For many, sport is synonymous with fun. Its why children sign up for soccer leagues, join hockey teams, and try out for rowing clubs. But what exactly makes sport fun? And how can coaches and program leaders ensure that fun isn’t just an afterthought, but a core component of the sport experience?
Dr. Erin Sharpe, Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University and Manager of Recreational Youth Rowing Program at St. Catharines Rowing Club, has been tackling these questions head-on. And her approach? Using a tool called FUN MAPS.
What are FUN MAPS?
Sharpe, a masters rower herself, first encountered FUN MAPS while looking for a way to rebuild her club’s youth programs in the wake of COVID-19. She needed something to help her design an environment where kids didn’t just participate in sport—they truly enjoyed it. The problem, she found, was that “fun” is a word we use all the time, but rarely define.
That’s the question FUN MAPS helps answer. Originally developed by Dr. Amanda Visek, an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences in the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, FUN MAPS are based on research that identifies the key elements that make sport enjoyable for young athletes. Instead of simply asking kids what fun means—often leading to a dead end—researchers asked what makes sport more fun and what takes away from it.
The result? A structured approach using scientific blueprints to better understand and design fun in sport. And for Sharpe, whose job is to introduce kids to rowing, it was exactly the framework she needed.
The results, she says, have been game changing.
Breaking down the elements of fun
Through conversations with 142 soccer players aged 8 to 19 about all the things that made sports fun for them they came up with 81 fun determinants. Visek then whittled that list down and identified 11 key determinants of fun in sport, but 4 rose to the top (and continues to be at the top as her research continues):
- Trying hard – The opportunity to push oneself, test limits, and engage in physical effort.
- Positive team dynamics – Feeling part of a group, experiencing good sportsmanship, and receiving encouragement from teammates.
- Positive coaching – Having coaches who support, motivate, and create a safe, welcoming environment.
- Learning and improving – The satisfaction of developing new skills and seeing progress over time.
At first glance, some of these findings might seem counterintuitive. Isn’t fun supposed to be about relaxing and taking it easy? Not necessarily.
The number one factor? “The chance to try hard,” Sharpe says. “Kids don’t see effort as the opposite of fun—it’s part of it. And taking that into programs, thinking about, how can you create experiences where kids get to try hard… is a different way of thinking about how to make this fun for kids than I think what we’ve seen before.”
Another factor Sharpe leans on is positive coaching where a coach encourages the team, through clear and consistent communication, allowing mistakes while staying positive.
For Sharpe, one element, in particular, stood out. “A coach that participates with the players during practice,” she says. “That was something we really hooked into as a team. It challenged the traditional idea that coaches should stand back and just observe. Instead, we found that kids responded really well when coaches were engaged, active, and working alongside them.”
But fun mapping doesn’t just shape coaching styles—it’s also transformed how young athletes themselves experience their sport.
“For the kids, seeing that coaching was such a high determinant of fun really mattered,” Sharpe says. “Knowing that, the coaches really took that to heart because our coaches are high school or university-age athletes themselves, and they’re transitioning from athletes to junior or senior coaches.”
Sharpe says the fun mapping helps lay the groundwork for good coaching by keeping everyone “on the same page.”
FUN MAPS and retention in sport
One of the biggest challenges in youth sport is keeping kids engaged over time.
Sharpe’s rowing club has seen the impact of fun mapping in action. She thinks it’s working but it’s also working in conjunction with good sport development sequencing the club started.
To bridge the gap between learn-to-row programs and competitive teams, Sharpe and her team introduced a program specifically for Grade 7 and 8 students—kids who were too old for beginner programs but not yet eligible for competitive rowing, which often starts in high school.
They needed something that wasn’t just a placeholder but really gave the kids a sense of belonging, Sharpe explains. “Fun mapping helped us design that program around positive team dynamics. The focus was on operating as a team, even though they weren’t in formal competitions yet. It was a space where they could develop skills while still keeping sport enjoyable.”
Also, rather than assuming what kids might enjoy, Sharpe used fun mapping to shape every aspect of her rowing program.
For example, understanding that positive team dynamics were crucial, Sharpe redesigned how participants were grouped. “Rowing isn’t always seen as a team sport at the introductory level,” she says. “Kids come in as individuals. But knowing how important that sense of belonging is, we structured activities so that they felt like part of a team from day one.”
Similarly, knowing that trying hard was a key fun factor, Sharpe ensured that every participant—regardless of ability—was challenged in an appropriate way. “Hard is different for every kid,” she explains. “We worked hard to create small group opportunities where each child could push themselves at their own level.”
Shifting coaching strategies
Implementing fun mapping required not just a change in program design, but a shift in coaching strategies. “We had to make sure we had enough coaches to allow for small group and individualized experiences,” says Sharpe. This meant more staff, which was an added cost, but one the program deemed essential.
The coaching team also spent time reflecting on their own experiences. “We asked them to think about what had been fun for them in sport,” Sharpe says. “That helped us collectively define what fun should look like in our program.”
By focusing on positive coaching, the program also emphasized support over criticism. It wasn’t just about teaching technique, Sharpe says, but more about creating an environment where kids felt encouraged and valued.
The biggest misconceptions about fun and sport
If fun is such a key ingredient to keeping kids in sport, why is it often overlooked?
“We tend to see fun and development as separate things, when really, they’re not,” Sharpe says. “There’s this idea that sport has to be either fun or serious. But what fun mapping has shown is that kids actually find fun in working hard, improving, and challenging themselves.”
She also pushes back against the notion that fun and winning are at odds with each other. “Trying hard is at the top of the list of what makes sport fun for kids,” she says. “Competing, testing yourself, achieving something difficult—those are all part of what makes sport enjoyable.”
Bringing fun mapping to more sports
So, what advice does Sharpe have for other sport program directors looking to incorporate fun mapping into their own clubs?
“Start with the research,” she says. “Amanda Visek’s work is widely available, and she’s done an incredible job of making it accessible.”
Beyond that, she recommends adapting the framework to the unique needs of each sport. “The fun map itself is general, but what we did was take it and ask: what does this look like in our sport or what does learning or a well-organized practice look like in our sport? But the principles—apply everywhere.”
A different approach to fun
Traditional views of fun in sport often focus on excitement, lightheartedness, and social interactions. But fun mapping paints a broader picture—one that includes effort, challenge, and growth.
This perspective has significant implications, not just for youth sport, but for all levels of athletic participation. It challenges the assumption that competition and fun are at odds, showing instead that the right kind of challenge enhances enjoyment.
For parents, program leaders, and coaches, fun mapping provides a concrete way to ensure that sport remains a positive experience.