The Benefits of Sampling Sports During Childhood

Sampling may promote prolonged engagement in sport by limiting physical injuries (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005). Overtraining injuries are a concern for young athletes who specialize in one sport and engage in high volumes of deliberate practice (Hollander, Meyers, & Leunes, 1995; Law, Côté, & Ericsson, 2007). For instance, young gymnasts who practice for over 16 hours a week have been shown to have higher incidences of back injuries (Goldstein, Berger, Windier, & Jackson, 1991). A sampling approach in child-controlled play (e.g. deliberate play) rather than highly adult-controlled practice (e.g. deliberate practice) has been proposed as a strategy to limit overuse and other sport-related injuries (Micheli, Glassman, & Klein, 2000). In summary, sampling may protect against sport attrition by limiting sport related injuries and allowing children to have early experiences in sport that are enjoyable. Psychosocial Benefits of Sampling Only a small percentage of children who participate in school sports ever become elite athletes. Therefore, the psychosocial outcomes of sport participation are particularly important to consider. Recent studies with youth between the ages of 11 to 17 have found that those who are involved in a variety of extracurricular activities (e.g. sports, volunteer, arts) score more favourably on outcome measures such as Grade Point Average (GPA; Fredricks & Eccles, 2006a) and positive peer relationships (Fredricks & Eccles, 2006b) than youth who participate in fewer activities. These patterns are thought to exist due to each extracurricular activity bringing its own distinct pattern of socialization experiences that reinforce certain behaviours and/or teach various skills (Fredricks & Eccles, 2006b; Rose-Krasnor, Bussen, Willoughby, & Chambers, 2006). This contention is corroborated by studies of children and youths' experiences in extracurricular activities indicating that youth have unique experiences in each activity that contribute to their development (Hansen, Larson, & Dworkin, 2003; Larson, Hansen, & Moneta, 2006). This has led Wilkes and Côté (2007) to propose that children who sample different activities (through their own choice or by virtue of parental direction), have a greater chance of developing the following five developmental outcomes compared to children who specialize in one activity: 1) life skills, 2) prosocial behaviour, 3) healthy identity, 4) diverse peer groups and 5) social capital.

UM Men's Cross Country Team. 1992

Back Row: Ron Warhurst, Jim Finlayson, Matt Joseph, Shawn Mackay, Carlos Paradelo, Jason Colvin, Ian Forsyth, Sean Sweat, Chris Childs, Theo Molla, volunteer coach Dan Heikkinen

Front Row: Mark Kwiatkowski, Jonathan Aubuchon, Brett Smith, Jay Schemanske, Matt Smith, Scott MacDonald, Kristopher Eggle

University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team, 2003

Back Row:: academic advisor Angie Heath, head coach Tommy Amaker, director of basketball operations Kirsten Green, asst. coach Billy Schmidt, asst. coach Charles E. Ramsey, Lester Abram, Chuck Bailey, J.C. Mathis, Graham Brown, Chris Hunter, Amadou Ba, Colin Dill, Bernard Robinson Jr., admin. asst. Andy Moore, strength coach Jim Plocki, asst. coach Chuck Swenson, equip. mngr. Bob Bland.

Front Row: trainer Eric Broekhuizen, sr. mngr. Michael Oh, Sherrod Harrell, Dommanic Ingerson, Gavin Groninger, LaVell Blanchard, Rotolu Adebiyi, Daniel Horton, Avery Queen, sr. mngr. Jesse Grasty, sr. mngr. Lucien St. Gerard.

University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team, 2003

Back Row: Lester Abram, Chuck Bailey, J.C. Mathis, Graham Brown, Chris Hunter, Amadou Ba, Colin Dill, Bernard Robinson Jr.

Front Row: Sherrod Harrell, Dommanic Ingerson, Gavin Groninger, LaVell Blanchard, Rotolu Adebiyi, Daniel Horton, Avery Queen.

University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team, 2004

Back Row: coach Tommy Amaker, director of basketball operations Kirsten Green, asst. coach Chuck Swenson, asst. coach Charles E. Ramsey, Lester Abram, Brent Petway, Amadou Ba, Chris Hunter, Courtney Sims, Graham Brown, John Andrews, asst. coach Andrew Moore, strength coach Jim Plocki, academic advisor Support Angie Heath, equip. mngr. Bob Bland.

Front Row: trainer Eric Broekhuizen, mngr. Michael Oh, Sherrod Harrell, Daniel Horton, Colin Dill, Bernard Robinson Jr., J.C. Mathis, Dion Harris, Dani Wohl, Manager Matt Duprey, admin. asst. Lucien St. Gerard.

University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team, 2004

Back Row: Lester Abram, Brent Petway, Amadou Ba, Chris Hunter, Courtney Sims, Graham Brown, and John Andrews.

Front Row: Sherrod Harrell, Daniel Horton, Colin Dill, Bernard Robinson Jr., J.C. Mathis, Dion Harris, and Dani Wohl.

University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team, 2006

Back Row (standing): head coach Tommy Amaker, asst. coach Chuck Swenson, asst. coach Mike Jackson, director of basketball operations Kirsten Green, asst. coach Andrew Moore, Kendric Price, Phillip DeVries, Amadou Ba, Chris Hunter, Courtney Sims, Graham Brown, Brent Petway and Ron Coleman, admin. asst. Dave Pilipovich, staff asst. Matt Duprey, equip. mngr. Bob Bland, trainer John DoRosario, strength coach Jim Plocki

Front Row: mngr. Jeff Rapp, Jerret Smith, Dion Harris, Sherrod Harrell, Daniel Horton, Lester Abram, Alex Brzozowicz, Jevohn Shepherd, Hayes Grooms, mngr. Nathan Zandt

University of Michigan Men's Basketball Team, 2006

Back Row: Kendric Price, Phillip DeVries, Amadou Ba, Chris Hunter, Courtney Sims, Graham Brown, Brent Petway and Ron Coleman

Front Row: Jerret Smith, Dion Harris, Sherrod Harrell, Daniel Horton, Lester Abram, Alex Brzozowicz, Jevohn Shepherd, Hayes Grooms

UM Men's Swimming Team, 1996

Front Row: Chris Rumley, Tom Almeida, Shuichi Matsumoto, Raymond Papa, Al Fleming, Brett Wilmot.

Second Row: diving coach Dick Kimball, Nathan Shepard, David Stephens, Jeff Flermoen, Dawson Hughes, Andy Potts, Joseph Janik, asst. coach Alex Braunfeld.

Third Row: head coach Jon Urbanchek, Ethan Toby Booker, Chris Laskowski, John Reich, Jan Wenzel, Royce Sharp, Joe Palmer.

Back Row: Steven Williams, Derya Buyukuncu, Owen von Richter, Tom Malchow, Tom Dolan, John Piersma, volunteer asst. coach Shigeo Ogata.

University of Michigan Men's Tennis Team, 2002

Front Row (Left to right): assistant coach Dan Goldberg, Chris Shaya, Ben Cox, Henry Beam, Greg Novak, Chris Rolf, head coach Mark Mees.

Back Row: David Anving, Josef Fischer, Anthony Jackson, Matt Lockin, Brett Baudinet, Nrmny Gossain, volunteer coach Jakub Teply, student manager Robert Riley.

Techniques for needs assessment : state experiences and suggested approaches in response to Title XX of the Social security act /

Companion vol. to the author's State experiences in social services planning.

Molybdenum; its ores and their concentration, with a discussion of markets, prices, and uses,

"Tabulation of molybdenite and of wulfenite occurrences in the United States": p. 86-90.

Import policies and programs of the War Production Board and predecessor agencies, May 1940 to November 1945 /

"May 1, 1947."

Red-lead and how to use it in paint /

One plate consists of mounted colored samples with descriptive letterpress.

Hydrologic interrelations of water and soils.

Mode of access: Internet.