The present study examined extracurricular sport participation variables and developmental context in relationship to perceived self-efficacy among underserved adolescents. Participants (n = 821, 13.6 ± 1.5 years) completed the Youth Experience in Sport questionnaire and General Self-Efficacy Scale. We used the Human Development Index (HDI) to characterize developmental contexts. Multilevel regression models were used to explore the relative contributions of age, sex, years of participation in extracurricular sport, HDI, and perceived positive experience in sport. Our results highlight that positive experience alone and in interaction with length of participation in the program fostered perceived self-efficacy. Participants from higher HDI contexts remained longer in the program. An implication of our research is that variables linked to positive sport experiences and perceived self-efficacy can be used as markers to evaluate the outcomes and impact of sport participation programs aimed at promoting positive youth development.

Resumo: O alargamento das possibilidades de compreensão do fenômeno esporte e avanços em Pedagogia do Esporte tiveram um importante papel da ciência, observando os diferentes personagens, cenários, significados e finalidades do esporte. Todavia, no bojo das transformações que alcançaram a sociedade contemporânea, a própria ciência viu-se em meio a crises e rupturas paradigmáticas. E é esta a alocação deste estudo, que discute as relações entre os paradigmas tradicionais da ciência e a consolidação de metodologias e procedimentos pedagógicos pioneiros no trato com os Jogos Esportivos Coletivos (JEC), muitos dos quais ainda perduram em diferentes contextos de ensino, aprendizagem e vivência do esporte. Assim, estando no presente (crises, rupturas paradigmática) olhando para o passado (ciência normal, conhecimento acumulado), será possível vislumbrar os pressupostos que apontem para uma ciência contemporânea, especificamente sob a ótica da Pedagogia do Esporte. Palavras chave: Ciência; Pedagogia do Esporte; Jogos Esportivos Coletivos; Paradigma. Abstract: The enlargement of the possibilities to understand the Sport and the advances in Sport Pedagogy phenomenon had an important support of science, observing the different characters, backgrounds, meanings and purposes of the sport. However, in the wake of the transformations that have reached the contemporary society, science found itself in the midst of crises and paradigmatic ruptures. And this is the allocation of this essay, which discusses the relationship between the traditional paradigms of science and consolidation of methodologies and pioneer pedagogical procedures in dealing with Collective Sports Games (JEC), many of which still exist in different contexts of teaching, learning and experience of sport. Thus, being in the present (crisis breaks paradigmatic) looking back (normal science, accumulated knowledge), you can glimpse the assumptions that point to a contemporary science, specifically from the perspective of Sport Pedagogy. Keywords: Science, Sport Pedagogy; Team Games; Paradigm.

The overall aim of this article was to present a positive case study about how a sport club can foster both elite athlete development in parallel with offering a diverse range of sport activities to attract and maintain a greater number of children and youth for continued participation in a long term sport program. To this end, an in-depth case study was conducted of a model Spanish Basketball Club, considered an example of success in achieving consistent level of performance and high rates of participation among their youth. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with administrators, setting observation, and analysis of current and archived club documents. The results show that the club has created changes over the years that have led to a clear organizational structure with a philosophy that connects its youth development teams and elite teams. An increase focus on youth development, the addition of recreational activities, and the implementation of a coach education program have been linked to enhanced participation rate and performance.

Youth sporting activities have been explored as a way to impact positive personal transformation and development, glaringly demonstrated by world-wide investments in public policies, programs, and projects. We studied positive effects of participation in sports on the developmental assets of 614 adolescents (13.1 ± 1.7 years) actively engaged in extracurricular sport programs targeted at socially disadvantaged youths, from five municipalities across five states of the southern, south-eastern and north-eastern regions of Brazil. Participants responded to a developmental assets questionnaire designed to capture sociodemographic and human development data. Multilevel logistic regression was used to explore associations between years of participation in sport and human development indicators, controlling for age and sex. Our results showed that the quality of the young people’s support network and duration of program participation positively influenced sport participation, which, in turn, was associated with willingness to learn. A strong association was also observed between sport participation and developmental assets. Thus, we offer new evidence of a relationship between positive development and environmental factors in which individual and contextual forces can be aligned, and we provide new reference data for developing countries.

The aim of this study was to identify and describe elements that influenced the engagement of the 2013 Brazilian handball female world champions from grassroots to elite sports levels. Seven members of the team participated in a retrospective examination of their athletic development, with a mean of 20 years of sports experience. A semi-structured interview and questionnaire were used for data collection, and the script was based on the development stages of the Developmental Model of Sport Participation¹ and the dynamic elements of the Personal Assets Framework². The thematic analysis showed that the athletes’ personal characteristics, their disparate environments, and the quality of their relationships were significant in their pathway to elite performance. The results show that well-structured settings are not important in the early years, but rather the coaches’ interest in keeping young athletes engaged in sport is one of the key elements. Moreover, the advance in the maintenance years, training in a more structured setting and the coaches’ caring attitude and attention to their athletes’ feelings and emotions can lead to pathways toward excellence.

O estudo tem por objetivo fortalecer conceitos relacionados ao ensino estratégico-tático-técnico dos Jogos Esportivos Coletivos (JEC) e sinalizar propostas de diferentes contextos culturais, a fim de estabelecer os avanços nos processos de organização e sistematização do seu ensino. A metodologia caracteriza-se como um estudo bibliográfico de caráter descritivo-reflexivo. As novas tendências em pedagogia do esporte sinalizam que os métodos de iniciação esportiva devem proporcionar o novo e o desafiador, centrando o ensino no aluno e desencadeando o processo educacional a partir do escopo ontológico do jogo.