Metanarratives are important in the sports industry because they can set standards for what is expected from athletes, coaches and spectators and these metanarratives also address how athletes can be perceived. By not interrogating the meanings of sport we often overlook aspects of sport that can be harmful. Sports are prominent in student lives’ especially in elementary school students as gym class is required and recess provides the opportunity for practicing sport. People’s interest in sport varies and because we tend to grow up with sports we often do not question the social issues that can be associated with them.

But being aware of these assumptions and metanarratives are especially important, I would argue, because of the centrality of sport to our everyday lives, the role that sport plays in shaping our childhood and worldviews and personality can be deciding factors in how a person interacts with sports. Our childhood experiences with sports often determine how much or if we continue to participate in sport in our adult life. In childhood years sports are often introduced in gym classes through school, aspects like athletic abilities, social factors and the competitiveness of the environment can influence a student’s perception of sport. If a student has a hard time shooting a basketball or serving a volleyball and is not given the instructions and dedicated time to practice the skill the student may lack confidence and therefore interest in the sport. Peers engagement in the activity may also be an influential factor, often a student will be engaged only to the extent their peers are, if one’s peers sit out one may join or if one’s peers are actively engaged it may ignite interest in oneself. If classmates are judgemental it may discourage a student from trying. A more competitive environment can increase efforts however if students start to blame one another for losses it can be rather discouraging. Sports in one’s childhood can impact one’s perception of sport, future engagement in sports and their confidence. Sports can shape our worldviews because they can be perceived in many ways, to some they promote teamwork, communication, determination and so much more and to others they promote violence. Sports foster competition which to some is viewed as healthy but to others can be viewed as harmful. Sports can shape our personality by building or diminishing our confidence, providing social experiences both positive and negative, and helping us to expand our comfort zones.

Through the school system there are many opportunities for sport, during recess time, extracurricular activities and physical education classes. The structure or freedom students are provided in sport can shape the way the students feel about such activities. By separating students by gender especially in younger age groups it may create a divide between boys and girls on a social level. This separation based on gender connects to John Lewis’ point about how social justice aims to promote equality between groups of people and individuals. Sports and social justice used cohesively can create a more positive, cooperative and inclusive experience for students in physical education, which may increase student participation and interest in sports based extracurricular activities, and active play at recess.