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Analysing Junior Sport Development Programs in New Zealand: A Qualitative Case Study

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Date

2022

Authors

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Millar, Sarah-Kate
Lucas, Patricia

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Master of Sport and Exercise

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Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

It is widely recognised that children who participate in sport can gain a number of social and physical benefits. These benefits are particularly evident in children who participate in a range of team sports. Despite this, research has emerged that describes unhealthy relationships between children and sport, leading to negative experiences and dropout. Sport NZ, who are responsible for leading the sport industry and its governing bodies, have outlined five key behaviours that impact negatively on a child's relationship with sport. These include early specialisation, early success for children, applying an adult sport lens to youth sport, poor policy of team selection and the impact of intense training on children. All of these issues can lead to children dropping out of sport. To tackle this, Sport NZ have launched the Balance is Better philosophy, a campaign that intends to align sporting practice in New Zealand to create healthy environments for children. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand how aligned the junior development programme of four team sports in New Zealand are to the Balance is Better philosophy. From this, recommendations can be made as to how a National Sport Organisation (NSO) could better align with the philosophy, based on existing literature or using examples from other NSOs. This case study is defined by the junior development frameworks currently used by Netball New Zealand, Hockey New Zealand, New Zealand Football and New Zealand Rugby, to understand how the junior development frameworks of these NSOs are delivered and establish their level of alignment with the Balance is Better philosophy. Data collection utilised semi-structured interviews and document analysis. For the interviews, NSOs were asked to nominate a participant from their organisation who could represent their junior development programme. These interviews were used to capture the perspective of the NSOs. A document analysis took place, using documents that illustrated the practical application of and theoretical underpinnings behind each NSOs junior development programme. A thematic analysis was used to understand the data that was collected and generate themes. Five themes were identified from the thematic analysis; 1) Development of junior sport programmes; 2) Participant-centric approaches; 3) Benefits of modified small-sided games; 4) Developing and educating people to deliver junior sport; 5) The role of the NSO in delivery of junior sport. Each theme is supported by sub-themes and is explained in relation to current literature that exists around sport development. Recommendations from this case study are intended to provide NSOs with suggestions on how their junior development programme can better align with the Balance is Better principles. These ten recommendations are presented in a practical way, using examples from other sports to suggest resolutions that NSOs are able to take action within their junior development programme.

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/15423

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