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.

The Contribution of Structured Activity and Deliberate Play to the Development of Expert Perceptual and Decision-Making Skill

The developmental histories of 32 players in the Australian Football League (AFL), independently classified as either expert or less skilled in their perceptual and decision- making skills, were collected through a structured interview process and their year-on-year involvement in structured and deliberate play activities retrospectively determined. Despite being drawn from the same elite level of competition, the expert decision-makers differed from the less skilled in having accrued, during their developing years, more hours of experience in structured activities of all types, in structured activities in invasion-type sports, in invasion-type deliberate play, and in invasion activities from sports other than Australian football. Accumulated hours invested in invasion-type activities differentiated between the groups, suggesting that it is the amount of invasion-type activity that is experienced and not necessarily intent (skill development or fun) or specificity that facilitates the development of perceptual and decision-making expertise in this team sport.

Structured Sports and Physical Activities: Their Critical Role

Even though one recognizes the physical and psychological kindness of h more and more involvement of the children to the physical and sporty activities, these programs seem more and more inaccessible to some. This article underlines the importance school déprogrammes centered on structured physical and sporty activities. In the setting of a recent survey, one asked youngsters to 5th year to take in note all their activities (as diary calendar) during two days of consecutive week. L·s children that participated in structured physical and sporty activities before and after the hours class sembkient to pull a lot more phisir of their day that those that didn't participate in these activities. Besides, seuk the young that took to structured physical and sporty activities reached the rates recommended of daily physical activity. The article proposes to the school administrators, to the parents, to the children and to the collectivities various measures encouraging the adoption of additional programs centered on the physical and sporty activities in school environment.