What Moves Youth?—A Survey to Explore the Motivation and Barriers of Dutch Young Adolescents (12–15 Years) to Participate in Sports

Abstract

It appears to be a challenge to keep young adolescents involved in sports, while motivation has been confirmed as a key determinant for sport participation. Consequently, the aim of this study was to get a better insight into the motivational aspects and barriers of young adolescents while paying attention to the various contexts of youth sports in the Netherlands (i.e., club, commercial and urban sports). In total, 741 young adolescents (ages 12–15) filled in a questionnaire about the motivation and barriers to participate in sports and starting a new sport. The most important motivational factor in all sports contexts appears to be ‘fun/pleasure’. Additionally, they like the atmosphere of sports, and are motivated by learning new skills and becoming better at sports. Furthermore, young adolescents value a positive atmosphere, a skilled trainer and being able to participate at their own level (with others) when starting a new sport. Identified barriers are ‘liking other activities’, ‘a lack of time’, and that ‘sport is not fun anymore’. Nevertheless, the young adolescents surveyed, even those not active in sports, generally do not experience a high degree of barriers to participate in sports. The findings provide directions for developing future interventions that improve sport participation and prevent dropout.

1. Introduction

Many societies have embraced sports as a powerful means to enhance a nation’s well-fare and well-being. Indeed, it is confirmed that sports can have a considerable positive contribution to health and well-being, social cohesion, norms and values, education, economy and innovations in a society [1,2]. Within this, youth sports are of primary importance since it serves as the foundation for future aims. Physical activity and sport participation during childhood and adolescence are related to the development of an active lifestyle in adulthood [3,4,5]. Accordingly, sport participation from an early age and retainment during childhood and adolescence is recommended to fully ‘harvest’ the potential benefits of sports related to health and well-being. It is for these reasons that the World Health Organization (WHO) has drawn up guidelines to promote physical activity in children and young people [6]. Organized sports (i.e., structured, led by adults, leading to competitions) can be a tool to help children and youngsters to meet the physical activity guidelines [1,7]. However, despite the confirmed benefits of sports and the existing guidelines, a considerable percentage of children do not participate in organized sports, and participation rates even decline during adolescence [3,8,9]. It’s clear that youth sports organizations are in competition with a whole set of, often passive, leisure-time activities like watching television, going to movies, gaming, the internet, and so on [10].

This trend is typically the case in the Netherlands; the latest national numbers reveal that 67% of Dutch children (5–12 years) and 49% of adolescents (13–18 years) participate in organized sports [11]. Moreover, only 57% of the children (4–11 years) met the physical activity guidelines in the Netherlands in 2022, and only 33% of adolescents (12–17 years old). Recent research shows that the commitment to sports is lower among 13- to 18-year-olds than among younger children [11]. Only slightly more than half of adolescents (55%) have a high commitment to continue to exercise weekly, while this is still 80% among the 5–12 year-olds. And of those adolescent not active in sports, only 13% is currently open to start doing sports (again) on a weekly basis. In order to get and/or retain these young people active in sports, sports organizations have to identify the needs and wants of this target group in a more comprehensive way [10]. Specific programs based on these insights and specifically designed to get young adolescents active and/or prevent them from dropping out might be helpful to increase participation rates and meet the physical activity norms [7].

Previous studies identified several factors that influence sport participation within this target group, including, among others, enjoyment, perceived competence and social support [12,13]. Yet, a recent study within the Dutch context showed that especially adolescent motives are key determinants regarding sport participation [14]. This study examined a combination of factors based on the Youth Physical Activity Promotion model [15] (i.e., motives, perceived competence, encouragement and motor skills) to better understand factors influencing adolescents’ sport participation. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that motives outweigh the effects of all other factors. Gardner and colleagues showed that motives are more important than demographic, individual and social factors in Australian adolescents [16] and Lara-Barcial’s research group found that a lack of internal motivation to be active in sports is one of the most important dimensions of dropout in youngsters [17]. Thus, motivation towards sports seems to be a crucial factor for adolescents’ participation in organized sports.

As a next step, this study aims to further explore the motives and barriers of Dutch young adolescents (12–15 years) using in order to improve sport participation and prevent dropout. This age group is specifically selected as the target group as it reveals the largest dropout from organized youth sports [3,8,9,11]. In the Netherlands, organized youth sports typically refer to sports clubs (e.g., basketball or gymnastics clubs). Although other youth sport contexts could contribute to fulfill the standards of the WHO’s guidelines, organized sports in clubs are considered an important pillar in the Netherlands (https://www.sportenbewegenincijfers.nl/kernindicatoren/beweegrichtlijnen, accessed on 1 April 2023). Sports clubs play a crucial role in the Dutch sports landscape due to their facilities, infrastructure and social structures. Nevertheless, since the influencing factors might differ between adolescents active in various sport contexts [18,19], it is constructive to explore motives and barriers of young adolescents in the various contexts of youth sports in the Netherlands [10]. Contexts besides club sports are commercial sports (e.g., fitness center, horse-riding center) and urban sports (e.g., running or skateboarding in public space,. Moreover, also Dutch young adolescents not active in sports are taken into account to create a comprehensive picture. A more in-depth insight into their motivation and barriers provides directions for the development of future interventions to improve sport participation and prevent dropout from sports [14,16]. This will support sports organizations and coaches to create an optimal environment for youth in sports.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

Participants were young adolescents from six randomly selected regular high schools located in the middle and eastern parts of the Netherlands. These young adolescents were part of the first, second or third grades within these schools and typically aged between 12–15 years.

2.2. Online Survey and Data Collection

An online questionnaire (see the statements in

Table 1. Sample characteristics.

	Total (n)	M (n)	F (n)	D (n)	Total (%)	M (%)	F (%)	D (%)
Club sports	416	201	209	6	56.1	27.1	28.2	0.8
Commercial sports	80	20	56	4	10.8	2.7	7.6	0.5
Urban sports	43	22	21	-	5.8	3.0	2.8	-
Combination	73	39	31	6	9.9	5.3	4.2	0.8
No sports	129	42	81	-	17.4	5.7	10.9	-
Total sample	741	324	398	19	100.0	43.7	53.7	2.6

M—male, F—female and D—diverse.

) was developed based on an existing valid and reproducible Dutch questionnaire for adults [20], which included statements about (factors that influence) the motivation and barriers to participate in sports and starting a new sport. The questionnaire consisted of 50 items divided into three sections: (1) motivation to participate in sports (20 items), (2) barriers to participate in sports (17 items) and (3) the factors that are important when starting a new sport (13 items). The adolescents’ motivation to participate in sports (Section 1) was questioned regarding the constructs fun/pleasure, performance and community [21,22]. The barriers to participate in sports (Section 2) and the important factors in starting a new sport (Section 3) were questioned using the three main constructs of the COM-B model: capability, opportunity and motivation [23,24]. The COM-B model is a framework for understanding behavior widely used to identify what needs to change in order for a behavior change intervention to be effective. All items of the three included parts were scored using a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree/not important at all, 2 = disagree/not important, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, important, 5 = strongly agree/very important). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for each of the three sections separately, confirming acceptable reliability; (1) motivation to participate in sports 0.77, (2) barriers to participate in sports 0.92, and (3) important factors starting a new sport 0.84.

The online questionnaire was administered during a regular school lesson (October–November 2021). All pupils present participated in the online survey while using their own laptop or smartphone to access the questionnaire that was hosted via Qualtrics online surveys (Qualtrics Ltd., Provo, UT, USA). It took them approximately ten minutes to finish the questionnaire. In addition to the statements, it was questioned whether the pupils were active in a sport, and if yes, which one(s). Based on this data, pupils were assigned to a subsample; (1) club sports (e.g., soccer club, table tennis club), (2) commercial sports (e.g., fitness center, horse-riding center), (3) urban sports (e.g., running or skateboarding in public space), (4) a combination of these sport contexts or (5) no sports.

2.3. Data Analysis

IBM SPSS Statistics 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, NY, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) are provided for all single items and for each construct for the total sample and per sport context subsample (i.e., club sports, commercial sports, urban sports, combination or no sports). Items with a mean score of at least 4.00 were considered highly relevant/important motivational aspects or barriers. Items with a mean score of at least between 3.70 and 3.99 were considered moderately relevant/important. Univariate ANCOVAs including pairwise comparison post-hoc tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple testing, were used per construct (i.e., the mean score of the statements belonging to the construct) to test for differences between adolescents of the different sport contexts while using gender as covariate [25]. Age was not included as a covariate for two reasons: (1) due to imposed ethical standards and accompanying data collection procedures, information about age was not collected as exact age but as categorical data (12–13 years, 13–14 years and 14–15 years) and (2) it was not obliged for the young adolescents to fill in this question, which yielded a considerable amount of missing values (27.3%). Partial eta squared values were calculated as effect sizes for the ANCOVAs. An effect between 0.01 and <0.06 was considered small, between 0.06 and <0.14 medium, and 0.14 or higher (large) [26]. Hedges’ g was calculated as the effect size for the pairwise comparisons with an effect size of about 0.20, 0.5, and 0.8, considered small, medium, and large, respectively. The Alpha was set at 0.05 for all analyses.

3. Results

3.1. Sample Characteristics

In total, 741 young adolescents completed the online questionnaire, of which 324 (43.7%) expressed themselves as boys, 398 (53.7%) as girls and 19 (2.6%) as diverse (Table 1). From the total sample, more than 80.0% were active in sports, including 416 (56.1%) adolescents who participated in club sports, 80 (10.8%) in commercial sports, 43 (3.0%) in urban sports and 73 (9.9%) participated in more than one of these contexts. In total, 129 (17.4%) young adolescents were not active in sports.

3.2. Motivation for Sport Participation

Table 2. Questionnaire outcomes per sport type.

Statement		Total Sample	Club Sports	Commercial Sports	Urban Sports	Combination	No Sports
Motivation for sport participation	Fun/Pleasure—I do sports…
	because I like it or it makes me happy	4.46 (0.89)	4.54 (0.84)	4.18 (1.11)	4.40 (0.93)	4.40 (0.84)	-
	because I feel I have to	2.26 (1.26)	2.15 (1.22)	2.51 (1.30)	2.80 (1.42)	2.34 (1.19)	-
	because my parents/guiders want me to	1.61 (0.92)	1.61 (0.930	1.59 (0.91)	1.76 (0.94)	1.52 (0.88)	-
	because I feel good after exercising	3.97 (0.96)	4.02 (0.93)	3.75 (1.11)	3.86 (1.01)	4.01 (0.91)	-
	to develop (more) self-confidence	3.35 (1.16)	3.30 (1.16)	3.55 (1.09)	3.45 (1.27)	3.29 (1.11)	-
	to relax	3.58 (1.13)	3.60 (1.14)	3.66 (1.12)	3.43 (1.17)	3.49 (1.11)	-
	Performance—I do sport…
	to become better at sports	3.95 (0.98)	4.01 (0.96)	3.70 (0.86)	3.52 (1.13)	4.07 (1.03)	-
	because I want to win	3.06 (1.28)	3.21 (1.26)	2.39 (1.18)	2.69 (1.30)	3.19 (1.26)	-
	to compare my performance with others	2.17 (1.10)	2.16 (1.06)	2.07 (1.14)	2.26 (1.25)	2.29 (1.20)	-
	for the challenge/achievement	3.68 (1.03)	3.70 (1.01)	3.55 (1.15)	3.45 (1.04)	3.87 (0.97)	-
	to become a top athlete	2.86 (1.32)	2.98 (1.31)	2.58 (1.31)	2.23 (1.23)	2.80 (1.30)	-
	to improve my health	3.87 (1.04)	3.70 (1.04)	3.63 (1.13)	3.81 (1.03)	3.70 (1.00)	-
	to learn new skills	4.13 (0.86)	4.18 (0.79)	3.86 (1.09)	4.12 (0.90)	4.17 (0.87)	-
	to get stronger/more muscular	3.13 (1.25)	3.13 (1.25)	3.18 (1.38)	3.21 (1.12)	3.07 (1.22)	-
	Community—I do sport…
	because you meet other young people	3.03 (1.07)	3.17 (1.04)	2.77 (1.12)	2.70 (1.07)	2.70 (1.03)	-
	because I like the atmosphere of sports	4.13 (0.91)	4.25 (0.83)	3.72 (1.13)	4.05 (0.85)	3.97 (0.98)	-
	because friends do this sport, too	2.52 (1.21)	2.56 (1.20)	2.37 (1.28)	2.73 (1.23)	2.30 (1.09)	-
	because it’s fun	4.24 (0.85)	4.31 (0.83)	4.00 (0.96)	4.00 (0.82)	4.23 (0.84)	-
	because my parents are also members of the sports club	1.63 (0.95)	1.69 (1.00)	1.60 (0.91)	1.35 (0.58)	1.51 (0.88)	-
	because I feel part of the group	3.42 (1.15)	3.56 (1.13)	3.13 (1.24)	3.23 (1.11)	3.03 (1.05)	-
Barriers to sport participation	Motivation—I do less/no sport…
	because my friends also do less/no exercise	1.51 (0.84)	1.44 (0.77)	1.65 (0.87)	1.63 (0.94)	1.36 (0.81)	1.69 (1.00)
	because it’s too focused on performance	1.67 (0.98)	1.50 (0.78)	1.77 (1.06)	2.08 (1.1)1	1.43 (0.81)	2.20 (1.30)
	because I like other leisure activities	2.20 (1.27)	1.81 (1.02)	2.16 (1.14)	2.85 (1.26)	1.81 (1.12)	3.45 (1.29)
	because I don’t like it (anymore)	1.85 (1.16)	1.55 (0.95)	1.79 (0.98)	2.10 (1.09)	1.50 (0.88)	2.94 (1.31)
	because the sport level is not adequate	1.66 (0.92)	1.55 (0.88)	1.71 (0.87)	1.97 (1.08)	1.52 (0.80)	1.98 (1.01)
	because I am not that good at it	1.66 (0.97)	1.43 (0.74)	1.64 (0.96)	1.93 (1.05)	1.38 (0.75)	2.53 (1.20)
	because I am afraid of loosing	1.49 (0.83)	1.37 (0.69)	1.45 (0.69)	1.56 (0.88)	1.34 (0.66)	1.94 (1.15)
	Capability—I do less/no sport…
	because I don’t like getting to know new people	1.77 (1.05)	1.53 (0.81)	1.69 (0.86)	2.00 (1.11)	1.46 (0.82)	2.70 (1.40)
	because of an injury	1.93 (1.15)	1.98 (1.17)	1.84 (0.97)	1.90 (1.08)	1.91 (1.23)	1.84 (1.19)
	because of the negative atmosphere within the sport/team	1.68 (1.03)	1.59 (0.94)	1.68 (1.07)	1.82 (1.01)	1.46 (0,98)	2.06 (1.27)
	because I have had negative experiences with other people in sports	1.71 (1.01)	1.58 (0.87)	1.89 (1.07)	1.93 (1.14)	1.40 (0.86)	2.13 (1.23)
	because I think it is too expensive	1.50 (0.83)	1.38 (0.71)	1.56 (0.79)	1.48 (0.75)	1.46 (0,83)	1.88 (1.09)
	Opportunity—I do less/no sport…
	because the sport I want to do is not located nearby	1.69 (1.02)	1.53 (0.90)	1.93 (1.03)	1.92 (1.16)	1.43 (0.97)	2.16 (1.22)
	because there are no fun sports in my area	1.67 (1.01)	1.46 (0.82)	1.68 (0.92)	1.95 (1.11)	1.35 (0.76)	2.50 (1.30)
	because my parents don’t allow me (anymore) to do sports/exercise	1.27 (0.61)	1.26 (0.58)	1.29 (0.54)	1.30 (0.52)	1.19 (0.52)	1.35 (0.81)
	because of lack of time due to school or work	2.25 (1.27)	2.00 (1.18)	2.12 (1.18)	2.86 (1.22)	1.93 (1.19)	3.09 (1.24)
	because my parents think it is too expensive	1.44 (0.80)	1.36 (0.70)	1.55 (0.87)	1.51 (0.76)	1.31 (0.63)	1.69 (1.09)
Choosing a new sport	Motivation—Importance of…
	Personal attention of trainers/instructor	3.43 (1.05)	3.50 (1.02)	3.55 (1.19)	3.46 (0.95)	3.31 (1.01)	3.14 (1.06)
	Being able to exercise at my own level	4.11 (0.89)	4.15 (0.82)	4.08 (0.98)	4.12 (1.02)	4.22 (0.88)	3.92 (0.98)
	A skilled trainer/coach/instructor	4.32 (0.83)	4.41 (0.72)	4.23 (0.88)	4.07 (1.10)	4.32 (0.73)	4.12 (0.93)
	Being able to play sports with others of the same level	3.91 (0.96)	4.00 (0.91)	3.85 (1.00)	3.76 (0.96)	3.83 (0.96)	3.75 (1.08)
	Being able to exercise with friends	3.45 (1.06)	3.47 (1.05)	3.19 (1.10)	3.63 (1.02)	3.38 (1.14)	3.50 (1.02)
	Positive atmosphere within the team/sport	4.43 (0.79)	4.50 (0.72)	4.33 (0.86)	4.26 (0.83)	4.44 (0.73)	4.33 (0.97)
	Capability/Opportunity—Importance of…
	1-day tournaments	2.83 (1.13)	3.02 (1.12)	2.55 (1.10)	2.68 (1.04)	2.73 (1.15)	2.33 (1.00)
	The timeslot when you can exercise	3.82 (0.97)	3.85 (0.90)	3.85 (1.01)	3.81 (1.07)	3.79 (1.04)	3.72 (1.11)
	Being able to do different sports/activities	2.87 (1.11)	2.87 (1.10)	3.05 (1.23)	3.23 (1.00)	2.79 (1.14)	2.64 (1.05)
	Being able to play competitions/matches	3.63 (1.27)	4.06 (1.09)	2.94 (1.22)	3.10 (1.14)	3.78 (1.19)	2.78 (1.23)
	Accessibility (e.g., by bicycle)	3.79 (0.95)	3.81 (0.94)	3.70 (0.95)	3.80 (0.90)	3.75 (0.94)	3.81 (1.03)
	The days you can work out	3.86 (0.92)	3.85 (0.91)	3.90 (0.90)	3.74 (1.00)	3.89 (0.95)	3.86 (0.96)
	Being able to exercise on different days or time-slots	3.65 (0.98)	3.67 (0.95)	3.61 (1.01)	3.59 (1.07)	3.83 (0.96)	3.50 (1.02)

Data are means (SD). Light grey: mean ≥3.7 and <4.0, considered moderately relevant. Dark grey: mean ≥4.0, considered highly relevant.

presents the descriptive outcomes per item of the online questionnaire for the total sample and each of the sport contexts. The part about the motivation for sports was only answered by those adolescents that were active in sports at the moment when the questionnaire was administered (n = 612; 82.6%). Highly relevant aspects of fun/pleasure appeared to be that ‘the sports activities make adolescents ‘happy’ and ‘make them feel good after exercise’. ‘Parental influence/expectation’ was generally not considered a relevant motivator to participate in sports. Regarding performance, it appeared highly important for young adolescents active in club sports, urban sports or a combination of more sport contexts to ‘learn a new skill’. Adolescents active in commercial sporting rated this as moderately important. Adolescents that are active in club sports or a combination of sport contexts value that ‘they want to become better’ highly important, whereas adolescents active in commercial sport scored this as moderately relevant. ‘Health improvement’ was evaluated as moderately important by young adolescents from club sports, urban sports and those active in a combination of sport contexts. ‘Challenges/achievements’ were judged as moderately important by adolescents in club sports and the adolescents active in a combination of sport contexts. Finally, regarding community, ‘fun’ was rated as highly important by all groups. Moreover, ‘the atmosphere of sport’ was considered highly important in young adolescents active in club sports and urban sports and moderately important in adolescents in commercial sports and a combination of sport contexts.

3.3. Barriers to Sport Participation

The barriers to sports participation examined within the questionnaire appeared, on average, not to be moderately or highly important to young adolescents. The mean rating of the items ranged between 1.26 and 3.45. Mean scores above 3.0 were only seen in young adolescents not being active in sports. They rated ‘liking other leisure activities’ (3.45 (SD 1.29); 52.0% (strongly) agreed) and ‘lack of time due to school or work’ (3.09 (SD 1.24); 40.5% (strongly) agreed) as most important barriers regarding motivation and opportunity, respectively. Other barriers worth mentioning for this group are that ‘sport is considered not to be fun anymore’ (2.94 (SD 1.31); 30.2% (strongly) agreed), that ‘they don’t like getting to know new people’ (2.70 (SD 1.40); 31.6% (strongly) agreed), that ‘there are no fun sports in their area’ (2.50 (SD 1.30); 15.5% (strongly) agreed) and that ‘they are not good in it’ (2.53 (SD 1.20); 22.8% (strongly) agreed).

3.4. Choosing a New Sport

When choosing a new sport, young adolescents active in sports see ‘a positive atmosphere’, ‘a skilled trainer’, and ‘being able to exercise at their own level’ as highly important motivators. Young adolescents not active in sports also score the factors ‘a positive atmosphere’, ‘a skilled trainer as highly important, and ‘being able to exercise at their own level’ as moderately important. ‘Accessibility’, ‘the time-slots’ and ‘the days that you can work out’ appeared moderately important opportunities to all groups. Young adolescents in club sports rate ‘being able to sport with players from the same level’ and ‘competition opportunities’ also as highly important. The first aspect, ‘players of the same level’, is moderately important to all the other groups and the latter, ‘competition opportunity’, is moderately important to the adolescents that combine more types of sports activities. Adolescents active in more types of sport contexts rate ‘the flexibility in days to exercise’ as moderately important.

3.5. Comparison between Sport Contexts—Motivation, Barriers and Choosing a New Sport

Significant differences between the young adolescent of the different sport contexts were found between all constructs (p < 0.05) except for the construct ‘fun/pleasure’ as a motivational aspect of sport participation (p = 0.074) (

Table 3. Comparison between sport types using combined questionnaire scores.

	Total Sample	Club Sports	Commercial Sports	Urban Sports	Combination	No Sports	F	p	Partial η2
Motivation for sport participation
Fun/Pleasure 1	3.91 (0.55)	3.95 (0.54)	3.84 (0.62)	3.76 (0.60)	3.89 (0.50)	-	2.328	0.074	0.011
Performance	3.33 (0.67)	3.38 (0.64)	3.11 (0.75)	3.17 (0.68)	3.41 (0.68)	-	3.308	0.020 *	0.016
Community	3.16 (0.62)	3.26 (0.59)	2.9 2(0.74)	3.00 (0.52)	2.95 (0.52)	-	11.988	<0.001 *	0.056
Barriers to sport participation
Motivation	1.75 (0.78)	1.5 (0.66)	1.8 (0.73)	2.0 (0.75)	1.5 (0.64)	2.4 (0.81)	40.418	<0.001 *	0.187
Capability	1.74 (0.76)	1.6 (0.71)	1.7 (0.70)	1.8 (0.75)	1.5 (0.69)	2.2 (0.86)	12.865	<0.001 *	0.068
Opportunity	1.69 (0.73)	1.5 (0.66)	1.7 (0.65)	1.9 (0.70)	1.5 (0.65)	2.2 (0.76)	22.990	<0.001 *	0.116
Choosing a new sport
Motivation	3.93 (0.63)	4.00 (0.58)	3.87 (0.72)	3.87 (0.70)	3.91 (0.57)	3.80 (0.71)	3.571	0.007 *	0.019
Capability/Opportunity	3.49 (0.66)	3.59 (0.64)	3.37 (0.73)	3.44 (0.61)	3.52 (0.62)	3.49 (0.65)	7.275	<0.001 *	0.039

Data are means (SD). ¹ Reverse scores were used for the statements ‘I do sports because I feel I have to’ and ‘I do sports because my parents/guiders want me to’. * p < 0.05. Gender was included as a covariate. Pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction for multiple testing with significant findings: Motivation for sport participation: Community—club sport versus commercial sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.556), urban sports (p = 0.036; Hedges’ g = 0.453) and combination (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.537). Barriers for sport participation: Motivation—club sports versus urban sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.326), urban sports versus combination (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.800), no sports versus club sports (p <0.001; Hedges’ g = 1.252), commercial sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.842), urban sports (p < 0.031; Hedges’ g = 0.483) and combination (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 1.233). Capability—no sports versus club sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.709), commercial sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.530) and combination (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.763). Opportunity—club sports versus urban sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.578), no sports versus club sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.935), commercial sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.637) and combination (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.997). Choosing a new sport: Motivation—club sports versus no sports (p < 0.005; Hedges’ g = 0.338). Capability/Opportunity—club sports versus commercial sports (p < 0.039; Hedges’ g = 0.333) and club sports versus no sports (p < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.504).

). However, moderate and large effect sizes were only seen regarding the barriers to sport participation; motivation revealed a large effect size (partial η² = 0.187), capability a moderate effect size (partial η² = 0.068) and opportunity also a moderate effect size (partial η² = 0.068). Young adolescents not active in sports presented significantly higher mean scores on all these constructs compared to the subgroups of adolescents in club sports, commercial sports and a combination of sport contexts (p < 0.001). Additionally, the urban sport subgroup also differed significantly from the young adolescents in club sports and a combination of sports contexts regarding motivation (p < 0.001) and opportunity (p < 0.001).

4. Discussion

The current study adds to the existing knowledge and insights on youth participation in sports by further exploring the motives and barriers of young adolescents to participate in sports while taking into account different youth sport contexts in the Netherlands. On the basis of the results, it becomes clear that, overall, Dutch young adolescents value the same motivational factors to be active in sports as well as those factors that support them when trying or starting a new sport. No specific motivational profiles could be identified for the young adolescents per the sport context. Moreover, it appears that the young adolescents in the current study generally do not experience many barriers to participate in sports. This is even the case for those young adolescents not active in sports; although they show significantly higher barrier rates compared to the other groups, their rating of barriers is still low. This seems somewhat contradictory to the low participation rates recently found in the Netherlands. Conducting studies that include samples from areas with a low participation rate and/or high dropout seems a sensible follow-up. This is also accounts for (qualitative) studies focusing on the disclosure of other barriers (e.g., parent’s educational level, income, socioeconomic position, employment status and/or social class). Differences in background and social contexts can play an important role in life choices, lifestyle and thus also in sport participation [18,19].

Nevertheless, for now, it seems logical to emphasize those factors that contribute to the motivation of young adolescents when establishing programs with the aim of increasing sport participation and preventing dropout among this target group. The most important motivational factor for young adolescents to be active in sports appears to be fun/pleasure; sports make them happy, and they feel good after exercising. Additionally, they like the atmosphere of sports and are motivated to learn new skills and become better at sports. Accordingly, it comes as no surprise that, when starting a new sport, young adolescents value a positive atmosphere, a skilled trainer and being able to participate at their own level (with others). These findings strongly match existing guidelines for youth sports. For example, they align with the principles of the ICOACHKIDS pledge [27], specifically principle 4 ‘make it fun and safe’, principle 5 ‘prioritize the love for sport over learning sport’ and principle 8 ‘plan progressive programs’. Moreover, they are in accordance with the coaching guideline from the IOC recommendations for youth athletic development; i.e., ‘provide a challenging and enjoyable sporting climate that focuses on each athlete’s personal assets and mastery orientation’ [28]. However, it seems that Dutch sports clubs have problems adequately meeting the needs/wishes of young adolescents, as a substantial part of Dutch young adolescents do not participate and/or do not meet the physical activity guidelines in the organized sport context [11].

The presented perspectives of Dutch young adolescents reinforce the call to pay attention to a developmental (e.g., learning new skills, becoming better at sports), motivational (e.g., fun/pleasure) as well as a socially safe climate (e.g., positive atmosphere) in sports clubs as a precondition to fully harvest the beneficial effects of sports [29]. In the Netherlands, two major barriers can be identified within this context. First, a large part of organized sports, i.e., sports clubs, is run by volunteers who are not educated for the specific task of guiding and training children and adolescents [30]. Second, even when coaches did finish a coach education, most coaches’ education programs focus on the didactics of how youngsters can learn the technical and tactical skills of their specific sports bests, which mainly serves the developmental climate. A broader pedagogical approach is generally neglected though research has shown that the actual effects of sport participation do not only depend on what is offered (e.g., type of exercises, games or competition) but also on how it is offered [31]. If children or adolescents are not guided adequately, sports can even have negative effects like bullying, (sexual) harassment, selfishness, depression, injuries and eating disorders [32,33,34]. Therefore, we have to pay attention towards a positive and safe sports climate and emphasize a broader pedagogical approach in coach education. Recent initiatives to improve coach education regarding these aspects and specifically for adolescents, have been launched within the ICOACHKIDS+ project (http://www.icoachkidsplus.eu/resoults/, accessed on 1 April 2023). These principles could serve as guidelines for the coach education programs in The Netherlands.

In addition, sports clubs, in cooperation with their associations, should reflect on the activities they provide for young adolescents. Currently, there is generally a main focus on competitions and training sessions are tailored accordingly. Participation in competition/matches could positively contribute to the motivation of young adolescents, but this seems merely the case for those currently active in the context of club sports (Table 2). If a sports club wants to be more attractive to other young adolescents as well, a more varied offer of activities might be helpful. It is recommended here to actively involve the young adolescents as stakeholders within the creative process and think of solutions together. In this way, activities will be better attuned to their perception, appeal to joint responsibility and promote their autonomy. An example of such an approach is the toolkit with card games that was developed as part of the European Erasmus+ project ‘Keep Youngsters Involved’ (https://tools.kenniscentrumsportenbewegen.nl/keep-youngsters-involved/hoofdstuk/toolkit-with-card-games/, accessed on 1 April 2023) [35]. Exploring and promoting sporting activities that link to the improvement of health might be beneficial as well, which also connects to one of the core elements of physical literacy [36]. Finally, an evaluation of the organizational aspects like planning (i.e., time-slots and days) and accessibility, together with the intention to better connect to the wishes of young adolescents might support sport participation within this group [37]. Of course, these recommendations could serve the other sport contexts to create a better connection with young adolescents as well.

Another strategy to increase sport participation is to remove the existing barriers. As previously mentioned, barrier rates to participate in sports appear to be rather low within the included sample, even in the young adolescent not participating in sports. This finding aligns with the rather high sport participation rate (82.6%; organized sport 76.8%) within the current study in comparison to the numbers found within the Dutch population [11]. Although the current study might include a rather ‘sport-minded’ sample, the main reasons for not being active in sports within this group are still considered relevant. The most important barriers appear: (1) ‘liking other leisure activities’, (2) ‘lack of time due to school or work’, (3) ‘sport is considered not to be fun anymore’, (4) ‘don’t like getting to know new people’, (5) ‘there are no fun sports in their area’, and (6) ‘they are not good in it’. As such, it seems that a combination of motivational factors, capability and opportunity are preventing adolescents from participating in sports. These findings are largely in line with previous studies concerning barriers to sport participation in adolescents [37,38]. Creating a positive and safe sports climate while using a child-centered approach is likely to remove most barriers [29].

Some limitations of this study need to be acknowledged. First, as previously mentioned, this study seems to have included a sample of young adolescents with a rather high rate of sport participation. This might be due to the recruitment within the middle and eastern parts of the Netherlands. Consequently, the distribution of participation within the contexts does not completely represent the Dutch population. Nevertheless, the main outcomes of this study are still considered generalizable since the results are presented for each sport context separately. Second, although the online questionnaire covered motives and barriers identified as possible influencers [20], it might not have brought all important aspects and their interactions to the table. The next step could be to further explore (other possible) motives and barriers within a qualitative study. This might also bring more insight into the interaction between different aspects within the different youth sport contexts. Third, this study was conducted during the COVID-pandemic. Although there were no restrictions for youth to participate in sports during the data collection period, sports participation declined, especially in the organized youth sport (i.e., club sports and commercial sports) during the lockdown periods and is still not completely recovered [11]. It is unknown to what extent the results of this study have been influenced by this, since no data is available from the situation before the pandemic started. Fourth, this study focused on the possible differences between young adolescents from different sport contexts. However, other influencing factors (e.g., gender, age and social contexts) could be considered for a deeper insight within subsamples.

5. Conclusions

In conclusion, this study reinforces that fun/pleasure is the most important motive for young adolescents to participate in sports and that coaches are a linking pin within the context of organized youth sport. Sports clubs and their coaches should stimulate a positive and safe environment in which young people can develop themselves in and through sports [39]. However, in order to realize the full potential of youth sports and specifically the sports club, to be a positive place for development, it is crucial to align and secure the activities of, among others, coaches, other guides (e.g., parents) and policymakers towards a positive and safe sports climate always taking into account the motives and barriers of youngsters that are under their responsibility [29,30]. The findings of this study provide directions for the development of future interventions that improve sports participation and prevent dropout from sports [14,16]. It supports sports organizations and coaches to create an optimal environment for youth in sports. Future studies can yield more in-depth insight into samples with a low participation rate and/or high dropout rates; the disclosure of other barriers seems to be sensible to assess the interaction of motives and barriers.