ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the outcomes of play with respect to the development of sport expertise and the unique determinants of play, culminating in a proposed conceptualization of play behavior in children's sport activities. It argues that deliberate play is a valuable but neglected form of childhood activity with wide-reaching physical, psychosocial, and developmental implications that contribute to the foundation of expertise development in sport. The chapter uses the determinants of the Personal Assets Framework (PAF) as the basis to describe play environments in youth sport that are conducive to continued participation and long-term expertise development in sport. It discusses the important role of deliberate play activities as the foundational base of personal engagement in sport and an essential building block to the achievement of expertise. The PAF suggests that personal engagement in activities acts as a proximal process to promote development in sport.
