| Abstrakt: |
Within the United States, millions of youth participate in recreational athletics, and approximately 7%--10% will have some type of hidden disability (HD), such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disability, or autism spectrum. Youth athletes with HD, and youth without a diagnosed disability, also may exhibit characteristics of these disabilities that can impact their behavior. This study investigated recreational leaders (RLs') perceptions of athletes exhibiting challenging behaviors in a youth sport setting. Specifically, this study explored (a) RLs' perceptions of athletes' challenging behaviors, (b) RL's proposed actions in addressing these difficulties, and (c) RL's efficacy towards effectively managing challenging behavior. Forty- three RLs reviewed four videos, described athletes' behaviors, and proposed behavior management solutions. Results indicated RLs tended to blame athletes when instructions were not followed, or when athletes were not on task, rather than consider their own role in delivering appropriate instruction or practice. Consequently, a need exists for improved recreation youth coaching training regarding HD and pedagogical techniques, specifically through the integration of research- validated strategies used within the academic and physical activity setting such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Meyer et al., 2014). Teaching RLs how to understand and use UDL may help provide RLs with the necessary skills to individualize feedback and better incorporate strategies for learning sport skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
