by Jeffrey Pratt Beedy, Tom Zierk

According to the "Guidelines for Effective Character Education Through Sports," "sports are second only to religion in our country in terms of cultural scope and significance. . . This intense national interest in sports plays a powerful part in molding the character of millions of our nation's youth." With so much at stake, practitioners must understand the developmental needs of the children and youth engaged in sports activities. This article describes Sports PLUS: a CYD approach that promotes, reinforces, and develops positive values through the medium of sports.

The author and journalist Haywood Hale Broun is credited with the quote, "Sports do not build character, they reveal it." While not knowing exactly what Mr. Broun was referring to when he made this statement, we can imagine that visions of a professional basketball player strangling his coach may have had some influence. Or Mr. Broun might have read about the parent in an upper-income town in Massachusetts who ran onto a soccer field to punch a 12-year-old player who had knocked his son down during a rough play. Or maybe Haywood heard about the kids in a youth basketball league who, on their own, voted that all players on their team would get equal playing time in all games, even during the end-of-the-year tournament.

Regardless of what led to his thinking, we can assume that Haywood Broun was questioning the validity of the notion that sports build character. While we agree that sports certainly do reveal character (which, in a passive sports program, is all that is likely to happen), we disagree that sports do not build character. A proactive approach to sports can indeed teach and develop character. As a counterpoint to Broun's quote, we offer an alternative, which accepts the premise of the opening passage: "Sports can build character . . . but positive character growth comes only from a proactive, educational approach."

Background
While the notion that sports build character is deeply rooted in American culture, the idea was around long before organized sports became popular in the United States. In fact, it was accepted in the British public schools (which were actually private secondary schools) during the mid-19th century as a vehicle for promoting important social values. The students in these athletic games played an active role in organizing and governing their own contests, a component often missing in adult-run youth sports programs in the United States. And, equally important, the social norm of the time supported values such as camaraderie, fair play, and winning or losing gracefully. Sports were seen as a medium for promoting these qualities, and there was a clear and logical connection between cultural philosophy and game practice.

Sports have recently moved to center stage in our national debate on character, community, and children. With tens of millions of children and youth actively playing some form of organized sport each year in the U.S., combined with the high visibility of collegiate and pro sports, the debate is difficult to ignore. Two questions emerge as a result of this debate: (1) Just how valid is the claim that sports build (good) character? (2) Is it possible that organized youth sports are a negative influence on our children's development?

Regardless of how we answer these questions, the fact remains that sports represent one of the most powerful learning environments for our children and youth. In their book Character Development and Physical Activity, David Shields and Brenda Bredemeier make this point:

The main difference between sport and everyday life is that moral experience is condensed and exposed in sport. We believe this makes it a valuable context for moral education.

-Shields & Bredmeier, from Character Development and Physical Activity

Since sports reinforce and provide opportunities to practice behavioral goals that are promoted by other community programs, the holistic, broad-based approach of the CYD vision offers a starting point from which to begin constructing such programs.

Our schools are held accountable for the social and moral development of their students; if we want to hold sports to the same expectations, we must begin to treat the sports arena with the same respect and accountability.

• Sports: The Medium
• PLUS Cycle: The Structure
• PLUS Values: Focus
• Learning Principles: The Method
• PLUS Learning Climate: The Culture

Sports: The Medium. The teaching medium of any program using the PLUS model is comprised of sports and sports-related activities. From the earliest experience with recreational soccer and t-ball, through PE classes and into competitive high school athletics, sports provide a continuous stream of lessons. The readily observable behaviors that occur in sport situations become metaphors that illuminate abstract concepts in real and meaningful ways. The PLUS model provides systematic and practical ways to utilize these lessons.

PLUS Cycle: The Structure. The PLUS Learning Cycle (see Figure 1) provides the basic structural component to the program. Consisting of three phases-the warm-up, the activity, and the cool-down, or pre/during/after activity segments-this natural and predictable pattern creates an organized atmosphere within which real learning can take place. All too often, youth sports have a chaotic quality-players are running around, the coaches are yelling for attention, and equipment is strewn everywhere. Would any teacher run a classroom this way? Using the PLUS Cycle in a consistent manner quiets the chaos, helps children and youth focus on the task at hand, and creates the atmosphere of a sports classroom. Within this safe environment, where all participants know they are respected and listened to, sports lessons become transferable metaphors illustrating life's broad lessons.

The PLUS Learning Cycle consists of a warm-up, the activity, and a cool-down.

Warm-Up. The five- to ten-minute pregame or prepractice team meeting is the time to outline goals, discuss game strategies, and engage in interactive dialogue. It offers a quiet time for youth to transition from what they have been doing to focusing on the upcoming activity. It also offers a setting in which team members can discuss important issues.

Activity. This is the phase in which coaches look for teachable moments. The dilemmas and conflicts that occur during practices and games mirror similar situations that occur elsewhere in our lives. During the activity phase, coaches watch for behavioral examples that can be used as metaphors for life beyond the playing field.

Cool-Down. The cool-down provides an opportunity to discuss the teachable moments observed during the activity phase. For example, a negative comment from one player to another during a practice can be discussed as an illustration of disrespectful behavior. The initial discussion might focus on how and why respect is an important value, and then broaden out to explore what respect looks and sounds like in school or in the neighborhood. The reflective nature of the cool-down also provides an opportunity to revisit goals set during the warm-up, discuss how the team performed during the activity phase, and set new goals for the next activity, thereby creating the cycle's circular pattern.

This three-phase cycle provides the basic structure within which to mine the lessons contained in sport situations. Similar to the experiential learning cycle used in adventure education, the PLUS Cycle provides time for teachable moments to be recognized and discussed, and the learning transferred to new situations.

PLUS Universal Values: Focus. In an effort to give focus to a sports program and to help children and youth recognize and strengthen positive character values, the PLUS model uses five universal, positive character values: teamwork, respect, responsibility, perseverance, and fair play. Communities with broad youth development efforts should align the stated values of their sports programs with the values of other programs. Regardless of the chosen values, they must be publicly shared and embraced by all members of a sports program-coaches, players, officials, and parents alike.

One of the difficulties of teaching positive values can be the abstract nature of an idea such as "respect." Sports provide a constant stream of values brought to life. The PLUS model works to operationalize values by moving beyond the abstract to concrete understanding. An idea like respect, then, is quickly brought to life on the playing field in very real ways. "Trash talking" to opponents in a basketball game is an example of disrespectful behavior, while organizing the sports equipment is an example of responsibility and teamwork.
Using the PLUS Cycle provides opportunities to discuss real and observed examples of these values as they occur in game and practice. Once the values are presented in developmentally understandable ways-how they look, sound, and feel-children and youth begin to see how the same values operate in other areas of their lives.

Learning Principles: The Method. In order to ensure that effective learning takes place, the PLUS model incorporates three ways in which educational psychology tells us people learn-through modeling, rewards and consequences, and dialogue. These ways of learning are connected to the following educational theories of development:

The social learning theory states that people learn through interacting and observing others. Research shows that the behavior of a coach can have a greater impact on the psychological development of children than the sport itself. Young children look up to their coach, who may be one of their earliest role models outside of family members and teachers.

The behavioral learning theory suggests that people learn through rules and consequences. Just as sports generally have rules and consequences for infractions, sport teams also need specific rules of conduct and behavior that show the players the values the team promotes and embraces.

The cognitive/developmental learning theory states that people learn through active dialogue about important issues, such as how playing time is distributed on a team or why people treat each other the way they do. The PLUS Learning Cycle provides a structure and safe environment in which meaningful dialogue can take place.

The PLUS model provides opportunities to use all three learning practices in a holistic approach. Similar to a family, the sports experience provides a natural arena in which children can develop through these three ways of learning. Understanding how children and youth learn within a sports environment allows adults involved with the programs to better control the environment and create a positive experience.

PLUS Learning Climate: The Culture. In order to achieve the PLUS goals of developing healthy, self-confident children and youth, it is critical to create a positive learning climate where all participants, regardless of their abilities, feel both emotionally and physically safe and free from negative criticism and ridicule. Creating such a climate is the first step in developing a culture where values such as respect and responsibility are lived on a daily basis, and where "put-ups" are the norm. One goal of the PLUS model is to provide a structure for creating such a climate and the tools with which to shape it.

Developing a youth sports philosophy is one of the first steps in creating a positive climate. Without a strong philosophical foundation to guide a youth sports program, the weaknesses will become apparent when difficult decisions arise. For example, if a youth soccer team has a philosophy of equal playing time for all players, then in a close game or at tournament time, the dilemma of whether to play the best players has already been solved.

Coaches must also understand the developmental capabilities of their young athletes. A six-year-old's understanding of teamwork will be soundly different than that of a ten-year-old. Knowing what children are capable of, physically and cognitively, and how they interpret our instructions and teaching, makes all the difference in a creating a positive sports experience. Coaches who understand age-appropriate lessons and skill development, combined with an understanding of each individual athlete, will develop safe, positive learning environments in which all their players will thrive.

The PLUS model reaches its maximum potential when all the components are present, working together in the creation and support of a climate in which real learning takes place. Many programs begin using pieces of the model (usually the PLUS Cycle), then gradually build in the other components. Coaches are often reluctant to fully utilize the model, fearing that it will take too much time. But those that stick to it find that once the model is in place, organizing practices around the basic structure actually saves time. The players come together quicker, focus sooner and longer, and are less disruptive-all with less yelling from the coaches. Once fully instituted, the positive climate created by the PLUS model makes the sport experience one in which good character develops along with good sports skills.