Initiation and Introduction Into Sport Participation: New Member Experiences With Collegiate Sport Clubs

2021 ◽  
pp. 155886612110164
Author(s):  
Amy Rundio ◽  
Richard J. Buning
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Sport Club ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Collegiate Sport ◽  
Sporting Activity ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Sport Clubs ◽  
Club Sport ◽  
Over Time

Participants new to a sporting activity develop initial motivations while being confronted with a variety of constraints that must be successfully negotiated in order to participate. Further, motivations change over time, as do constraints, but there has been little examination of these concepts with regard to new participants. As such, this study examined why new collegiate club sport members were motivated to join a sport club and what constraints they face. Through semistructured interviews ( N = 11) new sport club members reported being motivated by a variety of reasons, while social support acted as a strong facilitator to continued involvement.

Collegiate Sport Club Service Delivery: Moving Between Motivations and Constraints to Beneficial Outcomes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Rundio ◽  
Richard Buning
Keyword(s):  
Student Development ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Sport Club ◽  
Collegiate Sport ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Sport Clubs ◽  
Leadership Turnover

Overwhelming evidence supports that collegiate recreation, as a sport service, achieves a variety of both university and individual benefits. However, the intricacies of how individuals take up a sporting activity to actualize individual and collective outcomes is unclear. The purpose of this project was to develop a holistic understanding of the sport participant experience from motivations to join, constraints faced and negotiated, and outcomes attained through American collegiate recreational sport clubs. Interviews were conducted with 20 sport club athletes using a semi-structured interview guide developed from previous work on sport participation, motivations, constraints, and related outcomes. Data were coded and analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. The findings revealed participants were attracted to a club as they sought out specific benefits, but university and club policies, along with leadership turnover, created constraints to their participation. Constraints evolved from individual challenges (e.g., intimidation, time conflicts, communication, lack of knowledge) to challenges associated with the clubs (e.g., skill development, leadership turnover). Through successfully negotiating these constraints using both individual and club resources students then acquired sought after benefits (e.g., socialization, physical activity), as well as benefits realized through the experience (e.g., professional skills, student development). By understanding participant experiences, managers can better design programs to recruit and retain athletes. In particular, by identifying the needs and challenges faced by participants, organizers can create opportunities to meet those needs and overcome challenges, including by providing social events or mentorship programs. Additionally, the benefits realized by participants can be used by club officers and campus recreation managers to justify continued investment in sport clubs. Overall, the study provides a holistic understanding of how motivations and constraints interact and ultimately lead to beneficial outcomes.

scholarly journals An Exploration of the Sport Club President's Experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Flosdorf ◽  
Benjamin H. Carr ◽  
Julia Wallace Carr ◽  
Joshua R. Pate
Keyword(s):  
Student Development ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Campus Recreation ◽  
Sport Club ◽  
Atlantic Region ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Sport Clubs ◽  
Classroom Education ◽  
Developmental Experience

Extensive research has shown that sport club participation enhances student development, but little research has examined how specific officer roles in sport clubs may shape the experience. The purpose of this case study was to explore how sport club presidents at a midsized, public, four year institution in the Mid-Atlantic region described their involvement in an on-campus leadership opportunity. Eleven sport club presidents participated in the study, and shared their experiences through reflective journaling, and 30-min semistructured interviews. The researchers conducted document analysis for further review of the sport club program and president experience. Findings suggest that participation in the presidential role within the campus recreation sport club program at this institution provides an impactful developmental experience for students by enhancing specific skills that prepare students for careers beyond college more candidly than classroom education. Recommendations for sport club professionals and students regarding the outcomes associated with this ongoing campus leadership opportunity are provided.

Sport Identity and Motivation for Sport Participation: A Comparison between American College Athletes and Austrian Student Sport Club Members

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Jon Curry ◽  
Otmar Weiss
Keyword(s):  
College Athletes ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Sport Club ◽  
Interactionist Theory ◽  
Sport Clubs ◽  
Sport Organization ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Main Effects

The aim of this study is to compare competition, fitness, and social motivation for sport participation between American college athletes and Austrian student sport club members. Our hypotheses are drawn from symbolic interactionist theory, and we define sport motivation as the reasons that people give for participating in sport. The respondents are 301 University of Vienna student members of Austrian sport clubs and 397 college athletes drawn from three schools in Ohio. The results indicate (a) statistically significant main effects for ANOVA comparisons between competition and fitness motivation and the factors of gender and country, (b) a statistically significant two-way interaction between social motivation and gender and country, and (c) statistically significant Pearson product moment correlations between competition and fitness motives and the involvement of self in the sport role. Thus, we conclude that motivation for sport participation is likely to be influenced by the values of the sport organization as well as the sport and gender identities of the participant.

Collegiate Sport Club Athletes’ Psychological Well-Being and Perceptions of Their Team Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Chelsi E. Scott ◽  
Mary D. Fry ◽  
Hannah Weingartner ◽  
Troy O. Wineinger
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Motivational Climate ◽  
Team Climate ◽  
Spring Season ◽  
Sport Club ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Recreational Sport ◽  
Collegiate Sport ◽  
Positive Climate ◽  
Club Sport

The purpose of this study was to consider how the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) Triple-Impact Competitor (TIC) workshop could be used to help create a positive climate for recreational sport club participants, and to examine how perceptions of a positive team climate related to indices of psychological well-being among sport club athletes. At the beginning of their season, sport club leaders completed the PCA TIC workshop. Following the conclusion of the spring season, we invited all sport club participants ( N = 109) to complete a survey that examined the motivational climate on their teams, as well as their hope, happiness, and self-kindness. Athletes’ perceptions of a CTI climate were significantly and positively related to their hope, happiness, and self-kindness. Results suggest that the PCA TIC training is an inexpensive strategy that may foster a positive environment within university sport club teams and may assist programs in promoting indices of psychological well-being among club sport athletes.

Extra Version and Neuroticism in Team Sport Participants, Individual Sport Participants, and Nonparticipants

2007 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Eagleton ◽  
Stuart J. McKelvie ◽  
Anton De Man
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Biological Theory ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Team Sport ◽  
First Year ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Eysenck Personality Inventory ◽  
Over Time

Scores on Extraversion and on Neuroticism as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory were compared for 90 undergraduate team sport participants, individual sport participants, and nonparticipants (43 men, 47 women, M age = 20.3 yr.). From past research and Eysenck's biological theory of personality, it was hypothesized that sport participants would score higher on Extraversion and lower on Neuroticism than nonparticipants, and that team participants would score higher on Extraversion and perhaps higher on Neuroticism than individual sport participants. By comparing scores for students in first year and final year, it was also investigated whether pre-existing personality differences drew people to sport (the gravitational hypothesis) or whether personality changed as a function of sport participation (the developmental hypothesis). The main findings were that team participants scored higher on Extraversion than both individual sport participants and nonparticipants, and that test scores did not change over time, supporting the gravitational hypothesis for Extraversion.

scholarly journals Social Support is Associated with Better Health in the Face of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 745-745
Author(s):  
Laura Bernstein ◽  
Julie Hicks Patrick
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year ◽  
Latent Growth ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Social Exchanges ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Face ◽  
Positive Social Support ◽  
Over Time

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to influence the health of the nation, both directly and indirectly, though increased stress. As with other stressful crises, social support may buffer against the deleterious effects of the stress surrounding COVID-19 (Cohen & Wills, 1985). We were interested in how self-reported health changed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and whether age or positive social exchanges influenced this potential change. We tested a latent growth curve model of change in SF12 scores over 4 points of measurement during the first year of the pandemic. Data from 237 adults (Mean age 40.7 yrs) were used to test whether SF12 scores changed over the 11 month period and whether age and initial positive social exchanges influenced both the intercept and trajectory of change over time. Results showed that the model fit the data well, X2 (DF = 13, N = 237) = 11.44, p = .57, RMSEA < .06. Of note, older age was associated with both better initial health (b = .036**) and a slower decrease over the year (b = -.005*). Initial positive social exchanges were associated with better initial health (b = .067*) but did not alter the trajectory of change over time. These findings suggest an age-related advantage for health in the face of COVID-19 and that positive social support is associated with better health, at least at the very beginning of the pandemic.

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