A Study of an Underserved Youth Sports Program Using the Youth Program Quality Assessment

Abstract

Although positive youth development is an important line of inquiry, the evaluation of youth sport organizations that attempt to build character with underserved children remains understudied. To explore the efforts of a sport organization to build character, 66 observations of inner-city baseball and softball practices/games were conducted across three age groupings. Practice and game settings did not vary significantly. Two-way (Age × Gender) analyses of variance (ANOVAs) identified that Under-14 programs were rated lower than the U18 and U12 age groups in the safety, support, and engagement domains of the Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA). Boys’ programs were rated lower than girls’ in terms of support.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the youth sport organization for providing funding for this evaluation.