G’Day ‘learners’.
Today’s blog will help sports coaches (and all caring adult stakeholders) to:
Consider reflection on ‘FUN in Youth Sports’ to better inform the practice and future of your own and peers’ efforts with learners…
It’s been a while but Gunny’s back…
Watch the vision below of Gunny ‘practicing routines’ with other coaches at Rugby Football League (RFL) 2020 England Talent Pathway Conference. Consider: what could make this fun?
I wonder what you think… Feel free to subscribe or give me feedback anytime, but, to provide some scaffolding I thought I best re-visit one of the most under-rated action-researchers of our time, Dr. Amanda Visek!
Amazing teacher, Amanda Visek, who investigated how young people conceived ‘fun’.
Key Question for me as PE teacher and Coach of Multiple Sports:
Why do ex learners of mine say how much ‘fun’ they had in performance sports sessions I ran, like middle distance running?
Well, it turns out that a good cross-section of young people found that there at least 81 ‘fun’ determinants (Visek, 2015). When I read this in 2016, for me it was the next best thing I found past Deci and Ryan’s (1985, 2002) ‘Self Determination Theory’, in understanding my coaching, pastoral care leadership or Physical Education teaching.
The Who and What:
Dr Amanda Visek is a seasoned sporting psychologist and sports science academic. In 2015 her Fun Integration Theory (FIT) explored 9-19-year-old sports’ participants’ experiences and socio-cultural practices, around young people’s conception of ‘fun’. And as mentioned, for me, was ground-breaking!!!
With some scaffolding, the learners described and classified the 81 determinants into 11 sub-categories (see below) that motivated plus supported young people to continue playing. However, on the converse, the lack of these developmental factors and practices were also a barrier to continued participation. AND, of course, anyone, who’s been a PE teacher or experienced sports coach of youth knows that today’s ‘drop-out’ phenomenon starts around 12.
For more on the original study Find here:
Read the article for more, but here are the determimants, in graphical form as #funmaps
Visek and team used ‘action research’ where the young people defined, rated, and categorized what fun meant, let alone put it into their ‘own words’. This alone should give us great faith in the breadth of what's included as ‘fun’. Intuitively, I guess I knew and would even voice that ‘hard work’ could be fun (I mean the runners kept turning up in greater numbers) but here it was clear in the research.
Importantly, the young people decided that the ‘top 3’ categories were: 1) Trying Hard; 2) Positive Team Dynamics; and, 3) Positive Coaching. Thus, coaches and PE teachers could frame their lessons in this regard and be hitting targets? Well, the story continues… But, just as I suggest below that we need to be like kids, the young people spoke through the research!
Great advice Gunny, but what did Visek’s research next say about adults and coaches?
In 2018, Visek and team sought to understand differences between players, parents and coaches in a paper you can find here. Whilst coaches and parents elevated things like “Game Time Support”, the parents were pretty close in rankings with young people. For example from study:
“Interestingly, though, Game Time Support, defined by determinants such as parent(s) watching your games, people cheering, and being congratulated by parents for playing well, was ranked third by parents and only ninth overall by all players”
Coaches Perecptions vs Players
Again, the coaches of younger players weren’t too far away from the younger players. However, the problem as Visek and team say:
“It is well established that youth sport dropout rates accelerate as children age. In fact, fun is the primary determinant of why children continue to play, and its absence, comparatively, is also the main reason children give for dropping out. Presumably then, young athletes experience more fun at earlier ages and less fun at older ages. The findings of this study, however, are unique in that they are the first to identify precise factors and thus determinants for which discordance between players and coaches exist with regard to fun.”
Gunny working with older players here (u/19), reckon they’re having fun?
Well are they having fun? This brings us to the newest chapter and the answer to the title question in this post…
Visek’s team found no difference between genders click here. Not only that, but there was also no real difference in age groups, nor ‘travel’ and ‘rec’ teams either. Thus refer back to: trying and positive teaming and coaching!
“In sum, if we are to be successful in promoting the fun ethos for all young athletes regardless of the binary ways in which sport categorizes its players by sex, age, and level of play, it will likely require de-essentializing (mis)perceived differences.”
Thus great teacher (Visek), can you please find out if it’s any different with ‘elite’ and ‘sub-elite’ players?
How about I try and help? Many of the women in this team are semi-professional and won the Queensland state flag. Below here, they’re working on their defence from memory with me. What do you reckon it shows?
BUT… Surely, it’s just an American and Australian thing this fun ‘stuff’? Well let’s answer that with the help of much lauded New Zealand Rugby types…
“Coaches need to be open-minded and kids need to have fun. They are young and need to enjoy playing.”
Fair enough, just kids’ coaches… Let’s look at a successful Super Rugby team called the Canterbury Crusaders.
“We just get the players to embrace it and just say go out and play.... Have fun, play, run, show us your skills, off load, skip, jump”
Reflection Coaches:
How do you create a learning environment where players: Try Hard, Enjoy Positive Teaming and Positive Coaching? Yes, Gunny’s favourite question HOW. Like Dr. Visek it’s most under-rated in sports coaching.
The below may help!
BUT, it’s important to remember, whilst we have locked away peers, NOW is the time to start afresh. Coaching it seems is an important enabler and barrier to your numbers. Start planning to improve kids’ experiences NOW!
