C H A P T E R
9
Youth and Community
Sport
Marlene A. Dixon, University of Texas at Austin
Jennifer E. Bruening, University of Connecticut
Chapter 9
Origins and History of Community
Sport in North America
• General trends in community sport history
• Native communities in North America
• European North Americans
• Sporting fraternity in urban centers
• Arrival of voluntary sport clubs
• Growth and governance of sport and physical
activity
Youth Sport History
• Examples
– YMCA, YWCA, PAL, Pop Warner Football, CYO
– Little League Baseball/Softball, Canadian Royal
Legion
• Definitions and variations of organized
youth sport
• Recent developments and influences
Youth Sport Questions
• Should the focus be educational or elite
sport development?
• Who should govern youth sport?
• Who has access to the different kinds of
sport opportunities?
Youth Sport Sidebars
• Job Opportunities in Youth Sport
– Up2Us: www.up2us.org
– Playworks: www.playworksusa.org
• Service Learning Through UConn’s Husky
Sport
– UCONN’s Husky Sport: www.huskysport.uconn.edu
Definition of Community Sport
• Organized physical activity based in . . .
– Community
– School
– Local sport organizations
• Encompasses both . . .
– Recreational sport
– Competitive sport
Sampling of Community Sport
Organizations in North America
YMCA: www.ymca.net
Police Athletic League: www.palnyc.org
Amateur Athletic Union: www.aausports.org
United States Swimming:
www.usaswimming.org
National Alliance for Youth Sports:
www.nays.org
Emphasis on the Participant
• Differences between sport for the spectator
or consumer and sport for participants
• Management concerns involving community
sport
(continued)
Emphasis on the Participant
(continued)
• Benefits of sport participation
– Numerous physical benefits as well as benefits to
individuals, families, and communities
– Quality of life
– Family life
– Sense of community and social capital
Size and Scope of Community Sport
• Difficult to estimate number of participants
• Millions in the U.S. and Canada participate
at recreational and competitive levels
• Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association
– Participation numbers
– Trends in increasing and decreasing demand
Table 9.2
Types of Community Sport
Organizations
• Similarities, differences in sport systems
• Canadian sport organizations
– Community sport almost exclusively offered through
sport clubs
• U.S. sport organizations
– Community sport offered through various organizations:
public, private, for-profit, not-for-profit
International Sidebar
• Youth Olympic Sport Development in China
– Goals
– Systematic feeder system
– Schools with traditions in designated sports
– Sports schools
• International learning activities
Management Challenges
• Structure and delivery systems are varied
• Governance of community and youth sport
• Professional human resource management
model
– Begins with planning
– Recruiting, selecting volunteers and paid personnel
– Training and development
Adult Community Sport Offerings
• Classes: instructional sessions to enhance
skill and fitness level
• Leagues: organized forms of ongoing sport
competition
• Tournaments: organized forms of sport over
days and weeks
Youth Sport Offerings
• Organized activities are typically structured
as classes, instructional leagues,
competitive leagues, and after-school
programs
• Other private and nonprofit organizations
– Offer programming
– Subscribe to sport-based youth development model
Practical Application
• Critical thinking in community sport
• Ethics in community sport
Three Review Questions
1. What are the goals and outcomes
associated with each youth and
community sport sector?
2. How is access to youth and community
sport a complex issue in different
communities?
3. What challenges exist in managing youth
and community sport? How would you
meet those challenges?