Best Practice for Youth Sport (EPUB)

Despite the obvious psychological and physical advantages of youth sports participation, the growing specialization and professionalization of youth sports, mostly by coaches and parents, is altering youth sport culture and undermining the ideal motto: “It’s all about the kids.”

The book Best Practice for Youth Sport will help readers understand a variety of youth sport-related issues. This research-based text is presented in a practical manner, with examples from current events that foster readers’ interest and class discussion. The content is based on the principle of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), which can be defined as engaging in decisions, behaviors, and policies that meet the physical, psychological, and social needs of children and youth based on their ages and maturational levels. This groundbreaking resource covers a breadth of topics, including bone development, burnout, gender and racial stereotypes, injuries, motor behavior, and parental pressures. The 16 chapters in Best Practice for Youth Sport, authored by Robin S. Vealey and Melissa A. Chase, are organized into four sections. Readers are given the essential information and context regarding the origins, development, and structure of young sport in Part I, young Sport Fundamentals. The foundation for comprehending how and why youth sport differs from adult sport is Part II, Maturation and Readiness for Youth Sport Participants. This section explains the significance of determining when young people are prepared to learn and compete. The appropriateness of physical and psychological intensity at different developmental stages as well as the possible consequences of overtraining, overspecialization, overstress, and overuse are examined in Part III, Intensity of Participation in Youth Sport.

Part IV, Social Considerations in Youth Sport, which wraps up the material, looks at how parents and coaches may foster a positive social environment in youth sports so that kids can get the most out of them.

The textbook is supplemented with instructor ancillaries, which include a test package, image bank, and instructor guide that includes a syllabus, extra study questions and learning activities, advice on teaching challenging concepts, and additional readings and resources, in addition to the 14 appendices, activities, glossaries, study questions, and other resources found in Best Practice for Youth Sport. These specialized resources guarantee that teachers will have interesting content prepared for every class session.

Through the use of case studies, exercises, anecdotes, and useful tactics, Best Practice for Youth Sport engages readers and imparts understanding of sport science related to youth sport. Equipped with this text’s knowledge, students, coaches, parents, administrators, and others will be able to take an active role in bringing about social change by designing and improving youth sport programs to cater to the individual developmental needs of kids. This will make the programs more athlete-centered than adult-centered, ensuring that the kids are the main focus.