Social Connection - Link to Retain Girls in Sport
Positive Experiences Lead to a Sense of Empowerment and Intrinsic Motivation to Participate
Now, more than ever, we have come to realize the power of social connection. For us parents, the social bonds we make as adults have benefits in many aspects of our lives. This is also especially true in children, and while it may not seem obvious, social connection is a key driver in creating positive experiences when cultivating healthy, active lifestyles.
For young girls, a positive experience with physical activity and sport depends on many factors, such as the quality of programming, accessibility and a strong support system. The importance in creating these positive experiences at a young age cannot be understated. They lead to a sense of empowerment and intrinsic motivation to participate, setting up healthy physical and social habits for life.
One of the most important factors in creating positive sport and physical activity experiences for girls (and women) is social connection.
In fact, the top 2 reasons girls ages 7-16 choose to stay in sport are:
To make friends, and
Be part of a team.
Girls feel a strong urge to belong and be accepted, so much so that the effort they put in and their resulting performance quality depends on it. For many boys (and parents of boys), performance is the main driver of their sense of belonging. In contrast, social belonging enhances a girl’s performance.
Paths That Lead to a Positive Sport Experience
Source: Canadian Women and Sport
Ways to Support Social Connection and Keep Girls in Sport
Organizations have the responsibility to create environments that are welcoming for girls. In doing so, they build a foundation for inclusiveness and acceptance that encourages personal growth and reduces drop-out rates (girls drop out of sport 3x the rate of their male peers in adolescence). In a recent publication (She Belongs: Building a Social Connection for Lasting Participation in Sport), Canadian Women and Sport lists 5 ways to support social connection to keep girls in the game . Run.Jump.LEAD! feels these are important steps to building positive experiences for our participants. In remaining portion of this article, we go into detail on how our organization addresses each step to show our commitment to creating positive experiences for the girls who participate in our programs.
Build the Foundation for a Positive Culture
Why It Matters: Building a culture that champions personal connection over performance sets the foundation for social belonging. Laying out expectations for both parents and participants early on contributes to the quality of social belonging for everyone.
How We Champion It: Our participant’s voices are key elements in our weekly classes. We continually ask for input before, during and after each class, treating feedback as serious considerations in our decision-making. Our coaches set high expectations of inclusiveness early, initiating dialogue at the beginning of each session to build the group’s sense of purpose. We ask questions such as, “why do you think you are here?” and, “what do you want to learn?”
Our positive team culture goes beyond the girls who participate in our classes. We engage parents through weekly updates, photos of the classes, and provide talking points for them to continue the discussion at home. We strive to initiate two-way conversations both during our classes and after.
Create an Inclusive and Safe Environment
Why It Matters: A strong sense of belonging begins with setting up and withholding a standard on how to communicate with the team, and how they communicate with each other. A safe and inclusive environment considers: language, learning styles, and diversity.
How We Champion It: Our coaches use inclusive language and encourage everyone to participate in all games and activities, no matter what their abilities are. We build groups and partnerships within our classes that reflect similar abilities, but also group based on ability gaps to demonstrate diversity. The games and activities we plan intentionally create opportunities to support each other.
We use the explain, demonstrate and teach method to coach so that all learning styles are covered. Our coaches use soft corrections so that our participants see the value in what they are being asked to do, generating self-motivation to work hard and improve.
Identify and Celebrate Role Models
Why It Matters: As the saying goes, “seeing is believing.” Role models provide inspiration and relatability, and when female role models share their experiences, it promotes resilience. For girls to fully get the benefits of staying active, they must see that the end result is attainable and meaningful.
How We Champion It: Our dedicated team of female coaches have a passion to inspire and are committed to creating a brighter future for the next generation of female leaders. We share first-hand experience of our own struggles, resiliency and successes, providing inspiration to motivate the girls in our classes.
We reference and celebrate female athletes and encourage our participants to watch events such as the Olympics, focusing on the athlete’s hard work over performance. Each session we identify the leaders in our lives and reflect on how we have similar traits and strengths, discovering that we are already leaders in our own way.
Redefine Girl’s Relationship with Risk
Why It Matters: For girls, the potential of making a mistake in front of their peers is perceived as a relationship risk which overwhelms the enjoyment of their activity. The fear of failure and embarrassment can be a barrier for girls to participating competitively or trying a new sport or skill.
How We Champion It: We approach risk and fear of failure by group and individual goal-setting. In our safe environment, we teach our participants the tools to overcome failure in their daily lives through role playing and purposely providing opportunities for risk and quick decision-making. Putting emphasis on the journey instead of the outcomes, we work together to overcome our mistakes.
Each of our classes focuses on one leadership skill that guides our games and activities. Our curriculum contains multiple opportunities to learn about goal-setting, responsible risk taking and strategic thinking as a means for our participants to use these skills in their daily lives.
Recognize and Respond to the Signs of Disengagement
Why It Matters: Recognizing signs of disengagement early is key to sustaining long-term participation in sport (a girl’s decision to quit an activity rarely happens overnight). Girls will often begin to disengage if their social needs are not met. Building relationships with participants and using social connection will allow for early recognition of disengagement and prevent drop-out.
How We Champion It: Our coaches build strong relationships with our participants so we can recognize signs of disengagement early and the reasons behind them. Whether it is over the course of the session or during a specific game or activity, we are continually assessing the participation of our participants and we are able to pivot to re-engage.
We are pro-active. Before each class, we complete a daily self check-in which provides opportunities for coaches to assess the class and gain insights about the source of a participant’s behaviour.
Source: Kopelow, B., Fenton , J., & Alexander, S. (2020). She Belongs - Canadian Women & Sport. Canadian Women in Sport. Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://womenandsport.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/She-Belongs_Canadian-Women-Sport.pdf