[youtube]https://youtu.be/kaQarCyOy18[/youtube]
UBC School of Kinesiology, Professor Nicola Hodges is spearheading a research study, titled the Pathways Project, which focuses on developmental activities, behaviours and motivation in girl’s soccer. The project is being conducted in collaboration with the members of the Canada National Women’s Soccer and the provincial programs along with the University of Northumbria, UK.
Funded by a SSHRC grant, Pathways studies the career progressions of female youth (ages 12-18) soccer players and the factors that help make highly skilled, motivated and committed players, and ultimately successful teams.
These aspects of skill development have been identified as important to continued involvement and success in sport. The research project is also intended to inform as to factors which lead to disinterest and drop out.
Now in Phase 1 of the study, Professor Hodges is currently recruiting girls (and their parents), via soccer clubs, to participate in the study. Through specifically designed, validated questionnaires, researchers will investigate the relationships between early soccer practice experiences, other organized sport and non-sport activities and current skill levels and motivations. These analyses will form part of a wider understanding of optimal youth sport development and the benefits and costs of early sport-specific specialization.
Because the research team has already collected data from male players in a previous research project, they will be able to study developmental differences and compare trends in the data based on sex. Following up with the same participants in subsequent years will also improve understanding of drop-out in soccer amongst youth players in Canada. Although not part of this current study, Hodges and her team hope to validate their questionnaire methods with specific skill tests (tactical and technical) and relate these to practice histories and other psychological indices. It is expected that the results of the study will contribute to the existing body of literature on the development of skill in sport and factors related to continued involvement (or drop-out). In a practical sense, these data will help foster successful and positive youth sport development in soccer, with research-based evidence serving to guide the design of effective practice environments.
If you are interested in learning more about the Pathways Project or if you are interested in having your club participate, please contact the research team at: msl.kin.educ.ubc.ca or kin.msl@ubc.ca