Despite the established physical, social, and emotional benefits of participating in youth sport, such outcomes are not guaranteed. Indeed, purposeful efforts must be made to ensure that sport offerings are age-appropriate, promote engagement and enjoyment, and involve quality social relationships (e.g., Côté et al., 2020). The current article…

The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program and National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development have forged a partnership with the goal of exploring the role youth sports can play in developing young people's social and emotional skills. With funding from the Susan Crown Exchange (SCE) and guidance from a strategic advisory…

The purpose of this article is to help coaches apply specific principles of psychology to the coaching process. More specifically, the work of Albert Bandura and his social cognitive theory form the basis for the article. This article begins with a brief overview of Bandura's social cognitive theory. It then examines four types of behaviors worthy…

A role model is a person or challenge that inspires an individual to go beyond what is expected of him or her and to reach a specific goal. Role models can exemplify motivation, passion, and a genuine love of their life's work. All students need role models, and Paralympic sport athletes can be just that, especially for students with disabilities.…

The pressure to ensure that all children learn to read and become lifelong readers has never been as strong at it is now. For this to become a reality for all students, including those that are not motivated to read, teachers must use any and all appropriate strategies. With this in mind, literacy teachers should enlist assistance from other…

Civility is a polite or courteous act, expression, or standard of conduct, including the display of respect and tolerance to everyone. Teaching and modeling civility in classes and with sport teams is essential so students and athletes can learn the importance of and demonstrate civility in their interactions with others. Teachers and coaches…

There would appear to be an enduring belief that successful sportsmen and women can act as powerful motivational role models for young people, especially disaffected, disadvantaged or disengaged youth. In the UK, for example, this belief has been expressed recently in the development of programmes, such as changingLIVES, the Respect Athlete Mentor…

Athletes can be involved as role models and leaders--in collaboration with coaches and other staff--to enhance life skills and prevent substance use among their peers. "Drugs in Sport" is a peer education program involving collegiate athletes visiting middle schools to speak with school children. This article discusses the structure of the Drugs…

This article profiles teacher Leroy Silva (Laguna), 27, a.k.a. "Buster". Silva describes himself as an active guy who stays busy working out, playing basketball, softball, and more recently golf, soccer, and lacrosse. He teaches personal wellness and sports (not physical education), a job he began in 2006. Before that he was a trainer at…

It was "the unbelievable family atmosphere" that drew Chris Hill to Michigan State University's basketball program. And it has proven to be a good fit for the 6'3" Spartan guard. In his senior season, he has helped his team return to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament. In his first year, Hill became the team's second leading…

Historically, the absence of Asian-Pacific Islanders (APIs) from college sports has been due largely to the lack of role models in professional and amateur leagues. For years, coaches on the recruiting trail overlooked Asian athletes, often dismissing them as too small, too slow and too wrapped up in their studies. API parents, meanwhile, often…

Kick into Reading (KiR) aims to support literacy work among families and professionals such as teachers, librarians and other community workers by using male role models from football clubs to nurture an interest in reading and storytelling. The main planned outcomes are to deliver 18 KiR projects based at football clubs, bringing high-quality…

Proposes a model for improving the structure of enculturation such that young (and older) African Americans can experience broader access to routes of black social and economic mobility. The model is based on observation of enculturation in and around community-based sports clubs in New Zealand. Suggests that components of the club structure would…

This speech discusses the failure to educate America's athletes. The speech covered the extent of the national scandal of the exploitation of athletes as well as the work of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. The Center is the first university-based program to address the issue of the education of athletes with…

Before, a coach was considered as the gray-haired legend who packed the display cases with trophies or the soft-spoken father figure who always had time to listen. A coach may even be loved, or at least respected from a distance. When their teenagers take the plunge into high school sports, parents often expect the coach to be a surrogate parent…