Although there is considerable interest in the use of sport as a vehicle to promote psychosocial development in youth, little is known about the specific content or implementation strategies that are likely to account for positive outcomes. In this article, a brief review of current literature and a working definition of youth development through sport are provided to lay a foundation for a framework for planning youth sport programs that are structured to promote psychosocial development in participants. The components of the framework are outlined and suggestions for research, evaluation, and program development are offered.

A study was conducted with 124 intercollegiate student-athletes at an NCAA Division I institution to examine the relationship between self-identity variables (i.e., identity foreclosure and athletic identity) and career maturity. Results indicated that both identity foreclosure and athletic identity were inversely related to career maturity. Significant effects of gender, playing status (varsity vs. nonvarsity), and sport (revenue producing vs. nonrevenue producing) on career maturity were observed. The findings suggest that failure to explore alternative roles and identifying strongly and exclusively with the athlete role are associated with delayed career development in intercollegiate student athletes, and that male varsity student-athletes in revenue-producing sports may be especially at risk for impaired acquisition of career decision-making skills. The results underscore the importance of understanding athletic identity issues and exercising caution in challenging sport-related occupational aspirations in presenting career development interventions to student-athletes.

The purpose of this article is to describe sport psychology and a model for its practice that is consistent with the training of counseling psychologists as teachers of life skills. Following an examination of the role that sport plays in our society and its importance for the development of identity and personal competence, what is meant by sport psychology and why it is a relevant area of study for counseling psychologists will be specified. A psychoeducational model for the practice of sport psychology, life development intervention (LDI), will be delineated and some examples of sport psychology consistent with the LDI model proposed. Using LDI as a base, dilemmas that counseling psychologists face when doing sport psychology will be considered Finally, some of the training issues for counseling psychologists doing sport psychology will be presented.

Despite the fact that physical activity is universally acknowledged to be an important part of healthy functioning and well-being, the full scope of its value is rarely appreciated. This article introduces a novel framework for understanding the relationships between physical activity (and specifically sport-related forms of physical activity) and different aspects of human development. It proposes that the outcomes of physical activity can be framed as differential 'capitals' that represent investments in domain-specific assets: Emotional, Financial, Individual, Intellectual, Physical, and Social. These investments, especially when made early in the life course, can yield significant rewards, both at that time and for years to come. The paper presents a new model-the Human Capital Model-that makes sense of these effects, outlines the different capitals, and briefly articulates the conditions necessary for the realization of Human Capital growth through physical activity.