Tag Archive for 'abbandono'

In UK girls leave sport

A study conducted by Women in Sport, titled “Reframing sport for teenage girls: tackling teenage disengagement” highlighted that more than 1 million girls who considered themselves sporty in elementary school lose interest in physical activity as teenagers.

The dominant reasons are attributed to fear of being judged, lack of confidence, and dislike of others. Just under half (47%) said they were too busy with school work to continue playing sports. Seventy-eight percent of girls who play sports say they refrain from playing when they are menstruating because of pain and perceived fatigue.

The survey also found that the pandemic affected teenage girls’ concerns about their appearance, as well as mental health issues, more than boys. It found that they are less physically active than boys in general and are much less likely to participate in team sports.

The data from this survey shows a pretty bad situation in the UK, as only 37% of girls reported being physically active compared to 54% of boys. Percentages that get much worse among 17-18 year olds where only 3 in 10 girls describe themselves as sporty, compared to 6 in 10 boys.

Self-esteem and body image issues were found to be problems that all girls struggled with, but this was especially true for girls who had stopped taking part in sports and physical activity when they grew up.
The report showed that most girls understood the benefits of being active and wanted to increase their physical activity levels, but only 47% said they found it easy to get motivated.

Stephanie Hilborne, the chief executive of Women in Sport, said, “It is an absolute farce that teenage girls are being pushed out of sport on such a scale.” She added that losing sport at this formative stage of their lives equates to a “lifelong loss of joy and good health”.

“We need to dispel the myth that adolescent girls drop out of sports simply because their priorities change. Our research found that 59% of adolescent girls who were athletic love competitive sports, but were turned down because of early years stereotypes, inadequate opportunities and a complete lack of knowledge about managing female puberty.

“Teenage girls are not voluntarily leaving sports, but are being pushed out as a result of ingrained gender stereotypes. We all need to do more to reverse this trend and not continue to accept this as inevitable.”

The association calls on schools and sports associations to keep girls engaged in sports, especially during the transition from primary to secondary school and during puberty.

Mind fatigue: how to trick it

Walter Staiano, Andrea Bosio, Helma M. de Morree, Ermanno Rampinini e Samuele Marcora (2018). The cardinal exercise stopper: muscle fatigue, muscle pain or perception of effort?  Progress in Brain Research, 240, 175-200.

The ability to sustain high-intensity aerobic exercise is essential for endurance performance. Is cessation of high-intensity aerobic exercise due to muscle fatigue, muscle soreness, or increased perception of exertion?

Study participants performed a cycle ergometer test at constant load and high intensity.They were pushed to provide the maximum effort possible. The results show that at the moment when the athlete voluntarily stops pedaling (theoretical moment of maximum exhaustion) he or she actually still has a high exercise capacity. This means that from a physiological point of view, when the athlete perceives himself as exhausted, in reality he can still produce about twice as much power as that which led him to exhaustion. The data highlights that the factor that prevents the continuation of the exercise, when you stop during an intense effort, is not the lack of strength to continue at that intensity or the perception of pain in the muscles. The reason for stopping or decreasing the intensity during a high intensity effort lies in the perception of the effort.

A trick to continue at the same intensity is to distract the mind with a thought that sustains this effort for a few seconds or a few meters, that is the decisive moment of the race because those who do not think in this way will stop or slow down excessively while we continue.

New Zealand: one project to change the youth sport approach

Youth sport, the need for multi-sports practice, the drop-out causes, the increase in injuries and the parents, coaches and managers role. These are the themes of one project developed in New Zealand to reconsider the approaches used up to day. It is an approach not used in Italy but I suppose that is the same in many others European countries. We need to be more responsible of the sports proposal we offer to our children and adolescents. We need to reduce sport drop-out  in order to promote their well-being, sense of belonging and good life habits.

Reading the following article will certainly be useful to open our minds to the problem of sports practice and drop-out and to receive good insights..

Sport NZ and five of the largest participation sports in New Zealand – Rugby, Cricket, Football, Netball and Hockey – have launched a major public awareness campaign calling for enablers of youth sport to reconsider their approaches. But why is the call to action so urgent?

The collaborative ‘Keep up with the play’ campaign zeroes in on the issue of why teens are walking away from sport in increasing numbers. Evidence gathered over time in Sport NZ’s Active NZ national participation survey shows that when comparing 12-14 year olds with 18-24 year olds, hours per week engaged in physical activity drops from 12 to 5. In addition, the number of activities drops from 6.4 to 2.5 and weekly participation drops substantively from 98% to 75%. The campaign calls on everyone involved in youth sport, specifically parents, coaches and administrators, to help turn this around.

Furthermore, Secondary School Sport census data shows that although school rolls have increased over the last three years, participation has dropped in inter-school sport. For Sport NZ this is disturbing, because habits formed in the teen years transfer to the adult years. Basically inactive teens become inactive adults.

Although some of the drop-off can be attributed to the inevitable changes that occur during the teen years including motivation, contention on time and the impact of technology, there are other factors that exacerbate this decline.

Sport NZ says that years spent studying the subject, and examining overseas models, shows young people are best served when their needs are put first. And the main motivation for young people to play sport is to have fun (76%) followed by hanging out with family or friends (44%). The fact is that sport is seen by many teens as another way to connect with friends and have a good time. And if the fun goes, because the pressure and time demands rachet up, they’ll be likely to follow.

Though some parents might be tempted to let their kids specialise early in one sport, perhaps encouraged by a coach or club administrator, the statistics show this is probably a bad idea. Australian studies demonstrate that the transition rate from being identified as youth talent to becoming an elite athlete is less than 10%.

And it won’t necessarily be worth it. Over training and over playing can lead to injury and burn out in young players. ACC statistics have shown a 60% surge since 2008 in sports-related injuries in 10-14 year olds – double the increase of any other age group. There are a number of reasons for the spike, but a growing concern is that too much of one sport can be just as harmful as not enough exercise.

For those looking for a helpful guide, ACC encourages the one hour for every year guideline, where the amount of organised sport per week – both training and competition – should not exceed the child’s age. Exceeding recommended hours increases the odds of a ‘gradual onset injury’.

All in all, the stats are sobering. And though every parent wants to support their child becoming a star on the sports field, too much too soon may have just the opposite effect.”

Children put off sport by parents’ bad behaviour

Children as young as eight are being put off sport by the behaviour of their parents, according to a survey by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and cricket charity Chance to Shine. Of the 1,002 eight to 16 year olds surveyed, 45% said the bad behaviour of parents made them feel like not wanting to take part in sport.

84% of parents of those children agreed that negative behaviour discouraged youngsters from participation.

In the survey, 41% of the children spoken to said their parents criticised their performance – 16% saying it happened frequently or all the time – with 58% of the parents believing there was more shouting from the sidelines compared to their childhood.

One child reported seeing a mother smash a car window after the opposition scored, another witnessed “a dad hit the ref for sending his kid off”, while one parent recalled police being called when two opposing parents started fighting.

Chance to Shine coaches are to begin a summer programme of lessons in playing sport in a sporting yet competitive manner to 350,000 children in more than 5,000 state schools as part of the MCC Spirit of Cricket campaign.

Coaching ambassador Kate Cross, who plays for England Women, said: “We want children to be competitive but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed and that applies to children as well as to any pushy parents watching them.”

Source: BBC News

The motor activity pyramid

In Italy there are few hours of physical activity in school and that there is not a global project to solve this problem. Once again, the solution of the problem is only on the shoulders of the families, who often do not have a familiarity with the active sport and even less with the movement. The union of these two constraints leads to an early exit from the sport by girls as early as the secondary school, which in the male is two/three years later. In fact,  less than 50% of young people of 15 years old  is involved  in sport on regular basis. The Italian Society of Pediatrics, on the occasion of the International Day of the Child and Adolescent, presented  the Motor Activity Pyramid, illustrating the characteristics of a healthy and active lifestyle. Unfortunately, it’s an issue that is not perceived as important by politicians but also by the adult people and for which the data showing that a sedentary lifestyle is the cause of many diseases are not so far been sufficient to give importance to this theme compared to those showing that smoking brings to the cancer, instead of which the majority of people are convinced.

Girls: no sports, no selfesteem

It has been presented in Milan under the patronage of the Municipality the Self-Esteem Project : “6 out of 10 girls drop out their favorite sport because they are dissatisfied with their body. Together, because no girl hang up his shoes.”

The initiative came from a study by Dove and it will be promote in 10 secondary schools in Milan, a series of 4 meetings, reserved for girls and boys between 12 and 14 years. Coordinated by Mauro Grimoldi ( president psychologists order of Lombardy ), two psychologists follow the group-class ,with the aim of encouraging the participants to develop a positive self-awareness and build a healthy and positive relationship with the body. The initiative, in the coming months will be expand to other Italian cities .

An international research , conducted this year by Dove, shows that worldwide there are many girls who develop psychological blocks due to low self-esteem . Worldwide, 60% of girls between the ages of 15 and 17 prevents normal daily activities – go to the doctor, play sports or be tested at school – because they feel uncomfortable in their own body. Chasing an unattainable model of beauty, the girls end up not express what they really are. The data obtained in Italy are particularly significant: 8 out of 10 girls do not feel good in their body , because of the stereotypes imposed by the media, society and sometimes by themselves. Only 3% of girls are considered beautiful, 45% is defined by reticence cute, 25% are worried about their own weight, and 36 % said they would feel happier if they were more beautiful. The research also shows how in Italy there is a direct link between the feeling of inadequacy, lack of self-esteem and the onset of insecurities that sometimes are likely to have a significant impact on the simple daily activities. 52% of Italian girls is not involved in sports, because dissatisfied with their body.

The rugby mindset

Life is good. Said the Italian rugby player Lo Cicero when he left this sport. Others have not been able to say goodbye to rugby till now. Players like O’Driscoll and Wilkinson,  rugby legends, they had all from this sport and they did all for it, and they continue to stay on the field for another year. About the mind of the rugby players read more on:

http://quartotempo.blog.lettera43.it/2013/05/08/rugby-psicologia-come-pensano-i-rugbisti-a-colloquio-con-alberto-cei/

The new calmness of Federica Pellegrini

The story of Federica Pellegrini  shows that even one of the most talented and successful athlete,  needs at some point in her career a period of recovery after years of very intense work. She has not taken a year off but she has reduced the competitive commitments, the training hours and she is dedicated to a different swimming specialty. The example of Federica Pellegrini is true for everyone, not just for the athletes to the Olympic level. It teaches us that recovery is part of the sport career that you can not put stress on for years without having a recovery period. You can not always push hard, because in the long run this attitude leads to drop out and loss of serenity. You have to desire to train and to sacrifice yourself and to feel joy in being tired, when it becomes a burden you have to stop or reduce the commitment. This is also important for amateur athletes, who must not win anything but too often they consume themselves without ever taking a moment’s rest. We must never forget that the recovery is part of the workout.

The desire to succeed.

The book by Adharanand Finn “Running with the Kenyans” shows that the dominant feature in order to become an athlete in Kenya is: the desire to succeed. It’s this idea that acts as a locomotive for all the others. This idea should make us think as too often we as parents, teachers or coaches think that it is not the result of a culture where the young grow but almost a gift that it has touched someone. While attribute it at the culture in which we live, it means to know the answer to the drop-out of young people from the sport but also from the school.

It is not just a personal matter of every boy and girl, it depends on how it’s organized our social environment. If in Kenya there is a culture of race rooted and pervasive, how do we develop a culture of sport in Italy, but also to study so significant? What are the models to emulate that send to young people? Because if we do not act to answer these questions, we will never integrate with the need for commitment and dedication with an abundance offer of schooling and sports.

Have the opportunity to choose between multiple paths is to be welcomed but it becomes useless if it is not combined with the desire to succeed. In case of failure is jumping from one school to another, who can pay a diploma in a private school or leave school altogether. But if the kids do not know or choose not undertake, the responsibility is of the school and the parents who are not good teachers.

Pratica sportiva e abbandono

Negli Stati Uniti si calcola che il 70% dei giovani abbandoni lo sport fra 13-15 anni. Le ragioni sono molte e così suddivise: infortunio, noia, allenamento eccessivo, limitato sviluppo delle abilità, stress e ansia, specializzazione precoce, allenatori troppo critici, gnitori che vogliono realizzarsi attraverso i figli, mancanza d’interazione sociale fra gli atleti. Sono dati negativi, ma almeno negli USA si hanno dati certi mentre da noi queste stesse considerazioni possono solo essere supposte, poichè nessuno si occupa della questione dell’abbandono o di come incrementare la partecipazione alo sport e all’attività fisica. Noi ci limitiamo a dire che lo Stato non fa nulla e che i giovani di oggi sono pigri.