needed age bracket 11 10

Help the sport financially 6 5

Other 16 9

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The potential drawbacks of theYOG elicited 114 responses, fromwhich four primary themes wereidentified: increased pressure onyouth athletes, potential to causeovertraining/injuries, over com-mercialism/media pressure andscrutiny, and lack of awarenessand information/not ready (seeTable 3). Concerns over increasedpressure on young athletes toppedthe drawbacks (19% of the com-ments) with one part icipantimploring, “we have to protectyoung athletes from pressures ofhigh level competit ion,” and

another adding, “the drawback is that young athletes will have to compete incompetitive environments meant for adults.”

One respondent said, “high level competition will lead to overtraining/overuse injuries.” Other open-ended responses indicated that YOG partici-pants should be made aware of the potential for over subjecting young athletesto a hyper-commercialized sporting environment and unwanted media atten-tion. The Olympic values and culture were questioned within comments suchas “most of the people don’t have Olympic culture,” or with a concern over theloss of these values due to “too much emphasis on medals and not importantlessons.”

Preparation needed for the 2012YOG raised more questions andconcerns because of the lack ofawareness about such a poten-tially high impact event for youthathletes. The four primary themesidentified from these responsesare as follows: setting up trainingguidelines, set up uniform criteriaand certification for coaches,establish clinics to educate par-ents, and study the impact ofmedia on young athletes. Onerespondent said, “training guide-

lines need to be established for this unique competition.” Other open-endedresponses indicated that additional certification courses for coaches working

Table 3: Summary of Perceived YOG Potential Drawbacks (N = 114)


Increased pressure on youth athletes 22 19

Potential to cause overtraining/injuries 17 15

Over commercialism/media pressure and scrutiny 14 12

Lack of awareness, no information 10 9

Increased financial burden on parents 9 8

Unhealthy sportsmanship/overemphasis on winning 7 6

Overbearing parents 6 5

Promote illegal drug use 5 4

Would dilute the Olympics 3 3

Burnout 3 3

Other 19 16

Table 4: Summary of Preparatory Response Needed for the YOG


Set up training guidelines (time and intensity 36 32

Set up uniform criteria and certifi-cation for coaches 32 28

Establish clinics to educate parents 18 16

Study the impact of media on young athletes 10 9

Set up a system to identify ‘prob-lem parents’ 8 7

Develop a system to track overuse injuries 7 6

Other 3 3


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with young athletes should be offered. It was noted that “initiatives like the YOGmake it important to educate parents of figure skaters.” One study participantstated that there was a great need “to inform young athletes of how to handle themedia pressure and scrutiny and do further investigation of the impact of themedia on adolescent athletes.” Participants in the present study also indicatedmarketing and promotion efforts about the YOG should be increased due topersonal lack of awareness and perceived lack of public awareness.

Discussion

Although the YOG initiative is claimed to be potentially beneficial to thedevelopment of youth sport, a discrepancy still exists in awareness and attitudelevels among the representative sample of figure skating coaches. The first twoprimary research questions conceptualized the familiarity of the YOG by

Mea

nYouth H

S HS//Y com

bo

Highest Certificationnone basic registered certified senior master

Personally FamiliarPublic Awareness

Error bars: +/- 1SE

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

Figure 5: Response on Personally Familiar and Public Awarenessby level of certification and age of ahtlete coached

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addressing two separate perceptions: individual and public. Mean individualand public awareness scores for the total sample were very low on the corre-sponding 7-point Likert scale with values only slightly above the lowest scaledvalue of 1, which represents “totally unaware.” The results of the present studyare very similar to data reported in a recent study by Judge, Petersen, andLydum.26 This prior research documented personal and public awareness of theYOG as extremely low among athletes, coaches, administrators/sport officials,and parents involved in six summer Olympic sports in the United States. Thelow level of awareness and perceived awareness in the present study may bedue, in part, to a lack of promotion in the United States and the fact that theYOG is a fledgling event.27 Judge et al. also found that there were significant dif-ferences among the different demographic groups of coaches.28 In the presentstudy, individuals who had higher levels of certification and who coached olderathletes tended to report higher personal and perceived public awareness of theYOG. These significant differences demonstrate the connection betweencoaching experience, training, and the nature of certain roles in American sportculture concerning personal and public awareness of the YOG.

Roughly 2.5 million adults volunteer annually as coaches of youth sportindividuals and teams in the United States.29 The lack of awareness amongyouth coaches could possibly be explained by the fact that most youth coachesin the United States are part-time volunteers and may not be completelyimmersed in sport culture internationally.30 The perceived lack of awarenessabout the YOG among youth coaches may also be an indicator of the focus ofyouth sport coaching in the United States, where athlete development (train-ing to train) tends to be emphasized. Some studies have suggested that the roleof the youth coach should be to provide support and praise in a kind andcheerful way as children learn proper fundamentals in their early years ofdevelopment.31 Youth coaches in figure skating who adhere to this broader,supportive role might be less likely to follow current trends in internationalsport. This lack of perceived personal and public awareness of the YOG amongyouth coaches might actually be a positive thing, especially when consideringproblematic issues like the effects of overtraining and hyper-commercialismon young athletes.32

It is not surprising that the respondents who were older, more experi-enced, and who had higher levels of PSA certification reported higher per-sonal and perceived public awareness of the YOG. The background andperspective of coaches in the United States can differ from inexperienced par-ent-volunteers to highly trained and paid coaches of elite club programs.33

Coaches who have obtained the highest levels of certification in their sportusually have the qualifications and training in order to effectively deliver eliteservices.34 Coaching education and certification programs encourage a higherlevel of competence among practitioners.35 Many coaches attribute their devel-


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opment of coaching knowledge to their own experience and observing experi-enced coaches.36 Expertise in coaching can be defined as “a fluid configurationof knowledge, information and situated experience, all of which are apt tochange in response to questions arising in highly specific and localized con-texts.”37 Many of the coach’s actions may appear instinctive but are actuallybased on a complex interaction of knowledge and memory of similar situa-tions, honed by years of experience and reflection.38 Experienced elite-levelskating coaches reported the highest level of personal and public awareness ofthe YOG, but still indicated that they did not feel adequately prepared forunderstanding the qualification processes nor had adequate time to prepareathletes for competition.

However, the power of the Olympic movement cannot be understated.McCann World Group was appointed by the Singapore YOG OrganizingCommittee (SYOGOC) to develop the marketing campaign for the inaugural2010 Games. McCann developed a promotions activities plan (regional andinternational), which included planning online promotional activities to createawareness of the Games and to drive traffic to the YOG website.39 Given ourcurrent research conclusions, there is clearly much work to be done before theYOG can be said to have reached a global audience, including the participantswho are targeted for this event.

The third survey item asked participants if they felt adequately preparedfor the 2010 YOG: the majority of participants (67.5%) felt they were not ade-quately prepared (Table 4). Specific suggestions regarding preparatory initia-tives included: (1) setting up training guidelines (regarding time and intensity)for young athletes, (2) establishing a uniform criteria and certification pro-gram for high–level competitive youth coaches, (3) establish and offer clinicsthat are designed to educate parents about the potential consequences of earlysport specialization, as well as parental attitudes toward, and expectations of,their child’s ability and performance, (4) set up a system for recognizingpotential problem parents with counseling mandated for those parentsdeemed abusive or overly intense, (5) develop a system for reporting, monitor-ing, and studying the rate, impact, and causes of overuse injuries, the rates andcauses of youth burnout, and the impact of stress and pressure on youth ath-letes, and (6) continue to study the effects of media exposure on young ath-letes. Respondents also indicated that the YOG should be marketed andpromoted better as reflected by their lack of awareness and perceived lack ofpublic awareness.

Survey item number four asked if participants were in favor of the YOGand what they distinguished as potential benefits of the YOG. The number onebenefit listed the YOG as a potential vehicle to combat the growing worldwideproblem of childhood obesity. Even IOC President Jacques Rogge identifiedthe rise in worldwide childhood obesity as a potential challenge for sport, cit-

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ing fewer physical activities in schools and the disappearance of open spaces incities as part of the problem.40 There is considerable evidence to indicate thatyouth, while being the most active sector of the population, are infrequentlyengaged in physical activity of the frequency, intensity, and duration con-nected with health benefits.41 In view of these challenges, the IOC has posi-tioned the YOG as having a potential major role to play in improving thehealth of young people worldwide. Rogge has even blamed obesity on the doc-ile effects of media culture: “One can speak of screen addiction…Multimedia,with its elaborate graphics…is sometimes more appealing than sport.”42 Hiscomment raises an interesting point about the built environment and othersocietal changes that have contributed to altered physical activity patterns inmany areas of the world. A question remains as to whether sport alone canprovide enough physical activity for enough young people to make a signifi-cant impact on childhood obesity.43

On the surface, the YOG seem like an effective medium for luringyounger generations away from new and exciting media technologies and ontothe playing fields. Yet, there is paradox here: the IOC intends to use the YOGto increase physical activity rates among youth, while, at the same time, sellinglicensing rights to video gaming companies in addition to developing theirown gaming site, Olympicvideogames.com. It is difficult to predict if the YOGwill have a sizeable impact on activity or obesity rates of American youth, oryouth in other parts of the world where obesity rates have reached epidemicproportions. The IOC’s approach to addressing the declining activity rates andrising obesity rates of the world’s youth by establishing the YOG is far too sim-plistic to tackle the complexities of obesity. Since the YOG is focused on elitecompetitors, its ability to reduce worldwide obesity in the general youth popu-lation may be minimal because youth may not seek to model an active lifestyleof a YOG participant of whom they are not even aware. Currently, the mediaindustry devotes a substantial amount of time to create and distribute contentthat is specifically targeted at children and adolescents.44 The most efficientway to get a message to American youth may be through the use of multime-dia. Hopefully, the YOG can serve as a conduit to jumpstart an effort toaddress this burgeoning problem. That being said, elite youth sport raisesanother set of problems that must be addressed if the YOG are to have a posi-tive impact on young people worldwide. Elite competition typically leads toexclusion of less gifted individuals and thereby can lead to lesser total partici-pation levels within sports. Additionally, high levels of competition can lead toathlete burnout, further reducing the effectiveness of the YOG to address obe-sity among the youth population. Factors like socio-economic status, race,gender, and environmental factors can all limit youths’ opportunities for par-ticipation. For example, YOG sports like figure skating are becoming increas-ingly expensive, competitive and elitist.


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Participants in support of the YOG cite the teaching of fair play and thepromotion of Olympic values as a benefit of the YOG. The IOC adds to thosevalues the idea that young athletes will develop a lifelong love of sport andphysical activity as part of their YOG experience.45 The IOC’s position on fairplay highlights the importance of the ethos of the game. It involves conformitywith the rules, respect for fellow competitors, showing generosity in play, aswell as modesty in victory and graciousness in defeat. Structured sport is oftenvalidated by rhetoric about the educational and character-building benefits ofparticipation.46 Through participation in sport, youth athletes can formulatevalues and explore behaviors assumed to be important to broader society.47

Rutten et al. found that coaches who maintain good relationships with theirathletes reduce antisocial behavior, and that exposure to relatively high levelsof socio-moral reasoning within the immediate context of sporting activitiespromotes pro social behavior.48 They concluded that “the context of organizedyouth sport contains moral and relational factors that are relevant to under-standing sport’s contribution to adaptive behavioral development of youngsportsmen and women.”49 Research thus suggests that the YOG have thepotential to be used as a vehicle to promote Olympism and to build positiverelationships with athletes.

The educational component of the YOG was seen as a positive feature, as16% of the respondents indicated the teaching of sportsmanship/fair play wasa benefit to sport. A recent study by DeBate et al. reported that the youthinvolved in “Girls on the Run,” a structured program that included both com-petitive and educational components, reported improved self-esteem,improved body image, and increased levels of physical activity.50 A key reasonfor these improvements was that the “programs teach sport and life skills con-currently because of parallels that exist between life and sport including prob-lem solving, goal setting, team work, communication, management of successand failure and receiving and applying constructive feedback.”51 Teaching lifeskills is a vital part of any youth athletics program, and the results from the“Girls on the Run” program reinforces the importance of the educational com-ponent designed for the YOG. The “Girls on the Run” program had a twelve-week curriculum that focused on three main topics. The first four-week seg-ment focused on the athlete and taught participants about self-assessment,being physically healthy, being emotionally healthy, and the differencebetween inner and outer beauty. The second four-week segment focused oncooperation with an emphasis on active listening, team-work, bullying, andhaving a positive attitude with others. The last four-week segment focused onthe community, including a community service project. All of the sessionsincluded physical training towards the running of a 5K.52

The YOG was viewed by 16% of the participants as an important vehicleto help motivate young skaters to set goals. Prior research has noted the bene-

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fits of a multiple goal orientation.53 Further, individuals who possess a masterygoal orientation evaluate success on a self-standard of improvement. A studyby Steinberg, Singer, and Murphey found that “Conversely, those sports per-formers who adopt a competitive goal orientation judge competence and/orsuccess based on the demonstration of superior ability as compared to theirpeer group.”54 The results Steinberg et al. reported that a combination of mas-tery and competitive goals are needed to be successful, and the YOG couldprovide a prime opportunity to assist athletes and coaches in setting masteryand competitive goals.55

The fifth survey item asked participants to list potential challenges/draw-backs for the YOG. Figure skating coaches in the United States felt that theYOG contained some significant challenges and drawbacks, many of whichwere associated with youth sports. Concerns about increased pressure andovertraining/injuries were cited as potential drawbacks of the YOG by 19% ofthe participants in the study. Participation in youth sports should serve as anavenue to assist children in their physical, mental, and emotional maturation.Unfortunately, a number of investigations challenge the value-based benefitsthat children can attain from sport participation.56 Some negative outcomes ofyouth sport may include undue stress, burnout, overemphasis on winning,poor self-esteem, and cheating.57

Pressure and stress caused by competitive athletic events like the YOG maybe potential reasons leading to adolescent burnout. Burnout is a physical, emo-tional, and social withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable activity.58 Numerousstudies researching burnout have suggested several contributing factors:increased stress, exhaustion, intense workload, injury, pressure, entrapment, andstaleness.59 Stress and pressure can be tied to the lack of control an athlete hasover his/her life.60 Instead of socializing with friends, an athlete who chooses tospecialize and prepare for an event like the YOG may have to practice or partici-pate in sport year-round. If an athlete views themselves as only an athlete andrather than in multiple roles such as an athlete, student, and friend, burnout ismore likely to occur.61 In addition to burnout, early specialization can cause avariety of additional physiological and psychological problems. Ryan investi-gated young figure skaters and gymnasts, and documented cases of eating disor-ders, stunted growth, debilitating injuries, weakened bones, and psychologicaldisorders.62 Countless young female athletes in sports like figure skating andgymnastics have been devastated by the pressure of elite sport and were at timeshumiliated by overbearing coaches.63 Should parents and coaches put young ath-letes through the rigors of intense practice, which is not considered enjoyable bynature, when 98% of youth athletes will not become elite athletes?64

Overtraining was one of the major concerns listed in the open-endedresponses of the figure skating coaches. Overtraining, according to Matos andWinsley, is “fundamentally an imbalance between training fatigue and non-


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training stressors, and recovery.”65 There is a paucity of data on the effect ofovertraining adolescent athletes, so it is unclear whether responses to intensetraining in adolescents are similar to those of adults. Among the few studies onthe subject, Raglin, Sawaramura, Alexiou, Hassmen, and Kentta investigatedthe prevalence of overtraining among adolescent swimmers in the UnitedStates, Japan, Greece, and Sweden and found that 35% had been overtrained atleast once.66 Additionally, Kentta, Hassmen, and Raglin found overtraining tobe more common for individual sports (48%) than team sports (30%) and lessphysically demanding sports (18%).67 This could explain the concerns of theparticipants in the present study, as figure skating is an individual and physi-cally demanding sport. Furthermore, in a related investigation, 28% of the ath-lete respondents who participated in the 1996 Atlanta Summer OlympicGames and 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games indicated that overtraininghad a negative impact on their performance.68

Besides the physical dangers related to overtraining, a number of addi-tional socio-cultural factors must be considered. Intense year round trainingcan impact the athletes’ life. Separation from family due to training and com-petition schedules, and the impact on the athlete’s academic progress shouldbe considered.69 Unfortunately, because of the multifarious nature of detectingthe visible symptoms associated with overtraining, there is not “a single practi-cal, valid and reliable physiological marker that can be used to enable a clearand quick diagnosis of athletes who are entering this state.”70 Additionalresearch is required “to allow us to recognize the key signs/symptoms alongwith identifying the central determining factors to allow us to help preventthis condition from arising in the first place.”71 Young athletes feel the pressureto win. Yet, when they do not achieve their desired level of success, disappoint-ment results. This leads to a lack of self-confidence, which has been linked tomental disorders, compromised social development, and dropout.72

An additional factor that is associated with overtraining is the growingconcern for early sport specialization for young athletes. The YOG could pro-vide additional incentive for young athletes to specialize as overzealouscoaches and parents may try to convince the athlete that focusing on one sportis their only opportunity to become an elite athlete, particularly an Olympicathlete. Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Romer found that the development ofathletic talent is a lengthy process, requiring approximately 10 years, or 10,000hours of quality practice to achieve.73 It would be extremely difficult for poten-tial YOG competitors to achieve this amount of training. But overzealouscoaches, parents and even athletes could potentially attempt to make up for alack of preparation time with increased training intensity, additional practicetime, and a reduction in recovery time. If the YOG participants are ages 14-18,are we fostering the choice for 10 and 11 year-old athletes to become one-sportspecialists? The American Council for Physical Education for Children states

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that youth should participate in a variety of physical activities on a regularbasis to help decrease boredom and increase the likelihood that participantswill find an activity they enjoy and want to continue into adulthood.74

The additional costs to parents who are preparing young athletes for theYOG was another concern raised by the respondents. The increase in off-seasonrequirements for each sport can become a double burden for parents, bothfinancially (e.g., entry fees, uniforms, private coaching sessions and travelexpenses) and in terms of time (e.g., transporting players to and from practiceand competitions, cooking, doing laundry, etc.).75 Eight percent of 114 respon-dents in the present study listed the additional financial burden on parents as apotential drawback of the YOG. Parental resource support is thus a key determi-nant that affects youth involvement in sport.76 For example, it is not uncommonfor young baseball players in the United States to play in 60 to 80 games during asummer, many of which require out-of-town travel to and from competition.77

There is no less commitment at the highest levels of sport. Gould, Dieffenbach,and Moffett show how parents and families play a critical role in the ongoingdevelopment of Olympic-level athletes by providing transportation, paying forlessons, equipment, as well as providing emotional support by taking time out oftheir busy schedules to watch practices and competitions.78 Parents transporttheir child, pay for lessons and equipment and attend games and practices. Indi-viduals that may lack money and social support may face greater barriers tophysical activity. There is some evidence to indicate that as the level of competi-tiveness goes up, participation numbers go down.79 According to the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, young ath-letes are under increasing pressure to “train longer, harder, more intelligently,and, in some cases, at an earlier age.”80 The cost of specialized coaching, partici-pation fees, availability of time for training, transportation, and competition areresources that may be lacking for some individuals.81 Populations that appear tobe affected the most are ethnic minorities and low-income families. One clearobstacle and barrier of an individual sport like figure skating is the cost of spe-cialized coaching, participation fees and transportation.82

Concluding Thoughts

Until the issues affecting the Olympic Games are addressed in relation to theYOG, the IOC and Rogge may be contradicting themselves. How can the IOCwant to develop a YOG in an effort to combat the sedentary lifestyle of manychildren today, while at the same time putting the Olympic rings on videogames for consumption by this same demographic?83 It is time the IOC pro-motes its own lofty ideals of Olympism and starts that change with the newYOG before commercialism and nationalism become indoctrinated as theyare in the Olympic Games. Furthermore, the IOC must address the conflict


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between the mission of the YOG and its objective to foster a more egalitarian-ism sport system worldwide. The YOG’s goal is to promote physical activityand ignite interest in Olympic sports in children and adolescents, but in actu-ality they may be limiting participation by only providing competitive oppor-tunities to elite athletes at the YOG.

Former Olympian, turned Physical Education educator, Bruce Kiddargues that the Olympics can only be special when they are used to drawworldwide awareness to social injustice and advance social responsibility. Kiddalso offers that athletes that compete in the Olympic Games should not beselected solely on their athletic achievements but also their actions as citizensof the world.84 With the introduction of the YOG, the IOC can potentiallyreach youth athletes before they compete on the larger stage of the OlympicGames while they are still developing their moral standards and sense of eth-ics. This early intervention of the IOC through the YOG program can work tochange the current culture of the Olympic Games as YOG athletes transitionfrom their YOG participation to Olympic Game participation.

This investigation represents a reticent beginning for a more sophisticateddialogue concerning the concept, objectives, and realities of the YOG. Perhapsas the YOG continues, it will be able to avoid some of the commercialism asso-ciated with the Olympic Games due to the fact that they have decided to limitparticipants to 3500 and to also limit and tightly control mass media coverageof the YOG.85 No doubt, the IOC sees the YOG as a platform to teach youngathletes about Olympic values and to educate them about the pitfalls associ-ated with competitive sport, such as doping. The IOC should make an extraeffort to keep its promises regarding the goals and values of the YOG. Parentsare very interested in obtaining information and ensuring the safety and suc-cess of their children and are critical for the YOG in terms of being spectators,visitors, and athlete support. There is not yet enough evidence to say whetherthe YOG will have a negative or positive impact on youth sport culture inAmerica or elsewhere for that matter. Nevertheless, it is possible to state thatthis new global sport initiative must address the more controversial andpotentially damaging aspects of elite sport for youth before it can be said theYOG are fulfilling its objectives. The fact that the YOG target a young audi-ence is cause enough to raise anxiety and concern among coaches, parents,and the public alike.

Endnotes

1 Sigmund Loland, “Coubertin’s Ideology of Olympism from the Perspec-tive of the History of Ideas,” Olympika 4 (1995), 49-78.

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2 Helmut Digel, “The Risks of the Youth Olympic Games,” New Studies inAthletics 23, no. 3 (2008), 53-58.

3 Egalitarianism is a general political theory utilized by Marx and others.Loland is the only person referenced in this paper that we can connect tothis theory.

4 Joseph Baker, Stephen Cobley, and Jessica Fraser-Thomas, “What do weknow about early sport specialization? Not Much!” High Ability Studies20, no. 1 (June 2009), 77-89.

5 K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf T. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Römer, "TheRole of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance,"Psychological Review 100, no. 3 (1993), 363-406.

6 Joseph Baker, “What do we know about early sport specialization? NotMuch!”, 77-89.

7 Ibid.8 Jo Helle-valle, “Discourses on Mass versus Elite Sport and Pre-Adult

Football in Norway,” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 43,no. 4 (2008), 365-381.

9 Henri Vaugrand, “Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Marie Brohm: TheirSchemes of Intelligibility and Issues towards a Theory of Knowledge inthe Sociology of Sport,” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 36,no. 2 (2001), 183-201.

10 Digel, “The Risks of the Youth Olympic Games,” 53-58.11 Robert K. Fullinwider, “Sports, Youth and Character: A Critical Survey,”

The center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement(2006), 1-48.

12 Scott Rosner and Deborah Low. "The Efficacy of Olympic Bans and Boy-cotts on Effectuating International Political and Economic Change."Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law 11, no. 1 (2009), 27-79.

13 Robert Barney, Stephen Wenn, and Scott Martyn, Selling the Five Rings.The International Olympic Committee and the Rise of Olympic Commer-cialism (Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2002).

14 Stephen Wenn, “Growing pains: the Olympic movement and television,1966-1972,” Olympika: The International Journal of Olympic Studies 4(1995), 1-22.

15 Youth Olympic Games, “(YOG) Fact Sheet,” 2009, http://multime-dia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1423.pdf.

16 Youth Olympic Games, “(YOG) Fact Sheet,” 2009.17 Lawrence W. Judge, Jeffrey Petersen, and Matt Lydum, “The Best Kept

Secret in Sports: The 2010 Youth Olympic Games” International Reviewfor the Sociology of Sport 44 no. 2–3 (2009), 173–191.


53

18 Patrick Johnston, “Youth Olympic Games can Stop Kids Leaving Sport:Rogge,” Reuters, Mar. 23, 2010; http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/03/23/us-olympics-rogge-idUSTRE62M0XH20100323.

19 Christine Brennan, “Youth Olympics would Create More Problems thanit Solves,” USA Today, 2007, 2C.

20 Judge, “The Best Kept Secret in Sports: The 2010 Youth Olympic Games,”173-191.

21 Ibid.22 Professional Skaters Association, “Accreditation and Certification,”;

http://www.skatepsa.com/Accreditation-and-Certification-PSA.htm23 Ibid.24 Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology

Second Edition (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004). 25 Daniel Riffe, Stephen Lacy, and Frederick G. Fico, Analyzing media mes-

sages: Using quantitative content analysis in research (Mahwah: LawrenceErlbaum, 2005).


27 Ibid.28 Ibid.29 Rainer Martens, Successful Coaching (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics,

2004).30 Lenny Wiersma and Clay Sherman, “Volunteer Youth Sport Coaches’

Perspectives of Coaching Education/Certification and Parental Codes ofConduct,” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 76 (2005), 324–338.

31 Benjamin S. Bloom, Developing Talent in Young People (New York, NY:Ballantines Books, 1985); Ronald Edward Smith, Frank L. Smoll, and BillCurtis, “Coach Effectiveness Training: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approachto Enhancing the Relationship Skills in Youth Sports Coaches,” Journal ofSports Psychology 1, no. 1 (1997), 59–75.

32 Jason Rosner, “The Efficacy of Olympic Bans and Boycotts on Effectuat-ing International Political and Economic Change." 27-79.

33 Daniel Gould, and Rainer Martens, “Attitudes of Volunteer Coachestoward Significant Youth Sport Issues,” Research Quarterly 50 (1979),369–380.

34 Daniel Gould, Vikki Krane, John Giannini, and Ken Hodge, “EducationalNeeds of Elite U.S. National Team, Pan American, and OlympicCoaches,” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 9 (1990), 332–344.

35 Martens, Successful Coaching.36 Daniel Gould, Diane Guinan, Christy Greenleaf, and Yongchul Chung,

“A Survey of U.S. Olympic Coaches: Variables Perceived to Have Influ-

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enced Athlete Performance and coach Effectiveness,” The Sport Psycholo-gist 16 (2002), 229-250; Chris Cushion, Kathleen Armour, and RobynJones, “Coach Education and Continuing Professional Development:Experience and Learning to Coach,” Quest 46 (2003), 153-163.

37 Helga Nowotny, “Transgressive Competence the Narrative of Expertise,”European Journal of Social Theory 3 (2000), 12.

38 Donald Schön, Educating the Reflective Practitioner (San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass, 1987).

39 Asiya Bakht, “McCann Wins Youth Olympics Sponsorship PlanningBrief,” Conference Events Incentives, Jul. 22, 2009; http://www.cei.asia/print.php?id=36376.

40 IOC, “IOC Session: A ‘Go’ for Youth Olympic Games,” 2007, http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/events/119_session/full_story_uk.asp?id=222;IOC, “Youth Olympic Games,” 2007, http://video.olympic.org/http/yog_uk.pdf.

41 Richard P. Troiano and Katherine M. Flegal, “Overweight Children andAdolescents: Description, Epidemiology, and Demographics,” Pediatrics101, no. 3 (1998), 497–504; Lorraine Cale and Len Almond, “Children’sPhysical Activity Levels: A Review of Studies Conducted on British Chil-dren,” Physical Education Review 15 (1992), 111–118.

42 IOC, “IOC Session: A ’Go’ for Youth Olympic Games,” 2007; IOC,“Youth Olympic Games,” 2007.

43 Michael F. Bergeron, “Improving Health through Youth Sports: Is Partic-ipation Enough?” New Directions for Youth Development 115 (2007), 27–41.

44 Donald Roberts and Ulla Foehr, “Trends in Media Use,” Future of Chil-dren 18, no. 1 (2008), 11-37.

45 IOC, “IOC Session: A ‘Go’ for Youth Olympic Games,” 2007.46 Margot Shields, “Overweight and Obesity among Children and Youth,”

Health Rep 17, no. 3 (2006), 27-42.47 Sarah G. McCallister, Elaine M. Blinde, and Windee M. Weiss, “Teaching

Values and Implementing Philosophies: Dilemmas of the Youth SportCoach,” The Physical Educator 57, no. 1 (2000), 35–45.

48 Esther Rutten, Geert Stams, Gert Biesta, Carlo Schuengel, Evelien Dirks,and Jan Hoeksma, “The Contribution of Organized Youth Sport to Anti-social and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescent Athletes,” Journal of YouthAdolescence 36 (2007), 255-264.

49 Ibid., 263.50 Rita DeBate, Kelley Pettee Gabriel, Marissa Zwald, Jennifer Huberty, and

Yan Zhang, “Changes in Psychosocial Factors and Physical Activity Fre-quency Among Third- to Eighth-Grade Girls Who Participated in a


55

Developmentally Focused Youth Sport Program: A Preliminary Study,”Journal of School Health 79, no. 10 (2009), 474-484.

51 Ibid., 475.

52 Ibid.

53 Gregg Steinberg, Robert Singer, and Milledge Murphey, “The Benefits toSport Achievement when a Multiple Goal Orientation is Emphasized. /Les Benefices de la Reussite Sportive quand Plusieurs Objectifs sontVises,” Journal of Sport Behavior 23, no. 4 (2000), 407-422.

54 Ibid., 408.

55 Ibid.

56 Richard W. Seidel and N. Dickon Reppucci, “Organized Youth Sports andthe Psychological Development of Nine-Year-Old Males,” Journal ofChild and Family Studies 2, no. 3 (1993), 229-248; K. L. Siegenthaler andG. Leticia Gonzalez, “Youth Sports as Serious Leisure: A Critique,” Jour-nal of Sport and Social Issues 21, no. 3 (1997), 298-314.

57 Joe Baker and Jean Côté, “Sport-Specific Practice and the Development ofExpert Decision-Making in Team Ball Sports,” Journal of Applied SportPsychology 15 (2003), 12-25.

58 Daniel Gould and Meredith Whitely, “Sources and Consequences of Ath-letic Burnout among College Athletes,” Journal of Issues in IntercollegiateSport 2, no. 1 (2009), 16-30.

59 Scott Cresswell and Robert Eklund, “The Nature of Player Burnout inRugby: Key Characteristics and Attributions,” Journal of Applied SportPsychology, 18 (2006), 219-240; Christopher Lai and Matthew Wiggins,“Burnout Perceptions over Time in NCAA Division I Soccer Players,”International Sports Journal 7 (2003), 120-128; Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre,Darren Treasure, and Glyn Roberts, “Influence of Variability in Motiva-tion and Effect on Elite Athlete Burnout Susceptibility,” Journal of Sportand Exercise Psychology 28 (2006), 32-49; Melissa Price and MaureenWeiss, “Relationships among Coach Burnout, Coach Behaviors, and Ath-letes’ Psychological Responses,” The Sport Psychologist 14 (2000), 391-409; Thomas Raedeke, Kevin Lunney, and Kirk Venables, “Understand-ing Athlete Burnout: Coach Perspectives,” Journal of Sport Behavior 25(2002), 181-207.

60 Daniel Gould and Sarah Carson, “Life Skills Development through Sport:Current Status and Future Directions,” Sport and Exercise PsychologyReviews 1, no. 1 (2008), 58-78.

61 Ibid.

62 Joan Ryan, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of EliteGymnasts and Figure Skaters (New York, NY: Time Warner, 1995).

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63 Gould, “Life Skills Development through Sport,” 58-78; Ryan, “Little Girlsin Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and FigureSkaters,” 1995.

64 Gould, “Life Skills Development through Sport,” 58-78.65 Nuno Matos and Richard Winsley, “Trainability of Young Athletes and

Overtraining,” Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 6 (2007): 353-367.66 John Raglin, Sachi Sawamura, Serafim Alexiou, Peter Hassmen, and

Göran Kentta, “Training Practices and Staleness in 13-18-Year-OldSwimmers: A Cross-Cultural Study,” Pediatric Exercise Science 12 (2000),61-70.

67 Göran Kentta, Peter Hassmen, and John Raglin, “Training Practices andOvertraining Syndrome in Swedish Age-Group Athletes,” InternationalJournal of Sports Medicine 22 (2001), 460-465.

68 Daniel Gould, Christy Greenleaf, Yongchul Chung, and Diane Guinan,“A Survey of U.S. Atlanta and Nagano Olympians: Factors InfluencingPerformance,” Research Quarterly for Sport and Exercise 73, no. 2 (2002),175-186.

69 Jay Coakley, “Burnout among Adolescent Athletes: A Personal Failure orSocial Problem?” Sociology of Sport Journal 9 (1992), 271-285.

70 Matos, 353-367.71 Ibid., 363.72 Joseph Baker, “Sport-Specific Practice and the Development of Expert

Decision-Making in Team Ball Sports,” 77-89.73 K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf T. Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Römer, “The

Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance,”Psychological Review 100, no. 3 (1993), 363-406.

74 Council for Physical Education for Children (COPEC), “Guidelines forappropriate physical activity for elementary school children 2003 update.A position statement of the Council for Physical Education for Children(COPEC),” 2003; United States Department of Health and Human Ser-vices (USDHHS), “2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,”2008, http://www.health.gov/PAGuidelines/


76 Ibid.77 Jay Watts, “Perspectives on Sport Specialization,” The Journal of Physical

Education, Recreation and Dance, 73 (2002) 32-37.78 Daniel Gould, Kristen Dayle Dieffenbach, and Aaron Moffett, “Psycho-

logical Talent and Their Development in Olympic Champions,” Journalof Applied Sport Psychology 14 (2002), 172-204.


57

79 W. Andrew Collins and Brett Laursen, “Changing Relationships, Chang-ing Youth: Interpersonal Contexts of Adolescent Development,” TheJournal of Early Adolescence 24, no. 1 (2004), 55-62.

80 Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness andCommittee on School Health, “Organized Sports for Children and Pread-olescents,” Pediatrics 107, no. 6 (2001), 1459–1462; http://aappolicy.aap-publications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;107/6/1459


82 Jeroen Scheerder, “Social Stratification Patterns in Adolescents’ ActiveSports Participation Behaviour: A Time Trend Analysis 1969-1999,”European Physical Education Review 11, no. 1 (2005), 5-27.

83 Digel, “The Risks of the Youth Olympic Games,” 53-58.84 Rosner, "The Efficacy of Olympic Bans and Boycotts on Effectuating

International Political and Economic Change," 27-79.85 Digel, “The Risks of the Youth Olympic Games,” 53-58.

the promotion and perception of the youth olympic...

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