“SPORTS ARE FUN”: A Guide for the Discussion of Sport-Related Films

Abstract

Sport participation is an important part of the development of children and adolescents in the United States. Due to the popularity of sport-related films, coaches, athletic trainers, and parents have used these films to both educate and motivate pediatric athletes. The objective of this study was to develop a discussion guide template based on common positive and negative themes depicted in sport-related films, and demonstrate the application of this discussion guide template to a select number of sport-related films released from 2014 to 2018. A discussion guide template (“SPORTS ARE FUN”) was developed by the co-investigators, reflecting common themes of “Sportsmanship, Participation for All, Obstacles, Relationships, Teamwork, Setting Realistic Goals, Academics, Responsibility, Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs, Fun, Unrelenting Spirit, and “No Pain, No Gain.” The authors hope that pediatric health care providers, athletic coaches/staff, and parents can utilize this discussion guide template in the education and development of children and adolescents who participate in sports.

Introduction

Sport participation is an important part of the development, both physically and mentally, of children and adolescents in the United States. The Physical Activity Council reported that in children born after the year 2000, 65% were at least casually active in the year 2017, 57.1% participated in team sports, and 45.8% participated in individual sports. ¹ Furthermore, sport participation by high school students reached an all-time high of 7 980 886 participants during the 2017-2018 academic school year. ²

A growing number of published studies have examined the effects of sports participation, both positively and negatively, on the development of children.^3-9 Identified benefits of sport participation include positive interactions with coaches resulting in an athlete’s optimistic perception of their own athletic ability and body image, developmental growth as a result of being challenged physically and mentally, supportive interactions with family and friends that affect an athlete’s sense of self-worth, having a sense of community, developing new friendships with fellow teammates, female athletes being less inclined to engage in early sexual activity, and developing life skills such as time management, work ethic, and stress management. In addition, participating in physical activity decreases the risk of medical problems such as obesity, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, and mental health problems such as suicidal ideations, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Conversely, identified detrimental effects of sport participation include negative interactions with coaches or teammates leading to greater anxiety, worry, and perceived performance pressure; parental directive behavior (telling athletes what they should be doing) resulting in greater feelings of pressure and amotivation, anxiety, and depression from being in a psychologically challenging environment; increased alcohol use; and increased violence on and off the field.

Due to the popularity of sport-related films, coaches, athletic trainers, and parents have used these films to both educate and motivate pediatric athletes. Sport organizations, such as the Positive Coaching Alliance, have suggested the co-viewing of sport films among pediatric athletes and their coaches, athletic trainers, and/or parents in order to focus on “teachable moments,” using questions to guide discussion (http://devzone.positivecoach.org/browse/discussion%20guides). Questions, encouraging the acquisition and development of positive themes and the avoidance and de-emphasis of negative themes, can be developed along with pediatric health care providers.

A study identifying and quantifying positive and negative themes depicted in 44 of the most popular sport-related films was recently published. ¹⁰ The most common positive themes reported in their study were positive interactions with coach, positive interactions with family/friends, positive interactions with teammates, standing your ground/deciding not to do wrong, importance of preparation, overcoming obstacles/hardships, “we can do it” attitude by the team, and importance of focusing on academics. The most common negative themes reported in their study were taunting/fighting/poor sportsmanship, drinking/smoking/recreational drug use, negative interactions with the coach, racism, negative interactions with family/friends, bullying/intimidation, cheating/lying, and demonstrating excessive anger.

The objective of this study was to develop a discussion guide template based on common positive and negative themes identified in a recently published study, ¹⁰ and demonstrate the application of this discussion guide template to a select number of sport-related films released from 2014 to 2018. In addition, we wanted to determine if themes prevalent in today’s popular culture and rarely depicted in sport-related films prior to 2014, ¹⁰ such as “sports participation for all” (gender and race equality, athletes with special needs), “balance in sports and life” (importance of academics, setting realistic goals), “importance of proper exercise/nutrition/rest,” and “consequences of drug use or performance enhancing drugs,” were depicted in our sample of films released after 2014. The authors hope that pediatric health care providers can recommend, and athletic coaches/staff and parents can utilize, this discussion guide template in the education and development of children and adolescents who participate in sports.

Methods

A discussion guide template (“SPORTS ARE FUN”), based on the 12 most common positive and negative themes identified in a recently published study, ¹⁰ was developed by the co-investigators (Table 1). The discussion guide template allows the pediatric athlete to identify examples associated with each theme as depicted in the sport-related film that they are viewing, as well as apply each theme to their lives outside of their sport.

Table 1.

Discussion Guide for Co-Viewing Films With Pediatric Athletes.

We encourage families, coaches, and athletic/personal trainers to use the discussion guide below, either during or after viewing the film, to provoke thoughtful conversation and reflection by having the child or adolescent answer each of the questions based on common positive and negative themes found in sport-related films.

S	Sportsmanship	Give an example of an athlete demonstrating good sportsmanship, honesty, doing the right thing, or playing by the rules. Give an example of an athlete demonstrating poor sportsmanship, lying or cheating, taunting or intimidating another athlete, or fighting. How can you demonstrate good sportsmanship as an athlete? In school? In life?
P	Participation for All	Give an example of when an athlete was included in the sport participation, despite their race, sex, or athletic ability. Give an example of when an athlete was excluded, ridiculed, bullied, or taunted because of their race, sex, or athletic ability. Why is it important to include everyone when it comes to sport, despite their race, sex, or athletic ability? Have you ever been excluded from something that you wanted to participate in? How did it make you feel? How did you handle the situation?
O	Obstacles	Give an example when either an athlete or the team overcame an obstacle, either physical or mental. How was this accomplished? Have you ever overcome physical or mental obstacles in your athletic career? In school? In your life?
R	Relationships	Give an example of a positive interaction between an athlete and his/her coach, athletic trainer, teammate, or family member. Give an example of a negative interaction between an athlete and his/her coach, athletic trainer, teammate, or family member. Could these interactions have been handled differently? How do you feel when you receive praise or encouragement? How do you feel when you receive ridicule or discouragement? Who is your mentor, in athletics? In school? In your life?
T	Teamwork	Give an example when teammates worked together to accomplish a common goal. Give an example when an athlete demonstrated selfishness to accomplish a personal goal, at the expense of the team. Was there any negative consequences? Why is it important to work as a team in your sport? How would you handle a teammate who was demonstrating selfishness? Have you demonstrated teamwork in sport? At school? In life?
S	Setting Realistic Goals	Give an example of when an athlete or the team set realistic goals, demonstrating preparation and guidance (from a coach or team leader) to accomplish those goals. Give an example of when an athlete or the team set unrealistic goals, demonstrating a lack of preparation or lack of guidance. What are your athletic goals, and are they realistic? What steps will you take to accomplish your athletic goals? What are your life goals and how will you accomplish them?
A	Academics	Give an example of an athlete finding a healthy balance between academics/school and their sport participation. Give an example of an athlete putting their sport participation ahead of academics/school. Was there any negative consequences? Do you have a healthy balance in your life with training, competition, school, family, fun, and relaxation? How can you improve this balance?
R	Responsibility	Give an example of an athlete taking responsibility for one’s actions or apologizing. Give an example of peer pressure among teammates. Where there any negative consequences to this interaction? Why is it important for you to do the right thing, in life and in athletics, and taking responsibility for your actions? Have you ever been bullied or been the victim of peer pressure in athletics? What would you do in this instance?
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	Give an example of when an athlete optimized their abilities by performing healthy practices related to exercise, nutrition, or rest. Give an example of when an athlete demonstrated poor or unhealthy choices related to exercise, nutrition, rest, alcohol/drugs/smoking, or performance enhancing drugs. Was there any negative consequences? How do you maintain proper nutrition and hydration during the season and during an event? Do you get enough sleep and rest during the season? What would you do if you saw a teammate using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs or substances?
F	Fun	Give an example of when an athlete demonstrated “Having fun is more important than winning.” Give an example of when an athlete demonstrated “Winning is more important than having fun.” Was there any negative consequences? Why do you participate in your sport? Is it for fun, for competition or winning, to please other people, or another reason?
U	Unrelenting Spirit	Give an example of when an athlete gave “110%,” using his/her talents and skills to the best of their ability. Give an example of when an athletic “threw in the towel” and gave up. How should the athlete have dealt with conflict, defeat, or discouragement? What would you do if you feel like giving up during training or during a competition? At school? In life?
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	Give an example of when an athlete was honest with himself/herself, their coach or athletic trainer, or parent with regard to the disclosure of an injury or setbacks with rehabilitation. Give an example of when a coach, athletic trainer, or parent encouraged an athlete to play while injured, or stressed the mantra “no pain, no gain.” Was there any negative consequences? Give an example of when an athlete ignored an injury and played through pain. Was there any negative consequences? What should you do if you sustain an injury during training or during a competition? What should you do if your coach or athletic trainer encourages, or demands that you play while injured or recovering from injury?

We identified 10 sport-related films with the highest reported lifetime gross profits and released between 2014 and 2018, based on accessing the database www.boxofficemojo.com, using search terms “Sports Drama” and “Sports Comedy” (Table 2). Each of the 10 sport-related films was viewed and analyzed by one of the co-investigators (CL, VD, CF, HMW, BHW, and JB), and examples (if applicable), corresponding to each of the 12 themes, were recorded. The institutional review board at the Pennsylvania State Hershey Medical Center deemed the study exempt.

Table 2.

Description of the 10 Sport-Related Films Included in the Analysis.

Title (Year Released/Rating)	Sport Type	Lifetime Gross Profits ($ Million)	Synopsis	Reviewer
Million Dollar Arm (2014/PG)	Baseball	$36.4	A sports agent stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.	CF
When the Game Stands Tall (2014/PG)	Football	$30.1	The journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur, who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport.	VD
Concussion (2015/PG-13)	Football	$34.5	In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.	HW
Creed (2015/PG-13)	Boxing	$109.7	The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.	BW
Eddie the Eagle (2015/PG-13)	Skiing	$15.8	The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.	VD
McFarland USA (2015/PG)	Cross country	$44.5	Jim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach. He sees that some of the students are worth starting a cross-country team and turns 7 students with no hope into one of the best cross-country teams.	CF
Woodlawn (2015/PG)	Football	$14.4	A gifted high school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.	BW
Queen of Katwe (2016/PG)	Chess	$8.9	A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.	CL
Race (2016/PG-13)	Track and field	$19.2	Jesse Owens’ quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy.	HW
The Miracle Season (2018/PG)	Volleyball	$10.2	After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline “Line” Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship.	JB

Abbreviations: PG, parental guidance suggested; PG-13, parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 years.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

The institutional review board at the Pennsylvania State Hershey Medical Center deemed the study exempt. Ethical approval and informed consent was not required for this systematic review of sport-related films, as no human subjects/patients were involved in data collection and analysis.

Results

Completed discussion guide templates, reflecting the 10 sport-related films in our sample, can be accessed at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hwKE8iaX_BCDH27wX1gziFSj_3qWIwY9TqwU8jFybtw/edit?usp=sharing. Tables 3 to 8 demonstrate completed discussion guide templates for the following films: Million Dollar Arm, When the Game Stands Tall, McFarland USA, Woodlawn, Queen of Katwe, and The Miracle Season.

Table 3.

SPORTS ARE FUN: Million Dollar Arm.

S	Sportsmanship	JB insists on a second try out for Rinku and Dinesh, putting his business relationship with Mr Chang at risk, in order to give these boys a fair shot.
P	participation for All	Rinku and Dinesh have the opportunity to play in the Major Leagues despite never playing the game previously and being from India.
O	Obstacles	Rinku and Dinesh work together with their coach Tom House and friend Amit to be ready for major league try outs despite never playing baseball before.
R	Relationships	Rinku and Dinesh during the Million Dollar Arm competition were supportive of each other despite being competitors. While in America, Rinku and Dinesh support each other during their adjustment to American life and struggling with homesickness, language barrier, and stressed to succeed. JB yells at the boys after losing a deal and places more pressure on them to succeed. He does not acknowledge his influence over the situation, and later invests more attention to their success.
T	Teamwork	JB, the scout Ray, Vivek, and Amit work together to set up the competition Million Dollar Arm in India to discover the next potentials for major league baseball. JB ignored the coach’s suggestion of delaying the try out until Dinesh and Rinku were ready. He caused embarrassment for himself and the boys, and jeopardized their opportunity at a real chance at major league baseball.
S	Setting Realistic Goals	Tom House believed the boys would be successful if given the right setting and preparation. He repeatedly stressed the mental influence of success and having fun. At the second try out, Rinku and Dinesh were adequately prepared, supported, and ready for a successful try out. JB believe Rinku and Dinesh would be ready for a major league try out without his support in 6 months.
A	Academics	N/A
R	Responsibility	JB acknowledges his lack of support and placing his business above the success of Rinku and Dinesh was the major reason of their lack of success.
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	Amit drank too much punch without realizing there was alcohol in it and caused JB to lose a deal.
F	Fun	Tom stresses to JB that having fun and being supported are necessary components to being a successful athlete. When JB worked out a way to give the boys a second try out, he stressed enjoying the sport they have been working so hard for rather than stressing on the importance of succeeding. Saving his company took precedence over fostering Rinku and Dinesh, resulting in their failure.
U	Unrelenting Spirit	Despite failing at the first try out, Rinku and Dinesh kept persevering and succeeded at their second try out.
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	N/A

Table 4.

SPORTS ARE FUN: When the Game Stands Tall.

S	Sportsmanship	At the end of the film, star-running back Chris Ryan of De La Salle has an opportunity to break the state touchdown record in his last game of senior year that also happens to be the championship game. At this point, they are already winning the game and there are only seconds left on the clock. Instead of running it in for a score, the team decides to take a knee twice to end the game in a demonstration of humility and sportsmanship. Though not a major plot point in the film, when playing against Long Beach Poly (who are shown to be larger and faster than the athletes at De La Salle), the Poly athletes are shown to be physically violent at times against the students at De La Salle. They are also at times shown to taunt them in an attempt to intimidate them.
P	Participation for All	N/A
O	Obstacles	The film highlights many obstacles that team faces including the passing away of family members and Coach Bob’s own heart attack. They always overcame their problems with teamwork and helping each other with emotional support. This is a recurrent theme throughout the movie. Midway through the film, the team loses a team member to gun violence and then lose the first game after a 151 game winning streak. They lose the next game after that as well but move on to winning the rest of the season’s games including the national championship. They are shown to do this through hard work, determination, prayer, and team work.
R	Relationships	During an early interview, coach Bob talks about how anyone can coach a winning streak, but teaching high school kids that there is more to life and that they are a family is much tougher. It is positive as you can see throughout the move that the teammates think of each other as family members and truly help each other both within and outside of school. In the beginning of the movie, the seniors on the high school team all openly share some of the difficulties they are going through and how their playing as a team makes it all easier for them to go through and how the whole team is playing for each other. Coach Bob drives over to a student’s house who is about to lose his mother to a stroke and reminds him that family is anyone who loves you unconditionally. The student asks his coach why he is soon to be an orphan and it is not fair that this (he had previously lost his father as well) is happening to him and at that time, the coach says, “You have me and 60 brothers.” Star running back Chris Ryan is often being screamed at by his father and at times, his father has even been physically somewhat abusive while his son is chasing his record.
T	Teamwork	See relationships example above.
S	Setting Realistic Goals	The film starts with how the team had 150+ continuous victories and how that streak finally ended. Throughout this time, the team continued to set unrealistic expectations regarding how many more years they could keep their already 10+ years winning streak. However, this does not necessarily demonstrate a lack of preparation or guidance as their coach Bob continuously reminds them they have already achieved something very unrealistic and each game could be the last of the streak.
A	Academics	N/A
R	Responsibility	The film shows that in the beginning some of the players thought they were too good to need go to all the practices and this ended up leading to the end of the 151 game streak. The team did, however, come together and apologize for their actions and learned the importance of team work.
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	N/A
F	Fun	N/A
U	Unrelenting Spirit	The entire film is peppered with the team giving it their all on nearly every play. The film starts at a point where the team has already won 151 straight games and the premise is that over the decade that De La Salle won every game they played, the individuals always gave 110% on every play leading to the coach’s concept of “perfect effort.” The whole film discusses giving perfect effort on every single play. It even touches on the subject of playing perfectly does not mean that you will win every game you play as other teams can still be better that you. The team never appears to “throw in the towel.”
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	Coach Lad rests his star players often in the game against Long Beach Poly and plays his second and even third string players. He specifically asks the athletic trainer to let him know when his star players are healthy enough to play again. Star running back Chris Ryan, even though he has a small nose bleed stays to play one more defensive play to stop the opposing team from winning. There were no negative consequences to his decision.

Table 5.

SPORTS ARE FUN: McFarland USA.

S	Sportsmanship	Jim White pulling a player out from football when he was injured. The Palo Alto team taunted and laughed at McFarland team’s score at their first race.
P	Participation for All	At the first race, the other private teams made racial slurs against McFarland team. Victor Puentes made fun of Danny Diaz because he was bigger and slower than the other players.
O	Obstacles	Family obligations conflicted with practice for the Diaz brothers. Through Jim White being flexible and understanding of family obligations, they were still able to participate.
R	Relationships	Jim White enlisted players who would be in trouble. Jim White made Danny Diaz feel an important member of the team though the other players make fun of him as he is the slowest team member. Jim White was finally called coach by the Diaz brothers after gaining respect from their family. When Jim White was giving a pep talk, a senior football player was consistently disrespectful despite being reprimanded. Coach threw a cleat when the player refused to be dismissed from the locker room and it accidently hit the player in the face resulting in a laceration.
T	Teamwork	The team and their families wanted to get new uniforms and they worked together at a car wash to raise the funds. Winning the state championship required all team members to do their best. When a team member overexerted himself, Danny, the slowest member of the team, improved his time significantly and helped the team win the championship. Jose Cardenas started too fast for the state championship causing early fatigue and placing the team at risk for losing the state championship.
S	Setting Realistic Goals	Jim White believed they could win races as the boys worked hard, supported each other, and practiced difficult course obstacles.
A	Academics	Running gave the athletes hope and empowerment resulting in academic success. Jim White promoted the athletes who had the ability to go to college though none of the athletes had family members with higher education.
R	Responsibility	After the first race, Jim White took responsibility for not adequately preparing the runners for their first race. He proceeded to learn how to be a better cross country coach and used the surrounding area to simulate the cross country obstacles. Thomas’ father was not supportive of his running and education as he insists that he will grow up and be a “picker.”
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	N/A
F	Fun	N/A
U	Unrelenting Spirit	Johnny, though small for a linebacker, kept playing until Jim White benched him for being injured. Thomas Valles fell right before the finish line and instead of giving up, he got right back up and gave his best. Danny Diaz became runner #5 to make up for a teammate who overexerted himself. Thomas had home stressors and did not believe that participating in a sport would be an asset in his life. He gave up running because he does not believe he could be anything more than a picker.
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	Head football coach Jenks demanded Johnny to play even though he was concussed; he switched players when the assistant coach Jim White insisted he sit out. Jim White was removed from the assistant coaching position as a result and Johnny was removed from the team. During a state qualifying race, the players were concerned about the mountain they had to run and White said that when they are in pain on the mountain just look at the other runners and realize they are in the same pain.

Table 6.

SPORTS ARE FUN: Woodlawn.

S	Sportsmanship	Woodlawn player helping up Huffman player. The Jet QB and Tony talking in the stadium before the big game. Woodlawn player and Banks player saying good hit after tackle in the big game. Player hitting Tony when he was out of bounds. Jet QB taunting the Woodlawn coach. Late hit on Tony after the touchdown.
P	Participation for All	Putting Nathan in to play safety in the game. Making Tony the starting RB. Coach Bryant saying he does not have white or black players, just players. Students protesting when the African American students as they go into the school. African American and white players fighting at practice after the interception. White players not allowing the African American players to shower with them after practice. Tony being asked if he wants to quit the team during class. Protest outside the school after class. The attack at Tony’s house with the rock and burning the jersey.
O	Obstacles	Team comes together to overcome the racial divide in the town through coming together through prayer and religion.
R	Relationships	Bear Bryant going into the visiting locker room. Dad bringing the bag to Tony after his run. Coach in the gym trying to unite the team. Dad taking Tony on a run. Tony taking to the speaker about god. Coach putting in Tony and encouraging him after his first run. Parents meeting Tony after the game. The preacher pointing out Tony in church about using his gift. Coach talking about this players at the church. Coach standing up for Tony not going to get his picture taken with Wallace. Coach after the game in the locker room praising their effort and the “men they have become.” Coach telling Tony he is more important than football games. Dad encouraging Tony to go to Alabama. Coach Bryant telling Tony about the difference he is making in the community. Tony promising to win a championship for the coach. Dad talking to Tony before the game telling him the he is proud of him. Coach talking to the team during the time out then talking to Tony. Tony calling his HS coach after winning the national championship. Tony’s girlfriend telling him to leave.
T	Teamwork	Team responding to the speaker at practice in the gym. White player helping Nathan up after the late hit. Team prayer before practice. The block on #45 before the game winning run. Running back not wanting to go to the bench for Tony and fighting with the coach. Tony saying he is carrying the team in an interview.
S	Setting Realistic Goals	Wanting to beat Huffman. The prayer and inspiration before the game getting them ready. Tony and the team pushing to win a championship for the coach.
A	Academics	N/A
R	Responsibility	N/A
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	N/A
F	Fun	Jets coach of the opposing team before the start of the big rival game with Woodlawn telling players to hurt Tony to win.
U	Unrelenting Spirit	Tony playing tailback for the first time.
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	Coach pulls Tony from the game when he is hurt. Tony playing in the rain game through pain.

Table 7.

SPORTS ARE FUN: Queen of Katwe.

S	Sportsmanship	Players shook hands at the beginning of each chess match. Throughout the movie, Phiona’s opponents ridicule her. When she begins practicing with the Pioneers, Gloria tells her, “I don’t like your bad smell” and 2 male teammates call her “the pig” and taunt her with oinks. In addition, various sore losers are portrayed; Gloria has a temper tantrum at King’s College kicking and screaming, “He took my queen” as Robert carries her out, Benjamin dances around the tournament hall after winning because he beat the “Richie Riches,” and Phiona’s opponent, the former champion, breaks his glasses and throws the chess pieces off the board when she becomes the new champion of Uganda.
P	Participation for All	Robert included Phiona in the Pioneers, part of the Sports Ministry Outreach, and invites her to be a part of the team after her teammates ridicule her for being dirty, that is, “the pig.” Phiona also participates in various chess competitions, with Robert as her advocate, evening winning a “Best in Boys” medal where she is the only girl at the competition. The Chairman consistently sought to exclude the Pioneers from competition because “this is not the ghetto.” He further remarked, “I cannot bring a disease into this group,” when referring to the elite students at the King’s College competition. He sought to economically exclude the Pioneers from his “clean” competition, informing Robert, “This is a school tournament . . . 4000 schillings per child.” He taunts Robert when Phiona is pitted against the past champion, saying “Good strategy, putting your weakest player on the champion’s board.”
O	Obstacles	Poverty, and the stigma associated with living in the “ghetto” of Katwe, was a major obstacle that Phiona and the Pioneers had to overcome. Gloria and Benjamin have panic attacks at the King’s College competition, a result of the elite students there and the stark contrast to their home lives causing mental distress.
R	Relationships	Robert, the Pioneer’s coach, would frequently teach the children with analogies or parables and engage the team in prayer. When Gloria and Benjamin have panic attacks before competition at King’s College, he tells them the story of a dog being chased by a cat for inspiration: “I was only running for a meal . . . that cat was running for her life.” Throughout the movie, he comforts his players, telling them, “Sometimes the place you’re used to is not the place you belong”; “You belong here”; “Do not be quick to tip your king, Phiona. You must never surrender”; and “Losing does not mean you are a failure . . . stamina is the key.” The Pioneers reciprocated Robert’s love and generosity, cheering for him at his soccer game, when he plays for their tournament fees. Phiona’s mother takes Brian and Phiona away from the Pioneer’s, telling Robert, “These children are not heifers for your gambling game.” Additionally, Phiona becomes successful and well-known in chess and stops doing her chores, which leads to tension between her and her mother.
T	Teamwork	The Pioneers learn to play chess by teaching each other the game. They travel as a team, eat as a team, and pray as a team.
S	Setting Realistic Goals	Phiona’s goal is to go to King’s College to play against other players from Uganda, and she accomplishes this by practicing her chess, even playing at night by candlelight. Robert encourages her in this goal and plays against her as practice, complementing the fact she can see eight moves ahead. After her success nationally in Sudan, Phiona gains confidence with her newfound fame and no longer helps with household chores. She asserts, “I want to be a master more than anything in the world,” seeking to be an international champion, that is, a grandmaster. Robert warns the then 14-year-old to “be careful with that confidence, slow it down.” Phiona gives up at the Olympiad in Russia, playing an older opponent from Canada, and laments, “I will never be a master. I will never be good enough.”
A	Academics	Sara, Robert’s wife, teaches Phiona how to read. Phiona asks Robert to live with him to study and work on her chess. Eventually, Phiona and Brian return to school, after having to leave to take care of their family by selling maize when their father dies, and attend private school.
R	Responsibility	Phiona and Brian sell maize to help feed their family. When Phiona finds success in chess, she tells her mother, “Mama, I will give you a house one day,” which through hard work, dedication, and tenacity, she does.
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	The movie portrays the Pioneers sleeping as a team at King’s College the day before competition. Later, when Phiona and 2 other Pioneers go to Sudan, they celebrate with daiquiris and fries with ketchup. Brian is struck by a motorcycle in the market, with significant injury. His mother cannot afford the hospital bill, so she removes his IV and Phiona helps sneak Brian out of the hospital. Additionally, Robert plays soccer to raise money for the Pioneers, in spite of an old injury, which his wife reminds him of.
F	Fun	Phiona tells Robert, “Coach, I won that girl,” when talking about her desire for more material things and to be a grandmaster. She goes to the Olympiad to rectify this desire, becomes overwhelmed, and quits the game after realizing she will lose.
U	Unrelenting Spirit	Phiona practices chess by candlelight, even after Brian tells her she will never beat him. She continues to practice, eventually beating Joseph. Robert, recognizing the potential of the Pioneers, raises money for his players by playing soccer for money. Ultimately, Robert tells the Pioneers, “Chess is a game of fighting. We are fighters.” Phiona threw in the towel after losing to the player from Canada at the Olympiad and tells Robert that she wishes he never taught her how to play chess.
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	The Sports Ministry Outreach van, which Robert drives, says “Challenges are not a curse” on the rear window.

Table 8.

SPORTS ARE FUN: The Miracle Season.

S	Sportsmanship	City High School team attends funeral service to show support for their fallen opponent. Coach suggests that the crowd introduce/shake hands with each other to remember Line before the Finals. West High School team taunts the City team during their first game. Coach yelling at the referee “Are you blind?”
P	Participation for All	N/A
O	Obstacles	West High School team played the volleyball season to overcome the grief of Line’s death, and won 15 games in a row to qualify for the State Finals, and ultimately win the championship despite losing their best player. “I’m gonna go to practice today because it is what Line would want me to do.”
R	Relationships	Line encouraging Kelly when she felt doubt in making the starting lineup and when she lost the first set. Coach encouraging the team throughout the entire season. Line supporting her coach—“I got you.” Coach mentoring and guiding Kelly to be the new center. Coach being supported by her team after apologizing for placing pressure during the season. Coach allowing the pressure to win to affect her emotions: “You think this is pressure. How do you think you can win a game if you can’t even handle practice?” Some of Kelly’s teammates talking behind her back, questioning her abilities and her leadership.
T	Teamwork	West High School team playing together and deciding to win for Line and go to states. Playing under pressure, with grace and joy. “We did this together. I want everybody there (at the coin toss).”
S	Setting Realistic Goals	At the beginning of the season, Coach gets rid of the State Championship trophy so the team could focus on the current season, playing one game at a time, and “play West volleyball.” After the death of Line, team decides to win “just one game at a time.” “If we run the board, we have a shot at States”—unrealistic goal perhaps?
A	Academics	N/A
R	Responsibility	Kelly confesses to Mr Found that she knew Line drove a moped to the hospital to see her mother. Coach apologizes to her team for putting so much pressure on them to win and not have fun.
E	Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs	Line tells Kelly to join her for an early morning workout session: “early birds become starters.” Multiple scenes when team works out at the gym, lifting weight, and using the aerobic exercise equipment. “Channel your anger and guilt into something.” Line decides to eat pizza before the first game.
F	Fun	After focusing on winning the entire season to honor their fallen teammate, the team and Coach realizes that having fun is much more important, and what Line represented. “Win or lose, you’re making her proud”; “Not win for Line, Not do it for Line, but Live for Line”; “Win or lose, it doesn’t matter, play with joy.” After team was having fun in the locker room after first loss, Coach was “pissed off,” tells team to “pull it together.” Coach makes team do multiple ladders, despite being tired.
U	Unrelenting Spirit	Kelly brought out her inner strength to motivate teammates to overcome grief. Coach telling her team, “We can talk about it, but we need to bust our butts.” Kelly spending hours studying the playbook so that she can play a new position at Center. “I don’t think we can do this Coach”—response to first practice after Line’s death, all teammates leave practice abruptly. Freshman teammate scared to make a mistake and cause the team to lose: “I don’t want to be the reason we don’t win for Line . . . don’t let it be me.”
N	“No Pain, No Gain”	Coach continued to have the team to do ladder despite being exhausted and dehydrated until someone served the ball to Zone 1.

For our sample of films, all 10 films (100%) depicted the following themes: “Sportsmanship,” “Obstacles,” “Relationships,” “Setting Realistic Goals,” and “Unrelenting Spirit”; 9 films (90%) depicted “Teamwork”; 8 films (80%) depicted “Responsibility” and “No Pain, No Gain”; 7 films (70%) depicted “Participation for All” and “Fun”; 6 films (60%) depicted “Exercise/Nutrition/Rest/Drugs/Performance Enhancing Drugs”; and 3 films (30%) depicted “Academics.”

Discussion

Several recently published studies have examined the effect of media exposure, especially films, on behaviors and choices made by children and adolescents.^11-23 Examples of this research have focused on violence, gender stereotypes, smoking, alcohol use, sexual behavior, gun use, brand placement, and the effects of risk-taking behavior after media exposure. Although the objective of this study was not to determine if exposure to positive and negative themes depicted in sport-related films influenced the development and behavior of pediatric athletes, we may assume, based on these other published studies,^11-23 that exposure may potentially influence the development and behavior of children and adolescents who participate in sports.

It is important for pediatric health care providers, athletic coaches/staff, and parents to be aware of the content of sport-related films and to understand how the positive and negative themes these films depict may potentially affect children and adolescents. One method to enrich the development of children and adolescents who view these films is co-viewing these films as a team or family with active mediation. Co-viewing and active mediation occur when the coaches/athletic trainers/teams or families discuss what it is being watched, either during or following the film. This method encourages the development of critical thinking and internally regulated values, and it has been shown to decrease aggressive behavior, substance use, and early sexual behavior in adolescents. ²⁴ While pediatric health care providers frequently recommend restriction and monitoring of media time, the promotion of co-viewing and active mediation would allow coaches/athletic trainers/teams and families to be involved in the development of their children who participate in sport.

There are several limitations to our study. Although we demonstrated the application of the discussion guide template to our sample of sport-related films, the demonstration was performed by one adult co-investigator per film, and not children or adolescents for whom the discussion guide template was intended. Furthermore, we did not evaluate comprehension of the discussion guide template nor the ease of completion by pediatric athletes. Last, although the objective of our study was to demonstrate the application of a discussion guide template to a select number of sport-related films released from 2014 to 2018, we did not measure if utilization of the discussion guide template within the construct of co-viewing and active mediation influenced the behavior and development of pediatric athletes. Future research should focus on implementing the discussion guide templates, possibly in discussion groups with children or adolescents for whom the discussion template was intended, and measuring ease of completion and impact on the behavior and development of pediatric athletes.

In conclusion, we encourage the utilization of the “SPORTS ARE FUN” discussion guide template by athletic coaches/staff, parents, and pediatric athletes, within the construct of co-viewing and active mediation, to augment the education and development of children and adolescents who participate in sports.