Authors:Shea Brgoch, Chrysostomos Giannoulakis, Leeann Lower-Hoppe, James Johnson, Dorice Hankemeier Abstract: Early sport specialization (ESS) is a popular pathway for athletic development with implications for enhanced skill acquisition but also adverse mental and physical outcomes (LaPrade et al., 2016). As such, adolescent athletes may face a dilemma regarding whether to play multiple sports or immediately narrow the focus to one. Coaches are positioned to influence motivational climates and sport-specific skill development (Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2007), making it important to understand their perceptions of ESS. Interviews were conducted with thirteen coaches of girls’ volleyball and basketball teams to gain an understanding of ESS as it pertains to athletes and programs at the interscholastic level. Participants identified influences and impacts of ESS, specifically how it can affect participation and competitiveness of interscholastic sports. PubDate: 2022-11-10 Issue No:Vol. 8, No. 1 (2022)
Authors:Joshua Childs, Guillermo Ortega, Jase Kugiya, Zachary Taylor Abstract: A wealth of research has analyzed how NCAA programs market and advertise for their athletic offerings. Although research into the marketing of NCAA football programs have dominated the literature, this study examined an under-researched element of NCAA marketing and advertising: advertising through paid online search techniques, especially as COVID-19 has moved many marketing efforts online. As a result, this study reports on Google Adwords strategies of a stratified random sample of 250 NCAA Division I, II, and III programs. Results suggest few NCAA programs engage with Google Adwords strategies (9.2%; 23 of 250 programs), while those that do are often Division I programs from Power 5 Conferences. Additionally, one institution spent over $18,000 per month on Google Adwords advertising, while another institution in the same athletics conference spent just under $500. Implications for NCAA program advertisement and online marketing—including in a COVID-19 environment—will be addressed. PubDate: 2022-11-10 Issue No:Vol. 8, No. 1 (2022)
Authors:Addison Pond, James Allen, T.C Greenwell, Youngjik Lee Abstract: As Division-I FBS expenditures continue to rise, it is of paramount importance for universities to better understand the benefits received as a result of athletic success. Specifically, previous research has identified a strengthened campus sense of community and increased donation levels as potential beneficial outcomes of football success. However, it is not clear how football success, sense of community, and donation intention operate cumulatively. Therefore, this study sought to explain the effect of football success on donation intentions, with the mediating effect of campus sense of community. FBS students (N = 253) reported their perceptions of football success, campus sense of community, and intentions to donate to their universities’ annual funds, as well as the athletic departments. Two separate mediation analyses indicated partial mediation for both annual fund donation intentions and athletic department donation intentions. Team identification was also found to be a positive, significant predictor of sense of community, (p < .05). These results suggest university administrators may anticipate institution-wide benefits from football success, but they may be contingent upon students’ identification levels with the football team. PubDate: 2022-11-10 Issue No:Vol. 8, No. 1 (2022)
Authors:Jerry Reynolds, Samantha Bates, Matt Moore Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant changes to family life and youth sports activities around the globe. In efforts to promote continuity and youth participation in sports, and in lieu of risks for spreading the virus at competitions and games, the youth sport environment adapted to meet emerging health and safety protocols. The cancellation of youth sports and shifts to virtual spectating (i.e., watching children play sports online) were often enacted to protect families, yet little is known about how these changes physically, socially, and psychologically impacted parents and the family system. In response, we conducted a mixed-methods study to explore the lived experiences of parents of youth sport participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. This novel and exploratory research discovered several shifts in the physical environment of youth sport, including challenges with technology and limitations in the number of spectators at youth sporting events. Findings also revealed an array of psychosocial experiences among parents including feelings of grief, frustration, and sadness due to restrictions and sport cancellations, as well as fewer child-parent interactions and a diminished connection to sport in response to virtual spectating. We developed a conceptual model of how shifts in the youth sport environment influenced parent spectators. Our findings have important implications for practice and inform future areas of research regarding youth sports and the family system. Keywords: parent spectators; youth sports; COVID-19 pandemic; family systems PubDate: 2022-11-10 Issue No:Vol. 8, No. 1 (2022)
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