Youth sport environment perceived by athletes, parents, coaches and managers

Abstract

The aim of this study was two-fold. First, to create a measure to assess the athletes, parents, coaches and managers’ perception of the youth and children’s sport environment. Second, to analyze the differences among them with respect to the perception of the youth sport environment. Participants, 333 athletes, 333 parents, 63 coaches and 46 managers, completed the Perception of Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire, created for this investigation. An exploratory factor analysis revealed the existence of five dimensions of the sport context perception: Good refereeing, sportspersonship, educative coaches, considered parents, and competition organization. Multivariate analysis of the sport environment dimensions based on group and gender was performed. Results showed that, among different agents, managers were the most critical evaluating the youth sport context, including their own organization. Results are discussed for their practice applications to coaching and management youth sports.