Presenter Information
Justin S. DiSanti, Ph.D. Department of Health, Exercise, & Applied Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
disantij1@duq.edu
Adelaide Stark, Department of Health, Exercise, & Applied Sciences,Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
starka2@duq.edu
Abstract
In this study, former youth sport participants were grouped by their developmental sport pathways (i.e., if they specialized and when they specialized over the course of their participation) to identify emerging themes regarding why they chose their respective pathway, as well as how this impacted their sport experience. 948 participants completed a retrospective survey measure detailing their sport histories. Based on their specialization trajectory across their sport involvement (i.e., during elementary school, middle school, and high school) participants were sorted into three participation pathways – Early Specialization, Late Specialization, or Continued Multi-sport. Participants responded to open-ended questions about their decision-making process for selecting specialized or multisport participation across stages of their pathways. Conventional content analysis of these open-ended responses generated three higher-order themes related to athletes’ selections of their respective participation pathways: ability, affect, and agency. Moreover, inter-group analysis of the manifestation of these three higher-order themes illuminated nuanced similarities and differences between pathway groups, while also highlighting the lack of inherent advantage or disadvantage of any pathway in facilitating a perceived positive sport experience. This exploratory study provided critical insight regarding key factors in the decision-making process of athletes’ sport pathway trajectories, as well as a clearer understanding of how these factors may differentiate positive and negative sport experiences.
School
Rangos School of Health Sciences
Advisor
Justin DiSanti Ph.D.
Submission Type
Paper
The "3 A's" of Sport Specialization: Emerging Themes to Characterize Athletes' Sport Participation Pathway Decisions
In this study, former youth sport participants were grouped by their developmental sport pathways (i.e., if they specialized and when they specialized over the course of their participation) to identify emerging themes regarding why they chose their respective pathway, as well as how this impacted their sport experience. 948 participants completed a retrospective survey measure detailing their sport histories. Based on their specialization trajectory across their sport involvement (i.e., during elementary school, middle school, and high school) participants were sorted into three participation pathways – Early Specialization, Late Specialization, or Continued Multi-sport. Participants responded to open-ended questions about their decision-making process for selecting specialized or multisport participation across stages of their pathways. Conventional content analysis of these open-ended responses generated three higher-order themes related to athletes’ selections of their respective participation pathways: ability, affect, and agency. Moreover, inter-group analysis of the manifestation of these three higher-order themes illuminated nuanced similarities and differences between pathway groups, while also highlighting the lack of inherent advantage or disadvantage of any pathway in facilitating a perceived positive sport experience. This exploratory study provided critical insight regarding key factors in the decision-making process of athletes’ sport pathway trajectories, as well as a clearer understanding of how these factors may differentiate positive and negative sport experiences.