Socially vulnerable young people in Flemish sports clubs Investigating youth experiences

Sport appears to present a powerful tool for engaging socially vulnerable youth in an organised context, which offers an opportunity to work with them. However, we have little understanding regarding participation of socially vulnerable young people in the ‘traditional’ sport sector (i.e. sports clubs). Nor do we have sufficient insights into how vulnerable young people experience their participation in sports clubs and how they best feel supported. In order to address this question, we interviewed 50 young people and 13 key witnesses (mostly coaches, but also board members and club coordinators) within 15 Flemish (northern Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) traditional sport settings, using semi-structured interviews. Throughout the interviews we noticed that the selected sports clubs offered young people an environment where they could find support, meaning, appreciation, security and caring. The coach played a key role but was not the only factor, since his/her guidance was influenced and steered by the...