Master of Science in Athletic Training, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, USA.
School of Education, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, USA.
Health Soc Care Community. 2020 Mar;28(2):423-430. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12874. Epub 2019 Oct 16.
Traditional youth baseball academies in the Dominican Republic, along with the potential of a major league baseball contract, are viewed by many parents as the best option to pull a child and family out of poverty. These academies advance the child's athletic abilities yet fail to provide formal education. Unfortunately, 97% of athletes leave the academy without a contract and are left with little education, job skills, or stable job prospects which ultimately returns them to the life of poverty they had hoped to escape through baseball. A faith-based organisation in Santiago, Dominican Republic, offers a high-level baseball academy inclusive of supportive academics. The purpose of this research project was to describe the perspectives of stakeholders involved with the faith-based missional organisation to discern the components and effectiveness of the efforts to support student growth in and beyond athletic abilities. Utilising a community-based research approach with a social determinants of health theoretical framework, researchers held in-country focus group discussions (Spring, 2019) with the organisation's stakeholders (coaches, parents, community leaders, N = 33). Researchers collaboratively coded data, triangulating within and across sources, to identify themes. Qualitative data suggest stakeholders within this organisation perceive the academy as instrumental in keeping kids off the streets, encouraging self-discipline in sports, church and school. The stakeholders perceived the inclusion of academic expectations into the sports academies improved long-term educational and economic success for the athletes. Inclusion of academic requirements within sports academies may improve long-term outcomes of youth in the Dominican Republic.
传统的多米尼加共和国青年棒球队学院，以及与大联盟棒球合同的潜力，被许多父母视为将孩子和家庭摆脱贫困的最佳选择。这些学院提高了孩子的运动能力，但未能提供正规教育。不幸的是，97%的运动员离开学院后没有合同，几乎没有接受教育、获得工作技能或稳定的工作前景，这最终使他们回到了他们原本希望通过棒球摆脱的贫困生活。多米尼加共和国圣地亚哥的一个信仰组织提供了一个高水平的棒球队学院，包括支持性的学术课程。本研究项目的目的是描述与信仰为基础的使命组织相关的利益相关者的观点，以辨别支持学生在体育能力内外成长的努力的组成部分和有效性。研究人员利用以社区为基础的研究方法和健康社会决定因素理论框架，在国内与该组织的利益相关者（教练、家长、社区领袖，N=33）举行了焦点小组讨论（2019 年春季）。研究人员合作对数据进行编码，在来源内部和来源之间进行三角分析，以确定主题。定性数据表明，该组织内的利益相关者认为该学院在让孩子们远离街头、鼓励他们在体育、教会和学校中自律方面发挥了重要作用。利益相关者认为，将学术期望纳入体育学院可以提高运动员的长期教育和经济成功。在体育学院中纳入学术要求可能会改善多米尼加共和国青年的长期结果。
