• Often believe sport is too competitive and not fun
• Don't like sport or physical activity due to poor introductory experiences
• More likely to have lower levels of physical literacy than the active 5 – 11 year olds
• Have a perception that you have to be good at sport to be part of a club
• Negative attitudes towards sport often stem from parents
• Impacted by protective parenting behaviours i.e. safety concerns preventing children from participating.

Sports have a critical role to play here. Create a supportive environment that includes children of all abilities and confidence levels. Fun and safe environments help prevent negative attitudes and poor lifelong behaviours developing and encourage children to stay involved in sport.

• Enjoy being a valued member of a team
• Higher levels of physical literacy/capability
• Enjoy spending time with friends and doing a fun activity
• Find challenges and rewards appealing
• Like trying new things
• More likely to have active parents.

This group loves their sport, but they are at an age where other interests are growing and they are at risk of dropping out. Keep things fun and social to improve retention at this critical life stage.

• Lower levels of physical literacy/capability
• Fear being judged and are put off by team selection processes
• Lack fitness and skills (they can't keep up or are not competitive)
• Find that sport causes mental stress and pressure
• Put off by the involvement of other parents i.e. favouritism
• Increasing time commitments, including work, study, family, friends and new interests
• Decreasing levels of support from parents who value other commitments over sport i.e. study
• More likely to have parents who aren’t active or participating in sport.

This is a critical age for sport retention. Sport experiences that can pivot to cater for those who are less competitive or capable are more likely to retain these children at this life stage. A focus on fun and social engagement is likely to be more attractive to this age group.