There is an ongoing discussion as to how life skills development and transfer should be addressed. Previously, researchers have proposed an implicit/explicit dichotomy to explain how life skills teaching occurs. As research within the area of sport-based youth development continues to progress, a model is needed to delineate the varying levels of implicitness/explicitness at which coaches can facilitate life skills development and transfer. Within this article, an implicit/explicit continuum of life skills development and transfer is presented and distributed across six levels: (a) structuring the sport context, (b) facilitating a positive climate, (c) discussing life skills, (d) practicing life skills, (e) discussing transfer, and (f) practicing transfer. The levels found within the continuum are grounded in existing sport psychology literature. Conceptually, researchers can use the continuum to empirically situate how coaches teach life skills. Practically, the continuum can help coaches frame their approach to life skills development and transfer.

Researchers argue that sport must be deliberately structured to teach life skills. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in program quality and positive developmental outcomes across 3 youth programming contexts (intentional sport, nonintentional sport, intentional leadership) pertaining to the importance of intentionally teaching life skills. Researchers conducted 184 observations, and 377 youth completed 2 questionnaires. Results indicated intentionally structured programs scored higher on program quality and positive youth development outcomes than nonintentionally structured programs, with intentional sport scoring significantly higher on some measures of program quality and positive youth development than leadership programs. Practical implications and future research areas are discussed.

Within the United States, close to 45 million youths between the ages of 6 and 18 participate in some form of organized sports. While recent reviews have shown the positive effects of youth sport participation on youth health, there are also several negative factors surrounding the youth sport environment. To date, a comprehensive review of the negative physical and psychological effects of organized sport on youth has not been done and little thus far has documented the effect organized sport has on other players within a family, particularly on parents and siblings. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to conduct a review of studies on the negative effects of organized sport on the youth athlete and their parents and siblings. Articles were found by searching multiple databases (Physical Education Index and Sociology, Psychology databases (Proquest), SPORTDiscus and Health, History, Management databases (EBSCOhost), Science, Social Science, Arts and Humanities on Web of Science (ISI), SCOPUS and Scirus (Elsevier). Results show the darker side of organized sport for actors within the family unit. A model is proposed to explain under which circumstances sport leads to positive versus negative outcomes, ideas for future research are drawn and recommendations are made to optimize the youth sport experience and family health.

Since the early 2000s, models of positive youth development (PYD), as well as the concept of life skills, have served as popular approaches by which to situate psychosocial development in youth sport research. However, critiques have been put forth in terms of how the PYD approach fails to address power, privilege, and oppression and how life skills do not fully encompass the wide range of learning outcomes that can arise from sport participation. In light of social justice issues (e.g., systemic racism, gender inequity) that have led citizens in many countries to mobilize for change, there is a need to explore how PYD and life skills can be reimagined in order for youth sport research to be better positioned to promote dialogue and action on social justice issues in youth sport. The purpose of the present paper is to reimagine PYD and life skills in sport through a social justice lens. Following reflections on how PYD and life skills can be framed to further promote social justice in youth sport, implications for practice and research are offered. Lay summary: In light of contemporary social justice issues, the present paper is positioned as a reimagining of positive youth development and life skills in sport through a social justice lens. Recommendations are offered to progress positive youth development and evolve life skills. Further, implications for practice and research are provided.

The purpose of this study was to understand youth sport coaches’ perceptions of life skill development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 youth sport coaches across 5 organizations. Analyses revealed 4 themes based on coaches’ perceptions: (a) life skills are a by-product of sport participation, and transfer “just happens”; (b) if intentionally addressed, it's reactive; (c) coaches recognize the value of intentionally teaching life skills; and (d) coaches identify challenges associated with using an explicit approach to teaching life skills. Results provide evidence for the state of the current sport context and highlight areas for coach education related to life skills integration.

Physical activity programs are viable contexts to foster life skills. Researchers contend that programs must be structured to deliberately teach life skills and teach how such skills can be transferred. The purpose of this study is to understand female youths’ perceptions of life skills transfer from participation in a physical activity-based life skills program. Interviews were conducted with eight youth. Results indicated that youth learned intrapersonal (i.e., emotional regulation, focus, goal setting), interpersonal (i.e., respect, responsibility, social skills), and physical activity skills and applied these skills in other life domains. Leaders’ practical strategies used to explicitly teach transferable skills are discussed.