Sports and Youth Development

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Participation in sports and football training has been identified to bring about a range of positive influences on participants, especially young people. Sports participation benefits are both objective and perceived and cut across different domains of young people's development, including physical, social, and psychological. Young people who belong to football clubs and are involved in training significantly improve their chances of preventing obesity and other health issues. As a result of their participation in sports, young people can break the cycle of unhealthy lifestyle and inactivity, which in turn minimizes unhealthy snack uptake and increases their caloric take up and time away from entertainment media (Collins et al. 2018). Young people who participate in sports also report improved academic performance, improved psychological function, minimum stress, and depression levels, improved mood, reduced heart attack, diabetes, and other lifestyle disease risks. Participating in sports also helps young people avoid high-risk behaviours such as smoking and drug use that pose health-related risks and better weight controls. As a result of sport participation, young people's body image is improved, thereby increasing their self-esteem and confidence. These benefits of sport participation, therefore, contribute to the quality of life (Taylor and Turek, 2010). The focus of this study, however, is on the psychological benefits of increased confidence and self-esteem among young people who participated in sports. Confidence refers to an individual's assessment of their ability to succeed at carrying out specific tasks (Angeletos et al. 2018) or a measure of one's cognitive and effectiveness aspects. Self-esteem can be defined as a sense of self-worth or the extent to which an individual (positively or negatively) perceives him- or herself and their capabilities (Schweder & Hjort, 2016). Previous research studies and findings have established that sports participation by young people positively affects their self-esteem and confidence (Collins et al. 2018). Because sport participation improves an individual's endurance and strength, reduces body weight, and makes the body beautiful, these effects help a young person change their attitude towards their body and physical appearance and, therefore, bring about an improvement in confidence. While individual sport also affects their confidence and self-esteem, the impact that team sport had on them was much more significant (Collins et al. 2018; Hiremath, 2019). Team and organized sports get young people acquainted and closer to their peers, help them realize their strengths and abilities, and to gain recognition.

This review includes the study that was carried out in the Galatasaray London Football club to support the theory of the development of confidence and self-esteem among young people as a result of their participation in sports (in this case, football) and how this confidence and self-esteem impacted on their team's performance.

Psychodynamic Theory

Statement of the Problem

Participation in sports by young people has been proven to bring about numerous positive outcomes and benefits to several aspects of their lives. The main problem that this study chose to examine is whether young people's confidence and self-esteem levels benefited from their participation in sports.

Purpose and Objectives of the study

The primary purpose of conducting this study was to show whether and how young people's sport participation increased their confidence and self-esteem levels. To achieve the purpose, the study also focused on the following objectives:

To examine the confidence and self-esteem levels among young people involved in sports and if there was a significant difference with those of young people who did not participate in sports.

To determine if the self-esteem and confidence built through sport participation impacted their sports performance and benefited other aspects of their lives.

Research questions

Do young people benefit from their regular and active participation in sports and other physical activities?

Does sports participation improve the self-esteem and confidence of young people?

Do higher levels of confidence and self-esteem contribute to better performance of teams?

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This chapter reviews the literature on the field of children sports to establish the views and standpoints of previous researchers.

Children in Sport:

Research that had been carried out by Slutzky and Simpkins (2009) show that sports are an essential area of development. A previous study found that the majority of parents who registered their children in team sports did so with the main aim of building their self-esteem and confidence. The same study also found that young people who regularly engaged in sports did so with the main reason of having fun. Despite the logic and perception guiding them, sports participation among young people has been found to benefit them both physically and psychologically (Collins et al. 2016; Hiremath, 2019). The study endorses many areas of positive outcomes in terms of learning emotion regulation, building on athletic and interpersonal skills as well as being able to develop peer relationships. Sport participation in elementary school-aged children has been shown in recent studies to be linked to positive outcomes such as higher self-esteem. If the children participate in sports, the success they attain will contribute to their development of higher self-esteem and confidence. Through sports, young people have opportunities to learn, acquire, practice, and develop new skills, for example, gross motor skills, as well as to assess their strengths or abilities, which make them feel good about themselves and thus, develop a sense of their self-worth and importance. However, the majority of these studies focus on outcomes with sport participation in adolescents (Brown, Patel & Darmawan, 2017; Gallant et al., 2017; Ologhobo et al., 2019). That is also supported by many developmental theories exploring importance of sport participation in children and their self-esteem during childhood and teenage years. Many theories have been advanced to show the importance of various aspects of children's growth and development, including confidence, self-esteem, as well as their capabilities and psychology. Findings by previous studies have shown that participation by young people in sports activities and other physical activities can have a positive impact on these aspects (especially confidence and self-esteem) in their early developmental stages. A theory carried out by Erikson (1963) showed that the childhood period of development is an industrious stage characterised by inferiority. Therefore, it is shown that during the time of this stage of their childhood, building abilities is a significant psychological way of developing them as it can benefit them later on when they are adolescents and adults. Another theory expanding on Erikson's (1963) argument suggests that the development of self-esteem of children is pointed by a change in children's capabilities and the ability to evaluate their capabilities to achieve something (Harter, 1993). These theories show and suggest that the time that is spent on sports and different activities that children carry out, builds their capabilities and may be critical in shaping their development as there is a focus on their capabilities during this stage (Mahoney et al., 2005). Fox (2000) also added on by outlining the time spent on sports activities allows children to build on their sports capabilities, and therefore, they could self-evaluate their abilities (Fox, 2000). A self-evaluation of their abilities enables them to identify their strengths and weaknesses. As a result, they can adopt strategies that could help enhance these strengths and to improve their weaknesses. This way, they can enhance their abilities and performance, which will make them feel good and develop a sense of self-worth and importance about themselves (Heijden, 2018). Also, the nature of self-esteem is shown to be built based on the relationship between sport participation and self-esteem in children's sport self-evaluation (Slutzky and Simpkins, 2009). That indicates that children build on their characters by seeing their capabilities and judging themselves by evaluating their judgements. That impacts their self-esteem. Harter (1993) had suggested that self-esteem is hierarchical, and children's self-esteem can be affected by the self-evaluation of their capabilities in academic and non-academic areas. That means this could be in any area of their childhood stage (Harter, 1993). To summarize, there have been many theories that suggest time in sports are closely related to children's self-esteem through their evaluation in sports participation. Therefore, we can see that sports participation in different sports activities can have a positive impact on the self-esteem of children with the help of the self-evaluation of their capabilities, which is a way of measuring their confidence.

Khan et al. (2017) point out that exercising regularly promotes good mental and emotional health while also controlling cases of obesity in children. Inactive children are at a higher risk of falling ill. Organized sport plays a positive role in cultivating positive attitudes among young children. Sports tend to be demanding, and those children with a negative mindset are not able to last long (Collins et al., 2018). Just being active physically builds an individual's self-esteem. Human beings are naturally physical beings who are not meant to stay idle for hours consecutively. Team sports further build better relationships among peers. Children are required to work together when they are part of baseball, football, and other sports teams for the achievement of common goals (Noordstar et al., 2016). These are valuable lessons that they carry to their adult lives. Sports also engage children, which prevents them from taking part in behaviours that are risky and unproductive. Children who are bored and disengaged have a higher likelihood of getting themselves into trouble. The possibility of misbehaving is reduced when children are part of teams, and misbehavior would see them being kicked out of the teams (Moeijes et al., 2017). Successful adoption and practice of these healthy behaviours during childhood enhances the likelihood of such behaviour being continued even as they transition to adulthood (You, Shin & Kim, 2017). There is an important role played by the involvement in sports in childhood happiness and self-esteem through the mediating variables of sport self-concept and peer acceptance (Graydon, 2016). The self-determination theory can also be used to build strategies for self-esteem promotion. In line with the theory, people are continuously involved in processes aimed at integrating appropriate inputs from the environment into their identities (Gonzalez-Cutre et al., 2018). For an individual to develop and be able to function well, they have to satisfy three fundamental psychological needs, which are; self-determination, autonomy, and competence. Sports experiences and settings have the potential of either promoting the satisfaction of basic psychological needs or hindering and thwarting them. Vealey, Chase & Cooley (2017), posit that it is essential that coaches boost the self-esteem of their young players. To achieve this, they have to build good relationships with young children, develop the right communication styles, and also establish those challenges that help their players to experience competence, autonomy, and relatedness. The focus of the self-determination theory is on its motivational aspects and the impact that a self-determined and autonomous motivation has on individuals (Maclntyre, Schnare & Ross, 2018). Self-determination involves a set of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that facilitate behaviour that is autonomous, self-regulated, and goal-directed.

Those individuals who are autonomously motivated have higher achievement, self-esteem, creativity, and are even more competent.

Children Training Football

Currently, in elite football, healthy athletes with different types of efficient capabilities such as aerobic, anaerobic capacity, speed, and power, agility, alongside being creative in-game, are the most sought after. One main feature an elite player would need in football all depends on characteristics that an individual has because a player depends on how well they will fit in as a whole to make a coherent team. (Ergec, Zagorac, and Katic, 2008) Taking part in football training is deemed and is known as enjoyable and pleasing in itself, and facilitates the accumulation of social capital and promotion of health as positive side effects (Krustrup, Dvorak & Bangsbo, 2016). Football training has been shown to increase intermittent exercise performance, maximum oxygen uptake, and coordination of teenagers and children. Additionally, participation in football training ensures that young people stay physically active, which helps improve the look of their bodies, helps reduce obesity and other health-related issues and thus, improves their physical abilities and skills. These physical benefits impact on how they perceive themselves positively, enhancing their self-esteem and confidence (Krustrup et al., 2010).

Confidence and Self- Esteem and its importance in sports

Confidence is defined as the feeling and belief that one can have faith in and further rely on someone or something. International-level elite athletes have identified confidence as the most critical mental skill, which helps define mental toughness. It has also been stated that in psychic training, development, and maintaining confidence is needed and vital (Graydon, 2016). That is due to it being important as a cognitive skill on sports performance as confidence is known for its fragility (Vealey, 2009). That is supported in Hays, 2007 who points out that the fact that confidence within sports is both fragile and essential, it is not surprising that several studies focus on self-confidence and esteem as significant issues in sport psychology. However, there is no single recommended or universally accepted method of incorporating confidence and even measuring how effective confidence impacts on the outcomes achieved in sports (Hardy, Jones and Gould, 2001). Adding onto this, elite athletes have put forward key ways of conceptualising in competitive sport by building on mental toughness with an "unshakable" self-confidence that is strong enough to face any challenges (Vealey, 2009). Moreover, at the beginning of the 1970s, there had been several research studies using non-athletes as participants in determining how confidence influenced their motor performance. The tasks that were carried out included anxiety-inducing tasks, for example, back dives to be able to analyse avoidance behaviour (Collins et al., 2018). Participants under normal conditions, and who competed against those who were manipulated such that they didn't feel as confident, felt a sense of increased confidence which made them outperform their counterparts. Results from several of these studies found that confidence enhanced individuals' motor skills and performance. On the other hand, according to Sonstroem et al. (1994), the Exercise and Self-Esteem model (EXSEM) suggests that the physical self-concept of a person is an essential aspect within the time that an individual spends in sport, links to their self-esteem (Sonstroem et al., 1994). The EXSEM model suggests that a person's self-belief of their ability to perform a specific sports activity or exercise can result in physical competence. The model had been advanced to understand and see the relationship between self-esteem being influenced by physical training activities (Sonstroem et al., 1994). On the other hand, evidence suggests that team-oriented sports activities carried out, rather than individually-oriented sports, show close relationships with positive data of adolescent adjustment. That is, in terms of the increased sense of life satisfaction as well as initiative, known to be fundamental traits as part of your character and self (Vihjalmsson and Thorlindsson, 1992).

Developing Confidence

Confidence and self-esteem could be enhanced with the help of sports as from the findings of Vealey (2009) we can see that athletes who use mental training techniques have higher levels of self-confidence, compared to athletes who use these techniques less frequently. These mental training techniques include; self-talk, goal setting as a means of relaxation training. Confidence and self-esteem could be enhanced with the help of sports as from the findings of Vealey (2009), we can see that the self-confidence of those athletes who adopt mental training techniques are higher in comparison to other athletes who do not use those techniques. These mental training techniques include self-talk and goal setting as a means of relaxation training. Different multimodal interventions have the potential of facilitating self-confidence, and these make use of a combination of mental training techniques and strategies for the enhancement of the self-confidence of individuals. Integrating physical and mental training is a rather powerful approach that works to enhance a player's confidence levels. Molina, Chorot, and Sandin (2017) carried out a study that adopted an empirically validated intervention that was intended to enhance players' confidence levels. The research incorporated self-talk, goals, and imagery into personalised pre-competitive and pre-race routines to increase competitive swimmers' levels of self-confidence. Different swimmers received training on how to identify and further focus intrapersonal goals within their control, like race processes and performance times. The research developed audiotapes and written scripts for the different swimmers which they were required to use to rehearse their feelings and typical thoughts that they experienced before they got into competitive races. These were used together with rationalising and reframing strategies through which their feelings and thoughts were viewed as potential natural performance facilitators. These swimmers were also required to rehearse their race processes that were controllable in addition to practicing those mental exercises thrice every week. Additionally, there were pre-race routines that were developed, and the different swimmers had to recall their competitive experiences and positive training visually. They did that by focusing on the goals that had been processed for upcoming races and reading cue cards with statements of self-affirmation for purposes of accepting and further using their nervousness feelings. It was observed that the control swimmers did not improve their scores, while all the post-intervention confidence scores of intervention swimmers increased. A different practical intervention study was carried out, aiming at enhancing athletes' levels of confidence within a 25-week time frame. That was done through a mental training program and involved junior elite players of tennis. Aspects like the setting of goals, concentration routines, positive self-talk, regulation techniques of arousal, and imagery were incorporated into the mental training program. The athletes who took part in the study were first provided with directions on how to go about setting physical, conditional, and mental performance goals. They further needed to note down their progress continuously throughout the program, in addition to making revisions at different points of the season. The athletes were taught other basic concepts of productive self-talk through the identification of their negative thoughts, the development of triggers intended at refocusing their optimal levels of arousal, and techniques of activation and relaxation. There was also a requirement that these athletes had to develop personal routines that they were to use at different instances of their matches. The various participants in the intervention group were all required to increase their levels of confidence and also performance in playing tennis at the end of the mental training program. In general, this study was seen to support the notion that it is possible to combine different techniques of mental training like relaxation, self-talk, goal setting, and imagery with physical exercise. These techniques would then be tailored to improve the confidence levels of athletes in addition to making them more focused and energized.

Early sports participation and self-esteem and happiness.

There exists a positive association between participation in sports and increased self-esteem. Janssen and Askari (2019), posit that perceived competence in sports is responsible for increased self-esteem feelings. Those with higher sport-confidence are also observed to have higher levels of self-esteem. Qurban et al. (2019) carried out a study that found out that those individuals who participate in team sports and not individual sports report higher sport self-concept. Increased self-concept builds higher self-esteem. Heijden (2018), posits that there is a mediating role played by peer acceptance in self-esteem relationships in sports participation. Collins et al. (2018), points out that increased participation in sports has positive effects on physical appearance, general self-esteem, and sport self-esteem. According to Guest (2018), participation in sports is positively associated with self-esteem, mostly physical self-esteem.

Importance of self-esteem in children

Molina, Chorot & Sandin (2017), argue that building the self-esteem of children is a worthwhile pursuit that contributes to the positive development of the children. Whenever human beings feel good about themselves, they can adjust their behaviors upwardly. Those people who feel good about their appearance have a higher likelihood of keeping up with hygiene, dressing nicely, and carrying themselves with dignity and respect. On the other hand, those people whose self-esteem is low do not spend as much time and energy taking on caring for themselves, and their efforts are inadequate in general. That brings out the importance of coming up with ways that ensure that the spirits of small children always remain high because those habits they develop when they are young have a high likelihood of staying with them. There exist endless ways of boosting the self-esteem of children in sports, which include; showering them with praises when they put effort and also praising any accomplishments they make. The confidence of a child is positively affected by other people's energy, smile, and body language. The self-efficacy theory can be applied to the real world of sport. Self-efficacy refers to an individual's perception of their capability of successfully performing tasks. There are six primary sources of self-efficacy; performance accomplishment, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, imagined experiences, physiological states, and emotional states (Wickman, Nordlund & Holm, 2018). When one is not confident in their abilities, performing to their full potential becomes hard. Confident individuals whose abilities are not so good are even capable of outperforming those with better skills but who lack confidence. Personal accomplishments are related to people's experiences with success and failure. An individual's self-efficacy is increased whenever they have successful experiences. Personal achievements contribute to building the sports confidence of young children. Performing a skill with success generates confidence, and individuals become more willing to attempt other more complicated things (Lirgg, Feltz & Merrie, 2016). The learning of skills has to be organised into a series of tasks whose progress is gradual, allowing them to master the steps before they get to move on to the next level. Repeated failure diminishes confidence, while success builds confidence. The other source is the vicarious experience, which is also known as modelling. Coaching children involves performing skills which the children watch and then execute them. There are some questions that coaches have to answer when modelling their sessions. Are they able to motivate their players when they teach them skills? Are the players paying attention? Coaches should always purpose on ensuring that their players are motivated, and they should ever want them to succeed in those skills they practice. Verbal persuasion is the third source, and this is closely linked to praise (Maddux & Kleiman, 2018). Coaches always need to be aware of what they have to say to their young players. They need to be mindful that the language they use is capable of affecting the confidence of their players. A lot of differences are brought about by subtle differences in language. Young adults are observed to be heavily reliant on feedback from adults that is both constructional and positive. Coaches need to praise their player's efforts. They should work on ensuring that the players realise that learning and working hard are essential. Imaginal experiences are the fourth source. When it comes to boosting confidence, imagery plays a critical role (Dziaugyte et al. 2017). Not all football players have the capabilities of using imagery, and coaches have to be aware of this.

Psychological states are the fifth source. They consider whether player's view psychological arousal as debilitative or facilitative. When people are nervous, they begin to experience increased heart rates, increments in sweating, clammy hands, their mouths dry, and thoughts run through their minds continuously. All these are psychological states that are capable of reducing the feelings of confidence. All those bodily sensations that are associated with competition must be perceived as being performance facilitators. The most important of this part is the way different players view different arousal states. Our bodies and minds prepare for competition through anxiety and nerves. The emotional state is the sixth and final source. A player's confidence will most likely be increased if they experience positive emotional states. Coaches must think and come up with ways of helping their players to experience more positive emotional states. Training sessions have to be fun-filled and enjoyable. A good coach has to understand that all their players are different. With this realisation, they become aware that they then become what makes different players tick. An individual's emotional state also relates to how they control those emotions of theirs that are associated with competition like anxiety and competition. From time to time, an occasion's importance builds self-doubt, which makes it essential for people to be able to control their thoughts and emotions.

Hypotheses

H0: There is a significant link between young people's confidence and self-esteem and their participation in sports

H1: There exists no significant relationship between young people's involvement in sports and their confidence and self-esteem.

H2: The study hypothesized that young people who belonged to football clubs and participated in sports regularly will have significantly high confidence and self-esteem levels compared to the other young people who did not take part in sports.

Alternative Hypothesis

There exists a significant difference in the levels of self-esteem and confidence between young people who did and did not participate in sports.

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter outlines the research design that was adopted, the methods of data collection that were used, and also the protocol that the researcher followed in carrying out the research.

Research design

For purposes of establishing the relationship between sporting activities and the confidence and self-esteem of players, this study adopted a systematic approach. A descriptive research design was further adopted for purposes of facilitating the successful attainment of the objectives of the study. That involved the determination and reporting of things subsequently the way they were through the description of attitudes, possible behaviours, values, and characteristics of respondents. The primary goal of the researcher was to answer research questions, and further meet the study's objectives.

Data collection methods

The researcher relied on primary data collection methods. Primary research methods collect exploratory and specific information. The researcher collected data that no other researcher had ever endeavored to gather in the past. The researcher used questionnaires for the collection of data. The use of questionnaires presents researchers with an economical means of collecting data as there are relatively low costs associated with carrying out research using questionnaires. The study was quantitative and generated numerical data for purposes of determining the factors that influence and build the self-confidence and esteem of young football players. The researcher quantified the responses of the respondents obtained through the questionnaires and went ahead to generalize those results for larger population samples. Quantitative research methods tend to be more structured when compared to qualitative research methods with the commonly used quantitative data collection methods being questionnaires, systematic observations, online polls, longitudinal studies. The study focused on a group of 24 children, all of whom were boys aged 8-11. The children are known to be on a healthy diet as they participate in football training every week, so they need to follow certain restrictions and are healthy. To expand the scope and increase the credibility of the study, questionnaires were also sent to five different coaches of other teams of young players to capture their thoughts, insights, and attitudes towards the relationship between sport participation and the confidence and self-esteem of young people. To legitimise the study, the researcher endeavored to prepare a statement of introduction that was clear and easy to understand. The introductory statement contained a statement of the study's purpose.

Protocol:

Before the study was carried out, we had to ensure several things before going ahead with it. For example, we needed ethical approval, which meant that we required consent from their parents as they are under 18 and, therefore, need parental permission. While it is always necessary to obtain consent directly from those participating in a study including the children, the researcher also had to obtain the consent of their parents. Young children are not capable of making informed decisions by themselves. The children taking part in this study will be from Galatasaray London Football Club. Also, a questionnaire will be taken at the beginning of the training season and the end of the season to see a difference in the long run as well as identify improvements in their confidence and self-esteem. (See appendix for full questionnaire and more questions). The researcher assured the parents of these children that their responses would remain anonymous, and no information would be used against any of the participating children. The researcher encouraged the different children who participated in the study to use pseudonyms of their choice because most of them wanted to write their names on the questionnaire forms. The researcher also put emphasis on the questionnaires that there was neither a right nor wrong answer to give the children reassurance that none of them was stupid.

Data Analysis:

Microsoft Excel 2013 software will be used for data analysis, and results will be presented in tables, graphs and charts.

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS

Introduction

This chapter presents the findings of the process of data collection.

Players afraid of failure

The researcher sought to find out whether different players were afraid of failure. There were mixed responses with a good number expressing fear for failure and another good number responding that they were not afraid of failing. 4 of the respondents completely agreed that they were afraid of failure, 8 agreed that they were afraid of failure, 5 were not sure whether they were afraid of failure, 3 disagreed with being afraid of failure and 4 completely disagreed with being afraid of failure.

Effects of training on performance

Individual players recorded that throughout a football season their performance on the pitch had improved and their skills were also better. The results of this study shows that there has been an improvement of performance over time in children when they started the season training and how they were mid and end season training. As well as their performance, the findings showed that the children had felt more confident in participating in the sport. In addition to this, they had increased levels of confidence and self-esteem when interacting with their peers. However, the study had only included boys, which meant that this would need further research in order to see the correlation and relationship between confidence and self-esteem with girls when participating in sports activities. This could not have been found in this study as the football club has no girl member and it is an only boy's football club. We were able to see with these questions how the children rated themselves at the beginning of the season in terms of their performance and the questionnaire was also carried out halfway through the season and in the end. Their ratings of themselves had changed as they had more experience and spent more time and were more involved during the year. In the beginning, we found from the questionnaire that on a five-point scale, the number of players whose performance was poor was high, meaning the confidence of the children, as well as their self-esteem, were not that high. However, this had majorly increased by the end of the season training, which shows that as children participate and are involved with sports, their confidence, as well as their self-esteem, start to increase. Also, we found that their character, as well as their personality, starts developing more.

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION

Introduction

This chapter provides a discussion of the findings of the study. This study proves that there is a significant link between young people's confidence and self—esteem and their sports participation.

Fear of failure

There are differences in the way different children view and evaluate things like achievement and intelligence. For example, for some, sport achievement is a fixed thing that you either have or don't. there are however, others who view sport achievement as something dynamic and malleable that through commitment and effort can be worked on and improved. These are two different mindsets that have an influence on the way children behave in contexts of physical exercises and sports. For instance, it has an effect on how they interpret failures and success. Those individuals who have fixed mindsets often have the tendency of choosing the easy way and avoiding tasks that are challenging and to maintain a positive self-esteem have to be successful. On the other hand, children with growth mindsets are headstrong and believe that they are capable of achieving whatever they aspire to achieve if they dedicate their time and efforts to the aspirations (Andersen & Nielsen, 2016).

Training and Performance

There are several ways through which coaches can be able to influence performance of their players. When coaching children, it is crucial that they set training goals that, while being challenging for the children, is also realistic. It is essential that coaches always think to themselves of the ways through which they can be able to create opportunities for their young players to succeed. The individual and team goals they set should be within the capabilities of their young players. They should also take their time to have discussions with the children the goals they set in simple terms so that they understand them. And while players need to experience success, challenging sessions should feature from time to time where the players fail. Teaching young children to learn from their failures goes a long way in building their resilience and abilities of overcoming obstacles.

Factors influencing the confidence of players

Body image is a major factor in self-confidence and self-esteem, it is the way a player thinks and feels about themselves as an individual. Studies have pointed out to young children and teenagers who are obese to having levels of self-esteem that are relatively low than those of their age mates who are not obese (Gogan, 2016; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2016). These feelings of reduced self-confidence and low self-esteem are related to feelings of shame about their bodies and are capable of contributing to poor performance on the pitch. Those children who are active feel a sense of accomplishment when they outdo their previous performances, learn new skills and succeed in their games. Brophy (2013), argues that successful performance is capable of positively influencing the confidence of individuals leading them to setting higher goals for themselves and working harder. That contributes to personal improvement and is also important for teams. Players of any sports, face times of having lower senses of confidence and self-esteem. This is often brought about by players equating their performance as players to their self-esteem. Not doing this becomes tough given the amounts of time that players spend in training getting ready to compete. Good interactions among players were also found to have an influence on the self-esteem and confidence of players. 5 coaches recognized good interactions as having a positive influence on the self-confidence and esteem of players. Whenever some players are excluded from or bullied by their peers their self-esteem diminishes. They tend to develop feelings of resentment, inferiority and can even fall into depression and get the feelings of withdrawing from societies. All the coaches that filled out the questionnaires recognized a players skills as being a contributor to their self-confidence and esteem. Those players with better skills are surer of themselves and exude more confidence. For children to be successful in those skills they are taught and be to be confident in performing them, they have to be encouraged to perform those skills outside of training. Coaches also need to be inventive when they teach young players different skills. That is informed by the fact that it is not all players who learn best from coaching demonstrations. Other ways that coaches can adopt are encouraging the children to watch other elite players performing skills when playing in professional matches. It is important that demonstrations encompass more than just talking to players on how to perform skills. Demonstrations need to focus on motivation, attention and retention. For young players to learn new skills and be able to perform them successfully, they have to practice consistently. Imagery experiences help young players in recreating multi-sensory images of successful performance in their brains. No respondent recognized gender as having an influence on player's self-esteem. While there are reports that indicate that men have higher levels of self-esteem than women, there is also a significant number of studies that find no differences in male and female self-concepts (Prakash & Flores, 1985; Pinquart & Sörensen, 2001; Libby, 2007; Goni, 2015).

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION

This is the final chapter which provides a summary of the entire research. In conclusion, there are many research and findings that are included in this review to support the idea of children having more confidence and higher self-esteem when they are involved in sports activities. It was also supported in Hays, 2007 as "Given that self-confidence in sport is so important, and yet so fragile, it is perhaps unsurprising that the study of self-confidence has figured prominently in the sport psychology research literature" (Hardy, Jones & Gould, 2001 in Hays, 2007). We can see through much research that sports have a big impact on the self-confidence and do reflect on one's performance. As to support the theory, my own research was conducted in Galatasaray London, where the self-confidence of the children were tested at the beginning and the end of the season. The results have showed that the participation and involvement in sports can result in increased self-confidence over time as well as self-esteem. This shows that self-evaluation also can be a good way of increasing self-esteem when looking at their involvement in sports which was also supported by Slutzky and Simpkins, 2009 as "the nature of self-esteem is shown to be built based on the relationship between sport participation and self-esteem in children's sport self-evaulation (Slutzky and Simpkins, 2009). However, the findings of our research that was conducted in Galatsaray London may require further research as there is a restriction on these findings as the children who were involved in the research were all males.

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