Children in youth sports are at risk to experience different disadvantages when it comes to being in a setting where they are learning. Children in youth sports that are categorized into groups surrounded by oppression are more likely to become exposed to issues when it comes to being in the world of sports; a world where one is constantly learning. It is important to highlight the fact that young people with the backgrounds of oppression are, in various ways, exposed to having their informal learning environments and fields such as family, social class and culture, religion, race, and gender intersect and therefore creating an impact on their feelings towards this healthy learning environment in the world of sports.
Intersectionality can be seen as a lens or concept for understanding and examining how multiple social identities intersect based off an individuals experience to understand and see how systems of hierarchies and oppression are created and formed. The most important element of intersectionality is the concept that these social characteristics and their markers, such as race, social class, and gender are interdependent, multiple, and mutually ingrained into society. People’s social identities are not independent, yet they are multiple and intersecting. It is important for anyone who has a relation to someone in youth sports to understand that they are making an impact on giving a voice to those who do not have one in that environment. Now, I am not saying that siblings or parents should have a say in how a coach decides to run their team, but I do think that it is important for those related to the players to understand how to help players move toward freedom. Doing this by creating an environment where both the coaches and players are engaged in a habitual and critical reflection model that takes into account all of their intersecting identities.
When looking into youth sports, I wanted to focus specifically on youth soccer from the ages of 10-12. Growing up I played club soccer and never felt any pressure from anyone based on my race or gender. Now, as an adult, looking back on the conditions that I was playing in, I believe that it is crucial for there to be an environment made where intersectionality is highlighted to understand how the systems of hierarchies and oppression are real in youth sports. Unfortunately, at the ages of 10-12, there is little knowledge of the socially formed hierarchies that can be put into place but simply playing soccer as a kid. It is important for there to be a presence of anyone such as a coach, parent, or sibling to help navigate and help the children understand the environment that they are in and show them that their individual experiences are not independent, yet intersecting and impactful.