Performance Learning outcome #5

Artifacts 

• COUN 6155 Sport in Society – Documentary Film Analysis 
• COUN 6155 Sport in Society - Sport Matters Cultural Plunge Project 

Reflection & Analysis 

For myself, these artifacts helped me realize the importance of multicultural factors that may have an influence on an individual's behaviors and actions within their sport. Performance struggles can come from high expectations, lots of pressure, feelings of anxiety, low confidence levels, a lack of commitment and focus, but the real question is how  do these struggles develop? It is crucial as a sports and performance  practitioner to always scan different areas of the presenting concern, whether that's exploring their cultural background and influences or understanding how their social class influences their motivations/behaviors. Multicultural factors may include social class, age and ability, gender, emotional expression, and values and belief systems. When exploring the context of diverse groups and individuals, it is important to keep these topics in mind since they may produce an influence on presenting concerns. These  artifacts have taught me that no matter the situation, your unique  background sheds insight into how you perceive the experience. By  disregarding multicultural factors, I would be doing a disservice to my athletes, and this could potentially lead to negative experiences/results.  It is explained in Aoyagi et al. (2017) that interventions that  recognize cultural differences for both groups and individuals tend to  produce more positive outcomes than those that ignore diversity.  

Specifically in the artifact, “Sport Matters Cultural Plunge Project”, I was able to review a film and scan for potential multicultural/sociocultural factors that may have influenced the behaviors of certain athletes. The categories that I specifically focused on during this project were the influences of coaches, fans, and the players' cultural backgrounds (perception of self, where they grew up, social class, etc.). This helped me view the context with a wider lens rather than strictly seeing it in tunnel vision. The biggest takeaway from these  artifacts was that they taught me to view the athlete as a human being  first, and that every person has their own story which influences and  directs their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.  

I gathered feedback and advice from my professors while creating this artifact to accurately reflect the sports and performance of multicultural factors introduced in the chosen film. My professor helped me become clear about the diverse factors  included in sport through explanation, other assignments, and many  readings. This created a guiding filter for when I analyzed the film and was searching for common multicultural topics.