Handbook topics 1. Foundations in safeguarding Foundations in safeguarding 2. Benefits and harm in sport Benefits and harm in sport 3. Stress regulation Stress regulation 4. Brain & body resilience Brain & Body resilience 5. Core values Core values 6. Look, listen & link Look, listen & link 7. Play-by-Play Play-by-Play

2. Benefits and harm in sport

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Regular physical activity is important for the health of people of all ages.

Physical Activity
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® International Olympic Comitee (olympics.com)

“Sport contributes to positive relationships between young people, and more broadly between communities. Through sport, children share experiences and have fun together, and these positive moments have an impact on their families and the whole community.”

Anne Meaux
PLAY INTERNATIONAL

2.1. Benefits for young people affected by displacement

Sport can benefit the mental health and psychosocial well-being of young people – especially those affected by displacement or other adversity. In addition to the usual challenges young people face, those affected by displacement may be exposed to violence and deprivation; may have lost homes, friends and communities; had their education disrupted; and need to adapt to new circumstances. Participating in sport can help them cope with their stresses and promote healing and resilience.

Sport benefits

Sport can have a range of benefits for young people affected by displacement or other adversities by giving them a chance to

  • Relieve stress and tension, stay active and benefit their physical health.
  • Do things they enjoy fulfilling their right to play and have fun.
  • Build relationships with adults, friends, peers and mentors.
  • Join a safe and positive community that gives a sense of belonging.
  • Promote tolerance, community cohesion and peacebuilding.
  • Boost self-confidence, self-esteem and self-efficacy (7).
  • Learn and develop new skills in both sport and life: problem solving, teamwork, discipline, fair play and empathy, leadership, conflict resolution and more.

A case example from Ukraine

Diana (23) was a physical education teacher in her hometown Chernihiv, northern Ukraine. When war broke out in 2022, the city was among the first to be affected. After two months, Diana realised she had to flee, finding safety in the west of the country.

In the context of her displacement, sport has played a significant role. Immediately after arriving in Zakarpattia, she started coaching internally displaced young people who had a similar experience to herself – “Sport helped me to cope in terms of helping to pass the time with my young players, fostering positive emotions and encouraging children’s desire to do sports.”

In 2023, Diana participated in the Scort Foundation Young Coach Education, which included modules in trauma-informed coaching practice and psychological first aid in sport environments. Through the education she learned how to provide structured educational activities through football and create a space where young people feel safe and build new friendships while away from their homes. She believes that the learnings are useful both for herself and for her work with young people. “I try to convey all my positive emotions to help them forget about their negative experiences. I believe that sport is the best natural remedy for fighting depression, reducing anxiety, and relaxing muscles. It contributes to overall health improvement.”

Contributed by the Scort Foundation

2.2. Potential harms for young people affected by displacement

Sport can also cause harm if care is not taken to understand the particular context, situation and needs of the young players and their community.

There is potential for harm through sport related to:
Coaching behaviour

If a coach is unable to model compassion, fairness, self-control, and kindness, this makes the sport environment feel less safe and welcoming for all.

Over focus on competition and performance

If sport is overly focused on competition and performance, this can marginalise young players with different skill levels or for whom the pressure of competition may be too much, negatively impacting their sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence.

Coach awareness of context and culture  in the sport environment

If a coach lacks knowledge of the context and culture, they cannot adequately address safety issues for players, nor ensure sport respects core values of dignity and inclusion of all, regardless of ability, gender, religious or ethnic background.

Equipment and the sport environment

There is a possibility of injury or physical harm in sport in the absence of appropriate equipment or if the training space is not appropriate to the ages and needs of young players or the environmental conditions.

Coach’s ability to support the needs of individual young players

If a coach is unable to recognise and respond effectively to the difficulties or specific support needs of young players, this can leave individual young players feeling isolated, stigmatised or excluded.

Managing group dynamics

If incidents of conflict or bullying are not promptly, consistently and fairly addressed by coaches, this can leave individual players feeling insecure or fearful and potentially reactivate past stressful experiences.

The skills and capacities of individual young players

If challenges are not appropriately matched to the needs and capacities of young players, they may feel frustration, aggression or unwillingness to continue participating in sport

Inequality among young players

If inequality among young players, including socioeconomic inequality (e.g., differences in ability to afford appropriate sport clothing, or to attend sport events) is not addressed,this may result in shame, embarrassment, and reluctance to participate in sport.

Download a PDF table with a recap of the potential benefits and harms of sport

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What does this mean in my context?

  • When have you experienced sport as helpful and beneficial for young players?
  • When have you experienced sport as harmful? Who was harmed, and how?

“In our activities, we welcome all types of participants without discrimination or distinction. Most of our activities are mixed, and in several of them, we have participants with varying levels of athleticism, ranging from those with excellent skills to complete beginners. We have seen instances of exclusion or isolation during practice. Specifically, during matches, no passes being made to women in football or basketball games, or no volunteers to exercise with less-trained participants or those with a lower level of skill. This can cause harm to self-esteem and self-confidence, reinforce biases related to gender and sports, and, in some cases, even lead to quitting or not pursuing the activity at all.”

Simoné Etna
KABUBU

2.3. How can coaches reduce potential harms and promote benefits of sport

Sport that is safe and supportive creates the fundamental conditions that motivate young players to participate. It also supports the well-being and self-development of those who have experienced stressful events.

High quality coaching meets the basic psychological needs of young players for:

  1. Autonomy
  2. Competence
  3. Relatedness

In safe and supportive sport environments, young people can experience fulfilling these three basic needs.

Self-determination theory

What motivates people to develop themselves? How does each person achieve a sense of well-being, socially and emotionally? Self-determination theory proposes three basic needs for the healthy development of all people. These are the needs for:

Autonomy

Competence

Relatedness

Autonomy

Competence

Relatedness

Feeling oneself as having choice and agency, the ability to direct one’s life. In sport, being able to choose one’s challenges by opting in or opting out of certain activiites fosters autonomy. It also includes the ability to express oneself in ways that are honoured by others – such as a young player feeling their contributions are meaningful and valued by their team mates.

Experiencing mastery and perceiving one’s own behaviour as effective. In sport and in life, competence includes building self-confidence, learning and mastering new skills, problem-solving and meeting one’s goals. Young players may learn to do things like dribble a basketball, work with their team mates in group games, or make even small progress toward one of their own goals in building competence.

Social connectedness and interaction that helps one feel they belong. Coaches can help all young players to feel they belong in the team, and foster their ability to form and maintain positive relationships.

Supporting young players affected by displacement

Who may have had experiences in which:

• They had little control over events in their lives. This is a loss of autonomy.

• Their education was disrupted or they faced challenges they did not know how to cope with. This is a loss of competence.

• They were separated from friends and family or felt discrimination and exclusion in new environments. This is a loss of relatedness.

Restoring a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness through sport boosts young players’ motivation, mental well-being, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.

References

  • (1)World Health Organisation. Fact Sheets – Physical Activity. October, 2022. Retrieved from Physical activity (who.int)
  • (2)Ashdown-Franks G, Firth J, Carney R, Carvalho AF, Hallgren M, Koyanagi A, Rosenbaum S, Schuch FB, Smith L, Solmi M, Vancampfort D, Stubbs B. (2020) Exercise as Medicine for Mental and Substance Use Disorders: A Meta-review of the Benefits for Neuropsychiatric and Cognitive Outcomes. Sports Medicine. 2020; 50(1):151-170. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31541410/
  • (3)Ludyga S, Gerber M, Pühsse U, Looser VN, Kamijo K. (2020) Systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the moderators of long-term effects of exercise on cognition in healthy individuals. Nauture Human Behaviour. 2020; 4: 603-612. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0851-8 
  • (4)Heissel A, Heinen D, Brokmier LL, Skarabis N, Kangas M, Vancampfort D, Stubbs B, Firth J, Ward PB, Rosenbaum S, Hallgren M, Schuch F. (2023) Exercise as medicine for depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression. BMJ Sports Medicine. 2023; 57:16. Retrieved from https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/16/1049.abstract
  • (5)Ramos-Sanchez CP, Schuch FB, Seedat S, Louw QA, Stubbs S, Rosenbaum S, Firth J, Van Winkel R, Vancampfort D. (2021) The anxiolytic effects of exercise for people with anxiety and related disorders: An update on the available meta-analytic evidence. Psychiatry Research. 2021; Vol 302. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178121003437
  • (6) Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that ‘every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.’
  • (7) Purgato M, Richards J, Prina E, Kip A, Del Piccolo L, Michencigh G, Rimondini M, Rudi D, Vitali F, Carta MG, Morina N, Schena F, Barbui C. (2021) Efficacy of physical activity interventions on psychological outcomes in refugee, asylum seeker and migrant populations: A systematic review and meta analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Volume 54, May 2021, 101901. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1469029221000194
  • (8) Deci EL, and Ryan RM. (1985) Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behaviour. Plenum Press, New York. Retrieved from Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior – Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan – Google Books
  • (9) Turan, Numan; İpekçi, Bediha; and Yılmaz, Mehmet Yalçın (2019) Self-Determination and Psychological Adaptation in Forcibly Displaced People. New England Journal of Public Policy: Vol. 31: Iss. 2, Article 11. Retrieved from at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/nejpp/vol31/iss2/11  
  • (10) Ruuskanen-Himma, E. and Parkkonnen, J. Sport and Mental-Wellbeing: Mapping of good practices to promote mental well-being in sports clubs. Spirit Project, page 27. https://www.engso-education.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/6acfa9_39dd18e2850f4842bbcf5fd4cb663cf2.pdf 
  • (11) Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self- Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01 
  • (12) Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., Ryan, R. M., Bosch, J. A., & Thogersen-Ntoumani, C. (2011). Self-determination theory and diminished functioning: The role of interpersonal control and psychological need thwarting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(11), 1459-1473. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211413125
  • (13) Hodge, K., & Lonsdale, C. (2011). Prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport: The role of coaching style, autonomous vs. Controlled motivation, and moral disengagement. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 33(4), 527–547. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.33.4.527
  • (14) Torregrosa, D., Belando, N., & Moreno-Murcia, J. A. (2014). Predicción de la satisfacción con la vida en practicantes de ejercicio físico saludable. / Prediction of life satisfaction in practicing healthy exercise. Cuadernos de Psicología Del Deporte, 14(1), 117–122. SPORTDiscus.