Sport and those who run it have an important duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of young participants. This text presents the findings of a unique research project into the experiences of a wide range of stakeholders in contemporary youth soccer, exploring crucial issues of child protection, social policy, and the culture and governance of sport. It covers: The youth soccer context - twenty-first century family life, the sports policy background, and the organisation, governance and culture of the English game Research findings - the experiences of children and young people, parents and carers, coaches, teachers, referees, Child Protection Officers, Football Development Officers, and those involved in women's, disability and professional soccer Issues in social policy research - methodological, ethical and management challenges Conclusions and implications - the benefits and limitations of different approaches to the protection of children and young people in sport. For researchers, professionals and decision-makers, this text provides important new insight into the impact of child protection policies, and into the potential for evidence-based practice in youth sport.

Sport and those who run it have an important duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of young participants. This text presents the findings of a unique research project into the experiences of a wide range of stakeholders in contemporary youth soccer, exploring crucial issues of child protection, social policy, and the culture and governance of sport. It covers: The youth soccer context - twenty-first century family life, the sports policy background, and the organisation, governance and culture of the English game Research findings - the experiences of children and young people, parents and carers, coaches, teachers, referees, Child Protection Officers, Football Development Officers, and those involved in women's, disability and professional soccer Issues in social policy research - methodological, ethical and management challenges Conclusions and implications - the benefits and limitations of different approaches to the protection of children and young people in sport. For researchers, professionals and decision-makers, this text provides important new insight into the impact of child protection policies, and into the potential for evidence-based practice in youth sport.

More alone than any man should be, a widowed lumber baron struggles with his loss while his precocious daughter goes without answers or family. Until Violet arrives. Woman and child discover frogs, friendship and family as hidden journals solve a mystery and Violet finds love.

Sport plays an important role in the cultural and social identity of Australians. Its potential to influence the physical, social, personal and moral development of youth is of ongoing interest to teachers, coaches, policymakers, researchers and parents. Based on recent research, Youth Sport in Australia provides an overview of contemporary issues related to youth sport that affect the experience and participation of youth, and create lifelong attitudes to physical activity. Youth Sport in Australia explores the history and policy development of youth sport in the Australian context, the role of sport and physical education in private and public schools, and community clubs. The book investigates the conflict between elite and grassroots sport and its repercussions on policymaking and youth involvement in sport, and the impact of coaches on youth sport participation. It looks at child protection issues, the construction of gender and body image, and the experiences of Indigenous and marginalised. It examines the influence of media and sporting celebrities on young people, and reviews the research methodology of youth sport studies. Youth Sport in Australia will be an invaluable resource for teachers, coaches, policymakers and researchers in sport sociology, sport history, sport and youth studies.

Meg was fifteen years old when she wound up in Gunya, the infamous psychiatric institution for the rich and famous. Quite an achievement, especially for one who's convinced she's only half nutty. It was never Meg's idea of 'fun' to share her life with an underage pornstar, a prodigal junior-Olympian or a drug-addicted criminal; but when you're electively mute and can't remember why, you're not given many choices. The disappearance of a local girl Meg's age brings the quirky group together in a race against time to solve the crime before the authorities. Suddenly, the torture of being committed against their will is shadowed by the nightmare that reveals itself each day in the crime section of The Daily Telegraph. Most amazingly, the foursome form a friendship, stronger than the walls that encage them in their crazy world. And somehow this becomes the key Meg needs to find herself, and solve the mystery of her own incarceration.