Youth Sports and COVID19: Parents’ Current Experiences and Hopes for their Child’s Return to Play

• In Event: Families and Youth in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining Mental Health and Recreation

Abstract

In the U.S., as in many western nations, youth sport is by far the most common organized extracurricular activity for young people (Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001; Larson & Verma, 1999), with parents and families playing a critical role in supporting young peoples’ participation (Fredricks & Eccles, 2004). However, the COVID19 pandemic has presented a number of unprecedented challenges for youth sport organizations and families to navigate; including the need to self-isolate to reduce the transmission of the virus and the removal of most or all youth sport programming. Given the lack of evidence regarding the COVID19 pandemic and youth sport family experiences, the need to explore current perspectives of youth sport parents and consider future directions for youth development through sport has never been greater. The purpose of this study was to explore parent perceptions of the influence of the removal of youth sport due to the COVID19 pandemic on their family, specifically: a) their family’s current experience of the removal of youth sport due to the pandemic, and b) their desires for their family’s future engagement in youth sport when it returns. Using a mixed methods approach, an online survey with closed and open-ended response options were administered to 153 parents of youth sport participants from six different countries and a range of sports and competition levels. First, describing current experiences due to the pandemic, 82% of parents perceived sport was very or extremely important to their family. Following the removal of youth sports due to COVID19, 64% of parents perceived a decrease in their child’s physical and mental wellbeing and 80% of parents perceived a decrease in their child’s social wellbeing. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses revealed specific detail of decreases in physical wellbeing (e.g., less physical activity opportunities), mental wellbeing (e.g., loss of consistent routine; concern about missing opportunities to play at an elite level), and social wellbeing (e.g., decreased interactions with teammates and other families). At the same time, parents believed that the removal of youth sports provided a break for the family, resulting in more time spent together. Second, describing desires for future youth sport involvement, parents wanted fewer hours in organized sport (decrease from M = 14.76 to M = 12.24) and more hours in free play (increase from M = 6.72 to M = 9.72) upon their child’s return to play. Additionally, Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests indicated that parents identified talent development as less important and health and community as more important upon returning to sport following the COVID19 pandemic. Open-ended responses expanded on these desires, with parents wanting increased emphasis on fun, life skill development, social development, and a more inclusive environment. Conversely, parents wanted a decreased focus on winning, lower parent involvement, and less rigid expectations for families. Taken together, findings suggest that the removal of youth sport due to the COVID19 pandemic has had mixed influences on family and youth wellbeing, but that parents have used this time to re-imagine their family’s post-pandemic return to youth sport.

Authors

• Emily Wright, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Liam O'Neil, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Scott Pierce, Illinois State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Meredith Wekesser, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alysha Matthews, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jill Kochanek, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adam Kelly, Birmingham City University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Turnnidge, Queens University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Karl Erickson, Michigan State University
  Non-Presenting Author