Reasons behind Underaged Teenagers Abandoning Leisure Sport Activities : Case Study of Teenager Football Activities in FC Kajaanin Haka.
Lukashev, Aleksei (2020)
Lukashev, Aleksei
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020120426172
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020120426172
Tiivistelmä
Involvement of population, teenagers included, in any kind of sport as a leisure activity is an integral part of the national health strategies of democratic countries. The teenager abandonments of sport activities represent a significant problem. A person quitting sport activities loses all the advantages, both physical and psychological, the sport activities provide. The topic of the present thesis is a small-scale qualitative research on the reasons behind the underaged teenager (12-17 years old) dropouts from the football practices at FC Kajaanin Haka, the commissioning party of the thesis.
As a research method, an online questionnaire was composed and distributed among the former young football players from the target group. The research question «Why did you quit FC Kajaanin Haka?» was the main interest of the questionnaire. In addition, the questionnaire examined the players’ backgrounds which might have influenced their decision to drop out. The questionnaire was followed by an interview. Based on the data obtained from the online questionnaire and interview, deductive analyzes have been
performed and a list of suggestions for FC Kajaanin Haka was composed. The theory underlying the research is the Hierarchical Model of Leisure Constraints by Crawford, Godbey, and Jackson (1991) with its system of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints, as well as Self-determination theory/Organismic Integration Theory by Ryan and Deci (2019) with its system of motivational regulations.
In most cases, the reasons behind the teenagers’ decisions to quit lay within intrapersonal constraints. Though the majority of the former young players of FC Kajaanin Haka like football and would like to be engaged in the sport activities, they did not find motivation to overcome the mentioned constraints. The players did not experience either encouragement or pressure to stay within the club, took the decisions to abandon the football practices by themselves, relatively easily. When faced with the obligatory choice
among the sport activities they did not select football. To prevent the dropouts, a non-exhaustive list of suggestions was compiled. The suggestions are on how to overcome intrapersonal constraints, increase motivation, and, hence, keep the teenagers being engaged in the football practices. In addition, the list includes suggestions to create a possibility to play for enjoyment, introduce flexible schedules, and make the environment more encouraging and friendly.
By and large, the former young players of FC Kajaanin Haka like playing football. They are not against keeping the football practices on their extra-curriculum schedule provided more encouragement and equal treatment are given to them.
As a research method, an online questionnaire was composed and distributed among the former young football players from the target group. The research question «Why did you quit FC Kajaanin Haka?» was the main interest of the questionnaire. In addition, the questionnaire examined the players’ backgrounds which might have influenced their decision to drop out. The questionnaire was followed by an interview. Based on the data obtained from the online questionnaire and interview, deductive analyzes have been
performed and a list of suggestions for FC Kajaanin Haka was composed. The theory underlying the research is the Hierarchical Model of Leisure Constraints by Crawford, Godbey, and Jackson (1991) with its system of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints, as well as Self-determination theory/Organismic Integration Theory by Ryan and Deci (2019) with its system of motivational regulations.
In most cases, the reasons behind the teenagers’ decisions to quit lay within intrapersonal constraints. Though the majority of the former young players of FC Kajaanin Haka like football and would like to be engaged in the sport activities, they did not find motivation to overcome the mentioned constraints. The players did not experience either encouragement or pressure to stay within the club, took the decisions to abandon the football practices by themselves, relatively easily. When faced with the obligatory choice
among the sport activities they did not select football. To prevent the dropouts, a non-exhaustive list of suggestions was compiled. The suggestions are on how to overcome intrapersonal constraints, increase motivation, and, hence, keep the teenagers being engaged in the football practices. In addition, the list includes suggestions to create a possibility to play for enjoyment, introduce flexible schedules, and make the environment more encouraging and friendly.
By and large, the former young players of FC Kajaanin Haka like playing football. They are not against keeping the football practices on their extra-curriculum schedule provided more encouragement and equal treatment are given to them.