Athletics taught me so much about life that its hard to know
where to begin- Elaine Tanner, Canadian Swimmer (1979) I love the
self discovery. Life off the ice is so complicated, its outcomes
smudged, its motivations rationalized and finesses, the picture you
get of yourself so unclear. On the ice, you see your elemental
self, whether you like it or not-do you try hard? do you quit? are
you fair? are you selfish? do you give? are you willing to take
risks? do you care too much or too little? do you fit in with a
team on the ice, and off?- Ken Dryden, hockey player, author, Home
Game (1989).
Slide 3
Examine the concept of socialization in sport Explore: Becoming
involved and staying in sports Changing or ending our sports
participation Impact of being involved in sport
Slide 4
Definition of socialization: process through which we learn
what we must know in order to fit into society and contribute to
its operation We can look at socialization from three different
approaches: functionalist, conflict theory and interactionist.
Slide 5
Functionalist Approach is based on the Internalization Model
which states that as we grow up with our families, attend school,
interact with peers, etc., we learn the ________we should follow
and the ________ we play in society. When studying sports and
socialization, the focus is on the athletes as the people being
socialized and on the agents of socialization who influence these
athletes. These agents usually include _______________
______________________. ____________ __________refers to the most
central and influential socializers
Slide 6
Researchers who use the functionalist approach to study
socialization in sport are interested in WHO _______THE SPORT
PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN. They are also interested in WHAT CAUSES
PEOPLE TO _______IN SPORT AND HOW THEIR PARTICIPATION INFLUENCES
THEM.
Slide 7
Conflict Theory is also based on the Internalization Model.
However, the focus here is on how ___________ ___________influence
sport participation and the consequences of sport participation on
the _________ ____________ of society
Slide 8
Some researchers use the Interactionist Model which indicates
that people can learn values and also _______ _______about sport
participation and give meaning to their sport experiences. Sports
help to form their identity.
Slide 9
What factors influence some people to become involved in sports
while others do not become involved?
Slide 10
Stevinson, 1999 Interviewed 29 international athletes 1.
Introduction & involvement: as young people tried different
sports, gradually began to specialize (based on success), supported
2. Developing a commitment: relationships were made, identities
were formed What theory does this support? Stevinson, 1999:
Slide 11
What factors cause people to stay involved in sports? What
causes some to drop out? Note: Staying involved in sports is a
decision that is being continually made, not just made once
Slide 12
Burnout: long term __________, no longer interested in
sport
Slide 13
Coakley (1992): Research on young high- level athletes who quit
due to burnout Occurred when felt no longer had ___________ Could
not develop identities outside of sport Increased stress, less
enjoyment of sport
Slide 14
Video http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/peter- berg-hbo-
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/peter- berg-hbo-state-of-play
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/peter- berg-hbo-state-of-play What
makes somebody like Tiger Woods so driven? How can we avoid burnout
in athletes?
Slide 15
Do sports build character?
Slide 16
Problems with ________________ about character building and
sport*: Many different experiences offered by sport Certain types
of people choose sports Character building can happen from other
activities as well (examples: ) * When comparing athletes to non
athletes
Slide 17
What do kids know about us? They only know that we play sports.
They dont know who we are as people. You dont learn the important
things about life by watching a person play football. Emmitt Smith,
NFL player (1996)
Slide 18
Sport participation may have a _________ effect on
socialization if: Opportunities to build identities outside of
sport New relationships can be developed New experiences outside of
playing field Lessons learned can be extended to other situations
Opportunities to display competence in other nonsport
activities
Slide 19
Surgeon Generals Report (1996): Basketball and volleyball:
included as only competitive sports considered to be _________
physical activities why?
Slide 20
Health benefits: PA that is rhythmic, noncompetitive (generally
does not include many competitive sports) Risk of
injury/maladaptive behaviours:
Slide 21
Socialization can generally examined through Functionalist,
Conflict and Interactionist Theories