Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify the status of past experience of playing the same
sport played by team ball game players through the secondary analysis of data from the 2012
SSF National Sports-life Survey. The subjects of the analysis comprise 335 individuals who have
played soccer, futsal, basketball, volleyball, soft volleyball, softball, or baseball at least once over
the past year. They are divided into two groups: one consisting of those who have the experience
of playing the same team ball sport they play now; and the other composed of those without the
experience of playing the same sport. The characteristics of the groups are then identified.
The result of the analysis indicated that the percentages of players with experience and
those without experience varied depending on the sport and that such percentages also varied
between men and women. Sports often played by players with experience included, among the
men, baseball and soccer, and among the women, basketball. All of the women playing soccer had
no prior experience, which supported the results of preceding studies and suggested the presence
of an environment for women without the experience of playing soccer to play the sport.
It is likely that the findings provide knowledge useful for developing a future society that
allows the selection of various lifelong sports.
