Youth sport programs: an avenue to foster positive youth development

Concern about the growth in adolescent problem behaviours (e.g. delinquency, drug use) has led to increased interest in positive youth development, and a surge in funding for ‘after school programs.’ We evaluate the potential of youth sport programs to foster positive development, while decreasing the risk of problem behaviours. Literature on the positive and negative outcomes of youth sport is presented. We propose that youth sport programs actively work to assure positive outcomes through developmentally appropriate designs and supportive child–adult (parent/coach) relationships. We also highlight the importance of sport programs built on developmental assets (Benson, 1997 Benson PL (1997) All kids are our kids: what communities must do to raise caring and responsible children and adolescents San Francisco CA Jossey-Bass [Google Scholar]) and appropriate setting features (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2002 National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2002) Community programs to promote youth development Washington National Academy Press [Google Scholar]) in bringing about the five ‘C’s of positive development (competence, confidence, character, connections, and compassion/caring: Lerner et al., 2000 Lerner, RM, Fisher, CB and Weinberg, RA. (2000). Toward a science for and of the people: promoting civil society through the application of developmental science. Child Development, 71: 11–20. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). An applied sport-programming model, which highlights the important roles of policy-makers, sport organizations, coaches and parents in fostering positive youth development is presented as a starting point for further applied and theoretical research.