Empowering Athletes with the Sport Education Model in Youth Soccer

Athlete empowerment accentuates giving athletes autonomy for decision-making withthe clear purpose of offering them opportunities to make choices, be responsible, anddevelop higher levels of motivation. The focus in Sport Education is on placing theathlete in the center of the experience where the participant can become competent,literate, and enthusiastic as a result of participation. This is in line with the nonlinearpedagogical approach, where the learning processes can be structured by manipulatingperformer constraints. Therefore, this chapter focuses on examining and understandingthe processes involved in athlete learning through manipulating performer constraintswhen using the Sport Education model in Finland. Twenty-three players and their threecoaches from one junior sport club participated in the study. The Sport Education seasonconsisted of 11 practice sessions over 8 weeks. Data were collected through interviews,observations, questionnaires, and document analysis. Results suggested that players were united within their small teams and that they enjoyed having the autonomyand responsibility. As a conclusion, the Sport Education season implemented throughmanipulating performer constraints facilitated perceptions of empowerment, which inturn fostered motivated players