The Developmental Experiences of Adolescent Females in Structured Basketball Programs

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether adolescent females had unique developmental experiences in different types of basketball programs. The Youth Experiences Survey 2.0 [YES] (Hansen & Larson, 2005) was used to measure the learning experiences of 14 and 15 year old females (n = 212) who were enrolled in a school, recreational, or competitive basketball program. Interviews with organization representatives were conducted to determine the structure of each basketball program (n= 16) from which participants were drawn. One-way ANOVAs and Bonferroni comparisons were used to compare YES 2.0 positive experience scale scores of participants in school, recreational and competitive basketball programs. Results revealed that females in recreational programs had significantly lower scores than those in competitive and school programs on numerous positive experiences scales. Mann-Whitney U tests found that those in school and competitive programs reported higher stress levels. Interview results indicate that four characteristics of competitive and school programs may contribute to participants in these programs reporting more growth experiences: 1) time commitment, 2) coaches’ training and background, 3) competition, and 4) volunteer opportunities.