Abstract
Research on youth sport within the sport coaching and physical education literature has tended to overlook the nature of experience and the meanings that sport holds in the lives of children and young people. This article makes a contribution toward redressing this imbalance by reporting on a close-focus case study on children's reasons for joining a Sydney soccer club and their reasons for staying in it. Employing an interpretive research approach the study inquired into the factors shaping the decisions by children aged 9 - 12 years to join the club and the aspects of their experiences of being in it that keep them in it from a socio-cultural perspective. The study confirms the importance of the family and the social dimensions of youth sport for making participation meaningful and enjoyable. The study identified the positive role that competition played in both shaping the participants' decisions to join the club and in making membership enjoyable enough to stay in it. The study also encourages consideration of the relationship between school sport and school-based physical education and club sport in any strategies developed for encouraging long-term participation in organised sport.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 23-27 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | ACHPER Healthy Lifestyles Journal |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |