More like this +

Competitive Club Soccer: Parents' Assessments of

Children's Early and Later Sport Specialization
Livingston, Jennifer; Schmidt, Christopher; Lehman, Sharon . Journal of Sport Behavior
Behavior;;
Mobile Vol. 39, Iss. 3, (Sep 2016): 301-316.

Full text Full text - PDF Abstract/Details References 20

Abstract Translate

There is a continued debate about early versus late sport specialization. There are potential benefits and risks
associated with early specialization; however, most literature is based on expert opinion or retrospective data
(Butcher, Lindner, & Johns, 2002; Cote, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009; Farrey, 2010). The positive experiences and
development associated with the demands of early sport specialization may be overlooked because of the
breadth of negative research and popular media reports. The purpose of this study is to describe the youth
sport experience, with an emphasis on competitive club soccer, more objectively by focusing on the parents'
perceptions and reasons for participation. We distributed electronic surveys to parents whose children
participated as a member of a U8-U12 dub soccer team in a state tournament during the previous year. The
results suggest the parents sensed improved skills in children who started participating earlier; however,
parents of both genders reported the necessity of skipping other events, making sacrifices to participate, and
negatively affected schoolwork. In addition, the longer the child participated, the less the family enjoyed
soccer. Overall, burnout is considered a risk of early participation (Coakley, 1992; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas,
Patrick, & LaBella, 2012; Smith, 1986), but our data suggests that the family may be more at risk for burnout
than the child because the child continues to enjoy and develop within the sport.

Full Text Translate

Headnote
There is a continued debate about early versus late sport specialization. There are potential benefits and risks
associated with early specialization; however, most literature is based on expert opinion or retrospective data
(Butcher, Lindner, & Johns, 2002; Cote, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009; Farrey, 2010). The positive experiences and
development associated with the demands of early sport specialization may be overlooked because of the
breadth of negative research and popular media reports. The purpose of this study is to describe the youth
sport experience, with an emphasis on competitive club soccer, more objectively by focusing on the parents'
perceptions and reasons for participation. We distributed electronic surveys to parents whose children
participated as a member of a U8-U12 dub soccer team in a state tournament during the previous year. The
results suggest the parents sensed improved skills in children who started participating earlier; however,
parents of both genders reported the necessity of skipping other events, making sacrifices to participate,> and
negatively affected schoolwork. In addition, the longer the child participated, the less the family enjoyed
soccer. Overall, burnout is considered a risk of early participation (Coakley, 1992; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas,
Patrick, & LaBella, 2012; Smith, 1986), but our data suggests that the family may be more at risk for burnout
than the child because the child continues to enjoy and develop within the sport.

The United States Youth Soccer organization's website reports that more than 3 million youth participate in
its recreational, competitive, and Olympic development programs. Recreational teams provide infonnal
learning opportunities with less fatigue and stress when contrasted with competitive club sports (Malina,
2010). In addition to the increased level of competiveness, club sports are viewed as more selective and
expensive (Farrey, 2010; Malina, 2010). Popular media references the exclusivity of youth competitive club
teams and the decreasing numbers of participants as levels of competitiveness increase in the continued
debate about early versus late sport specialization (Malina, 2010).

Rather than specializing in a single sport, recreational leagues are better suited for children who are
interested in sampling various sports. Diversification, or sampling multiple sports, includes more informal
sport activities and more time in deliberate play. In contrast, specialization consists of deliberate practice or
training with the purpose of improving skills (Cote, Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009). Although diversification is
associated with longer sport involvement, motor development, and cognitive functions (Cote, Lidor, &
Hackfort, 2009), year-round participation in multiple sports also may relate to increased risk of injuries (Biber
& Gregory, 2010; Cassas & Cassettari-Wayhs, 2006).

Similarly, physical injuries are a major concern for sport specialization as well (Biber & Gregory, 2010; Cassas
& Cassettari-Wayhs, 2006; Cuff, Loud, & O'Riordan, 2010; Malina, 2010). In addition, specialization is
associated with psychological risks such as burnout (Coakley, 1992; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick, &
LaBella, 2012; Smith, 1986), a one-dimensional self-concept (Coakley, 1992), a pressure to perform (Butcher,
Lindner, & Johns, 2002), isolation from peers, overdependence on a regulated schedule, and behavioral issues
(Malina, 2010).

Proponents of specialization emphasize the large time commitment required to master skills; specifically,
Ericsson's (1996) 10,000 hour theory of expertise development is frequently highlighted. Therefore, it is
argued that specialization is necessary for peak performance and elite skill development (Cote, Lidor, &
Hackfort, 2009; Ford, Ward, Hodges, & Williams, 2009; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick, & LaBella, 2012).

Ford and Williams (2012) contend that the path to success in sports is not a dichotomous situation; rather, it
is a continuum. They suggest that early engagement with a little diversity and a lot of time spent playing and
practicing a primary sport can lead to elite performance (Ford, Ward, Hodges, & Williams, 2009). They
discovered that among three groups of teenage soccer players-still-elite, ex-elite, and recreational-that the two
elite groups had higher soccer practice hours than the recreational group, and the still-elite group had
significantly higher play hours than the ex-elite group. There were no differences in competition hours
between the three groups, and there were no differences in the num- ber of other sports between the three
groups. In a more recent article, Ford and Williams (2012) surveyed late-teen professional soccer players and
former elite players who were not selected to continue professionally. Both groups participated in multiple
sports as children, but the professional players had spent more time with soccer. The results also showed
that professional players started supervised soccer practice significantly earlier (5.9 years) than non-
professional players (6.8). Competition began around 7-8 years, elite training began at 10-11 years, and the
professional players accumulated more hours in soccer than non-professional players.

In addition to time spent playing, practicing, and competing, a child's motivation serves a major role in
development. Results of a study by Ward, Hodges, Starkes, and Williams (2007) indicate that elite and sub-
elite soccer players began playful soccer activities at a similar age; however, the elite group began individual
and team practice at an earlier age. Both groups participated in other sports and began focusing on soccer
around 16 years of age, and there was no significant difference in terms of specialization or diversity. Instead,
a difference was noted when the elite players rated their dedication, time, effort, competence, and level of
enjoyment in soccer higher than the sub-elite players. A greater percentage of the elite group considered
improving skill level the main reason for participating. However, a greater percentage of sub-elite players
identified enjoyment as the main reason for participating in the current year of soccer.

The motivation to participate in youth sports includes both intrinsic and extrinsic influences with the
influence of families as one factor (Cote, Lidor, & Hacfort, 2009; DeFresse & Smith, 2013; Fredricks & Eccles,
2005; Gould & Carson, 2004; Kanters, Boccaro, & Casper, 2008). Parents, however, are merely serving as
external motivation (DeFresse & Smith, 2013) and may not realize the pressure felt by the child (Butcher,
Lindner, & Johns, 2002; Kanters, Boccaro, & Casper, 2008) or how the parental control restricts the youth
(Coakley, 1992).

There is anecdotal information related to parents pursuing the development of expertise to increase the
child's chances of collegiate scholarships and professional contracts by requiring thousands of hours of
practice based upon Ericsson's (1996) theory of talent development (Butcher, Lindner, & Johns, 2002; Cote,
Lidor, & Hackfort, 2009; Ford, Ward, Hodges, & Williams, 2009; Malina, 2010). Furthermore, additional literature
is based on expert opinion or retrospective data rather than empirical evidence. The purpose of our survey
research project is to collect empirical data to describe the competitive club soccer experience more
objectively. Our intent is to collect longitudinal data on youth soccer players participating in competitive clubs
by surveying parents or guardians and conducting periodical cross-sectional analyses. Our long-term
research questions are: (1) What are the motivating factors for parents of youth in competitive club soccer?
(2) What are the parents' perceptions of the child's experience in competitive club soccer? (3) To what extent
do youth soccer players on competitive club teams specialize in soccer only? (4) What patterns are observed
in the youth soccer players who achieve elite or professional status? (5) What factors are associated with
leaving soccer? In our current project, we focused on the parents' perceptions and reasons for participation.

Methods

Participants

We identified 204 soccer clubs who entered at least one team in the under-8 (U8) through under-12 (U12) age
divisions of Cal South's 2014 State Cup. We sought survey responses from the parents of children
participating on a team in one of these soccer clubs.

Instruments
We developed the Youth Competitive Club Survey (YCCS) to explore the parent's perceptions of the child's
experience, understand the parent's reasons for placing the child in a competitive sport organization, and
determine if the youth participate in additional sports currently or previously. We developed the items on the
survey both inductively and deductively. First, we considered our previous experiences interacting with
athletes and parents as coaches, athletic trainers, and parents. Items were created deductively from research-
based descriptions of youth sports experiences (Farrey, 2010; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick, & LaBella,
2012; Malina, 2010; Ward, Hodges, Starkes, & Williams, 2007).

Demographic items were included in the instrument to better understand the youth who were indirectly
assessed as well as for their contribution to analyzing group differences in the data. Prior to collecting data,
items were reviewed by professionals with a background in exercise and sport science. Their feedback was
used to refine the wording of items and instructions as appropriate.

The items on the YCCS were organized into six sections: perception of child's experience (15), reasons for
child's participation (15), report of injuries sustained by child (4), participation in other sports (9),
demographics of child (5), and time and financial commitments to club (6). In total, 54 items were included in
the complete instrument; however, not all respondents were required to complete the entire instrument. For
example, participants could indicate their child never participated in other sports; as a result, they could skip
all items exploring the type of sport or reasons for discontinuing participation.

Items examining the perceptions of the club soccer experience included positively worded statements such
as My child likes his/her coach and My child's overall fitness level has improved as a result of participating in
club soccer. Negatively worded items included My child's school work has suffered as a result of participating
in club soccer and The time commitment is difficult. The reasons for participation were identified through
items such as My child wants to play on the club team and I want my child to improve his/her soccer skills.
Each of these items were measured according to a Likert-type scale ranging from 1, strongly disagree, to 6,
strongly agree. Cronbach's coefficient alpha for the 30 items exploring perceptions and reasons for
participation was estimated at .72.

Procedures

After securing Institutional Review Board approval, we collected contact information for directors of coaching
or presidents for each of the 204 soccer clubs who entered teams in the under-8 (U8) through under-12 (U12)
age divisions of Cal South's 2014 State Cup. We gathered the information from their respective websites and
sent an invitation to participate via email to 143 club representatives. We sent reminder messages one week
as well as one month after the initial invitation. Sixty-one clubs were not contacted because their websites did
not provide a direct email address or a merger with another club was in process.

Through the invitation, we asked the club representative to forward the invitation with a link to an electronic
survey (surveymonkey.com) to parents of children who participated in U12 or younger teams during the 2013-
2014 season. We received 59 complete survey responses.

Results
Each of the 59 surveys represented information about a child participating in a competitive club soccer
organization. The children participated on teams ranging from U8 to U12, and the children began playing
competitive club soccer between the ages of 3 and 11 years. See Table I for additional demographic
information.

Our first step in data analysis was calculating the mean scores for each of the perception and reasons for
participation items (see Table 2). Next, we explored correlations between items on the survey. The strongest
relationship was between I want my child to learn leadership skills and I want my child to learn responsibility,
r(59) = .818, p < .001. Additional relationships with connections greater than .70 included I want my child to
learn how to be a member of a team and I want my child to learn leadership skills (.795, p < .001 ), I want my
child to have scholarship opportunities for college and I want my child to have the opportunity to play soccer
professionally (.710, p < .001 ), I want my child to learn responsibility and I want my child to learn how to be a
member of a team (.707, p < .001 ), and My child likes his/her coach and My child looks forward to games
(.702, p < .001 ). The strongest negative relationship between variables was between My child's school work
has suffered as a result of participating in club soccer and At what age did your child begin participating in
competitive club soccer, r(59) = -.361 ,p = .005. This relationship suggests that the children who began
participating in competitive club soccer at earlier ages may not have performed as well in school.

Finally, we explored group differences. There were no significant gender differences in perceptions or reasons
for participation. However, when we split the data according to gender, we noticed that the girls tend to spend
more days per week and more hours per week in soccer. We also discovered noticeable changes in the
correlations in the split data file. Among the boys, the strongest positive relationship was between My child
likes his/her coach and My child looks forward to practice, r(22) = .675, p = .001. A similar, yet not as strong,
relationship was identified among the girls, r(37) = .546, p < .001. Instead, the girls had a stronger relationship
between My child likes his/her coach and My child looks forward to games (.743, p < .001) than the boys
(.524, p = .012).

A strong positive relationship was noted among the girls between My child enjoys playing soccer and My
child plays soccer because he/she enjoys the sport (.743, p < .001); however, these items were not
significantly correlated among the boys. Likewise, the responses for the girls suggested strong associations
between I want my child to learn leadership skills and I want my child to learn time management skills (.913, p
< .001 ), I want my child to learn how to be a member of a team and I want my child to learn responsibility
(.855, p < .001 ), and I want my child to learn how to be a member of a team and 1 want my child to learn time
management skills (.749, p < .001); however, there were no significant relationships in the data for the boys.

Among the boys, the strongest negative relationship was between My child is tired after training and My child
looks forward to practice (-.661, p = .001); however, My child is tired after training also is negatively correlated
to My child's overall fitness level has improved as a result of participating in club soccer (-.453, p < .05) and I
want my child to have the opportunity to play soccer professionally (-.444, p < .05).

Similar negative correlations exist among both the boys and the girls between items paired with Our family
enjoys soccer. The strongest negative relationship for the boys is with Our family has made sacrifices for my
child to play club soccer (-.439, p < .04), and the strongest negatively associated item for the girls is Our
family skips other activities (church, school events, birthday parties) to attend club soccer events (-.454, p =
.005). The data for the girls shows no significant relationship between Our family enjoys soccer and Our
family enjoys attending club soccer events', however, there is a positive relationship for the boys (.516,/?=
.014).

When we grouped the data according to whether the child participates in another sport, those who played
another sport more strongly agreed with the statement Our community/ school team is not
competitive/challenging enough for my child (M = 4.586, SD = 1.570) than those whose child only played
soccer (M = 3.700, SD = 1.643, p = .039). Additionally, the girls who only play soccer were significantly more
likely to participate in private training for soccer (A-/ =4.182, SD = 1.651, p < .01) than those who played
additional sports (M = 2.333, SD = 1.952).

Although there were not enough respondents from each of the start age categories to compare all
possibilities, differences were evident when the groups were collapsed to Early Start, or starting competitive
club soccer at age 7 or younger, and Late Start, or starting at 8 years of age or older. Parents reported a
significantly higher agreement with the statement My child's soccer skills have improved as a result of
participating in club soccer in the Early Start group (M = 5.884, SD = .431 ) than those in the Late Start group
(M = 5.606, SD = .496, p = .027). No significant differences were reported in the reasons for participating
based on start age group.

Similarly, significant differences were identified in perceptions and reasons for playing when years played was
divided into 2 or fewer years and 3 or more years. The parents of children who played 2 or fewer years
reported significantly less agreement with My child enjoys playing soccer (M = 5.621, SD = .493, p = .030), Our
family has made sacrifices for my child to play club soccer (M = 4.069, SD = 1.307, p = .029), and Our family
skips other activities (church, school, events, birthday parties) to attend dub soccer events (M = 3.965, SD =
1.451, p = .041) than those whose children have played 3 or more years (M= 5.866, SD = .346; M = 4.766, SD =
1.073; M = 4.700, SD = 1.236). A significant difference was evident in the level of agreement with the item Our
family enjoys soccer between those whose children played 2 or fewer years (M= 5.58, SD = .568) and those
whose children have played 3 or more years (M = 5.20, SD = .714, p = .026).

Discussion

Researchers have discussed the role of the parent in youth sports and many have speculated reasons for
early youth sports participation or specialization (Butcher, Lindner, & Johns, 2002; Coakley, 1992; DeFresse &
Smith, 2013; DiFiori, 2010). Our purpose was to gather data from parents whose children participate in
competitive club soccer organizations to explore the parents' reasons for placing the child in the organization
as well as the parents' perceptions of the child's and family's experiences.

Several logical correlations were identified between items exploring reasons related to general life skills such
as leadership, responsibility, time management, and team membership. However, the relationships were
strongest and only significant among the girls. The results from the parents of the boys did not suggest the
same associations, yet there was not a significant difference between the genders on any of these items
individually. Rather, the mean scores were slightly higher for the boys.

A common perception according to research, popular media, and commentaries is that parents place their
children in competitive sports to provide an opportunity for collegiate scholarships and professional sport
contracts (DiFiori, 2010; Malina, 2010). We noted a positive correlation between I want my child to have
scholarship opportunities for college and 1 want my child to have the opportunity to play soccer
professionally (r (59) = .710, p < .001 ) and a negative correlation between / want my child to have the
opportunity to play soccer professionally and My child is tired after training among the boys (r (22) = -.444, p <
.05). In addition, being tired after training is negatively related to My child's overall fitness level has improved
as a result.of participating in club soccer (-.453, p < .05). In total, these relationships suggest that parents
who want their boys to have professional soccer opportunities perceive their sons as less tired after training
and more physically fit. Fortunately, the parents are sensing greater skill improvement among their children,
particularly those who started at an early age.

Intrinsic motivation to participate in soccer, rather than pressure from parents, is crucial (Butcher, Lindner, &
Johns, 2002; DeFresse & Smith, 2013; Ward, Hodges, Starkes, & Williams, 2007). According to our data, the
responses from parents of girls indicated a strong relationship between the perceived enjoyment by the child
as a reason for participating, but the data from parents of boys did not identify the same relationship. Of all
possible reasons for participating listed in the survey, the girls had highest mean scores for My child plays
soccer because he/she enjoys the sport and I want my child to exercise regularly (M = 5.6486, SD = .538) as
well as I want my child to improve his/her soccer skills (M = 5.5676, SD = .647) and My child wants to play on
the club team (M = 5.5676, SD = .603). For the boys, the reasons with the highest scores were / want my child
to exercise regularly (M = 5.6364, SD = .658) as well as / want my child to improve his/her soccer skills and
My child plays soccer because he/she enjoys the sport (M = 5.909, SD = .503). Parents of neither gender rated
scholarships or professional contracts as their main reasons for participation; however, the reasons for the
girls include more items that consider both the enjoyment and desires of the child. These results contribute to
the complex discussion of gender-stereotyped beliefs discussed by Fredericks and Eccles' (2005). In their
study, the noted that parents provided greater support for boys participating in sports than girls. More
recently, Peter (2011) observed Little League fathers drawing attention to their sons' errors through verbal and
non-verbal communication, but daughters were not treated in the same manner. As women's sports continue
to grow, more research is necessary to understand the gender differences (Fredericks & Eccles, 2005).

Some negative aspects of participating in a competitive soccer club were identified in our data. Overall, the
earlier the girls began participating, the more likely their school work suffers. Among boys, there is a
significant difference in the perceived negative influence on school work based on years played; those whose
son played fewer years reported greater (M = 1.800, SD = .447) school difficulties than those who played more
years (M= 1.143, SD = .378, p = .020). Our project did not explore other extracurricular activities beyond
sports; therefore, other responsibilities could distract the child from time spent on school work.

In a national survey of 10th graders (Fredericks, 2012) participation in extracurricular activities, it was noted
that an excessive breadth, as measured by the number, and intensity, as measured by the hours, can
negatively affect academic performance indicators. Frederick reported that the academic performance
followed a curvilinear path that peaked at 14 hours of involvement and declined afterwards; however, the
majority of respondents (78%) in our study reported that their child spends 3-6 hours in soccer training per
week. These results do not include additional time spent in games which varies weekly. Even so, the relatively
low mean scores in our study suggest overall disagreement with the notion that participation has led to poor
school performance.
The data from parents of both genders also draw a connection between the family not enjoying soccer and
making sacrifices as well as skipping other events. There remains a positive relationship between the boys'
families enjoying soccer and enjoying attending soccer events; however, the girls' families are not having the
same experience. It should be noted, though, that the girls spent more days and hours at practice and were
more likely to participate in private training if soccer was their only sport. This additional time commitment
may be associated with the growing disdain toward soccer.

Finally, those whose children played longer have less enjoyment as a family overall, but the child enjoys
soccer more so than children who have played fewer years. This lower level of family enjoyment is paired with
greater perceptions of sacrifices made and other events skipped. If burnout is a concern for early
participation (Coakley, 1992; Jayanthi, Pinkham, Dugas, Patrick, & LaBella, 2012; Smith, 1986), then our data
suggests that the family may be more at risk for burnout than the child because the child continues to enjoy
the sport.

Limitations and Future Research

We chose to survey the parents to understand the reasons they place their child in a competitive sport
environment. In addition, we wanted to explore the parent's perceptions of the child's experience. We realize
the parent's perception may differ from the child's experience (Kanters, Boccaro, & Casper, 2008), and we
cannot claim that the parent's perception is the child's reality. Ideally, research should explore the experience
youth in competitive sports from multiple perspectives including child athletes, parents, siblings, and
coaches. Future projects collecting data from parents or guardians should gather more demographic
information about the parents and the family. Our data was limited to descriptive information about the
children; therefore, we could not explore the influence of variables related to the responding parent's gender,
age, or number of children.

The number of responses was limited by the participation of the club contact person. Some contacts
responded to the invitation confirming that the invitation was forwarded, yet email accounts for other
contacts were no longer in use. Finally, it is safe to assume that not all clubs distributed the invitation to the
survey research because one member of our research team did not receive the invitation from her child's
soccer club. Future research projects should identify a method to collect contact information for families with
children on rosters prior to the start of the fall league season. During the spring or summer of the following
year, direct invitations should be sent to the families. Contacting the families of children who were on rosters
prior to the start of the fall season could also increase the participation of parents whose children left a club,
and the data collected could include more variation in experiences. Our data only represents children who
remained with a club at the conclusion of the club year, and we only captured the experience of the younger
participants. As our longitudinal data collection progresses, we hope to provide a clearer understanding of the
changing experiences.

In addition to exploring group differences, we would have liked to utilize principal components analysis to
identify underlying factors which explain the parents' reasons for placing their children in competitive club
soccer. Our sample size of 59 respondents was not adequate for providing valid interpretation using principal
components analysis (Comrey & Lee, 1992). Using the small dataset, three possible factors emerged. Several
items clustered related to the development of life skills such as / want my child to learn responsibility and /
want my child to learn leadership skills. A second group of items related to an interest in soccer contained
items such as / want my child to have scholarship opportunities for college and / want my child to improve
his/her soccer skills. A third factor focused on child-specific rationale for participation included My child
play's soccer because he/she enjoys the sport and My child wants to play on the dub team. Further research
with a larger sample is necessary to confirm or expand upon these factors identified by our preliminary
exploration.

Finally, one electronic survey link was sent to all clubs, and we did not request a club name. Therefore, we do
not know which clubs are represented, underrepresented, or overrepresented. Since club philosophies vary,
the experiences of the youth and their families likely also vary across clubs.

The results of our study support our intentions to continue gathering data from a similar population for a
longitudinal project. In addition, many respondents provided contact information to participate in annual
follow-up surveys. In our current study, we identified differences in perceived experiences or reasons for
participation based on gender, the number of years played, participation in additional sports, and the age at
which the child began participating in competitive club soccer. Through a multi-year project, we can expand
the age groups to capture more diversity in the years of participation and the start age for competitive sports.
By following up with previous respondents, we may better understand reasons for choosing to specialize or
withdraw from a sport. Ultimately, continual exploration and refinement of the data collected can aide in
understanding the competitive soccer experience for youth and their families.

References
References

Biber, R., & Gregory, A. (2010). Overuse injuries in youth sports: Is there such a thing as too much sports?
Pediatric Annals, 59(5), 286-292.

Butcher, J., Lindner, K. J., & Johns, D. P. (2002). Withdrawal from competitive youth sport: A retrospective ten-
year study. Journal of Sport Behavior, 25(2), 145-163.

Cassas, K. J., & Cassettari-Wayhs, A. (2006). Childhood and adolescent sports-related overuse injuries.
American Family Physician, 73, 1014-1022.

Coakley, J. (1992). Burnout among adolescent athletes: A personal failure or social problem? Sociology of
Sport Journal, 9, 271-285.

Cote, J., Lidor, R., & Hackfort, D. (2009). ISSP position stand: To sample or to specialize? Seven postulates
about youth sport activities that lead to continued participation and elite performance. International Journal
of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1), 7-17.

Cuff, S., Loud, K., & O'Riordan, M. A. (2010). Overuse injuries in high school athletes. Clinical Pediatrics, 49(8),
731-736.

DeFresse, J. D. & Smith, A. L. (2013). Teammate social support, burnout, and self-determined motivation in
collegiate athletes. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 14, 258-265.
DiFiori, J. P. (2010). Evaluation of overuse injuries in children and adolescents. Current Sports Medicine
Reports, 9(6), 372-378.

Farrey, T. (2010). Competitive youth sports in society: What President Obama needs to know to get-and keep-
kids moving. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 9(6), 359-363.

Ford, P. R., Ward, R, Hodges, N. J., & Williams, A. M. (2009). The role of deliberate practice and play in career
progression in sport: The early engagement hypothesis. High Ability Studies, 20(1), 65-75.

Ford, P. R., & Williams, M. (2012). The developmental activities engaged in by elite youth soccer players who
progressed to professional status compared to those who did not. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 13, 349-
352.

Fredricks, J. A. (2012). Extracurricular participation and academic outcomes: Testing the over-scheduling
hypothesis. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 41, 295-306.

Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2005). Family socialization, gender, and sport motivation and involvement.
Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 27, 3-31.

Gould, D., & Carson, S. (2004). Fun and games: Myths surrounding the role of youth sports in developing
Olympic champions. Youth Studies Australia, 23(1), 19Jayanthi,

N., Pinkham, C., Dugas, L., Patrick, B., & LaBella, C. (2012). Sports specialization in young athletes: Evidence-
based recommendations. Sports Health: A Multidisciplanary Approach, 5(3), 251-257.

Kanters, M. A., Boccaro, J. & Casper, J. (2008). Supported or pressured? An examination of agreement among
parents and children on parent's role in youth sports. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(1), 64-80.

Malina, R. M. (2010). Early sport specialization: Roots, effectiveness, and risks. Current Sports Medicine
Reports, 9(6), 364-371.

Peter, N. E. (2011 Supp). Confessions of a baseball mom: The impact of youth sports on parents' feelings and
behaviors. New Directions for Youth Development, 2011, 123-171.

Smith, R. E. (1986). Toward a cognitive-effect model of athletic burnout. Journal of Sport Psychology, 5(1), 36-
50.

Ward, R, Hodges, N. J., Starkes, J. L., & Williams, A. M. (2007). The road to excellence: Deliberate practice and
the development of expertise. High Ability Studies, 18(2), 119153.

AuthorAffiliation
Jennifer Livingston, Christopher Schmidt

and

Sharon Lehman
Azusa Pacific University

AuthorAffiliation
Address Correspondence to: Jennifer Livingston, PhD., Dept. of Exercise and Sport Science, Azusa Pacific
University, PO Box 7000, Azusa, CA 91702. Email:jlivingston@apu. edu

Word count: 5146

Copyright Journal of Sport Behavior Sep 2016

More like this n

Search ProQuest... ;

' Cite 9 Email P Save

Add to Selected items

Documents with shared references (995)

Related items

Search with indexing terms

Subject
Skills
Families & family life
Children & youth
Age
Studies
Clubs
Recreation
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Specialization
Parents & parenting
Play
 Participation
Soccer

Search

Ebook Central e-books

1. Offside : Soccer and American Exceptionalism

2. Coaching Children in Sport : Principles and Practice

3. Playing to Win : Raising Children in a Competitive Culture

Ask Us! (chat, phone, email, etc.)

Licensed access to this resource courtesy of UNB Libraries.

Contact Us Terms and Conditions Accessibility Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Credits

Copyright © 2017 ProQuest LLC.