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Coaches and parents play a major role in determining the consequences of sport participation in young athletes. This study focuses on the assessment of a systemic, empirically inspired intervention directed at coaches and parents. Parallel workshops derived in part from achievement goal theory were presented to the coaches and parents of 9 to 15 year old boys and girls participating in community-based basketball programs, and their effects were compared with a matched control condition. Multilevel analyses revealed significant Time x Condition interactions on all three subscales of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) and on a total anxiety score. Athletes in the intervention condition decreased in cognitive and somatic anxiety scores on the SAS-2, whereas athletes in the control condition exhibited increases in cognitive and somatic anxiety. Results suggest the potential efficacy of brief, economical interventions in enhancing the psychosocial impact of the youth sport environment.

Interactions with parents are known to have a significant impact on children's self-esteem. In this study, designed to test propositions derived from Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, we assessed the influence of perceived parent-initiated mastery and ego motivational climates on self-esteem and self-esteem change in competitive youth swimmers over the course of a 32-week sport season. At each of three measurement points (early, mid, and late season), mastery climate scores on the Parent-Initiated Motivational Climate Questionnaire-2 scale were positively related to global self-esteem scores and to a measure of relative motivational autonomy that reflects the intrinsic-extrinsic motivation continuum, whereas ego climate scores were negatively related to self-esteem and autonomy. Longitudinal analyses revealed that early-season mastery climate predicted positive changes in self-esteem over the course of the season, whereas ego climate predicted decreased self-esteem. Consistent with predictions derived from Self-Determination Theory, a meditational analysis revealed that these self-esteem changes were mediated by changes in autonomous motivation.

This study examined differences in physical activity and physical self‐concept between the least and most biologically mature female adolescents within chronological age and academic year groups. A total of 252 British female adolescents (M age = 12.9 years; SD = .7) in Years 7–9 completed self‐report measures to assess physical activity and physical self‐concept. Percentage of predicted adult (mature) stature served as the index of biological maturation. Univariate analyses of covariance, controlling for decimal age, revealed that the least mature girls generally held higher perceptions of physical self‐concept but were no more, or less, active than the most mature girls. A subsequent meta‐analysis suggested, however, that across age and year groups the least mature girls were more active than the most mature girls.

This study aimed to: (1) examine differences in physical performance across birth-quartiles and maturity-status, and (2) determine the relationships among relative age, maturation and physical performance in young male soccer players. The sample included 199 males aged between 8.1 and 18.9 years, from two professional soccer academies in the English Football League. Data were collected for height, weight, self-reported biological parent heights, 30 m sprint time and countermovement jump (CMJ) height. Relative age was conveyed as a decimal, while maturity status was determined as the percentage of predicted adult height (PAH). There were no significant differences in any measure between birth quartiles, however early maturers outperformed on-time and later maturers in most performance measures. Pearson-product-moment correlations revealed that maturation was inversely associated with 30 m sprint time in U12 to U16 (r = −0.370–0.738; p < 0.05), but only positively associated with CMJ performance in U12 (r = 0.497; p < 0.05). In contrast, relative age was unrelated to sprint performance and only significantly associated with superior CMJ performance in U16. This study indicates that maturity has a greater association with sprint performance than relative age in English male academy soccer players. Practitioners should monitor and assess biological maturation in young soccer players to attempt to control for the influence on physical performance, and avoid biasing selection on absolute performance rather than identifying the most talented player.

This article was published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health [© Human Kinetics, Inc.] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2016-0298 ; Background: Regular physical activity improves physical and mental health, yet children's physical activity levels were low in England's 2014 Report Card. Within this paper, we update the 2014 Report Card to assess current information for the 9 indicators of physical activity. Methods: A search for nationally representative data on 9 indicators of physical activity was conducted and the data were assessed by an expert panel. The panel assigned grades [ie, A, B, C, D, F, or INC (incomplete)] to each indicator based on whether children across England were achieving specific benchmarks. The 2016 Report Card was produced and disseminated. Results: The following grades were awarded: Overall Physical Activity Levels: D-; Organized Sport Participation: D; Active Play: INC; Active Transportation: C-; Sedentary Behaviors: INC; Family and Peers: INC; School: B+; Community and the Built Environment: B; Government Strategies and Investment: INC. Conclusions: The grades have not improved since the 2014 Report Card and several gaps in the literature are still present. While children's physical activity levels remain low alongside competing sedentary choices, further national plans and investment with local actions are urgently needed to promote physical activity especially via active play, active transport, and family support.