Table of Contents
Keep 'Em Playing: Strategies for Building Positive Sport Experiences
– Karen Collins & Robert Barcelona
Recent reports on youth sport participation continue to show alarming trends. Participation rates have been declining, particularly among children ages six to 12 years old. According to the Aspen Institute’s Project Play (2016) initiative, fewer young people are participating in organized team sports today than they were in 2008. Declining participation rates have been recorded from 2008 to 2015 in a diverse array of team sports, including baseball, basketball, soccer, track and field and tackle football (Aspen Institute Project Play, 2016). Other studies have shown that up to or more than 30% of youth drop out of sports each year (Balish, McLaren, Rainham, & Blanchard, 2014), with the dropout process starting at age nine and accelerating after age 11 (Gardner, Vella, & Magee, 2016).
Articles
Sexualization of Prepubescent Girls in Dance Competition: Innocent Fun or “Sexploitation”?
– Angela Russell, George Schaefer & Erin Reilly
Practitioners have the responsibility to create an environment that promotes the well-being and healthy psychological development of their young dancers. Research supports that sexualized dance routines for pre-pubescent girls are age-inappropriate and potentially harmful, and should therefore not be included in children’s dance performances.
Keep ‘Em Playing: Strategies for Building Positive Sport Experiences
– Karen Collins & Robert Barcelona
The purpose of this article is to provide a set of strategies designed to create positive sport experiences. These strategies can be implemented by administrators, parents and coaches and are rooted in a philosophy of youth sport that focuses on athlete development and on creating a positive sport experience by enhancing sport enjoyment, developing “positive push,” and cultivating relationships.
Coaching and Technology: Live Team Monitoring to Improve Training and Safety
– Ryan T. Conners, Paul N. Whitehead, Tyler S. Shimizu & Jonathan D. Bailey
This article highlights how the Polar Team Pro system can be used for smart coaching, player development, and safety monitoring of athletes, and how it can be a cost-effective tool for coaches to evaluate the effects of their coaching strategies and techniques through measurable health and fitness outcomes.
The Game-Based Approach as a Toolkit of Teaching Styles
– Brendan SueSee & Shane Pill
This article analyzes the range of teaching styles that are observable when using a game-based teaching approach, and demonstrates that it is possible for three types of discovery learning to take place when using a game-based approach.
“Grip & Drop” Physical Education to Promote Independent Participation for Children with Low-Incidence Disabilities
– Francis Kozub & Lily Jagodzinski
This article provides a useful activity for adapted physical educators to use when programming for students with low-incidence disabilities. The goal of the activity is to promote movement that is both fun and builds skills needed for independence.
Departments
THEORY INTO PRACTICE
Recess Reboot: Effective Planning and Implementation Strategies for Classroom Teachers
– Jennifer Heidorn & Brent Heidorn
This article provides guidance for physical education teachers and elementary classroom teachers for scheduling and managing recess to ensure maximal use of time and enhance enjoyment and benefits for students.
ADVOCACY IN ACTION
Applying Health and Physical Education Teacher Pedagogy in a Community Setting
– Michael S. Mucedola
The purpose of this article is to spotlight successful advocacy of traditional HPE teacher pedagogy in non-school settings and to provide implementation strategies to design college programs to meet the job demands in this field.
EDUCATOR’S CORNER
Physical Activity Stations: Opportunities for Teachers and Students during the School Day
– Patrick C. Herbert & Elizabeth A. Whitney
Physical activity stations are a simple approach to engage in physical activity breaks during the elementary school day. This article describes the procedures involved in creating physical activity stations that can be implemented in elementary schools nationwide.
COACH'S CORNER
Managing Transitions and Set-up
– Philip Liversedge & Luciana Braga
The purpose of this article is to provide coaches with insight on how to manage the physical environment of sport practices efficiently (saving time) and effectively (contributing to the practice goals).