Record Details
The Youth Sports Volunteer Coach Experience: Influencing Children's Physical Activity Levels in Youth Sports
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | The Youth Sports Volunteer Coach Experience: Influencing Children's Physical Activity Levels in Youth Sports |
| Names |
Cohen, Alysia J.
(creator) Wegis, Heidi (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 2015-06-09 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 2015 |
| Abstract | The inclusion of sport participation during childhood reaches beyond the boundaries of childhood backyards and open streets. For many, youth sports have been considered a right of passage to adolescence with organized youth sports programs being encased in communities for a handful of decades. Within that time, a plethora of research has examined various psychological and social outcomes to participation, including perceived enjoyment of sport participation, self-confidence, and social relationships. In addition, the role and contribution of the coach to such outcomes have been well studied suggesting children of trained coaches are more likely to have higher levels of perceived enjoyment of sport participation, self-confidence, and social skills. Despite the breadth of research in the field, much of the knowledge of physical activity has stemmed from the assumption that higher levels of such psychosocial attributes produce higher levels of participation and daily physical activity via sport play. Unfortunately, few studies have gone so far as to measure physical activity levels of children participating in youth sports. The purpose of this study was to explore physical activity levels and contextual factors of physical activity among children participating in organized youth sport practices, and influence of coaching experience and coaching efficacy on levels of physical activity. Physical activity levels were obtained via Actigraph accelerometer and the OSRAC:YS direct observation system, with the latter also used to collect information on the contextual factors of physical activity during youth sport practices. Adult volunteer coaches completed coaching experience and coaching efficacy questionnaires. Results of the study suggest approximately one-third of practice time is spent in recommended levels of physical activity and 40% in sedentary activity. Practice context and coach behavior were shown to be significantly associated with MVPA. Across all teams, coaches spent a significant proportion of practice time providing general instruction and management of players/activities, which were less likely to be associated with MVPA. Coaching efficacy was not significantly associated with children's MVPA. Lastly, end of the season coaching efficacy scores were significantly related to scores measured earlier in the season. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Activity |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/56127 |
