Recent years have seen increased efforts to support young people’s engagements with sport and physical activity, recognising the many benefits that are associated with participation in such activities (Eime et al., 2013a). While many programmes look to encourage youth participation in general, it is notable that there is a particular focus in some contexts on supporting girls’ participation as a means to address perceived inequality (Allison et al., 2017). While some research has suggested a positive trajectory in female participation in sport and physical activity (e.g., Sport England, 2023) there are still concerns that girls’ participation typically remains below that of boys and that many girls continue to disengage from these activities – particularly organised sport - during adolescence (Eime et al., 2013b).

It is widely accepted that the needs of youth participants in game-based sports are best addressed via small-sided versions of these games - which are, generally, adapted based on youth participants’ age and stage of development (Pill & Agnew, 2019). Indeed, Harrison et al. (2013) noted that small-sided games provide an ideal environment in which young athletes can develop their technical and tactical skills, as well as hone their decision-making abilities. However, whilst much research exists in a range of sports, evidence within the sport of netball, in particular, is notably lacking.

This paper presents qualitative findings from a study undertaken in England which looks to examine how different small-sided game formats impact on the game involvement of youth female netball players (aged 7-11 years) and to explore their experiences of different small-sided game formats in terms of engagement and enjoyment. In particular, it sought to identify what format(s) result in the most positive outcomes and experiences for youth female netball players in terms of game involvement, engagement and enjoyment in order to make recommendations for schools and youth netball clubs.

The study has adopted a mixed methods approach to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. It should be noted that the study received full ethical clearance from the authors’ institution and research activities took place in sports facilities on the university campus in the Midlands of England. Participants in the study (youth female netball players aged 7-11 years – n= 56) were invited to visit the university and take part in several netball game formats (4v4, 5v5 and 7v7 – the latter being the full-sided version of the game). Participants were split into two groups, those aged 9 or under (U9s) and those aged 10 and 11 (U11s). The games varied in terms of court size and rules (e.g., with regard to positions, spacing on court and ability to shoot), with information being provided in advance regarding these. Each game lasted 20 minutes (two 10 -minute halves). During these activities, they wore a personalised Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) unit within a specifically designed vest, which recorded a range of metrics (e.g., volume of jumps, volume of acceleration, total distance covered) using the Catapult ClearSky system. Games were also video recorded in order to facilitate the calculation of individual and positional average involvements in the game (e.g., touches of the ball). Between games, participants were invited to share their thoughts on the game variation via ‘mood boards’ and then to take part in focus group discussions involving interactive tasks such as character creation (Sandford et al., 2021) which sought to engage them in discussions about their thoughts, feelings and experiences in relation to netball. By including multiple methods and providing numerous opportunities for open answers and the explanation/expansion of comments, this approach also sought to deliberately seek out, hear and acknowledge participant voice in relation to their experiences (Sandford et al., 2024). Techniques that give voice and articulate participant perspectives have been identified as a valuable means of enhancing participants’ engagement with research and are viewed as particularly useful when undertaking research with young people (Montreuil et al., 2021; Bakhtiar et al., 2023). Within this paper, we focus predominantly on the qualitative insights yielded from the project. These were generated through the aforementioned focus groups and interactive activities, with audio data from focus group recordings being transcribed to allow subsequent thematic analysis. Visual data from artefacts such as mood boards or character creations were subject to a content analysis.

The project is currently in the final stages of data collection, so a full data analysis has not yet been completed. However, an initial review of the data available identifies a number of points of interest. For example, it is evident that participants’ preferred format of the game is that which is considered to be age/stage appropriate for them, with U9 players preferring the 4v4 format and U11 players preferring the 5v5 format. Data also highlight how participants value the retention of specific game features within modified (or small-sided) versions of them game (e.g., having positions, directional play, etc.) offering important insights for those looking to develop modified game formats for junior players. It was also demonstrated within the data that particular qualities/characteristics are strongly associated by the participants with ‘good’ (e.g., caring, helpful, supportive) and ‘bad’ (e.g., unfair, demanding, mean) coaching. These issues will be explored in more detail within the presentation, along with others that may arise through any subsequent data collection.

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