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Risk and Uncertainty in Youth Sport: A Philosophical Look at Specialization
Get PDFAn increasing number of children playing sports face pressure (both parental and societal) to specialize at an early age, to focus exclusively on one sport with the hope of securing a college scholarship. So-called âtravel teams,â once the domain of tweens and teens, now extends to the very youngest children, with athletes (and parents) traveling exceedingly long distances, and spending large sums of money, virtually year-round. Through the course of this paper, I glean from both American philosophical themes, and current literature related to social change, to help at least partially answer this question regarding youth sport specialization. I contend that these conceptual ideas help provide language for us to think more clearly about some of the issues surrounding youth sport specialization. To begin, the potential downsides of youth sport specialization are patently clear. Focusing on one particular sport at a young age presents latent hazards. At an appropriate point, however, this specialization holds the potential for exploring the notion of commitment in extremis. After engaging in multiple sport options during elementary school years, the adolescent soccer player, for example, may decide to pursue the âbeautiful gameâ to see what potential it may bring. My aim is to examine sport participation, specifically during the process where youth become committed to a particular sport. In this way, I move from issues of early exploration with youth sport to issues related to commitment and immersion. My contention is that youth sport participants who choose to focus on a particular sport, to make it their own, and make this decision (largely) on their own â act in a way which is consistent with the language of American philosopher, William James. James is fitting here, as Ilundain-Agurruza (2015) explains, because his works are âsuited for a holistic conception of enactive performance . . . [and include a focus on] asceticism and risk, and those regarding cognition and actionâ (p. 259)
Houston College Sport Programsâ Hurricane Harvey Communication: A Twitter Content Analysis
Get PDFThis study provides a Twitter content analysis of tweets by Houston-based Division I college sport programs during Hurricane Harvey. A content analysis was performed on the tweets appearing on the main intercollegiate athletics Twitter pages of University of Houston, Houston Baptist University, Prairie View A&M University, Rice University, and Texas Southern University in response to Hurricane Harvey. The researchers based their study on grounded theory informed by a study conducted by Inoue and Havard (2015). While this study examined tweets rather than newspaper and magazine articles like Inoue and Havard (2015), this study confirmed the theme findings in Inoue and Havard (2015) applied well in a Twitter social media setting as well. New themes that were added by the researchers in the current study proved to be applicable
The Politicizing of ESPN: A Content Analysis of Its Perceived Partisanship
Get PDFSince the 2016 presidential election, there has been the perception that politics has not only taken the forefront in news, but in sports as well. After then NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest social injustice, ESPNâs protest coverage became a source of debate as various media outlets accused the network of exhibiting partisan coverage with a liberal bias. Sports journalism has historically suffered with issues of credibility, especially ESPN because of the blurring of the lines between information and entertainment. Through a content analysis of the sport siteâs Facebook comments, this study found that espn.com users were more likely to be uncivil towards other commenters and were less concerned with a perceived bias by the site. This, however, is not conclusive evidence that espn.com does not have some sort of bias but does indicate that the assumed commenters of sports sites are similar to those of hard news sites, often using its platform for their own political messaging and attacking other users who have different views
"Splendid Condition and Enormous \u27Grit\u27": The Sporting "Other" and Canadian Identity
No full textCanadian identity is mutable, changing in response to outside influences. This phenomenon is especially apparent in sport. This paper focuses on the formation and maintenance of Canadian identity in sport. By connecting the 1867 Paris rowing crew, the 1972 Summit Series, and the 2019 NBA champion Toronto Raptors, this paper seeks to investigate how Canadian identity has been shaped through sport. Using newspaper articles, online editorials, and academic sources, this paper shows how integral the sporting âotherâ is to the Canadian identity
âThe Highest Form of Patriotism:â Toward an Understanding of First Amendment Precedents and NFL Protests
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Good and Bad Reasons to Reject Externalism
Get PDFThe debate between internalism and externalism in epistemology concerns one of the traditional conditions for knowledge: justification. Specifically, proponents of these theories seek to understand precisely what confers justification on a belief. Theories of justification are typically characterized as internalist if they hold that all justifiers are cognitively accessible to a person. Externalism represents the rejection of this thesis; defenders of this theory deny that the justifiers must be internal to a believerâs perspective. This paper presents an objection to the externalist account. Externalism, broadly construed, allows a person to be justified when they hold beliefs for the wrong reasons, and this indicates a significant problem with the theory. This paper argues that this kind of objection will not work for at least one significant variation of the externalist thesis: reliabilism. Finally, the idea that this theory must still account for a âgood reasonsâ evaluation of justification, an internalist consideration, is proposed and promoted
Welcome to America! How can athletic departments better assist international student-athletes with their transition into the American university setting?
Get PDFThe current study examined how athletic stakeholders (e.g., coaches and support staff) at a NCAA Division I mid-major university attempt to assist international student-athletes (ISAs) with their transition into the American university setting. Semi-structured interviews with 10 athletic administrators and coaches discussed common transition issues ISAs typically encounter (e.g., cultural changes, dietary/nutritional adjustments, financial misunderstandings, homesickness, etc.), as well as resources (e.g., consistent on-boarding checklists) and a training (e.g., cultural competency training) that should be provided to practitioners that assist/coach ISAs. Additionally, programmatic offerings that might provide support systems and improve the student-athlete experience for ISAs were discussed. Our findings highlight the considerations that athletic administrators and coaches should know when attempting to support ISAs during the beginning stages of their transition to America. Due to the growing number of ISAs competing in college sport, understanding how best to support this population is crucial for athletic departments that are hoping to attract and retain ISAs
Skating in the Sun: Examining Identity Formation of National Hockey League Fans in Sunbelt States
Get PDFAs the National Hockey League (NHL) has made concerted efforts in recent years to expand into the Sunbelt region of North America, its teams still face tremendous challenges to building up their fan bases. Adopting a qualitative research protocol, this study explored the phenomenon of NHL fandom formation in the Sunbelt region. Research findings revealed key patterns and trends that influenced individuals to become fans of NHL teams in this strategic region of growth. A discussion of socialization into fandom was developed based on the themes and assertions derived in the study, which suggested that the fan community would play a significant role in fan identity formation and be a major driving force in the leagueâs market penetration into new marketplaces. The findings offer practical implications for teams to build and expand their fan bases and also provide a foundation for future quantitative investigations