AN ANALYSIS OF THE ATTITUDES OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL COACHES TOWARD YOUTH FOOTBALL

The purpose of the study was to analyze the attitudes of senior high school students and senior high school coaches toward youth football. For purposes of the study, youth football was defined as participation on a nonschool sponsored team at the sixth grade level and below.;Among the most important findings of the surveys were the following: (1) A comparison of senior high players and groupings of students who had terminated football participation revealed statistically significantly different results for thirteen of twenty-five items. (2) Students responded "agree" (53%) and "strongly agree" (25%) to statements concerning benefits attributed to youth football. (3) Two-thirds of the students were more concerned about participation in games than winning. (4) Eighty-nine percent of the students indicated they would play football again. (5) Student survey items pertaining to youth league football coaches resulted in 13% "strongly agree" responses and 48% "agree" responses. (6) Thirty-nine percent of the students responded that winning was overemphasized. Fifty percent of the students responded that they felt pressure to win. (7) Significantly different mean responses for twelve of the thirteen statements identical to the coach and student surveys were found.;Some conclusions were: (1) Students want to play for fun rather than winning. (2) Students derived benefits from playing youth football. (3) Coaches and students had differing views of youth football.;After a review of the literature in youth football, 724 senior high school students and 38 senior high school football coaches were surveyed. The writer constructed surveys were based on experience and the review of literature utilizing a Likert type response scale. Students were grouped depending on when participation in youth football ended in order to have a basis for statistical analyses. The data was statistically analyzed by a t test at the .05 level of confidence. Another basis for statistical analyses was thirteen identical items on the coach and student surveys. Mean responses to the student and coach survey items were statistically analyzed to determine significantly different mean responses between the various groups.