Ignoring injuries and playing through pain are expected in organized sports. But how do novice athletes learn these social norms? Using participant-observation research focusing on adolescent girls who participated in recreational softball, this study reveals how the clash of norms between traditional femininity and the sport ethic sheds light on the socialization process. In addition to shaking off their own injuries, coaches ignored the girls' complaints, made jokes when the girls experienced some pain, and told them directly to shake off their minor injuries. Even though many of the girls entered the activity with traditionally feminine attitudes toward pain, most conformed to the norms of the sport ethic and learned to deal with pain and injuries by "shaking them off" and "toughing them out." Those girls who were more enthusiastic about playing softball and who displayed stronger commitments to the softball-player identity were more likely to display these norms.

Many parents turn to picture books and storybooks to help explain issues surrounding death and dying to their young children. In addition to dealing with topics such as death, funerals, memories, and grief, a number of the books also mention the concept of heaven and what our loved ones might experience after they die. This article uses qualitative research methods to analyze 49 children's storybooks that touch on the existence of heaven or a spiritual afterlife. Results show that heaven is portrayed in a simplistic fashion, as a place high in the sky with bright lights, angels, and clouds. Even as heaven is presented in a relatively simple way, there are also patterned differences in depictions of the spiritual afterlife depending upon whether the decedent in the book was a family pet, a child, a parent, or a grandparent. The article concludes with a discussion of how these depictions of heaven and the afterlife might help young children cope with death-related grief.

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A large body of research has established that sport intervention programs can have social, emotional and health benefits for at-risk youth. While research has focused on the positive outcomes associated with these programs, little attention has been given to program inputs. It is recognized that community partnerships can help intervention programs achieve their goals. Yet, how are such partnerships formed and what can help to promote the successful formation of partnerships? This paper provides a detailed account of the partnership implementation process undertaken to develop and deliver a health promotion physical activity program for at-risk youth through the medium of CrossFit in a low socioeconomic area in a rural community in the southeastern United States. Developing successful partnerships serves as a valuable component to help organizations obtain resources and skills needed to initiate and continue programs for underserved populations. The scholars identify and explain how critical success factors such as personal contact, partnership complementarity and fit and the promotion of high levels of commitment and trust, serve as important starting points for developing and maintaining strong community partnerships.