Longtime SSI affiliates Dawn Anderson-Butcher and Chris Knoester were interviewed about their youth sports research for the podcast Now, at Ohio State. 

Anderson-Butcher highlighted her work, in collaboration with SSI affiliate Samantha Bates, involving LiFEsports and Coach Beyond. Knoester focused on his research emphasis with the National Sports and Society Survey. They spoke to Ross Bishoff.

More kids are leaving youth sports than ever before. Between 60% and 70% drop out before adulthood. That’s a problem, because youth sports aren’t just about competition. They build confidence, friendships and lifelong skills. In this episode, two Ohio State experts explain why so many kids are quitting, what the data reveals, and how new approaches can help keep their heads and hearts in the game.

Anderson-Butcher is a professor in the College of Social Work and an affiliate faculty member in human sciences at Ohio State. She serves as executive director for teaching/research for LiFEsports. She is known nationally for her research in sport-based positive youth development, afterschool programming, and school mental health practice. She is a licensed independent social worker (with supervision designation) in Ohio. 

Anderson-Butcher was a college athlete and also has coached soccer at the high school, club and community levels.

Knoester is a professor of sociology. His research has traditionally focused on the effects of children on parents’ lives and on the patterns and implications of fathering, specifically. He is the principal investigator of the National Sports and Society Survey, a landmark survey that focuses on patterns of sports involvement and their links to well-being. He is the research chair for the Ohio State Sports and Society Initiative and is also a North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Research Fellow.