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Recommended Baseball Equipment
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Coaching Youth Baseball - The Rightfield Syndrome: Part 4
Rightfield Syndrome Models of Behavior
The expectancy-value model and the self-fulfilling prophecy theory help to
define, describe, and elaborate on the "Rightfield Syndrome" from a
behavioral perspective. These models assist in explaining a player's beliefs
and behaviors toward performance and confidence associated with the
involvement of significant others including parents and coaches.
The involvement of parents and coaches plays a big role in the development
of the player as an athlete and as a person.
The expectancy-value model is constructed around the parent's beliefs about
sport and their children and how those beliefs eventually end up affecting
the child's performance and behaviors in sport.
The foundation for this model is a parent's values, attitudes, expectancies,
and stereotypes about sport, baseball in particular. Do the parents or
parent like baseball? Do the parents see any value in participating in
baseball? Most likely, the parents' values and attitudes toward baseball
come from their own experiences and participation with the sport.
Many times, a parent will not want his or her child participating in a
certain sport because the parent had a bad experience participating in the
sport which may have been linked to physical maturation rates, motor skill
development, or interaction with significant others.
The parents’ beliefs and attitudes about baseball and their children affect
the parents' behaviors towards or with the children. Parents may or may not
allow their children to participate in youth baseball depending on their
beliefs.
Do the parents encourage participation by providing the necessary equipment
like a glove or a bat for the child to play? Do the parents devote their
time and money to help in the children's development in the sport? In other
words, are the parents willing to drive the kids to practice and games or
play with them in the backyard?
Does the parent give feedback to the child about performance or behavior
associated with baseball? The children will give credence to the parents'
actions and thus internalize much of their parents' behaviors and beliefs in
establishing their own beliefs, attitudes, and values about baseball.
Parent's behaviors toward and with their children in regards to baseball
influence the child's beliefs about the sport of baseball and beliefs about
ability in baseball. The parents' actions and ideas are interpreted by the
child and translated into such things as perceived competence and
self-confidence.
The child develops perceived competence and self-confidence in accord with
the behaviors elicited by the parents. If the parents do not support
participation, do not supply the necessary equipment for play, do not spend
time attending games or chauffeuring their child to practices, and do not
give contingent feedback then the child will most likely have a low
perceived competence and low self-confidence when it comes to baseball.
The child interprets the parents' behaviors to mean that the child's
participation in the sport is not important and it is meaningless. The child
internalizes this and believes that baseball is not a good sport to play and
that he must not be very good because the father or mother doesn't care
about baseball or show support for the child's participation.
The child's beliefs about baseball and ability created by parents' beliefs
and behaviors ultimately affect the child's performance and behaviors.
The child will have little motivation to continue participation in the game
if he has low perceived competence and lacks self-confidence. If the child
believes he is not very good at baseball then he will probably not spend the
necessary time needed practicing to get better.
Consequently, the child may not develop the necessary fundamentals to play
the game and find himself a victim of the "Rightfield Syndrome" when he does
play.
The child's low perceived competence and self-confidence will be revealed
and reinforced by the child's lackluster performance on the field. Any coach
in any sport can tell you that it is difficult for an athlete to be
successful if that athlete does not believe that s/he can succeed in the
chosen sport.
The expectancy-value model is helpful in explaining how the "Rightfield
Syndrome" can be developed and perpetuated through the child's interactions
with parents.
The child's performance and behaviors related to baseball can be traced to
the child's beliefs about baseball and baseball ability which are affected
by the parents' behaviors towards, and with, the child which are determined
by the parents' beliefs about baseball and their children.
If parents are truly interested in their child's participation in
little-league baseball then they must be careful in the beliefs and
behaviors about baseball that they show and teach their children.
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