Abstract
The relationship between organized sport participation and positive youth development is well established in current literature. However, too much involvement in sport has been identified as having a potentially negative impact. Over-scheduling and its impact on free play is one concern, given the importance of the latter to overall health and development. At present, it is not known if higher participation in organized sport has a positive or negative effect on discretionary play in youth.
The Physical Health and Activity Study Team (PHAST) study is a six-year, longitudinal cohort study investigating organized and discretionary physical activity, motor competence, aerobic fitness and anthropometry in 2278 consented fourth grade children (ages 9 to 10) enrolled in public school in Southern Ontario. Using mixed effects modeling, we found that higher participation in organized sport was associated with increased participation in free play over time (Coef = 0.16, p<.001). This effect was independent of gender and socioeconomic status.
Possible explanations for this are related to the role sport might play in supporting physical literacy and the development of fundamental movement skills, allowing children to participate in more active free play pursuits. It might also be the case that active children simply seek out both organized and unorganized play opportunities during this developmental period. Limitations and implications for further research and policy will be discussed.
