The article “Athlete Impression of a Character-Based Sports Program for Underserved Youth” written by Bean, Whitley & Gould (2014), examines the impact of a youth sport organization in developing life skills and character in youth. Research has been conducted previously on small recreation or sport based programs and also programs put on during school. Although, little has been done to look at extra-curricular activities outside of school and their effect on life skills development for the youth participating. A competitive sports program based out of Detroit, Michigan has a primary goal of developing life skills and character in underserved youth. The program is called the Think Detroit Police Athletic League (TDP). The population that this
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Overall, the TDP was able to achieve its primary goal of transforming youth through participating in sports with coaching mentors. Youth involved in the program found that they were able to stay focused in school and with personal goals, helping them to not participate in negative activities and be on the street. Youth were able to build strong social bonds with peers and mentors and see how the skills they develop in the program can transfer into their everyday life. TDP provided youth with a supportive environment to exercise their leadership skills, understand the value of hard work and develop a person who demonstrates goal directed behaviour (Bean et al., 2014). Regarding dislikes, I found this article and program to be quite positive. The program aims to empower youth through sport but a downside is that not all underserved youth enjoy sport so they may not want to be involved in the program even though it could greatly benefit them. As well, the term underserved youth could be interrupted differently depending on who is reading the information. This terminology is also negative towards the youth so I think it is important to use positive vocabulary when talking about youth even if they are “at …show more content…
What I found was powerful was how the youth saw their coaches as mentors. As stated in the article, many underserved youths looked up to their coaches for guidance and mentoring because outside of their family, they had no one (Bean et al., 2014). In the future, it will be important to seek opportunities to work with youth and develop strategies to allow them to strive. Moving forward, I want to gain practical experience working with youth to create an environment where youth can succeed. This can be done through seeking education opportunities and getting involved in the community. Another important take away from this article is how rewarding and beneficial it was for the youth to participate in such a program. Youth were able to see the results and strived to succeed in an activity they enjoyed doing. By doing a program like a sports program allows for transfer of knowledge, skills and motivation. Relating to the TDP, the Youth Live program in Halifax targets youth aged 16-24 who are not in school and face barriers to seeking and gaining meaningful employment. Similarly, both programs give youth life skills that they can use to enhance their future in a positive manner. Both programs also have structure, for TDP it is using organized sport and for Youth Live it is
Overall, the TDP was able to achieve its primary goal of transforming youth through participating in sports with coaching mentors. Youth involved in the program found that they were able to stay focused in school and with personal goals, helping them to not participate in negative activities and be on the street. Youth were able to build strong social bonds with peers and mentors and see how the skills they develop in the program can transfer into their everyday life. TDP provided youth with a supportive environment to exercise their leadership skills, understand the value of hard work and develop a person who demonstrates goal directed behaviour (Bean et al., 2014). Regarding dislikes, I found this article and program to be quite positive. The program aims to empower youth through sport but a downside is that not all underserved youth enjoy sport so they may not want to be involved in the program even though it could greatly benefit them. As well, the term underserved youth could be interrupted differently depending on who is reading the information. This terminology is also negative towards the youth so I think it is important to use positive vocabulary when talking about youth even if they are “at …show more content…
What I found was powerful was how the youth saw their coaches as mentors. As stated in the article, many underserved youths looked up to their coaches for guidance and mentoring because outside of their family, they had no one (Bean et al., 2014). In the future, it will be important to seek opportunities to work with youth and develop strategies to allow them to strive. Moving forward, I want to gain practical experience working with youth to create an environment where youth can succeed. This can be done through seeking education opportunities and getting involved in the community. Another important take away from this article is how rewarding and beneficial it was for the youth to participate in such a program. Youth were able to see the results and strived to succeed in an activity they enjoyed doing. By doing a program like a sports program allows for transfer of knowledge, skills and motivation. Relating to the TDP, the Youth Live program in Halifax targets youth aged 16-24 who are not in school and face barriers to seeking and gaining meaningful employment. Similarly, both programs give youth life skills that they can use to enhance their future in a positive manner. Both programs also have structure, for TDP it is using organized sport and for Youth Live it is