Parent involvement in Canadian youth hockey: experiences and perspectives of peewee players.
Jeffery-Tosoni, Sarah ; Fraser-Thomas, Jessica ; Baker, Joseph 等
An abundance of research has supported the notion that Canadian
hockey has an aggressive and violent atmosphere (e.g., Loughead &
Leith, 2001; Pappas, McKenry, & Catlett, 2004; Visek & Watson,
2005), and this confrontational atmosphere is in part due to
exceptionally alarming parent behaviours such as yelling and screaming
at players, officials and fellow hockey parents. Rutherford (2008)
reported 'crazy hockey parents' using abusive and profane
language, getting carried away and being belligerent, throwing a garbage
can over the glass at an official, and refusing to leave the arena when
asked. Cribb (2011) reported a 12-year-old girl playing male peewee
hockey decided to quit her team following humiliating criticism from a
teammate's parent. Additionally, Feschuk (2011) recently published
an article in Maclean's magazine citing the common types of hockey
parents including the 'berates his kid in front of everyone'
Dad, the 'complains about ice time' Dad, and the 'an
injustice has been perpetrated on my child' Dad.
These stories paint a disturbing image of minor hockey in Canada,
where hockey is a highly valued component of the general culture (Earle,
2002). Canada currently has the largest minor hockey program in the
world with the number of participants exceeding 570,000 (Hockey Canada,
2012). The National Hockey League (NHL), considered the world's
most elite professional hockey league, is composed of primarily Canadian
players (Coakley & Donnelly, 2009). Further, Canada has a long
history of international success, marked most recently by both the
men's and women's hockey teams winning Olympic Gold medals at
the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games. Given hockey's deep-rooted
cultural significance (Earle, 2002), it is alarming to consider that
Canadian hockey parents may serve as negative socializing agents in
their children's sport development. While it is possible that media
sources have misrepresented youth hockey parents in Canada by
sensationalizing isolated incidents, these types of parental behaviours
are reported at an alarming rate. Numerous questions remain surrounding
our understanding of parents' involvement in Canadian youth hockey.
As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of
youth hockey athletes regarding parent involvement over the course of a
competitive season.
Parent Involvement
Several researchers have noted parents' perceptions, values,
and beliefs regarding sport are very influential on a child's
perceptions, values and beliefs (e.g., Stuart, 2003). Fraser-Thomas and
Cote (2009) found that sport involvement facilitated meaningful
athlete-parent relationships, as the constant highs and lows of the
sport, the early morning drives to practices, and road trips to
competitions led to a special bond; however, athletes also highlighted
negative parental experiences related to pressure to stay involved and
excel in sport. In general, high levels of positive parental behaviours
such as praise and understanding are linked to positive sport
experiences (e.g., Weurth, Lee, & Alfermann, 2004) and negative
parental behaviours can lead to negative outcomes such as inhibited
performance, competitive stress, and sport dropout (Petlitchkoff, 1993).
However, there appears to be a fine line between supportive involvement
and over-involvement. For example, in a study of adolescent competitive
swimmers (Fraser-Thomas, Cote, & Deakin, 2008), parents'
provision of coaching tips, financial rewards, and incentives at
practices and meets was linked to dropout.
Researchers have indicated that parents provide a multitude of
supportive behaviours with regard to sport participation, including
financial support for program fees, equipment, books, videos, magazines,
and personal training, transportation to and from competitions and
training sessions, rearranging family schedules to accommodate for the
sport, volunteering time for coaching, managing, or sport
administration, and attending games and practices (e.g., Coakley &
White, 1992; Fredricks & Eccles, 2005). The importance of parental
emotional support has also been highlighted in order to help children
deal with adverse situations such as performance failure and stress. For
example, Cote (1999) indicated that parents' supportive,
encouraging, and facilitative behaviour was important for talent
development across childhood and adolescence. Also, Wolfenden and Holt
(2005) noted that parents fulfilled the most significant role in
providing emotional and tangible support to elite youth athletes.
Further, levels of parental involvement have been examined to
determine the preferences of youth athletes. Stein, Raedeke, and Glenn
(1999) examined youths' perceptions of parental involvement level
(i.e., high, moderate, low) in comparison to parental involvement degree
(i.e., too little, just right, too much) in youth sport in the United
States. Results indicated that generally, most parents were
'moderately' involved and this was considered 'just
right' by the youth athletes. However, youth who experienced the
highest levels of stress were those who had mothers and fathers that
were 'too involved'. Overall, the degree of involvement was
found to be more important than the level of involvement. This study
advanced previous work in this area by looking beyond solely how much
parents were involved (i.e., involvement level), and placing more
emphasis on whether athletes considered this amount as an ideal degree
of involvement. For example, an athlete may perceive their father as
highly involved, but this may be perceived as 'just right'
from the athlete's perspective. This study was limited, however, in
that it examined degree and level of parent involvement from a
quantitative perspective. Insights into what led to or facilitated these
perceptions were not taken into consideration. Interestingly, Ede,
Kamphoff, Mackey, and Mork Armentrout (2012) reported that male youth
hockey athletes in the United States were dissatisfied with their
parents' levels of involvement, and that they wanted their parents
to be more involved.
Parents as Spectators
Given that parents make up the majority of spectators at youth
sport events, parents' behaviours as spectators also play an
important socialization role in their children's sport
participation and development. Researchers have indicated that parent
behaviour at youth sport events is not always positive. In a study by
Shields and colleagues (2005) conducted in the United States, 14% of
youth sport parents reported yelling at or arguing with a referee, and
13% admitted criticizing their child's sport performance with
anger. Similarly, 15% of youth reported that if they did not play well,
they had to deal with anger from their parents. In an examination of
parent behaviours at youth soccer games, Goldstein and Iso-Ahola (2008)
found that parents experienced anger and responded with aggression due
primarily to the referee (18.9 %), their own children's team play
(15 %), followed by discourteous opponents (6.8 %), hostile remarks or
gestures (5.1 %), coaches (4.7 %), and illegal play (3.3%). Further,
parents who demonstrated higher levels of angry and aggressive behaviour
were more likely to have a control orientation (i.e., external
regulation, ego-involved approach to stress) than an autonomy
orientation (i.e., could regulate behaviour based on own interests and
values). Thompson (2010) also recently called attention specifically to
the problematic atmosphere surrounding Canadian youth hockey, suggesting
it is often dictated by hierarchy and hegemony. Studies examining youth
athletes' preferences for their parents' behaviours while in
competition indicate that youth prefer their parents to be supportive,
maintain control of their emotions, and refrain from being demanding or
argumentative (Knight, Neely, & Holt, 2011; Omli &
Weise-Bjomstal, 2011).
Recently, there has been a surge in observational studies focused
on parents' behaviours at youth sport events. Bowker et al. (2009)
examined parent spectator behaviour at 69 minor hockey games in a large
Canadian city. Sixty percent of the comments were reported to be
positive, 35 % corrective and 5% negative. Bowker and colleagues
suggested results were in direct contrast to media reports citing
violent and aggressive spectator behaviour in minor hockey, since the
majority of comments reported were positive in nature; however, the high
number of corrective comments (35%) should not be overlooked given that
past researchers have outlined corrective comments having negative
effects, as they deprive children of learning experiences, have the
potential to reduce motor performance by bombarding children with too
much information, and can be confusing to children (e.g., Hellison,
1985).
A more naturalistic approach to parent observation was conducted by
Holt, Tamminen, Black, Sehn, and Wall (2008) during 120 hours of
Canadian youth soccer games. Parent comments were categorized on a
continuum from most to least supportive; praise/ encouragement (35%) was
followed by performance contingent feedback (5%), instructional comments
(35%), striking a balance (i.e., providing positive and negative
comments at the same time; 10%), negative comments (10%) and derogatory
comments (5%). Other observational studies have had mixed findings.
Randall and McKenzie's (1987) examination of spectator verbal
behaviour in youth soccer in New Zealand found the majority of comments
were instructional in nature (74.4%) with only 19.8% classified as
positive and 5.8% as negative. Kidman, McKenzie and McKenzie (1999) used
the Parent Observation Instrument for Sport Events (POISE) to examine
comments made by parents to their own children: 51.2% were positive,
36.6% were negative, and 12.2% were neutral. While these studies
advanced understanding of parents' verbal comments directed towards
young athletes at competitive sporting events, they did not take into
account athletes' perceptions of these comments (e.g., whether
athletes heard comments, how athletes interpreted comments, which
comments were preferred, etc.).
Rationale and Purpose
Extensive media reports suggest Canadian hockey parents are
contributing to an aggressive and violent atmosphere (e.g., Rutherford,
2008), highlighting a need to better understand potentially concerning
and problematic parental involvement. Previous research has examined
parent involvement in youth sport contexts, focusing on forms of
parental support, level and degree of involvement, and types of parent
behaviours as spectators at youths' sport events. The present study
extends past work by qualitatively exploring youth athletes'
experiences and perceptions of their parents' involvement,
behaviours and interactions in diverse contexts such as intimate home
environments, while also as spectators at sporting events, within the
unique context of Canadian hockey. The present study offers
understanding of these interactions at a critical age (i.e., peewee;
11-12 years), specifically while many players are going through puberty
(i.e., experiencing numerous physical and psychological changes) and
adapting to the introduction of body checking to the game (Hockey
Canada, 2012). Further, past research has highlighted ages 10-13 to be
the peak age for youth sport dropout (Ewing & Seefeldt, 1989). To
enhance understanding of youth players' experiences and
perspectives during this key period, a longitudinal design was utilized,
where players were followed over the course of a competitive season
(i.e., two time-points). A longitudinal design extends existing youth
sport research that has generally focussed on perceptions at a single
time-point (e.g., Lauer, Gould, Roman, & Pierce, 2010).
Method
Participants
Forty youth hockey players from nine competitive teams in three
different hockey leagues in Southern Ontario, Canada participated in the
study. Participants were recruited from the minor peewee (i.e., 11
years-old; 11 players) and peewee levels (i.e., 12 years-old; 29
players), with a mean age of 11.73 years. The competitive levels of
teams ranged from BB to AAA (the highest competitive level).
Specifically, 5 players were at the BB level, 8 at the AE level, 17 at
the A level, 8 at the AA level, and 2 at the AAA level. All but one
participant's team made the playoffs. Participants held a variety
of playing positions (i.e., forwards, defenders, goaltenders).
Data Collection
Following institutional ethics approval, random purposeful sampling
(Patton, 2002) was utilized to obtain a diverse group of players. The
coaches of several local teams were contacted to ask whether their
players would be interested in participating in a study focused on
current issues in Canadian youth hockey; this study was part of a larger
study focused on additional issues in Canadian youth hockey including
enjoyment, game atmosphere, and the introduction of body checking. Once
participant and parent consent was received, interview times were
scheduled. Each player participated in two 15-45 minute in-depth,
semi-structured interviews; one at the beginning of the season (October,
2011), and one following the conclusion of the season (April, 2012).
Interviews were conducted over the telephone mainly due to the intense
schedules of minor hockey players (i.e., full-time school schedule,
ice-time several nights per week, and tournaments on many weekends), and
at the requests of many of the participants' parents. Previous
studies have supported the telephone interview method with both children
and adults, and researchers have noted that telephone interviewing
produces interviews that are comparable in quality to those attained by
the face-to-face method (Carr & Worth, 2001). The interview guides
were developed following an extensive review of academic literature, in
addition to ongoing attention to current affairs related to youth
hockey; they were piloted through practice interviews with several
individuals with experience in Canadian youth hockey. Following
piloting, only minor changes to the wording of questions took place. The
first interview focussed on establishing a rapport with participants and
becoming familiar with each player's sport background, with more
specific questions relating to their parents' involvement in hockey
and their behaviours at their hockey games. Examples of questions from
the first interview include "Would you say that your parents are
involved in your hockey?", "Can you elaborate on how they are
involved?", "How would you describe the crowd at your
games?", and "What? who can you see or hear at games?"
The second interview focussed on examining players' perceptions of
parent involvement and behaviours over the course of the entire season.
Examples of questions from the second interview include "Has your
parents' involvement in your hockey changed at all over the course
of the season and into the playoffs?" and "Did you find the
crowd affected your performance any more or less as the season
progressed?" Participants were specifically asked about different
parts of the season (e.g., after the first few games, mid-season,
approaching playoffs, in the playoffs).
Data Analysis
Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, resulting
in 552 pages of transcripts (12-point font, single spaced). Previous
guidelines established by Tesch (1990) served as the framework for
analysis. Specifically, text was divided into meaningful pieces of
information known as meaning units (Tesch, 1990), which were
subsequently divided into two main categories. Within each category,
meaning units were grouped based on similar features to create themes
and further sub-themes. An inductive approach was taken to analysis, in
that the results emerged based on observations of individual instances
(Patton, 2002). Further, the analysis occurred collaboratively to ensure
trustworthiness of the data; the research team (made up of the primary
researcher and two others researchers) agreed that saturation had been
reached for the categories and themes following the 80 interviews. The
primary researcher conducted the first round of analysis, and an
additional member of the research team verified a random sample of the
meaning units to ensure inter-rater reliability and the accurate
classification of meaning units into categories and themes. In line with
previous researchers (Sandelowski, 1994; Weiss, 1994), very minor
editing of the transcripts took place to remove repeat and filler words.
Results and Discussion
Table 1 provides a summary of categories, themes, sub-themes, and
associated meaning units. Findings emerged in two broad categories: (a)
parent involvement, and (b) parent spectator behaviour. Themes and
sub-themes associated with each category are discussed below. Following
each quote, the participant's number (researcher assigned), sex,
age and competitive level are provided.
A. Parental Involvement
1. General involvement.
1.1 Attended games; did not attend practices. Most participants
suggested their parents attended their games. "Normally both of my
parents come to my games" (P22; Male, 11 year-old, AA level of
competition). "My mom comes to, practically every game" (P2;
Female, 12 year-old, BB level). Interestingly, a large number of
participants reported that their parents usually did not watch most of
their practices. P36 (Male, 11 year-old, A level) said,
"They'll just go, like just drop me off, and then just go
shopping and come back." Similarly, P24 (Male, 12 year-old, AE
level) explained,
[My parents] usually stay for the first bit, but now that
they're an hour and a half there's not much use in staying. So
they'll stay for the beginning and the end. Or they'll stand
outside talking with all the other parents (P24; Male, 12 year-old, AE
level).
It is important to further examine why parents may be regularly
attending games, but rarely attending practices. In one sense, this
could be regarded positively, as researchers have indicated that parents
can be over-involved in their child's sport by attending all of
their practices and over-stepping the boundaries of the coach
(Petlitchkoff, 1993). On the other hand, this result could be indicative
of parents being focussed primarily on game outcomes vs. players'
development. There has been limited research considering players'
preferences for parents' attendance and behaviours in training, an
area warranting future investigation.
1.2. Coached or managed team. Almost half of the participants
discussed that their parents were involved in their hockey as part of
the coaching or management staff. P13 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) said,
"My dad's part of the coaching staff. He's been usually
the coaching staff for any of the teams I have played." Also, P25
(Male, 12 year-old, AE level) mentioned, "My dad's the trainer
so he's usually at all my games and practices." In general,
fathers were reported to be involved as a coach or trainer, and mothers
were reported to be involved as a manager. P39 (Male, 11 year-old, AA
level) reported, "My dad is the goalie coach and my mom is the
manager."
These findings suggest a substantive number of children's
parents were involved in hockey in other significant roles (i.e., coach,
manager). While it is possible that this was a sample bias, as children
of coaches and managers were likely more inclined to participate in the
study, researchers have identified that approximately 90% of volunteer
youth sport coaches are parents of one or more team members (Brown,
1998). Weiss and Fretwell (2005) examined the relationship between the
parent-coach and child-athlete finding both positive and negative
experiences associated with this relationship. On the positive side,
child-athletes liked the praise, quality time, and increased motivation
associated with having their parent as a coach, while parent-coaches
took pride in their children's achievements and enjoyed having the
opportunity to teach skills to their child. On the negative side,
child-athletes discussed additional pressure, criticism for mistakes,
and unfair treatment, while parent-coaches reported difficulties
separating the parenting and coaching roles and challenges in dealing
with their child's rebellious behaviour. It is clear that the
parent-coach to child-athlete relationship is very complex and deserves
more attention in youth sport literature given the high number of
volunteer coaches at the youth sport level, most of whom are coaching
their own children (Brown, 1998). While there is a small body of
literature exploring the experiences of child-athletes coached by their
parents, future research may want to look explicitly at how
parent-coached athletes' experiences compare to other
athletes' experiences, to fully comprehend the complexities of this
relationship. Interestingly, many fathers were reported to be involved
as coaches, while mothers were more often involved as managers. This is
consistent with Clark's (2009) finding that fathers were twice as
likely to be involved as coaches, referees or sports administrators as
mothers, while also representative of traditional gender roles and the
hegemonic culture of hockey (e.g., Thompson, 2010).
1.3. Provided tangible support. Participants also spoke of their
parents providing tangible support (i.e., providing physical and
practical
resources) in the form of drives to games, involvement in team
fundraisers, and enrolment for hockey clinics. One participant
explained,
My parents do a lot of stuff for me and I recognize that because my
hockey is expensive. It sometimes can be a long drive because sometimes
we have to go way out to [location]. So it's like a long drive and
I recognize that they pay a lot of money for gas and hockey and in
general how expensive it is. (P31; Male, 11 year-old, AA level)
P29 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) noted, "My dad always
usually drives me to practices and we'll go wherever the game is.
So they help me by usually getting me there on time." P28 (Male, 12
year-old, AE level) said, "They support really well. Like
we're doing fundraisers where you sell tickets." P23 (Male, 12
year-old, AE level) mentioned, "My dad usually signs me up for kind
of different clinics to help me with hockey."
This finding is consistent with previous research (e.g., Coakley
& White, 1992; Fredricks & Eccles, 2005); however, it is
important to note the tone and sense of appreciation that participants
communicated in sharing their comments. These players clearly indicated
that their parents' supportive behaviours were noticed. While
previous literature has outlined players' dissatisfaction with both
parents' over-involvement (i.e., carefully watching and monitoring
practices; Coakley & Donnelly, 2009) and under-involvement (Ede et
al., 2012) in hockey, these findings provide a clearer portrayal of the
behaviours that players perceive to constitute optimal involvement.
2. Discussions about hockey.
2.1. Discussed hockey often. Participants reported frequently
talking to their parents about hockey, most often after games and
practices and with their dads, but sometimes more frequently. Some
participants also emphasized how much they enjoyed these interactions.
As P3 (Female, 12 year-old, BB level) said, "Well, it's mostly
sometimes at dinner or before the game, or when we're eating before
the game, or when we go to the game or to the practices." P19
(Male, 12 year-old, A level) stated, "Hockey's a big part of
my life. We tend to talk about it a lot." Similarly, P26 (Male, 12
year-old, AE level) reported, "Well me and my dad--that's all
we really talk about 90% of the time." P36 (Male, 11 year-old, A
level) emphasized, "Me and my dad have a lot of talk about hockey.
It's the thing we like to do." The frequency of parent-child
discussions about hockey as part of the home life may in part be due to
hockey being so central in Canadian culture (Gruneau & Whitson,
1993).
2.2. Debriefed games. Participants suggested most of the
discussions they had with their parents regarding hockey involved
debriefing games and methods to improve. PI 1 (Male, 12 year-old, A
level) said, "Well maybe [we discuss] like a call the ref made, or
say like if I scored or something, or something that we did good."
P12 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) also noted, "Well after games..
.my mom and my dad would just kind of give me pointers to improve and
also say like what I did good and what I need to improve on." P36
(Male, 11 year-old, A level) also reported discussing with his parents
"how to improve and then what to work on for practice and other
stuff like that."
2.3. Discussed NHL. Several respondents noted that professional
hockey was a regular topic of conversation among participants and their
parents. P12 explained,
My dad just kind of uses the NHL people to kind of help us
out--like say, "You guys should try that move. That's a really
good move." And start just saying, "Aw, you shouldn't
have made that [play]." We just talk about what they did good and
what they did bad and we can use it. (P12; Male, 12 year-old, A level)
P29 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) similarly reported, "Oh yeah
[we watch hockey] so much, we try to catch every game. We always talk a
lot about [it] (....) Like, "Look at that play! Isn't that
what I was just showing you in practice?"'
Findings related to watching and discussing the NHL build on past
work suggesting competitive sport provides a context for youth to
connect with their parents through a shared common interest (e.g.,
Fraser-Thomas et al., 2008); in this case youth spoke of the pleasure
and bonding that occurred through the act of watching hockey with their
parents. Participants also indicated that parents made suggestions for
them to emulate plays that they saw among professionals. Observational
learning literature suggests that this process could facilitate
players' learning of new skills and techniques (McCullaugh &
Weiss, 2002); however, youth hockey players may also learn violent and
aggressive behaviours by watching professionals play (Smith, 1979).
Smith's seminal study found that 70% of interviewed youth players
suggested they picked up aggressive tactics from watching professional
hockey on television, including illegal ways to hit other players.
Recently, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published articles
highlighting the violent content of NHL games; one contributor suggested
parents should use caution in allowing their children to watch (Fisher,
2012).
3. Fluctuations in involvement over season.
3.1. No fluctuations in involvement, game behaviour, or discussions
throughout the season. Most of the participants reported their
parents' involvement, behaviour at their games, and discussions
regarding hockey remaining the same throughout the year and into the
playoffs. P34 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) reported, "Yeah
[it's been the same]. They've been to all the games. I
don't think they've missed one game this year." With
regard to discussions about hockey, P29 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level)
reported, "They've been the same the whole year."
3.2. Increased hockey discussions as season progressed. Some
participants reported that they discussed hockey more often as the
season went on and they progressed into the playoffs. Participants
suggested these conversations were most often focused on means to
improve, given that games were becoming more important and try-outs for
the following year's teams were approaching. As P14 (Male, 12
year-old, A level) said, "I thought we talked about it a lot more
in the playoffs. I liked talking about it a lot cause [then] I know what
I can do better to be better in the next game." Similarly, P19
(Male, 12 year-old, A level) stated, "We talked more about it in
playoffs because that's when you really have to be working your
hardest because tryouts are coming soon." P8 (Male, 12 year-old, A
level) reported, "We started to talk about it more as the season
went on. But, it was all about like the good stuff and the team."
While increases in involvement and changes in behaviours at games
later in the season and during playoffs could be an indication of
over-involvement, this is clearly not the case given participants'
positive reflections of these behaviours. As such, these findings
further extend Stein et al.'s (1998) findings that the degree of
parent involvement (i.e., too little, too much, just right) is more
important than the level of involvement (low to high), by shedding light
on what an optimal level of parental involvement "looks like."
It is, however, interesting to note participants and/or parents were not
only focussed on the outcome of the current season, but also discussed
(in April) the importance of preparing for tryouts for the following
season (beginning in August). This may be reflective of the increased
presence of early specialization within the sport, contributing to
players' continual pressure and expectations on a year-around basis
(Baker, 2003).
B. Parent Spectator Behaviour
1. Spectators' behaviours at games--from own parents.
1.1. Cheered at games. Most participants reported that their
parents cheered during the games, with some suggesting their parents
were among the more vocal, and others suggesting their parents were a
little more reserved in their cheering. PI (Female, 12 year-old, BB
level) reported, "My mom--I can really hear--'cause she's
so loud, like howling (laughing)." P12 (Male, 12 year-old, A level)
noted, "My dad's kind of a loud cheerer and smacks the boards
a lot." P9 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) said, "Well, they
cheer really loudly cause my mom bought a cow bell for when I score or
when someone on my team scores."
1.2. Remained quiet at games. A few participants reported that
their parents were generally quiet at the games. P33 (Male, 11 year-old,
AA level) said, "My dad's usually like pretty quiet. I can
never really hear him." P26 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) said,
"My mom is the quiet parent; she doesn't really like say a
lot." Past research in developmental psychology suggests parents
demonstrate diverse approaches and styles in parenting, resulting in
varied outcomes (Maccoby, 1992). Interestingly, one study of adolescent
athletes found the different and opposing personalities of
athletes' two parents were collectively a positive influence on
their persistence in sport (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2008). Further
research is required to more comprehensively understand the
'optimal' balance and complementarity of parents'
approaches.
1.3. Made instructional or negative comments at games; fathers
only. Five participants discussed their fathers offering them specific
instructional comments at the games. While participants seemed to
suggest they were not intended in a negative light, the tone of these
comments was often quite negative, as detailed by the quotes below:
My dad--let's say if I make a dumb like play or something--you
know, he'll shout out a little bit. He's not trying to get mad
at me--trying to bring me down. He's just trying to tell me [for]
next time. (P40; Male, 11 year-old, AAA level)
But my dad usually yells at me [during games] because I'm a
center now. So he'll tell me what to do in the face-off's and
stuff [and] like how to hold my stick in the position and who to pass it
back to--like either to push it forward or to pull it back to the
defensemen. (P25; Male, 12 year-old, AJE level)
He gives me the look, if I don't do something good. It puts
pressure on me to play better. Bad pressure, because if I don't do
good, I feel like I'm gonna get grounded or something. (P25; Male,
12 year-old, AE level)
Previous researchers have indicated that during childhood, young
athletes often welcome instructional feedback from parents, but as they
move into adolescence, they generally prefer for their parents to
refrain from providing technical and tactical advice (Fraser-Thom as et
al., 2008; Knight et al., 2010). It seems that parenting youth athletes
in this particular age group (i.e., 11-12 years), as they transition
between childhood and adolescence, may be particularly challenging,
specifically with regard to instructional feedback. Parents may be
well-advised to use caution when offering instructional comments, and
discuss preferences for feedback with their own children.
2. Spectators' behaviours at games--from all parents.
2.1. Offered positive comments. Participants reported hearing
positive comments throughout their games, primarily in the form of
cheering, and suggested they generally found such comments helpful to
their performance. For example, P9 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) claimed
'"[Spectators] usually say like 'Go [city name] go!'
They cheer us on and they give us positive comments after the
game." P7 (Female, 12 year-old, BB level) also said,
"There's never really been any negative comments. Usually
really positive." PI (Female, 12 year-old, BB level) stated,
"They usually make me play better if they're cheering."
Similarly, P9 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) said, "It gets me
motivated and pumped up to hear the crowd cheering my name or someone
else's name." The finding that participants appreciated
cheering and positive comments from spectators aligns with previous work
(e.g., Omli & Weise-Bjomstal, 2011). However, this finding should
not go unnoticed. Given that their child's success is a key driver
and motivator among many hockey parents, parents should recognize that
greater demonstration of such positive behaviours could improve their
child's performances.
2.2. Offered negative comments. The parent comments described in
most detail by participants were negative, usually directed at referees,
players and coaches, most often articulating frustration regarding
specific incidents. For example, several participants reported hearing
negative comments directed at referees for specific calls, or failed
calls, which routinely resulted in sarcasm and disrespect. P28 (Male, 12
year-old, AE level) reported, "[Spectators] start yelling at [the
refs] and swearing at them if they make a bad call." P32 (Male, 11
year-old, AA level) said, "I hear some parents yelling at the ref,
like, 'What kind of call is that?"' P40 (Male, 11
year-old, AAA level) also reported hearing parents shouting,
"There's better refs at Foot Locker.'" Other times
participants reported hearing negative comments directed towards the
players; it seemed that 'physical' players often felt
particularly targeted. As P24 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) explained,
[Parents yell] mainly if it was their own kid being hit. They
would--no matter what. Parents usually yell out cause they're
worried (....) But a lot of the things they say aren't really true.
They're just angry when you're on the ice a lot of the times.
Sometimes if it's a dirty play, I can understand why they'd be
yelling [but it] doesn't really help anything that they just yell
(....) [They] yell that a player [should] get off the ice.
They'll call them "Goons."
Participants often went on to discuss the negative effect such
comments would have on players. As P31 (Male, 11 year-old, AA level)
said, "I think it's definitely hard to perform if people are
being negative." Another athlete also explained,
You just get kind of down cause it just annoys you. Some of the
parents in the other teams are very persistent and it could be very
annoying and distracting... They'd never stop yelling. They'd
be trying to distract you and stuff (....) Like some people, it really
affects them, and it makes them mad sometimes, and they'll go and
they'll do stupid stuff on the ice, and then it just doesn't
work out well. (P24; Male, 12 year-old, AE level)
In some cases, participants also detailed accounts of parents'
negative comments leading to altercations between parents in the stands.
For example, P25 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) explained, "Last
year we had a fight in the crowd just because of the goaltending. One
mom on the other team screamed, 'Nice save goalie,' but it
went in [and] there was a screaming fight with another mom."
Parents demonstrating negativity towards officials, players, and
each other is in direct alignment with recent research and media reports
(e.g., Loughead & Leith, 2001; Pappas, et al., 2004; Visek &
Watson, 2005). Parents' modelling of poor sport behaviours has the
potential to set a tone for aggression on the ice. Wiersma and Fifer
(2008) reported that youth sport parents have a well-developed
understanding or their "ability to influence players through their
actions" (p. 523), and that modelling appropriate behaviours is
essential. It would likely be of value to emphasize Wiersma and
Fifer's findings in the development of future workshops and clinics
for youth hockey parents.
It is interesting to note that players often indicated negative
comments came from the "other team's" parents. As P17
(Male, 12 year-old, A level) noted, "From the other team, sometimes
they're negative--like boos and stuff like that." P26 (Male,
12 year-old, AE level) said, "This team that hates us--everything
that we do should be a penalty [according to] their parents." It is
noteworthy that participants so often discussed "other team's
parents" rather than their own teammates' parents as being
negative, particularly given that many of the study participants were
from teams that play against each other. While this may be a result of
social desirability (i.e., not wanting to show their own and
teammates' parents in a negative light; discussed further in the
general discussion), it may also be because the majority of negative
comments from their own team parents are not directed towards them, and
thus are not internalized to the same degree. This trend appears
consistent in the literature as Holt et al. (2008) found that sport
parents identified 'other parents' as being the source of
negative spectator behaviour. These findings collectively suggest that
it is necessary for players and parents alike to take greater ownership
for their role in contributing to the negative and sometimes aggressive
youth hockey climate.
2.3. Offered instructional comments. Many participants reported
hearing instructional comments from spectators while they were playing.
Some suggested they found these comments confusing, as they felt
pressure to follow these instructions, despite them sometimes
conflicting with the directives of their coach, teammates or their own
instincts. Interestingly, many participants expressed appreciation for
these comments, as they found them to be helpful pointers or reminders.
Another group of participants spoke of their ability to tune out
instructional comments. As P30 (Male, 11 year-old, AA level) outlined,
"If I'm wide open for shooting and they'll tell me to
pass and I don't know what to do (....) Most of the time, it
confuses me." In contrast, P30 (Male, 11 year-old, AA level) said,
"If I don't know what to do, I know what to do once they tell
me." P37 (Male, 11 year-old, AAA level) said, "[They] just
like kinda make us a little bit better hockey players." Further,
one participant explained,
There'd be some moments where they say like, "Skate.
Skate" or "Get back" or "Shoot the puck" (....)
I wouldn't really care ... I just do what I can do. If I have the
opportunity to do what they're saying then of course I'll do
it (....) I don't really pay attention to it. I'm more focused
on my game. (P9; Male, 12 year-old, A level)
While the results of the present study provide some support for
past work (i.e., instructional comments being problematic) (Hellison,
1985), participants clearly had very diverse responses to
parent-spectators' instructional comments. Findings outlining
players' positive responses to instructional comments highlight
that many youth players hold the opinion of the crowd in very high
regard, re-emphasizing the importance of spectators being aware of the
example they are setting and aiming to maintain a positive atmosphere
(Weinberg & Gould, 2003). Findings highlighting players'
ability to 'tune out' spectators' comments should be
further examined, to determine exactly how young players develop the
critical psychological skills of focus and distraction control essential
for successful performance at the highest levels (Orlick, 2008). It
should be noted that throughout the interview process, it was evident
that a very fine line often existed between participants'
interpretation of a negative comment and an instructional comment. For
example, when P30 (Male, 11 year-old, AA level) was asked if he ever
heard negative comments during his hockey games, he replied,
"Probably 'Stay in your position.'" Given that past
studies have relied heavily on observational tools to record
parents' comments (e.g., Bowker et al., 2009; Kidman et ah, 1999;
Randall & Mackenzie, 1987), the present study's complex
findings suggest future research should work to further develop and
enhance observational tools, with additional attention to young
athletes' interpretations of specific types of comments.
3. Ideal parent spectator behaviours.
3.1. Cheering loudly. Many participants reported that ideally,
spectators would be loud and cheering, indicating that this
"motivates me" (P35: M-ll-AA), "gets you into the
game" (P37; Male, 11 year-old, AAA level), and lets "you know
that they're happy that the game's going well" (P36;
Male, 11 year-old, A level)."
3.2. Keeping quiet. A few participants suggested they preferred
spectators to be quiet at specific times, "so I can concentrate
more" (P32; Male, 11 year-old, AA level), "so I can focus a
bit more" (PI 1; Male, 12 year-old, A level), or "to avoid
having to hear anything negative" (P30; Male, 11 year-old, AA
level); however, these same individuals recognized that there was a time
for "cheering and stuff (....) like, [when] we're doing a
warm-up or something" (PI 1; Male, 12 year-old, A level).
These findings provide additional evidence of players'
preference for parents to be positive and encouraging at games, but also
highlight the importance of parents showing caution, reservation and
being less vocal at times. Of particular interest is that although many
participants reported liking (or not minding) instructional comments
from spectators during games, none of them mentioned wanting them when
they were asked about their ideal spectator behaviours. These findings
further reinforce the need to better understand specific conditions
surrounding young players' varied interpretations of instructional
comments.
4. Fluctuations in parent spectator behaviour over season.
4.1. Remained mainly positive throughout season. Many participants
reported that parent spectator behaviour remained primarily positive
throughout the year. P10 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) noted, "It
stayed the same through [the season], they were all cheerful." When
P4 (Female, 12 year-old, BB level) reflected on the entire season, she
noted, "Mostly cheering. Very supportive from the stands."
4.2. Became more positive and less negative as season progressed.
Participants spoke most often of parent spectators becoming louder and
more positive as the season progressed. P7 (Female, 12 year-old, BB
level) said, "Yeah, they got more into in. They were cheering a bit
louder like when we came on the ice and stuff." Similarly, P9
(Male, 12 year-old, A level) noted, "1 think that they were more
into the game [in playoffs]. They were into the game more and cheering
us on even more too--for us to win." Interestingly, participants
noted that parent spectators were less negative towards referees later
in the season and in the playoffs, suggesting that this was because
referees were more competent. P35 (Male, 11 year-old, AA level) said,
"I think it [negative comments to refs] like dimmed down a little,
cause in the playoffs the refs would do a better job." Similarly,
P15 (Male, 12 year-old, A level) stated, "It was pretty good. Like,
the refs were pretty good in the playoffs so I guess no one really
yelled at them."
4.3. Became more negative as season progressed. Several
participants also discussed negative comments increasing as the games
became more important in the later season, and into the playoffs. When
describing the playoffs, P34 (Male, 12 year-old, AE level) said,
"When the refs started getting bad, some of the parents started
getting very, very angry." Further, P24 (Male, 12 year-old, AE
level) explained,
"It got more intense and parents were always against the ref
and if any bad plays were made the parents would always be in on it and
they'd be booing and yelling at the ref and it just got more...
Parents just got more into it as the season got further. And at the
playoffs it got pretty bad with the parents. They were booing at the
refs--probably some things they shouldn't say (....) I kind of
expect them to do that cause players a lot of the times--well if the
parents were upset with it, so were the players."
Many participants discussed parent spectators remaining positive or
becoming increasingly positive throughout the season. However, the
increased negativity as the games became more important is alarming. It
is possible that parents took the games too seriously and internalized
the team's success to the point that the team's performance
was overly important to them. This type of investment has been found in
other studies. For example, Coakley and Donnelly (2009) reported that
parents can become so emotionally involved with their kids' sports
that they may unintentionally put immense pressure on their children to
succeed. It is noteworthy that much of parents' increased
negativity was directed at officials, with perceived competence of the
officials often serving as a precursor for parents' comments.
Specifically, some participants noted that when the referees 'got
better' in the playoffs, parents would restrict their yelling, but
when referees made what were perceived to be 'bad calls',
parents would yell more. It seems that the culture of hockey may be such
that it has been normalized to berate referees based on spectators'
perception of their competence. This has unfortunate implications for
officials in youth sport, particularly those who may not have a great
deal of officiating experience, and are thus subjected to negative and
detrimental comments, as Dorsch and Paskevich (2007) found that
'making a controversial call' and 'fear of mistakes'
were sources of stress reported by hockey officials. Parent education
programs that emphasize respect for officials may be helpful in
addressing this issue.
General Discussion and Conclusion
The present study extended previous work through its holistic
approach to examining parent involvement in Canadian youth hockey.
Specifically, this study qualitatively examined youth athletes'
experiences and perceptions of their parents' involvement,
behaviours and interactions in diverse contexts including intimate home
environments and as spectators at sporting events. To our knowledge,
this is the first study to examine parent involvement through this type
of holistic lens. Findings further understanding of forms of parental
support, level and degree of involvement, and types of parent behaviours
as spectators at youth sport events. Evidently, greater understanding
also leads to further questions. Of particular interest in the present
study were the contradictions expressed by participants regarding their
parents' involvement, behaviours and interactions. For example,
participants often appreciated instructional feedback from parents in a
one-on-one setting, but did not always appreciate instructional comments
from parents in the crowd, and did not describe instructional comments
from spectators among most ideal or preferred parent behaviours. Such
apparently conflicting findings point to a need to further investigate
underlying processes and avoid assuming 'one-size-fits-all'
with regard to parenting in youth sport contexts.
A particular strength of the present study was that it tapped into
youth athletes' perceptions of parent involvement at a key age
(i.e., 11-12 years-old). This age has been associated with peak sport
dropout rates (e.g., Ewing & Seefeldt, 1989) and also is the age
where players are adjusting to the introduction of body checking to the
game, and physical and psychological changes are occurring as players
approach and experience puberty. Future research should expand on the
current findings to examine whether parent-spectators' negative
comments may influence continued participation and potential dropout,
and explore how parents' discussions about body checking may
influence youths' behaviour. Also noteworthy, the present study was
qualitative and longitudinal in nature. Being able to capture
players' perceptions over the course of a competitive season
highlighted both consistent and fluctuation trends. From a research
perspective, this finding highlights the importance of investigating
parent spectator behaviour prospectively, and longitudinally, as it can
vary throughout the season. It also highlights the importance of
following parent-child, and spectator-team interactions throughout the
season.
This study focused only on the experiences and perspectives of
players; the perspectives of other parties were not taken into
consideration. Further, because interviews were conducted over the
phone, it was not always clear whether participants' parents were
nearby, and whether this may have influenced their responses. Social
presentation bias (Nederhof, 1985) may have influenced
participants' communications, as they may not have wanted to
criticize their parents, and present them in a negative light; however,
it is possible participants did not have the social maturity to
recognize and criticize the behaviour of their own parent. Researchers
have indicated that children at 12 years of age are just beginning to
develop the ability to reason abstractly and think in hypothetical terms
(i.e., the formal operational stage; Piaget, 1964). Finally, while the
primary researcher felt she developed an open and honest rapport with
all participants, it is possible that participants' developmental
stage may have created some barriers, where participants may not have
elaborated or communicated their ideas in full, whether due to social or
language barriers.
Future researchers should consider examining parental involvement
spectator behaviour using a full case-study approach; observational data
and complementary interview data from players, parents, coaches and
officials could begin to shed light on key unaddressed questions. There
would be considerable value in conducting longitudinal research,
prospectively tapping into key time points over the course of the
season, or following youth athletes over more than one season. Finally,
given the impact of negative comments made by parent spectators on young
hockey players, future researchers might consider action and evaluation
research to address inappropriate parental behaviour.
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Jessica Fraser-Thomas
Joseph Baker
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Table 1
Results by Category, Theme, and Sub-theme, with number of meaning
units (MU) for each sub-theme.
Category Theme Sub-Theme MU
A. Parent 1. General involvement 1 Attended games; did 67
involvement not attend practices
2 Coached or managed 19
team
3 Provided tangible 22
support
2. Discussions about 1. Discussed hockey often46
hockey 2. Debriefed games 41
3. Discussed NHL 27
3. Fluctuations in 1 No fluctuations in 79
parent involvement involvement, game
over season behaviour, or
discussions throughout
the season
2 Increased hockey 19
discussions as season
progressed
B. Parent 1. Spectators' 1. Cheered at games 29
spectator behaviours at
behaviour games--from own 2 Remained quiet at 6
parents games
3 Made instructional 6
or negative comments
at games; fathers only
2. Spectators' 1. Offered positive 85
behaviours at comments
games--from all 66
parents 2. Offered negative
comments
3. Offered 30
instructional comments
3. Ideal parent 1. Cheering loudly 28
spectator behaviours 2. Keeping quiet 11
4. Fluctuations in 1. Remained mainly 27
parent spectator positive throughout
behaviour over season season
2 Became more 47
positive, and less
negative as season
progressed
3 Became more negative 27
as season progressed
