The Equitable Sport & Physical Activity Innovations (ESPI) Lab

Program Focus

Our goal is to get more young people involved in better sport and physical activity opportunities. Our lab is unique because we combine interdisciplinary research expertise with extensive applied experiences in sport, physical activity, and youth development settings.

Our ongoing projects focus on:
  • Investigating and addressing barriers to equitable access to sports and physical activity participation for diverse young people
  • Studying the health benefits that sport and physical activity facilitate
  • Creating and evaluating programs using physical activity to support development and health equity

Current Projects

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Move + Thrive

Move + Thrive is a free online physical activity video library, created with and for young people. These videos are developmentally appropriate and free from potentially harmful fitness triggers, such as body shaming and diet product promotions. We believe movement should feel good, support emotional and physical health, and be a safe space for all youth.

View the Move + Thrive Program

Physical Activity-Based Positive Youth Development Program for TGD Youth

There is a need for effective interventions to synergistically promote transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents’ mental health and physical activity: TGD adolescents bear disproportionate health burdens in both areas. We have created a unique partnership—between our lab and Children’s Minnesota’s Gender Health Program—to develop and assess the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of a physical activity-based positive youth development program for TGD adolescents. The program will focus on increasing physical activity skills and behaviors, as well as social support, to improve mental health. As first steps, we are gathering input on the program from TGD adolescents, their parents, and healthcare professionals, whose insights on physical activity and mental health are missing from research.

Co-Principal Investigators: Sarah M. Kaja, PhD & Kathleen K. Miller, MD

Team Sport Participation, Physical Activity, & Mental Health Among TGD Adolescents

Research shows that participating in sport and physical activity has positive effects on young people’s mental health. However, this research has relied on mostly cisgender samples of youth; the impacts of sport and physical activity in the lives of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents, specifically, are understudied. Descriptive research has not tracked TGD youths’ participation in sport over time, and it is unclear whether participating in sport and PA has the same benefits for TGD teens as for teens in general. We are closing these research gaps by 1) evaluating trends in TGD adolescents’ sport and PA participation from 2016 to 2019 to 2022, 2) exploring relationships between sport, PA, and mental health concerns among TGD youth, and 3) studying how team sport participation impacts the lives and mental health of TGD adolescents.

Principal Investigator: Sarah M. Kaja, PhD
Co-Investigator: Jenifer K. McGuire, PhD

Related publications:
https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(22)00692-9/fulltext
https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(24)00065-X/fulltext

Increasing Equity in Climate-Dependent Sports: Nordic Skiing

The 2023-2024 winter ski season was one of the warmest and driest ever in the Upper Midwest. We surveyed 116 Nordic coaches about how weather-related challenges affected their youth ski teams and the strategies they used to navigate the challenges they encountered. We were unsurprised to learn that Nordic coaches were resilient and resourceful, delivering the benefits of cross-country skiing to young people even in poor conditions. However, coaches and teams will need more support to keep Nordic accessible as climate change continues. Our report calls for specific, proactive, community-driven efforts to support skiing in the Upper Midwest. Dedicated approaches will also be necessary for maintaining an inclusive spirit in Nordic so that every young person who wants to ski gets the chance. This Minnesota StarTribune article affirms that coaches and funders must be proactive and creative to maintain inclusivity in Nordic, in spirit and in practice.

Research Lab Staff
Samantha Adler headshot

Samantha Adler
Research Assistant

Sam received her bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota and her master's degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology from Springfield College. She has experience as a personal trainer, youth swim instructor, graduate mental performance consultant, community mental health worker, and instructor for undergraduate exercise psychology courses. Sam's research interests revolve around improving sport and physical activity experiences for young people, targeting increased accessibility and enhanced self-perceptions (e.g., body image, physical competency). She focuses on the influences of intersectionality and sociocultural contexts among underrepresented youth, highlighting the importance of: disaggregating physical activity data across ethnic communities; understanding adolescent athletes' body ideals and related emotions/behaviors; and incorporating stakeholder insights to improve sport and movement in diverse populations.

Peter de Ruiter headshot

Peter de Ruiter
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Peter is a senior at the University of Minnesota, a computer science major, and Co-President of the University's Nordic Ski Club. Additionally, he has over 4 years of experience coaching youth sports. With the ESPI Lab, Peter is managing and analyzing data from our study with Nordic ski coaches.

Anna Bottino
Research Assistant

Anna is a PhD candidate and research fellow in the Springfield College Sport and Exercise Psychology program. They are also an Adidas x Athlete Ally research fellow. Anna's research centers LGBTQIA+ experiences in sport and physical activity, with the goal of fostering safe and inclusive participation for a variety of stakeholders. Their work has involved sport leadership, collegiate athletes, and trans and gender diverse youth. In addition to research, they have experiences as a sport coach, graduate mental performance consultant, and instructor for undergraduate/graduate sport, exercise, and research related courses.

Amy Gower headshot

Amy Gower, PhD
Research Associate
(she/her)

Amy has a BA in Psychology and Women's Studies from Wellesley College and a PhD in Child Development from the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the ways communities and schools can support youth with marginalized identities to thrive. As a self-described data nerd, she is particularly passionate about helping people use data to fuel work that promotes equity and belonging.

Katherine Pierson headshot

Katie Pierson, MA
Communications Strategist 
(she/her)

Katie has a BA in American History from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in American History from the University of Minnesota. After 15 years of non-profit consulting, she provides content, coaching, mentoring, and technical assistance to diverse healthy youth development research teams, building traction in support of health equity and systems change. She loves using her academic training, creative writing chops, and professional advocacy experience to translate and disseminate the science into public-facing products, policy, and practice.