Abstract
What role can sport and exercise psychology consultants play in the promotionof physical activity and wellness?
Sport and exercise psychology has predominately focused on performanceimprovement; however, as the world faces issues of globesity and otherchronic illnesses, we find ourselves uniquely positioned to apply our exper-tise and training to address these larger issues of public health relevance,that is physical activity adoption and maintenance. In fact, children andadolescents are a population most vulnerable and after-school youth sportprograms can be a solution to this public health crisis. However, the numberone cited reason among both girls and boys for dropping out of youth sportis that it is no longer fun. Indeed, sport and exercise psychology consultantscan play a pivotal role in the promotion of physical activity and wellness atthis grassroots level through the provision of applied services that address is-sues of participation, namely retention and attrition from youth sport. Usingself-determination theory and behavioral economics as guiding theoreticalframeworks, practitioners can work with youth sport participants, parents,coaches, and league administrators to foster fun, choice-driven, and reward-ing sport experiences such that children and adolescents want to participatein them. This is significant because children’s physical activity and healthpromoting behaviors track into adulthood. Thus, as practitioners, we areuniquely qualified to act as public health stewards in the health promotionand disease prevention of children, adolescents, and families through sport.