Gordon A. Bloom, McGill University
Todd M. Loughead, University of Windsor.
Français
The alarmingly low physical activity rates among Canadian youth have been documented (e.g.,
Craig & Cameron, 2004). A major component of physical activity for adolescents is participation
in team sports at both the recreational and competitive levels (Wankel & Mummery, 1996).
Unfortunately, youth sport participation begins declining after the age of 12, a time that is also
crucial for the development of children’s social skills and self-esteem (Weinberg & Gould, 2003).
A number of reasons have been proposed to account for this dropout behaviour. These include
personal aspects such as lack of desire, as well as social aspects including negative
experiences with coaches (Wankel & Mummery, 1996). One way that coaches can improve the
sporting environment is through group activities such as team building. Team building strategies
have been used in sport and exercise to help the group increase its effectiveness and satisfy
the needs of its members. The current program of research developed and implemented a team
building intervention program for youth sport coaches. Using Carron and Spink’s (1993) team
building framework, eight PeeWee level hockey coaches delivered team building activities
throughout the regular season. All team building activities were designed to be fun and to
include a range of intellectual, physical, and emotional problem-solving tasks for youth, focused
on teamwork, organization, communication, and cooperation. Data was collected through a
variety of methods. First, coaches’ answered questions on a pre and post-intervention form prior
to and immediately after each team building activity. Second, during the team building activities,
the behaviours of the coaches were monitored by trained members of the research team.
Finally, at the end of the regular season, a semi-structured exit interview was conducted with
each coach. Overall, the results offer initial support for coaches, athletes, and teams regarding
the benefits of a team building intervention program.
SCRI 2007 Presentation Slides
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