Sampling multiple sports in childhood is associated with continued participation in sport, but little is known about whether sport sampling may be associated with youth character development, another outcome of widespread interest in the field. Furthermore, even less is known about how sport participation influences development. For example, sport…

People desire to have positive self-esteem. Research by Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette (2003) has demonstrated that late adolescents buttress their sense of self-worth through at least seven different means. Focusing primarily on two such contingencies (seeking to support self-esteem through virtuous behavior and through competitive…