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Psychology of Sport and Exercise 15 (2014) 155e164

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Psychology of Sport and Exercise

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/psychsport

Parenting in youth tennis: Understanding and enhancing children’sexperiencesq

Camilla J. Knight*, Nicholas L. HoltFaculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 20 January 2013Received in revised form20 October 2013Accepted 21 October 2013Available online 6 November 2013

Keywords:Youth sportParenting practicesParenting stylesEmotional climate

q Authors Note. This study was completed as part oat the University of Alberta, Canada e Camilla is noversity, UK. Camilla was supported by the Izaac Waltship and the Andrew Stewart Memorial Scholarship wstudy was partially funded by the International Tenn* Corresponding author. Swansea University, Singl

UK. Tel.: þ44 1752 606590.E-mail address: c.j.knight@swansea.ac.uk (C.J. Knig

1469-0292/$ e see front matter Crown Copyright � 2http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2013.10.010

a b s t r a c t

Objective: The overall purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory of optimal parentalinvolvement in youth tennis.Design: A Straussian grounded theory methodology (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) wasused. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with 90 youth tennis players, ex-youth players, parents, and coaches from the United Kingdom. Data were analyzed through a processof open and axial coding, and theoretical integration. Through this process data were broken down intosmaller units (concepts), relationships between concepts were identified, and a substantive groundedtheory was developed.Results: The grounded theory of optimal parental involvement in tennis was built around the corecategory of ‘understanding and enhancing your child’s tennis journey.’ The core category was under-pinned by three categories: (a) Share and communicate goals, which referred to the need for parents andchildren to have the same aims for the child’s tennis involvement; (b) develop an understandingemotional climate, which accounted for the need for parents to continually seek to foster an environmentin which children perceived parents understand their experience, and; (c) engage in enhancing parentingpractices at competitions, which denoted the specific behaviors parents should display in relation tocompetitive tennis.Conclusion: The theory predicts that consistency between goals, emotional climate, and parentingpractices will optimize parenting in youth tennis.

Crown Copyright � 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parents have a substantial influence on children’s initialinvolvement and long-term participation in sport (e.g., Bloom,1985; Côté, 1999). Parents provide children with the opportunityto participate in sport, help children interpret their experiences,and act as role models for participation (Fredricks & Eccles, 2004).Through these avenues parents can have a positive or negativeinfluence on children’s sporting development and experiences. Forexample, positive parental involvement has been identified as animportant factor in helping children achieve an elite level in sportand is one of the main sources of enjoyment for child-athletes(Fraser-Thomas & Côté, 2009; Leff & Hoyle, 1995; McCarthy, Jones,

f Camilla’s PhD while she wasw working at Swansea Uni-on Killam Memorial Scholar-hile completing her PhD. Thisis Federation.eton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP,

ht).

013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All

& Clark-Carter, 2008). On the other hand, negative involvementhas been associated with burnout and dropout (Bois, Lalanne, &Delforge, 2009; Gould, Tuffey, Udry, & Loehr, 1996). Hence, it isimportant to understand the types of parental involvement thatwill enhance rather than hinder children’s sporting participationand performance (Knight, Boden, & Holt, 2010).

Given the potential consequences of parental involvement insport, researchers have sought to identify the specific parentingpractices (whereby parenting practices can be defined as “specific,goal-directed behaviors through which parents perform theirparental duties” Darling & Steinberg, 1993, p. 488) that are associ-ated with positive or negative outcomes. For example, Gould et al.(Gould, Lauer, Rolo, Jannes, & Pennisi, 2006, 2008; Lauer, Gould,Roman, & Pierce, 2010a, 2010b) conducted a series of studiesexamining the role of parents in the development of junior tennisplayers. Through interviews, focus groups, and surveys withcoaches, players, and parents these studies highlighted numerouspositive and negative parenting practices that could influencechildren’s tennis development. Negative practices included parentsoveremphasizing winning, criticizing their child, and lacking

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C.J. Knight, N.L. Holt / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 15 (2014) 155e164156

emotional control. In contrast, parental behaviors perceived topositively influence players’ development were the provision ofunconditional love, logistical and financial support, and parentsholding children accountable for on-court behavior. Parents’ be-haviors varied throughout their children’s tennis careers andinfluenced the type of relationships parents and children devel-oped (Lauer et al., 2010a, 2010b).

Children have also reported specific preferences regardingparenting practices at sport competitions (e.g., Omli & Weise-Bjornstein, 2011). Research conducted with children who partici-pated in tennis (Knight et al., 2010) and various team sports(Knight, Neely, & Holt, 2011) identified that children preferredparents to show respect, positive body language, and practicalsupport, and did not wish to witness parents being overly loud orembarrassing, attempting to coach, or making negative comments.Further, children indicated that certain behaviors were preferred atspecific times. For example, prior to competitions childrenpreferred behaviors related to game-preparation. During compe-titions children wanted their parents to focus on effort rather thanoutcome, but children did not want parents to coach, interfere withofficials, or draw attention to themselves. After competitions,children indicated a preference for parents to provide positive andrealistic feedback about their performance (Knight et al., 2011).

Overall, the studies reported above have revealed importantinformation about positive and negative parenting practices andchildren’s preferences for parenting practices in youth sport.However, to develop a more complete understanding of parentalinvolvement in sport it is necessary to also examine the broadercontext of parenting (i.e., the overall environment parents create)rather than focusing only on discrete parenting practices (Holt,Tamminen, Black, Mandigo, & Fox, 2009). Such a focus on thebroader context of parenting is necessary because the context inwhich specific parenting practices are displayed will likely influ-ence the effectiveness of such practices (Darling & Steinberg, 1993).

One way of defining and studying the context of parenting is byusing the concept of parenting style. Parenting style is a charac-teristic of the parent and is defined as, “a constellation of attitudestoward the child that are communicated to the child and that, takentogether, create an emotional climate in which the parent’s be-haviors are expressed” (Darling & Steinberg, 1993, p. 488).Emotional climate is the tone or mood that exists in the environ-ment in which parents and children relate to each other (cf. deRivera, 1992; Kavanagh, 2011). The most popular and widelyresearched conceptualization of parenting styles is Baumrind’s(1971, 1978) typology. Baumrind (1971, 1978) distinguishedparenting based upon degrees of parental control or authority,leading to three parenting styles labeled authoritative, authori-tarian, and permissive. Maccoby and Martin (1983) extended thistypology based on parental responsiveness (the support parentsprovide in response to their child) and demandingness (parents’degree of control over their child). This resulted in four parentingstyles labeled authoritative (demanding and responsive), authori-tarian (demanding but not responsive), indulgent (responsive butnot demanding), and neglecting-rejecting (neither responsive nordemanding). Of the few youth sport parenting style studies pub-lished it has been demonstrated that authoritative styles ofparenting are associated with more positive outcomes. Forexample, children from authoritative families reported enhancedsatisfaction with ice hockey, which was displayed through obeyingrules, team cohesion, and continued engagement in hockey(Juntumaa, Keskivaara, & Punamäki, 2005). Authoritative parentinghas also been associated with healthy (rather than unhealthy)perfectionism in youth soccer players (Sapieja, Dunn, & Holt, 2011).

However, one limitation of literature examining parenting stylesin sport is that, just as studies of parenting practices have not

considered parenting styles, studies of parenting styles havegenerally not included parenting practices (Holt et al., 2009). Toadvance this literature it is necessary to examine the broaderparenting context in conjunctionwith (rather than separately from)parenting practices (Horn & Horn, 2007). One study which partiallyaddressed this issue used a combination of observations and in-terviews with 34 players and 56 parents on girls soccer teams toidentify the parenting styles and practices parents used (Holt et al.,2009). Holt et al. adopted Grolnick’s (2003) framework, whichdistinguishes parenting based on the degree to which parents areautonomy-supportive versus controlling, provide structure, and areinvolved in their children’s lives. Parents who had an autonomy-supportive style provided appropriate structure for their childrenand allowed them to be involved in decision-making. Parentingpractices associated with this style were that parents were able toread their children’s mood and reported open bidirectionalcommunication. On the other hand, parents with a more control-ling style did not support their children’s autonomy, were notsensitive to their children’s mood, and reported more closed modesof communication. Holt et al. concluded that the findings supportedthe complexity of youth sport parenting and the need to be sen-sitive to a range of perceptions and behaviors rather than singlevariables in isolation” (p. 54).

Holt et al.’s (2009) study highlighted the importance of exam-ining parenting styles and practices together to more fully under-stand parental involvement in youth sport. Further, the findingsindicated that there might be some benefit of an autonomy-supportive parenting style combined with certain parenting prac-tice. The current study was designed to build on Holt et al.’s find-ings by specifically seeking to identify the parenting practices andbroader parenting context that could lead to optimal parentalinvolvement in sport. That is, the current study sought to go beyondidentifying the parenting styles and practices that appear beneficialby seeking to understand how these factors come together tooptimize parental involvement in sport. Thus, the purpose of thisstudy was to develop a grounded theory of optimal parentalinvolvement in youth sport.

Specifically, the current study sought to develop a groundedtheory of optimal parental involvement in youth tennis. Tennis waschosen because it is an individual sport that places substantialfinancial and time demands on parents. As such, parents are oftenhighly involved in their children’s tennis (Harwood & Knight,2009). To generate such a grounded theory this study aimed toanswer the following questions: (1) What broad types of parentalinvolvement do children, parents, and coaches think are mostappropriate in youth tennis?; (2) What parenting practices dochildren, parents, and coaches think are most appropriate in youthtennis?; (3) What do children, parents, and coaches think can bedone to optimize parental involvement in tennis?

Method

A grounded theory methodology was deemed appropriate forthis study because although theories of parenting exist (e.g.,Fredricks & Eccles, 2004; Grolnick, 2003) a sport-specific theorythat incorporates parenting practices and the broader parentingcontext has yet to be produced. Straussian grounded theory wasused (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin,1998) and this studywas approached from a pragmatic philosophical perspective.Pragmatism is concerned with the idea that an individual’sknowledge develops and gains meaning through their actions andinteractions (Dewey, 1922). As such, ideas and knowledge areperceived to be influenced by the environment individuals are so-cialized in and developed in conjunction with the other people inthe environment. Thus, the knowledge generated in this study is a

C.J. Knight, N.L. Holt / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 15 (2014) 155e164 157

result of multiple individuals’ (e.g., children, parents, and coaches)experiences.

Participants

The total sample was comprised of 90 participants (33 mid-adolescent players, 10 older-adolescent players, 10 ex-tennisplayers, 17 parents, and 20 coaches) from the United Kingdom(see Table 1). Initially, county and national tennis players agedbetween 12 and 15 years were recruited because they were regu-larly competing in competitions and committed to tennis. Theseindividuals were purposefully sampled to be ‘information-rich’cases who would provide a good starting point for data collection.Parents and coaches of county and national players were alsosampled. Later in the study, based on the principle of theoreticalsampling (Corbin & Strauss, 2008), the sample was broadened toallow further examination of concepts identified during initial datacollection and analysis. In particular, participants who had positiveand negative experiences of parental involvement were sought toensure negative cases were included in the study. Participants whowere new to tennis or nearing the end of junior tennis weresampled to allow concepts to be examined throughout the tennisjourney. Additionally, participants with different goals (e.g.,wanting to be a professional tennis players or playing tennis tomake friends) were interviewed to highlight the role of goals onparental involvement.

Data collection

Prior to data collection institutional research ethics boardapproval was obtained. Having obtained ethics board approval ane-mail outlining the study and enquiring into the possibility ofcollecting data at their center was sent to the head coach or man-ager of four High Performance Tennis Centers (HPCS - centersdesigned to meet the needs of the highest-level performanceplayers), three satellite tennis centers (feeder clubs for HPCs) andone tournament organizer. As data collection continued a similar e-mail was sent to the head coach/manager at the National TennisCenter (NTC) and three International High Performance Centers(IHPCS). In total, agreement for data collection was obtained fromhead coaches/managers at two Satellite Clubs, three HPCs, twoIHPCs, the NTC, and the tournament organizer. These coaches/managers were then provided with pertinent sampling criteria andindividuals fulfilling the criteria were identified. Coaches/managersthen contacted potential participants because they were not able toshare contact information directly with the research team. Inter-ested participants were asked to contact the lead author to arrangeinterviews or focus groups.

Table 1Participant demographics.

Population Player age (years) Gender

n M SD Range Male Female

Current players 33 13.29 1.21 12e15 15 18Older players 10 17 0.67 16e18 8 2Ex-youth players 10 21.3 2 19e24 5 5

Population n Age of children Gender Play

Male Female Club

Tennis parents 15 11e16 7 8 0Ex-tennis parents 2 25 1 1 0National coaches 10 All ages 9 1 0Performance coaches 5 All ages 5 0 0Development coaches 5 All ages 4 1 0

At the outset of all interviews and focus groups participantswere provided with a verbal explanation of the study, informedtheir participation was voluntary, and reminded of issues ofconfidentiality. All adult participants provided written informedconsent and parents of players aged under 18 years providedwritten consent for their child and children provided oral assent.

Individual interviewsIn total, 72 individual semi-structured interviews were con-

ducted (with 27 youth players, 4 older players, 10 ex-youth players,17 parents, and 14 coaches). Interviews ranged from 30 to 64 min,lasting on average 44 min. Initial interview guides were based onprevious studies examining athletes’ preferences for parental be-haviors in youth sport (e.g., Knight et al., 2010; 2011) and parentingstyles (e.g., Holt et al., 2009). The interview guide was piloted withtwo players, one parent, and one coach. Consistent with the prin-ciple of theoretical sampling (Corbin & Strauss, 2008), the interviewguide was consistently revised as new concepts emerged.

The interview guide followed the structure recommended byRubin and Rubin (2012). Across all participants introductoryquestions focused upon demographic information and an under-standing of the participant’s tennis history. The main questionsexamined perceptions of parenting in general and in tennis. Forexample, players were asked to describe the role their parentsplayed in their life, their involvement in tennis, and the conse-quences of such involvement. Parents were asked to comment ontheir roles and involvement in specific situations (e.g., training andcompetition). Coaches discussed different types of parentalinvolvement they had seen. Summary questions asked participantsto specify types of parental involvement they perceived to be mostand least helpful in tennis. Copies of the interview guides areavailable from the lead author.

Focus groupsThree focus groups were conducted with a total of 18 partici-

pants (6 current players, 6 older players, and 6 coaches). Focusgroups were used to supplement the interview data and evaluatethe emerging theory because they provided an opportunity formultiple individuals to discuss the emerging concepts (Kreuger &Casey, 2000). As such, the focus groups were also used as amember-checking tool, whereby ‘experts’ could assess the appli-cability of the emerging theory to their experiences (Corbin &Strauss, 2008).

Data analysis

Analysis started after the first interview was conducted andcontinued throughout and after data collection (Corbin & Strauss,

Player standard Years of experience

Club County National International M SD Range

7 10 10 6 5.78 1.72 3.5e90 1 7 2 8.8 2.25 4e120 5 3 2 10.8 3.5 5e15

er standard Years of experience

County National International M SD Range

1 7 7 9.12 4.91 5e251 1 0 14.5 2.12 13e160 0 10 12.0 5.83 6e200 5 0 19.6 9.61 10e345 0 0 12.2 5.07 5-17

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2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Immediately following each inter-view the lead researcher made notes about concepts reported byparticipants and possible relationships between these concepts.Each audio file was then reviewed and additional notes aboutimportant ideas, concepts, and relationships were recorded. Asmany interviews as possible (n ¼ 42) were transcribed and codedduring the main data collection/analysis phase. Transcription andfurther analysis of the remaining interviews continued after thefieldwork.

CodingTranscription produced 1278 pages of single-spaced data, which

were analyzed following the procedures recommended by Corbinand Strauss (2008), Strauss and Corbin (1998). Initially open cod-ing was conducted during audio and written analysis of the data toidentify the smallest individual units of data (concepts), theirproperties, and dimensions relating to parental involvement.Through axial coding relationships between concepts were identi-fied and some individual concepts were grouped together. The finalstage of coding involved theoretical integration (Corbin & Strauss,2008), which began once initial concepts and relationships wereidentified. Through theoretical integration the core category wasidentified and other concepts were related to the core category.

Methodological rigor

Corbin and Strauss (2008) provided a number of criteria againstwhich grounded theories can be evaluated. However, they advisedthat “rather than applying standard criteria for judging differenttypes of grounded theory studies, some core characterizing traits ofquality research can be identified and thoughtfully applied withinthe parameters of a given study” (p.411). This aligns with Sparkesand Smith’s (2009) suggestion that rather than using an absoluteset of criteria for assessing the quality of all qualitative research,studies should be assessed based on the extent to which they fulfillthe characterizing traits of the chosen methodology. Thus, wesuggest the methodological rigor of this study should be evaluated,at least in part, on the appropriate implementation of techniquesand methods associated with the specific variant of groundedtheory used in the study (Holt & Tamminen, 2010).

In addition to the methods already described (use of focusgroups, iterative process of data collection and analysis, theoreticalsampling), we selected four further analytical tools recommendedby Corbin and Strauss (2008), Strauss and Corbin (1998) to enhancemethodological rigor. Throughout the process of data analysis datawere subjected to constant comparison, which is “the analyticprocess of comparing different pieces of data for similarities anddifferences” (Corbin & Strauss, 2008, p. 65). Ninety-five memos(ranging from a paragraph to two pages) were recorded during datacollection and analysis. The memos covered a range of topics fromthe role of players’ interpretations to the consistency of parents’messages, and the intricacies of developing independence. Ques-tions about the data, emerging concepts, relationships, and thedeveloping grounded theory were posed throughout data collec-tion, analysis, and manuscript preparation. Finally, diagrams wereused to ensure relationships between concepts were clear and thatdata were viewed at an abstract level.

Results

Data collection and analysis led to the development of a sub-stantive grounded theory of optimal parental involvement inyouth tennis. Based on the views of the participants, optimalparental involvement was defined as involvement that enhancedchildren’s enjoyment and their performance. For example, when

discussing the outcome of optimal involvement, a male nationalplayer said, “I think it’s a mixture really, I want to enjoy my tennis,but I also want to be able to play well in my tennis” (Player 36).Thus, the proposed theory aims to illustrate how parents can beoptimally involved to help make their child’s tennis experiencesuccessful while ensuring it is also enjoyable. The theory isconstructed around the core category of ‘understanding andenhancing your child’s tennis journey.’ Three categories underpinthe core category: (1) Share and communicate goals; (2) Developan understanding emotional climate; and, (3) Engage in enhancingparenting practices at competitions. In the following sections thecore category and underpinning categories are presented followedby the overall grounded theory, which illustrates the links be-tween these categories.

Core category: understanding and enhancing your child’s tennisjourney

Participants explained that participation in competitive youthtennis occurred over many years (often more than a decade) andwas a journey shared by children and their parents. During thejourney, children (and parents) experienced numerous tennis andlife transitions and were likely to have a variety of positive andnegative experiences. It was apparent that the extent to whichparents were able to adapt their involvement in response to suchtransitions and challenges would largely influence the appropri-ateness of their involvement. As one of the national coachesdescribed, “There’s going to be. a rocky road. There’s going to beups, there’s going to be downs, and it’s very much how you [theparent] handle these situations, because it will certainly rub off onthe child” (Coach 5).

Further, participants explained that each child’s journey wasunique and would consequently require different types ofinvolvement from parents. As one parent summarized, “The role ofthe parent . should be dependent upon what the child wantsbecause every child’s different aren’t they? It’s about knowing yourown child and focusing on what they need” (Parent 8). Similarly, aformer national player explained that parents’ involvement wouldbe different because, “Every player’s different and every parent isdifferent and dialog needs to be had around parental involvementbased on that” (Ex-player 1). Thus, understanding the individualand extended nature of the tennis journey appeared critical tooptimal parental involvement in tennis.

Participants also made it clear that optimal involvement wasdependent upon parents seeking ways to enhance children’s op-portunities for success and enjoyment in tennis. As one perfor-mance coach stated, “A parent should always be involved in helpingthem [players] to do whatever they need to do to. to sort of behappy and to be enjoying what they’re doing” (Coach 10). Similarly,a female national player reiterated the thoughts of many partici-pants when she summarized, “I think the role [of parents] is mostlyto be supportive of exactly what your child is doing.. You have tobe really on the ball. if they’re unhappy about something you haveto be there and support them” (Player 29). In fact, participantsperceived that parental involvement motivated by anything otherthan trying to enhance a child’s experience would be extremelydetrimental. As such, the proposed grounded theory indicates thatoptimal involvement is achieved through parents understandingand enhancing their child’s tennis journey.

Category 1: share and communicate goals

The foundation of optimal parental involvement appeared to beparents and children sharing and communicating about goals fortennis. That is, parents and children needed to ensure their reasons

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for being involved in tennis and the long-term outcomes beingsought were the same. A player who perceived his parents’involvement very positively explained, “It [tennis] works ‘cause wethink the same.we’re [parents and player] on the same page”(Player 11). In contrast, drawing from negative experiences with hisfather, an ex-player said, “If the child’s aims vary from their parent’saims I think it turns into the parent’s lifestyle a little bit too muchrather than the kid like leading the way. and that leads to pres-sure” (Ex-player 10).

The importance of shared goals was highlighted when partici-pants with different goals or goals that differed from their parentsdiscussed their perceptions of parental involvement. For example,players who wanted to become professional were often concernedabout their performance and indicated a desire for their parents’feedback to reflect this performance focus. In such cases, if parentswere more concerned with their child’s enjoyment and did notprovide performance feedback they could be perceived as unsup-portive. A county player explained:

My mum always says, “oh it’s only a game,” but I’ll still want towin.sowhen she says “oh it’s only a game,” I feel like there’s nopoint really doing it, if they think it’s only for fun. It’s frustratingcause I’ve put all this effort in to try and win” (Player 8).

In contrast, if parents provided feedback on performance andchildren just wanted to play tennis for fun it could result in parentalinvolvement being perceived as pressuring. A player highlighted, “Ifthe kid doesn’t want anything, he just wants enjoyment. and hisparents want him to achieve something and he knows this.the kidmight feel pressure into playing to win, playing competitively,whereas really he just wants to play for fun” (Player 9). It was clearchildren’s perceptions of different types of parental involvementwas dependent on the goals they were trying to achieve.

Given the importance of shared goals participants indicated thatit was not sufficient for parents to assume they held the same goalsas their children. Instead, as a national coach explained, “Commu-nication is also key, whether they agree the goal, ultimately that kidhas to agree [with] that goal, otherwise it’s [achieve the goal] goingto be difficult to do” (Coach 7). Such communication regardinggoals appeared particularly important to ensure parents couldadapt their involvement if necessary. For example, many playersand parents indicated their initial goals for tennis were to have fun,but the focus changed as children progressed in tennis. A formerplayer described his changing goals, “My original aspirations werejust to have a bit of fun and just to play another sport.Then Idecided I wanted to become at least a county level player and then Ijust wanted to continue getting better (Ex-player 2).

If parents were unaware of changes in their own or their child’sgoals it could result in previously appropriate involvementbecoming less than optimal. However, by communicating aboutgoals parents could adapt their involvement as required. Forexample, the father of an ex-player explained how his involvementchanged after he spoke to his daughter about her goals:

As things went on and we talked about how tennis was going,the goals evolved over time to, “I can reach this goal but I’m notgoing to play professionally, but I quite like playing tennis and Iwant to become the best I can.” So we continued travelling butnot so far and we cut down the number of lessons because theyweren’t necessary (Parent 15).

By communicating regarding goals this father was able to ensurehe made changes to his involvement and kept it aligned with theirshared aims throughout their tennis journey.

Factors that influence goalsNumerous factors appeared to influence the goals children and

parents were aiming to achieve. These factors included the stan-dard of the player, years of tennis experience, the age of the player,parents’ previous sporting experience, and school transitions.Further, it was apparent that changes in children’s (and parents’)goals were associated with certain tennis experiences. For example,being selected for county or national teams, winning certain tour-naments, moving-up age groups, or experiencing an extendedlosing streak were all recalled as triggers for shifting goals andexpectations. As such, re-evaluating and discussing goals followingsuch transitions and experiences seemed necessary to ensure par-ents remained optimally involved throughout the tennis journey.

Category 2: develop an understanding emotional climate

Participants indicated that the general climate parents produced(in addition to the specific practices parents displayed) would in-fluence children’s experiences. For example, when discussing theinfluence specific practices and the overall environment he createdhad on his child, one father explained, “You can’t separate what youdo, the way you are and they way you view life and tennis and theway you behave.it’s the overall environment you create, the un-derstanding that is important” (Parent 16). As indicated in thisquote the most pertinent feature of the broader parenting contextappeared to be parental understanding because, as one playersimply said, “If your parents are in the know [understand tennis]they’re going to be less judgemental” (Player 27). Similarly, a na-tional coach stated, “There are times when it [parental involve-ment] can actually be very positive. If you’ve got somebody whounderstands tennis I think it can be very useful” (Coach 3). Thus, thegrounded theory proposes that a defining feature of optimalparental involvement in junior tennis is the development of anunderstanding emotional climate.

An understanding emotional climate was conceptualized as anenvironment inwhich children perceived their parents understood,or were striving to understand, the experience theywere having. Tocreate such an emotional climate parents needed to continuallyshow they understood the challenges inherent in competitivetennis, the intricacies associated with tennis development andperformance, the influence of external factors on children’s tennisexperiences, and how tennis fitted within children’s lives. Partici-pants discussed various ways a lack of understanding could bedisplayed. For example, participants perceived a lack of under-standing when parents focused too much on winning or matchoutcomes and thus appeared not to understand how difficult it wasto succeed in tennis. As a mother explained:

Every game is different. We used to think [name of son] had towin all the games, he is wonderful. But as we learn, as the timegoes by, we learn no, that’s not the right thing, he is going to losea lot of games, he’s going to win a few games and we have torespect him and let him know that’s OK rather than be angry athim (Parent 1).

If parents did not understand the difficulties of winningmatchesit could result in children feeling under pressure to win matches orexperiencing anxiety. For example, the child being referred to in theabove quote described the consequences of his parents initiallyexpecting him towin everymatch. He said, “Then they put pressureon you.when they have expectations. They put pressure on youand you’re also putting pressure on yourself and . that’s reallywhat can make the performance worse” (Player 29).

Similarly, participants perceived that parents criticisms of per-formances was an indication they did not understand the

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difference between training and competing, what was realistic forchildren to achieve, the different factors that might influence aperformance (e.g., the level of the opponent) or how hard childrenwere trying. A player shared his feelings about his parent’s feedbackduring matches. He said, “If I’m losing or playing really badly, whenI change ends he’ll shake his head, .I get a bit annoyed, ‘cause hedoesn’t know if it’s hard, or I’m finding it hard to do it or some-thing” (Player 3). Another player explained:

Once I played a match and I felt that I tried really hard and then Icame off andmy dadwas shouting at me because he said I didn’ttry and I was like “yes I did” and he was like “no you didn’t.” It’sdifferent if you’re watching and playing. I felt like I tried likereally hard but he obviously didn’t think that I tried (Player 31).

Finally, if parents were unable to understand the emotional re-actions children had on court it was perceived that parents did notunderstand their child or the frustrations inherent in competitivetennis. For example, a male national player spent considerable timeexplaining how irritating he found his parents because they did notappear tounderstand the psychological side of tennis. He explained:

It’s the fact they don’t understand what’s going on in your head.They’re like “You missed your forehand and you throw yourracquet, what’s going on?” and I’m like, “You’ve never beenthere, you don’t know what the anger is like” and that’s whatpisses me off. they don’t understand the whole aspect of beingon court (Player 22).

In contrast, if parents displayed an understanding of differentoutcomes and performances, recognized the influence externalfactors had on matches, and empathized with their child theirinvolvement was perceived more positively. A player summarized,parents should, “just be there and understand, remember that ifyou were in the child’s position, what would you want from theparent?” (Participant 16).

Strategies for creating an understanding emotional climateParticipants shared numerous strategies for creating an under-

standing emotional climate. The strategies are outlined below andaim to increase parents’ tennis knowledge or reduce the focus onmatch outcomes.

Maintain a strong parentecoach relationship. All participants dis-cussed the importance of the parentecoach relationship inincreasing parents’ understanding of their child’s tennis. In factmany participants expressed sentiments similar to the followingfrom a male national coach, who said “It [the parentecoach rela-tionship] is without question the single most important and sig-nificant aspect of the job.it is the bit that can ultimately decidesuccess and failure” (Coach 6). Participants indicated that whenparents had a good relationship with coaches they were able toreceive more guidance from coaches regarding how to supporttheir child, had opportunities to find out what their child waslearning, and identify their child’s changing goals. Additionally,coaches had opportunities to help parents understand the effortchildren put into tennis and the importance of reducing the focuson match outcomes. One coach explained, “I speak closely with allparents I coach and just say, ‘if the kid puts 100% on the line everytime, shows focus and commitment to every shot, then at the end ifthey lose at least they’ve given everything’” (Coach 4). By accessingthis information parents would be better positioned to create anunderstanding emotional climate because they knew more abouttheir child’s experience.

Engage in independent learning. Most participants perceived thatparents with a high level of tennis-playing or coaching experiencewould be more likely to understand what their child was experi-encing. For example, an ex-player shared this view, “If they’veplayed competitive tennis they’ll realize that sometimes the betterplayer will lose, that tennis is not about how hard you can hit theball, how good your strokes are, but it’s themental aspect and beinga fighter” (Ex-player 5). However, participants also indicated thatparents should actively seek information to ensure they wereknowledgeable about tennis and understood all the factors influ-encing their child’s tennis journey. This was something one motheradvocated for because, as she said, “When [name of son] startedtennis I had no idea about tennis.and then he got into matchesand games and winning then I realized I have to learn everythingabout tennis to be able to help him” (Parent 1). A former playerreiterated this point, explaining, “At the end of the day if they[parents] don’t know anything how can they support the kid goingthrough it? They can’t because they don’t knowwhat they are goingthrough, they can’t comprehend a bit of it” (Ex-player 6). However,the importance of parents recognizing the limits of their knowledgewas also discussed and appeared to be an pertinent part of gener-ating an understanding climate.

Keep tennis in perspective. An important component of an under-standing emotional climate was understanding that different out-comes could occur, children’s performance could be variable, andchildren react differently in different situations. For parents to beable to display this understanding to children participants indi-cated it was important for parents to keep tennis in perspective. Asa female ex-national player explained, “A lot of people get toointensewith it, you know, you have to be able to sit back and see thebigger picture, because if you can’t then I think that defeats thewhole point of the game” (Ex-player 5). If parents were unable tokeep tennis in perspective participants thought parents mightbecome too focused on match outcomes, which could result inplayers perceiving their parents did not fully understand tennis. Aplayer explained parents should, “Not be too focused.becausethey [parents] need to be understanding to the child. If they’reangry cause you lost or sad cause you’ve lost then they aren’t beingunderstanding” (Participant 16).

Focus on the multiple benefits of tennis participation. To create anunderstanding emotional climate participants highlighted theimportance of parents recognizing the multiple benefits childrenmight gain through tennis. The benefits participants associatedwith tennis included confidence, concentration, interacting withadults and peers, enhanced schooling opportunities, and thechance to travel. For example, a development coach explained thatparents should understand, “Everything you’re [the parents] putt-ing in is giving your child a massive enjoyment of a sport, massiveenjoyment of competing, and huge intrinsic rewards. getting fit,socializing. interaction with your own peers” (Coach 2). By un-derstanding the benefits associated with tennis it was perceivedthat, independent of match outcomes, parents would be able toidentify positives in children’s matches. In doing this parents weremore likely to react in a manner that showed an understanding ofthe challenges associated with competitive tennis.

Engage in enhancing parenting practices at competitions

Participants described the importance of parents engaging inparenting practices aimed at enhancing children’s competitiveexperiences by increasing the potential for children to be successfuland enjoy their time at tournaments. Participants indicated thatsuch parenting practices were specific to individual children and

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flexible to different situations. The specific practices participantsidentified were attending to their child’s needs at competitions,teaching children skills to cope with competition, and parents’managing their own emotions.

With regards to attending to children’s needs at competitionsparticipants indicated that different children would requiredifferent things from parents before, during, and after matches. Aformer player summed up the overall perception of participantswhen he said, “Parents should recognize what they [children] needand just understand what’s needed really” (Ex-player 3). Forexample, some participants described the importance of notfocusing too much on the match before they played. This wasimportant for a male international player, who explained, “I don’tlike to talk about the match. ‘cause that puts too much pressureon me” (Player 40). In contrast, a county player said, “Dad oftentalks to me about my opponent and the game plans . and howwell I’ll play and what he expects me to do. So, it’s really helpfulhaving him there sometimes” (Player 20). If parents were notcognizant of and attentive to their child’s needs it could lead toconflict. An ex-player shared her experience, she said, “We [her andher mother] argued a lot, particularly after I’d lost, because I justwanted her to leave me alone and she would insist on talking aboutit. It would become a massive argument” (Ex-player 1).

In addition to attending to children’s needs, participantscontinually discussed the importance of parents helping children todevelop skills to copewith competing and the associated challengestheymight encounter. As one parent said, “I think it’s to dowith howyou teach your child to be rather than trying to fight their battle forthem” (Parent 9). Players described negative consequences if par-ents did not teach children to cope with difficult situations. Forexample, oneplayer said, “I’ve seen itwhena child really depends ontheir parent and say theydid amistake, they’ll lookup to their parentand say, actually shout, ‘why’? Your parents can’t really do much tohelpyouand they’re lost.” (Player 7). Teachingplayershowtocope inchallenging situations was seen as necessary to ensure players didnot become distressed or distracted during matches, which couldprevent them being successful and enjoying playing.

Finally, participants acknowledged that attending competitionscould be difficult for parents as they helpedmanage their children’semotions, empathized with their children, and could experiencepressures associated with match outcomes. A mother explained, “Itis difficult inmatches especially. if they’re having a bad day. Imeansometimes I’ve often been at the court and I’ve been in tears becauseI thought why does she put herself through this?” (Parent 5).However, participants explained that parents needed to be able tocope with their own emotions because otherwise their child mightnot enjoy the experience. A development coach summarized:

What we’re talking about is actually going to a competition andthe whole environment and everything is changing, it’s a fluxfrom one match to the next, from one minute to the next, oneday to the next. It’s completely out of your [the parent’s] control,and therefore you have got to be able to cope with all the crazysituations (Coach 1).

By managing their own emotions participants perceived thatparents would be better able to support their children, attend totheir needs, and enhance their experience.

Strategies to engage in enhancing parenting practices forcompetitions

A variety of strategies appeared useful in helping parents toengage in enhancing parenting practices for competitions. Thesestrategies are outlined below.

2.4.1.1. Communicate regarding needs. For parents to be able tosuccessfully attend to their children’s needs, they first had toidentify what children needed. Thus, communication betweenparents and children regarding what children liked or wantedbefore, during, and after competitionwas important. For example, afather explained that his son was, “Confident in communicatingabout these things [competition needs]” (Parent 19), and therefore,he was able to appropriately attend to these needs. Similarly, aplayer explained how his parent’s involvement improved when, “Isaid to them [his parent] that I don’t like talking about it [thematch] and they never talked about it again” (Player 27). Incontrast, if parents did not communicate with their child it could bedifficult to appropriately attend to their needs.

Understand perceptions of parental behaviors. In addition to talkingto children about what they needed from parents at competitions,participants highlighted the importance of parents understandinghow children perceived different reactions, comments, and court-side behaviors, so changes could be made if necessary. For instance,seemingly supportive practices from parents could actually beperceived as pressuring by children as a player explained, “Therecan be too much clapping and too much support, trying to will meon. Doesn’t she understand I’m playing as well as I can? I feel toomuch expectation, she’s expecting me to win” (Player, 16). It wasalso important to recognize that children do not only consideredparents’ behaviors as supportive or pressuring (as they are oftenclassified). Rather, children described behaviors as, among others,encouraging, embarrassing, distracting, annoying, intimidating,confusing, and lacking interest. For example, describing their par-ent’s behavior, one player said his mother’s behavior could be,“Embarrassing because she gets so uptight” (Player 19), whileanother player explained, “Sometimes dad has a really serious faceand you’re not sure what it means, so it’s sometimes really dis-tracting ‘cause you’re thinking about what he’s thinking (Player 37).Thus, understanding children’s perceptions of various behaviors isimportant to for parents to understand the potential consequencesof their involvement and make necessary changes.

Read and react to situations. Participants continually discussed howdifferent situations warranted different types of parental involve-ment. As such, parents needed to read the situation and then reactto it rather than implementing the same practices in every situa-tions. Participants discussed a range of factors that could influencewhat children wanted from parents. For example, a player said,“When I’m feeling good I’m funny, I’m jokey.when I’m not in themood I have a really bad attitude, I go crazy, I’m not in the mood, Iscream, I go mad, there’s some days you just wake up on the wrongside of the bed.you need different things then” (Player 30). Factorsrelated to the match appeared to substantially influence what wasrequired from parents. For example, describing his preferences forreactions after matches, one player explained, “It’s good to bedebriefed a bit, but it depends. If I’ve lost badly I don’t like beingdebriefed, I just want to calm down a bit, like forget about it for abit, but if I’ve won or whatever then it’s good, then I don’t mind it(Player 9). Overall, when considering how to react after matches, itappeared parents should consider the importance of the tourna-ment, how the child anticipated doing, the child’s perception oftheir performance, and the actual outcome.

Foster independence. Participants frequently discussed the impor-tance of parents helping to foster independence in their children. Asa male performance coach explained children need to learn to dealwith situations alone because, “This is a very individual sport and.at the end of the day if you reallywant tomake it thenyou’re onyourown, I mean if you’re on tour. then unfortunately you’re always on

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your own.” (Coach 20). Fostering independence also appeared to berelated to children’s enjoyment at tournaments because the ma-jority of players made reference to the enjoyment they gained fromsolving problems and coping with different situations alone. Forexample, when explaining what she liked about tennis one playerexplained “I like the fact that you’re independent when you are outthere, I like being on my own to do my own thing” (Player 1). Ifparents attempted to guide children toomuch it could prevent thembeing able to enjoy this aspects of tennis.

Hold children accountable for behavior. Participants explained thattennis could be extremely frustrating and as one player said,“parents have got to understand it’s only human to get a bitannoyed when you’re on court” (Player 16). However, participantsalso indicated that parents could play an important role by teachingchildren how to control their emotions so they did not negativelyaffect their performance or their opponent’s enjoyment. Specif-ically, participants indicated that parents could help children con-trol their emotions by holding them accountable for their actions.An international player explained:

I think if their child.is throwing their racquet and shouting andstuff and swearing, I don’t think it’s good for the parent just tosay unlucky and forget about it. Their child needs to learn whatthey’ve done, so the parent needs to be a little bit strict if they’vebeen behaving badly on court (Player 28).

However, other participants thought that rather than disci-plining players parents should help their child understand theemotions they were experiencing. This was the approach a maleinternational player preferred, as he said, “I don’t think they un-derstand how frustrating it is.you know you can playmuch better,they need to help us to deal with this” (Player 24).

Enjoy the experience. All participants, but particularly children,indicated that parents’ enjoyment of tournaments influenced theextent to which children themselves enjoyed tournaments. As oneplayer explained, “They don’t really enjoy driving me to the tour-naments but my dad certainly enjoys being at the tournaments.Ifhe didn’t enjoy it then there wouldn’t be much point really, Iwouldn’t enjoy it” (Player 2). Children explained that when parentsenjoyed the experience they appeared more relaxed and were notso focused on their child’s match, thus reducing the pressure theyexperienced. For example, one player said:

I notice that wheremymum goes shemakes friends everywhereand she keeps in contact with them.so there’s always companyfor my mum so I know she’s not going to be so focused on mymatch, she’s also enjoying herself as well, I think that’s good(Player 29).

A grounded theory of optimal parental involvement in junior tennis

The proposed grounded theory (see Fig. 1) is centered aroundthe idea that optimal involvement can be achieved when parentsstrive to both understand and enhance their child’s experience,recognizing that each child is an individual with specific re-quirements and that a child’s tennis experience often occurs overan extensive time period. To understand and enhance their child’stennis journey (i.e., to fulfill the core category), this theory positsthat parents and children should first generate shared goals (i.e.,reasons for involvement) and communicate regarding these goalsthroughout the tennis journey (category one). These goals are, in asense, the destination for the tennis journey. As such, they dictate

the specific types of involvement that are preferred or neededbecause different things could be required to reach differentdestinations.

Having established shared and communicated goals, the theoryhighlights the importance of parents displaying an understandingemotional climate (category two) and engaging in enhancingparenting practices at competitions (category three). The theoryillustrates a relationship between the emotional climate andparenting practices, with specific parenting practices influencingthe extent to which children perceive their parent understandstheir experience and parents’ level of understanding influencingthe practices they engage in. Thus, the extent to which parents willbe optimally involved in their child’s tennis will be dependent uponthe consistency and coherence that exists between these threecategories. That is, parents must ensure that having generatedspecific goals with their child they then create an emotional climatethat displays appropriate understanding in relation to these goals.Parents must also seek to engage in parenting practices that helptheir child to achieve their goals and reinforces parents under-standing of the goals. When consistency is maintained between thethree categories, the theory predicts that parents will be optimallyinvolved, which will help their children enjoy their tennis experi-ence and be successful. However, if there are inconsistencies be-tween the three categories or if inconsistencies developinvolvement will be suboptimal.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory ofoptimal parental involvement in youth tennis. In generating theproposed grounded theory the aim was to overcome the disparatenature of the literature on parental involvement in sport (Holt et al.,2009; Horn & Horn, 2007) and identify the fundamental conceptsparents could adhere to in order to be optimally involved in theirchild’s tennis. The grounded theory suggests that optimal parentalinvolvement is a process that occurs over an extended period oftime, is individualized to different children, and is dependent uponparents understanding their child’s experience and seeking to beinvolved in ways to enhance it. Critically, the grounded theoryhighlights the influence the broader parenting context (e.g.,emotional climate) has on perceptions of parenting practices andoverall involvement. Thus, the grounded theory reinforces theimportance of studying these aspects together when assessinginvolvement.

Many of the parenting practices identified in previous studies ofparental involvement and behaviors are embedded within theproposed theory. For example, the importance of parents keepingtennis in perspective and reducing the focus on match outcomes isconsistent with the extensive body of literature regardingachievement goals and motivational climates (see Harwood, Spray,& Keegan, 2008 for a review). The preference for parents displayingpositive reactions to children’s performances (e.g., Gould et al.,2006; Knight et al., 2010; 2011) has been consistently supportedin youth sport literature. Similarly, parents being able to read theirchild’s emotions, educating themselves regarding their child’s sportto provide appropriate information and feedback, and seeingmultiple reasons for children to be involved in sport have all beensuggested as appropriate parental practices in sport (e.g., Gould,Lauer, Rolo, Jannes, & Pennisi, 2008; Knight et al., 2010, 2011;Lauer et al., 2010a, 2010b).

The proposed theory moves beyond descriptions and lists ofappropriate and inappropriate types of involvement. Rather, theproposed theory illustrates how parenting practices, goals, andemotional climate are related and influence each other to optimizeparental involvement in tennis. By identifying these overarching

Core Category: Understanding and Enhancing Your Child’s Tennis Journey

2: Develop an Understanding

Emotional Climate

3: Engage in Enhancing Parenting Practices at

Competitions

Challenges of competing

Intricacies of tennis development

Influence of external factors

Fit within child’s life

Attend to child’s competition needs

Teach skills to cope with competition

Manage your own emotions

1: Share and Communicate Goals

Strategies

Maintain strong parent-coach relationships

Engage in independent learning

Keep tennis in perspective

Focus on the multiple benefits of tennis participation

SStrategies

Communicate regarding needs

Understand perceptions of parental behaviors

Read and react to situations

Foster independence

Hold children accountable for behavior

Enjoy the experience

Factors that Influence Goals

Demographic Factors

e.g., playing standard, years of tennis experience, child’s age, parents’ sport experience.

Tennis Experiences and Transitions

e.g., changing age groups, team selections, winning tournaments, performance slumps.

Fig. 1. A grounded theory of optimal parental involvement in youth tennis.

C.J. Knight, N.L. Holt / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 15 (2014) 155e164 163

categories and the relationships between them, the proposedtheory provides insight into why certain types of involvementmight be perceived positively or negatively. Thus, the proposedtheory provides parents with a means to evaluate their involve-ment and understand why children might like or dislike theirinvolvement. Additionally, these related categories highlight theneed for parents to individualize their involvement, which mightexplain why different parents could employ seemingly contradic-tory practices but still be perceived to be optimally involved in theirchild’s tennis.

The proposed grounded theory also touches on several charac-teristics of parenting styles that have been associated with positiveoutcomes in youth sport (e.g., Holt et al., 2009; Sapieja et al., 2011).For example, the proposed grounded theory is founded upon par-ents understanding and reacting to the requirements of theirchildren and the situation. A high level of emotional support (cf.,Rees & Hardy, 2000) and opportunities for children to take controlof their tennis involvement are also embedded within certain cat-egories. These aspects are encapsulated within autonomy-supportive parenting styles (Grolnick, 2003) and authoritativeparenting styles (Baumrind, 1978; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Thus,the proposed theory could be seen to provide further evidence forthe benefits associated with parents adopting these types ofparenting styles. However, although the theory touches on certainaspects of the these parenting styles, a specific parenting stylebased on these popular typologies was not included in the theorybecause the purpose of this study was not to classify parents basedon previously defined parenting styles. Rather, the purpose of thisstudy was to identify the key aspects within the broader parentingcontext that were deemed to optimize parental involvement and itwas the generation of an understanding emotional climate thatappeared most pertinent. That is not to say that an autonomy-supportive or authoritarian parenting style might not be benefi-cial in sport but rather an indication that being understandingappeared to be the most important feature. Further research isrequired to support this assertion.

Finally, the proposed grounded theory identifies the importanceof understanding the different goals parents and children have fortennis. That is, parents and children discussed a variety of reasonsfor being involved in tennis and these goals largely dictated the

types of involvement children desired from their parents. To date,limited attention has been given to the influence of children’s goalson their preferences for parental involvement. This may be becauseresearch has generally been conducted with specific populations,for example in reference to or with elite players (e.g., Gould et al.,2008; Lauer et al., 2010a, 2010b), with competitive juniors (e.g.,Knight et al., 2010) or with children at camps (e.g., Omli & Wiese-Bjornstal, 2011). As such, opportunities to examine the influenceof different goals might not have been available. However, the in-fluence of parents’ and children’s goals on parental involvement islargely consistent with Darling and Steinberg’s (1993) contextualmodel of parenting style. This model highlighted that parentingstyle and parenting practices were underpinned by parents’ goalsand beliefs for their child’s socialization. As such, future researchshould considers this aspect when evaluating the appropriatenessof different types of parental involvement in sport.

By integrating the different aspects of parenting within asport-specific theory, the proposed grounded theory has anumber of implications for applied practice. First, this theorypoints to the importance of parents spending time reflecting ontheir reasons for encouraging their child to participate in sportand seeking to identify whether these reasons align with theirchild’s reasons. Second, the theory highlights the importance ofconsultants or coaches educating parents regarding the impor-tance of attending to the overall environment they create and thespecific behaviors they display within this environment e ratherthan just worrying about specific behaviors. Finally, it is apparentthat parents need to tailor their involvement to their child. Thus,based on the proposed theory, rather than simply providingparents with lists of behaviors they should and should notdisplay (e.g., Knight et al., 2010, 2011), it is suggested parentsengage their children in conversation to identify their goals forinvolvement, the areas of competition they need help copingwith, and the types of involvement they prefer. Following thisconversation parents should be encouraged to take the time tolearn about their child’s sport.

The application of this theory must be considered in light ofcertain study limitations. For example, player-parent-coach triadswere not exclusively sampled. Where possible (n ¼ 13), player-parent-coach triads were sampled and all the coaches included in

C.J. Knight, N.L. Holt / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 15 (2014) 155e164164

the sample were working with players who also participated in thestudy. However, in a number of instances, the parents were un-available or unwilling to participate in the study (e.g., some of thechildren lived away at tennis academies and only saw their parentsat tournaments) and the inclusion of additional players was neededto fully explore emerging concepts. Thus, whereas the studyincluded a range of perspectives, the datawere not triangulated perse. Examining the proposed theory with more triads would beuseful in identifying the consistency between parents, children’s,and coaches perspectives.

Furthermore, there may be other factors that influenceparenting in tennis that were not accounted for in the current studyincluding child and parent gender, developmental considerations,and personal characteristics. Thus, future research examining theinfluence of such factors, the relationships between the categories,and the relative importance of adhering to different aspects of thecategories is required to test and extend the theory. Examining theextent to which the proposed theory would explain optimalparental involvement among players making the transition touniversity or professional tennis (i.e., players aged 17 or 18þ years)and children just starting in tennis (e.g., under 10 years) would alsobe beneficial because optimal parental involvement might beconceptualized differently at these stages. The proposed groundedtheory attempts to cover the whole tennis journey and is focusedon three relatively broad categories e share goals, understandingenvironment, and enhancing practices. Thus, it is anticipated thesefactors might largely explain optimal involvement at differentstages but certain aspects might be more important or additionalfactors might also need including in different stages.

In conclusion, this study offers a substantive grounded theory ofoptimal parental involvement in competitive youth tennis. The aimwas to create a better understanding of how parents can best beinvolved in youth tennis. In creating this theory the aim was to gobeyond describing discrete practices parents should and should notdisplay in youth sport. Rather, the grounded theory illustratesfundamental concepts parents can adhere to throughout the courseof their child’s involvement in youth tennis. In addressing theseconcepts it is hoped that parents can ensure their involvement ismost suitable to their individual child and his or her aspirations intennis.

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