Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2021, Sport Management

Sport specialization has become a growing trend in youth athletics, leading many athletes to stray away from competing in multiple sports and instead have a singular focus in one discipline. Research shows reasoning behind specialization include an early start, deliberate practice, pursuit of college athletic scholarships, and an increased skill-level. However, research also indicates that specialization can predispose athletes to a greater risk of physical injury, mental health issues, and has also led to the growth of youth sport business from both a commercial and family financial standpoint. Sport specialization can help an athlete improve skills in there chosen sport but in many cases it is more detrimental than advantageous to an athlete's career than an alternative path, such as sport sampling.

Committee: Jen Parsons (Advisor); Suanne Barthol (Committee Member); John Thistlethwaite (Committee Member) Subjects: Physical Education; Recreation; Sports Management; Sports Medicine

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Social Work

As result of unjust social inequalities, youth of color who live in economically disadvantaged urban communities are disproportionately confronted with risk factors. Because of their lived reality, this youth population is often recognized as being socially vulnerable and at-risk for experiencing behavioral health problems. To prevent the onset of and/or adherence to behavioral health problems, social work scholars and practitioners have begun to utilize community sport-based positive youth development (PYD) programs. These programs aim to promote the development and transfer of life skills that help to prevent behavioral health problems. While previous research has demonstrated youth that who are socially vulnerable and at-risk benefit the greatest from participation in these program; much remains unknown about the mechanisms and factors that contribute to life skill development and transfer. The current study the explored mechanisms and factors that contribute to the two interconnected, yet distinct processes of life skill development and life skill transfer. Using the Life Skills Transfer Model as guiding framework, this study explored the lived experiences of socially vulnerable and at-risk youth who participated in a community sport-based PYD program. Specifically, youth included in the study participated in the LiFEsports Summer Camp program, completed pretest and posttest surveys, entered the program with lower than average levels of life skills, and demonstrated growth in life skill measures from pre- to post-program. The final sample of youth participants included 7 boys and 6 girls, most identified as Black or African American (92.3%), were on average 11.08 years old, and 46.2% of youth fell within 100% of the poverty line. The study was conducted in two parts, using two different methods. Part I used semi-structured interviews to explore life skill development (Aim I). Part II used photo-elicitation interviews to explore life skill transfer (Aim II) (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dawn Anderson-Butcher (Advisor); Olate Rene (Committee Member); Sutherland Susan (Committee Member); Bowen Natasha (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Physical Education; Recreation; Social Work; Sports Management

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, American Culture Studies

Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller were two high school transgender athletes who complied with Connecticut's inclusive policy regarding trans athletes, but they were still questioned by others about their right to participate. Currently the inclusion of transgender athletes is a highly debated topic in high school sports. Sport participation provides an important space for youth to learn teamwork, make friends, and to improve their mental and physical health (Ogilvie, 2017). High school state athletic association policies, while framed as inclusive, have the potential to exclude transgender youth from participating in sport alongside their cisgender peers. Guided by feminist cultural studies (Krane, 2001a; Waldron, 2019), I critique the different types of high school transgender athlete policies and highlight how they promote inclusion or exclusion. Four tenets of feminist cultural studies—everyday social practices, unequal gendered dynamics, hegemonic processes, and normative gender, sex, and sexuality (Waldron, 2019)— guide my analysis. The policy groupings are inclusive, no guidance, discriminatory processes, hormone intervention, gender confirmation surgery, birth certificate, and state law (Buzuvis, 2016; Transathlete.com, 2023). I identified state high school athletic association policies within the United States, grouped each policy into the specific categories, and then analyzed how each policy grouping reflected or reinforced everyday social practices, unequal gendered assumptions, and common cultural narrative. Barriers to trans inclusion stemmed from policies that strictly reinforced the sex and gender binary, assumptions about fair play, and following the heteronormative structure of sport. Some of the barriers may include requiring hormonal or surgical intervention before medically recommended, time consuming steps for changed birth certificate, and that gender affirming care may be inaccessible to trans youth due to high cost. High school athletic assoc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Vikki Krane Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ellen Broido Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Physical Education; Public Policy; Recreation; Sports Management

Master of Science in Exercise and Health Studies, Miami University, 2017, Exercise and Health Studies

The purpose of this study was to explore parents' perceptions of sport specialization within the samplings years of Cote's Developmental Model of Sport Participation (Cote, 1999). More specifically, this study explored how parents' perceptions of their perfectionism and parenting styles were related to views of sport specialization in the youth sport context. Participants in this study were comprised of 203 parents of youth sport athletes from the Mid-West. Youth sport athletes were sons or daughters between the ages of 6 and 12 years old participating in ice hockey, figure skating, or swimming. Parents participated in a one-time quantitative collection of data regarding their perceptions of sport specialization, levels of perfectionism, and parenting styles through in-person questionnaires at the beginning or early part of their child's sport season. After completion of the study, data was analyzed according to the study's guiding hypotheses utilizing the IMP SPSS-X software package.

Committee: Melissa Chase (Committee Chair); Robin Vealey (Committee Member); Thelma Horn (Committee Member) Subjects: Kinesiology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Psychology/Developmental

While many studies have investigated prosocial and aggressive behavior in youth sport, the specific contexts that correspond with sport participation have rarely been studied. To further the understanding of sport as a developmental context, the current study examined the specific setting of the youth hockey locker room and the perceptions of prosocial and aggressive behaviors within it. Specifically, to gain a deeper understanding of locker room social behaviors, the present research used hierarchical multiple regression to test the hypothesis that age, perceived adult supervision, task cohesion, and social cohesion would predict the perceptions of prosocial and aggressive locker room behavior. The results indicated that both adult supervision and task cohesion significantly predicted perceived prosocial behavior and inversely predicted perceived aggression. The presence of an adult figure in the locker room appears to predict the perception of more positive social behavior. These findings also suggest that athletes who perceive more unity in working towards a shared goal perceive greater prosocial behavior and lesser aggressive behavior. Ultimately, the findings from the current study contain highly useful practical implications for youth sport programs and coaches as they strive to create sport environments that are conducive to building character.

Committee: Marie Tisak PhD (Advisor); John Tisak PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Eric Dubow PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services

Sport is a critical context for youth development (Riley & Anderson-Butcher, 2012; Weiss, 2008). Through engagement in sport-based positive youth development (PYD), vulnerable youth can experience relief from risk prevalent in their environment and develop assets to overcome adverse circumstances (Anderson-Butcher, Iachini, Riley, Wade-Mdivanian, Davis & Amorose, 2013; Petitpas, Cornelius, Van Raalte, & Jones, 2005). Organizational effectiveness of sport-based PYD programs is imperative due to the impact programs can have on youths' successful transition to adulthood. A sport-based PYD program is considered effective when exposure to an intentionally designed intervention, with theoretical justification, produces the desired program outcomes (Dusenbury, Brannigan, Falco, & Hansen, 2003; Law & Shek, 2011; Nation, Crusto, Wandersman, Kumpfer, Seybolt, Morrissey-Kane, & Davino, 2003). Research examining organizational effectiveness, within the context of sport-based PYD, can inform program planning, improve program practices, and enhance PYD. The purpose of the current study was to examine program dosage as a programmatic mechanism of PYD, to determine how program implementation and engagement influences youth development in the context of sport-based PYD. To investigate program dosage as a programmatic mechanism of PYD, within the context of sport-based PYD, data were collected from 52 staff and 417 youth participants engaged in a sport-based PYD summer program. Program staff completed self-assessments of their implementation of the program, including adherence to program structure, use of curriculum, and creation of a caring, mastery-oriented climate. Additionally, youth reported perceptions of program engagement (i.e., behavioral engagement, belonging, leader support), as well as social and athletic competencies (i.e., PYD indicators). Youth attendance was collected as secondary data, as a measure of quantity of program dosage. Confirmatory factor analyses (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brian Turner (Advisor); Donna Pastore (Committee Member); Dawn Anderson-Butcher (Committee Member) Subjects: Sports Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, ED Physical Activities and Educational Services

Current investigations in behavior analysis and physical activities suggests the effectiveness of specific techniques such as goal setting and feedback which aim for improvements in performance, skill acquisition and performance generalization from practice to competitive settings. Nonetheless, the literature presents a scarcity of studies analyzing the effects of public posting on the performance of tactical behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of an intervention package consisting of goal-setting and public posting and its effects on the generalization of performance of three 7th grade female basketball players of different skill levels from a lower middle-class middle school in the Midwest USA. This study intended to add to the literature by analyzing the effects of feedback strategies of the individual performances in a youth team sport and the outcomes of the correct performance. Additionally, the feedback provided by the coach was considered in the analysis which aimed to observe the effects of the intervention on variables that focus on the tactics instead of just skill. Thus, the concept of positioning (offensive, defensive, and rebound) on the basketball court was used as the dependent variables for the investigation. The intervention was introduced sequentially for the target participants according to a multiple baseline across behaviors, followed by fading and maintenance phases. Finally, the study investigated possible carryover effects of the intervention package on the performances of three other members of the team, whose performances were not subjected to the independent variable initially. At a later part of the investigation, these participants were then subjected directly to the intervention. The results show an apparent immediate positive effect of the intervention on three positioning behaviors. Both targeted and non-targeted participants had their best performances while directly exposed to the intervention package. Ski (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Phillip Ward (Advisor); David Porretta (Committee Member); Sue Sutherland (Committee Member); Townsand Price-Spratlen (Committee Member) Subjects: Physical Education; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2011, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

Athletic coaches have the potential to be among the most influential people in a young person's life and athletes often idolize their coaches. The impact a coach has on an athlete endures psychologically, physically, and emotionally. This study embraced the Sport Commitment Model (Scanlan, T. K., Carpenter, P. J., Schmidt, G. W., Simons, J. P., & Keeler, B., 1993a; Scanlan, T. K., Russell, D. G., Magyar, T. M., & Scanlan, L. A.,, 2009) as a theoretical framework to understand the antecedents of coaches' commitment to coaching. The goal of this study was to examine the viability of the Coaches' Commitment Model (CCM) with soccer coaches. The theoretical framework of the SCM provided a mechanism to understand the determinants of soccer coaches' commitment to coaching, as the modified measurement model met satisfactory model fit (χ2 = 753.5 [df = 215], CFI = .954, NNFI = .946, RMSEA = .039, and SRMR = .0388). While the structural model failed to converge, this does not mean the SCM is not a viable theoretical framework for coaches. The theory behind the models (i.e., SCM and CCM) is that enjoyment, involvement alternatives/other priorities, personal investments, social constraints, involvement opportunities/valuable opportunities and social support predict coaches' commitment. The soccer coaches in the study seem to express their lifelong involvement in sports, thus their commitment to coaching. Overall, they have been long time athletic participants and consider themselves more than just novice coaches. Additionally, the opportunity to coach and work with athletes was the strongest predictor of coaches' commitment. Furthermore, these coaches not only value the opportunities to work with their athletes, they enjoy coaching.

Committee: Dianne Gut (Committee Chair); George Johanson (Committee Member); David Carr (Committee Member); Ronald Quinn (Committee Member) Subjects: