Research Article: Enriching Athlete—Environment Interactions in Youth Sport: The Role of a Department of Methodology
Abstract:
The aim of this insights paper is to propose how the theory of ecological dynamics may invite re-consideration of how sport scientists could support performance, learning and development of children and youth in sports programmes. We seek to outline why learning should be individualised and contextualised, based on the specific needs of learners, such as children and youth, women and disabled athletes in sport. Case examples from individual and team sports are presented to illustrate how constraints can be designed to enrich interactions of children and youth with different performance environments, based on integrating principles of specificity and generality in learning and development. These case examples suggest how a collaborative effort by sport scientists and coaches in children and youth sport may be undertaken in a department of methodology to enrich learning and performance.
Introduction:
Re-imagining sport science education and training to support development of individuals in specific sub-groups in sport is necessary because of a historical tendency to use data from studies of adult male athletes to plan programmes for athlete development and performance preparation for universal implementation. This re-consideration is needed in children and youth sport programmes because there has been a historical tendency to inappropriately treat them as “miniature adults”. For example, in the…
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