The key to youth development through sport is dependent upon the quality sport programmes and the leadership competencies of administrators, coordinators, coaches and parents.
Seefeldt (1987) claims that when young people participate in sports, the benefits spread over a variety of important areas of youth development. One of the key benefits is a culture of participation in physical activity which can extend throughout her/his lifetime. This habit of physical activity involvement can result in the improvement of their overall fitness levels.
In addition, involvement in sport and physical activity can also contribute to establishing important social and emotional skills- being a team player, openness to feedback, active listening, and adaptability- and high levels of self-esteem.
However, there are several barriers to youth participation in sport. These barriers are connected to social, economic, and cultural changes within society. The demands of the education system couple with high parental expectations may serve as a major disincentive to children participating and enjoying the multiple benefits of organised sport and physical activity.
In fact, some parents and adults may view engagement in sport and physical activity as inessential to the holistic development of children. And those children who need but do not receive the necessary encouragement from family are more likely to jettison engagement in sport and physical activity with all its benefits.
In this period of COVID-19, it’s important that parents and adults find creative ways to ensure that children are not overwhelmed by the radical changes in their physical, social, and mental life/health brought on by the virus and all the social measures implemented to prevent its transmission.
Parents/coaches/managers etc, must encourage engagement in virtual physical activities (for example using YouTube videos) within the home and can also consider encouraging outdoor walking/jogging at community recreational facilities within the permissible established Ministry of Health COVID-19 guidelines for non-contact sport and physical activity.
It is not uncommon to see parents/adults and children walking/jogging at various recreational venues while ensuring they are wearing the masks and maintaining appreciate social distancing.
During the COVID-19 lock down, virtual physical activities as well as walking/jogging will provide leisure options to accustomed social practices of visiting malls, cinemas, beaches etc which are in abeyance.
Post-COVID-19, sport and physical activity would continue to provide opportunities to youth through their interaction with coaches, parents, and their peers to improve their overall social and emotional intelligence. These skill sets have the potential to assist in building capacity for addressing various interpersonal issues.
However, at the same time it is important for coaches and parents to be aware that participation in sport especially team sport will not automatically equip the youth with appropriate social and emotional intelligence.
Everyone responsible for developing young sport women and men must demonstrate maturity in every aspect of promoting the sporting ethos. The sporting milieu must be seen and used as a social space for the inculcation of values and norms that will allow for addressing a variety of possible outcomes such as winning, failures, disputes and even external issues -whether positive or negative- which can easily creep into the sporting space.
Ergo, sport should not be seen for developing sporting skills alone but also a potential environment for cultivating positive social, emotional, and cognitive skills.