The purpose of this study was to examine parenting styles and associated parenting practices in youth sport. Following a season-long period of fieldwork, primary data were collected via interviews with 56 parents and supplemented by interviews with 34 of their female children. Data analysis was guided by Grolnick's (2003) theory of parenting styles. Analyses produced five findings: (1) Autonomy-supportive parents provided appropriate structure for their children and allowed them to be involved in decision making. These parents were also able to read their children's mood and reported open bidirectional communication. (2) Controlling parents did not support their children's autonomy, were not sensitive to their children's mood, and tended to report more closed modes of communication. (3) In some families, there were inconsistencies between the styles employed by the mother and father. (4) Some parenting practices varied across different situations. (5) Children had some reciprocal influences on their parents' behaviors. These findings reveal information about the multiple social interactions associated with youth sport parenting.

The objectives of this study were (a) to examine students' motivational experiences arising from their participation in games lessons based on autonomy-supportive strategies; and (b) to examine the interaction between boys' and girls' motivational experiences across different categories of games. A total of 759 students (380 F, 379 M) from 37 classes (grades four to seven) were taught a lesson from one of four game categories (i.e. target, net/wall, batting/fielding, invasion) using autonomysupportive techniques. Following the lessons children completed various measures to assess their motivational experiences. Significant between-subject differences did emerge for both gender and games category. Girls reported higher levels of optimal challenge, perceived autonomy-support, and enjoyment whereas boys reported higher levels of perceived competence. For the games category, participants reported higher levels of self-determined motivation in net/wall games whereas invasion games received the lowest motivational ratings of the four games categories.

This study investigated the effect of gender on the relationship between Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and self-reported participation in organized and recreational free-play activities. A participation-activity questionnaire and the short form Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency was administered to a large sample of children ages 9 to 14 (N = 590). A total of 44 children (19 boys, 25 girls) were identified as having probable DCD. Regardless of gender, children with DCD had lower self-efficacy toward physical activity and participated in fewer organized and recreational play activities than did children without the disorder. While there were no gender by DCD interactions with self-efficacy and play, girls with DCD had the lowest mean scores of all children. These findings are discussed in terms of the social norms that influence boys and girls’ participation in physical activity.

This paper offers support for PA programs that focus on inclusivity and enjoyment and emphasize the important role of staff competency.

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are less likely to enjoy participating in physical education (PE) than children without motor coordination difficulties. However, no studies have attempted to quantify this relationship or examine potentially modifiable mediating variables. Using a large sample ( N = 590) of children (aged 9 to 14), we examine differences in the enjoyment of PE classes between children with DCD and those without using a standardized measure. We also examine whether differences in perceived adequacy towards physical activity, body fat and fitness explain why children with DCD score lower on this scale. Of all these measures, perceived adequacy accounts for the largest proportion of the effect of DCD on enjoyment. Interventions aimed at improving enjoyment of PE for children with DCD should target perceptions of their abilities with regard to physical pursuits.