Amateur Sport Participation and the Development of Athletes
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Digital Collections @ Dordt Master of Education Program Theses 5-2019 Amateur Sport Participation and the Development of Athletes Mycah Hulst Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/med_theses Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Recommended Citation Hulst, Mycah, "Amateur Sport Participation and the Development of Athletes" (2019). Master of Education Program Theses. 134. https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/med_theses/134 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Education Program Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Amateur Sport Participation and the Development of Athletes Abstract This research study sought to determine the impact amateur sport has on the development of adolescents. The development areas that were found critical for exploration include: physical, social, cognitive, and emotional. Thirty-five adolescent athletes who are currently participating in amateur sport were surveyed about their personal experiences in this competitive arena. The results confirmed that amateur sport is impacting the explored areas of adolescent development; however, the study was inconclusive on whether or not this impact was positive. The results presented numerous variables that promoted adolescent participation in amateur sport, and also exposed a variety of concerns that should be taken into consideration by all active members. The researcher found that the main concern for adolescent participation in amateur sport is centered around the time commitment that this extra- curricular commitment demands in comparison to other daily, and essential, activities. On a positive note, the researcher found that many athletes are participating out of pure admiration for the sport and a desire to improve upon aligned skillsets, which contradicts the general assumption of satisfying a potential, unrealistic desire to play college sports. Document Type Thesis Degree Name Master of Education (MEd) Department Graduate Education First Advisor Patricia C. Kornelis Keywords Master of Education, thesis, amateurism, sports, adolescence, growth Subject Categories Curriculum and Instruction | Education Comments Action Research Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education This thesis is available at Digital Collections @ Dordt: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/med_theses/134 Amateur Sport Participation & the Development of Athletes by Mycah Hulst B. A. Dordt College, 2016 Action Research Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education Department of Education Dordt College Sioux Center, Iowa May 2019 AMATEUR SPORT ii Amateur Sport Participation & the Development of Athletes by Mycah Hulst Approved: Patricia Kornelis, Ed.D. Faculty Advisor May 17, 2019 Date Approved: Stephen Holtrop, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Education May 17, 2019 Date AMATEUR SPORT iii Table of Contents Title Page ......................................................................................................................................... i Approval ......................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Review of Literature ........................................................................................................................ 5 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 16 Results ............................................................................................................................................ 19 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................... 27 References ...................................................................................................................................... 35 Appendices Appendix A ........................................................................................................................ 38 Appendix B ........................................................................................................................ 39 Appendix C ........................................................................................................................ 41 Appendix D ........................................................................................................................ 43 Appendix E ........................................................................................................................ 49 AMATEUR SPORT iv List of Figures Figure Page 1. Pie chart of answers to participants reasoning for joining amateur sport ............. 22 2. Bar graph of average number of hours dedicated a week to amateur sport .......... 24 3. Pie chart of answers to what participants like most about amateur sport ............. 25 4. Pie chart of answers to what participants like least about amateur sport.............. 26 5. Pie chart of scenario’s weekly hours .................................................................... 30 6. Pie chart of scenario’s weekly hours version #2 ................................................... 31 AMATEUR SPORT v List of Tables Table Page 1. Average age for starting sport versus amateur sport ............................................. 19 2. Average responses for Likert-scale questions................................................... 20-21 3. Numbers comparing family’s influence on adolescent’s participation............. 22-23 4. Variables for K-W-H statistical test of significance ............................................. 26 5. Hypotheses for K-W-H statistical test of significance .......................................... 27 6. K-W-H statistical test of significance results........................................................ 27 AMATEUR SPORT vi Abstract This research study sought to determine the impact amateur sport has on the development of adolescents. The development areas that were found critical for exploration include: physical, social, cognitive, and emotional. Thirty-five adolescent athletes who are currently participating in amateur sport were surveyed about their personal experiences in this competitive arena. The results confirmed that amateur sport is impacting the explored areas of adolescent development; however, the study was inconclusive on whether or not this impact was positive. The results presented numerous variables that promoted adolescent participation in amateur sport, and also exposed a variety of concerns that should be taken into consideration by all active members. The researcher found that the main concern for adolescent participation in amateur sport is centered around the time commitment that this extra-curricular commitment demands in comparison to other daily, and essential, activities. On a positive note, the researcher found that many athletes are participating out of pure admiration for the sport and a desire to improve upon aligned skillsets, which contradicts the general assumption of satisfying a potential, unrealistic desire to play college sports. AMATEUR SPORT 1 Youth are entering competitive sport environments and specializing in single sports at earlier ages than ever before (Paule-Koba, 2008). Research shows that 27 million US youth between 6 and 18 years of age participate in team sports (DiFiori, Benjamin, & Brenner, 2014). Furthermore, the National Council of Youth Sports survey found that 60 million children aged 6–18 years participate in some form of organized athletics, with 44 million participating in more than one sport (DiFiori, et al., 2014). Accordingly, research has shown that the reasoning behind the increase in amateur competition is attributed to the internal (i.e. personal) or external (i.e. parents, coach, friends) desires to compete at elite levels (Paule-Koba, 2008). A recent study by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) found that many college athletes began specializing in their sport by the age of 12 (Paule-Koba, 2008). The desire to increase athletic opportunities at higher levels of competition and build upon one’s career is often the motivation. While scholastically affiliated teams are on the radar of college coaches, many (i.e. coaches, parents, athletes, etc.) believe that is not enough and seek elsewhere for more exposure. Additionally, attracting scholarship offers has presented many athletes with a challenging circumstance because the market is over-saturated with skilled individuals. Proof of