The drop-outs in young players

Competitive performances is the result of numerous components that determine success at sports or demotivation that can result in drop-out phenomenon. One of the main components, which causes young people to play sports, is certainly the motivation that the practice of sport is intended primarily as an opportunity for socialization and fun. Young athletes need a continuous reinforcement of motivation to develop the emotions and feelings, to test their skills and simultaneously gain recognition by peers and adults to prevent the abandonment of the sport activities. Methods and Materials The study was conducted over the course of two years on 150 young athletes, football practitioners, who were between 14 and 16 years old and registered at Football Schools in the City of Naples. The purpose of the research was to demonstrate the reduction in drop-outs through the reinforcement of motivation, by acting on the variation of the training and on inclusive and collaborative capabilities of the team. The young people were given a survey with eight questions related to the components of motivation. Results and Conclusions The results show that by varying the content and duration of training and by working in the direction of providing cohesion to the team, the dropout ratio among young athletes has been reduced from 18.5% to 0% at the intermediate stage. Specifically, out of 125 athletes attending the football schools, 25 were the dropouts. The training courses were planned and developed jointly with the staff of the football schools both for the first and second years of the research. These school need to be identified not only as places for teaching football but as educational and training places.