The Adulteration of Childrens Sports

The Adulteration of Childrens Sports explores current behavioral and physiological research about how childrens organized sport has changed; how adults goals and needs are at the heart of those changes; and the consequences of those changes on childrens enjoyment of sport and on their autonomy, creativity, and moral reasoning outside of sport. Adult introduction of early competition, extrinsic rewards, early sport specialization, and year-round participation has thwarted childrens intrinsic motivation and contributed to childrens attrition from sport. Kristi Erdal explores concerns about the future of sport itself, as adult-mediated selection practices whittle down young athletes earlier on shakier criteria. Parents and coaches complicity in these practices, however, is based on intermediaries poorly interpreting (or ignoring) the research literature. Thus, the final chapters of this book are about translating the research into applied ideas for change. Erdal provides an essential introduction to evidence-based research about childrens health and well-being in sport and debunks myths along the way. Adults built the problems compiled in this text. We can dismantle them as well.