PIM: Who is Robert Malina?

RM: I am a product of an urban environment, Brooklyn, New York. My interest in children and performance can be traced to the streets of Brooklyn. In addition to my own experiences in the city, the Police Athletic League was central. I worked with their summer playstreet program for three years, one year in Bedford-Stuyvesant and two years in Williamsburg. This is probably the context in which many of my ideas of children, play and performance had their roots. My academic interests focus primarily on children, physical growth and maturation, and performance. They also lie in educational and anthropological work with minority populations.

PIM: Go on.

RM: I have a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Manhattan College, a Master of Science and Ph.D. degree in physical education from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and a second Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

PIM: Why a second degree?

RM: It was in part fortuitous. When I was near completing my degree at the University of Wisconsin, I realized that I wanted further specialization in the study of the biological growth and maturation of children and youth. My graduate advisor, Dr. G. Lawrence Rarick, suggested that I do post-doctoral work with Dr. Wilton M. Krogman at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Krogman invited me for a visit to his growth center and suggested that I pursue a second degree in anthropology, with a specific focus on physical anthropology. More importantly, funding would be in place for me for four years. I opted for this opportunity and began my anthropological studies.

PIM: What did anthropology give you?

RM: Anthropology provided me with a different and broader view of the world, specifically the notion of biological and cultural variability which were notably lacking in my physical education courses. This is where my interest in individual differences, biological and cultural, were nurtured, and in turn a deeper interest in human variability per se. Variability is a fact of nature, and I approach it in the context of four broad questions: What is the nature of the observed variability? How is it distributed over the face of the globe? Are there any patterns in the distributions? And, why is it there, i.e., what is the meaning of the variability? This was, more or less, my mindset when I began teaching in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin in 1967. Shortly thereafter, I had the good fortune of working with children in southern Mexico and Guatemala. I saw children die of measles and related malnutrition during my first summer in the field. It has had a major impact on me.

PIM: What do you mean?

RM: As a result of my dissertation work in anthropology and subsequent field experiences both in the United States as well as in Latin America, I probably have a somewhat different perspective than others in physical education and the exercise sciences. For example, America is not the melting pot predicted by many sociologists; rather, it is a country of much ethnic and in turn cultural variation. Many questions related to human variability thus surface. Why are certain ethnic groups susceptible to specific diseases? I believe that the answers are in the biocultural domain, which implies the interaction of biology and culture.

PIM: There are those who would say that you are controversial?

RM: I guess my views could be considered controversial by some. I am not looking for differences per se; rather, I am interested in explaining the differences. Why are they there in the first place? In the NBC interview with Brokaw to which you are alluding, I indicated that there is nothing wrong with asking questions about human variability. Specifically, athletes of African American ancestry show a significant predominance in some sports. Why? What is wrong with examining the question? The answers are probably biocultural. It is difficult to explain talent in sport in the context of social and cultural circumstances alone.

PIM: This is considered controversial because other authors state that if a certain group has a predominance in one area, there is diminished achievement in other areas, such as intelligence.

RM: Unlike these other authors to whom you refer, my research has nothing to do with intelligence. Many people wear blinders and the media is largely interested in sensationalism. I have never discussed population variation in intelligence in my research or writing.

PIM: In discussing and pursuing your research, you have been very resilient?

RM: Honesty is a virtue that I value. I have tried to be honest in my teaching and research, and have been up front about it. I also try to back up my information, and am quite fortunate to have a good memory (which I hope does not fail me). I guess I am a survivor and, in your own words, street smart. Personally, I am confident in my research and am aware of its limitations. I have had the good fortune to work with many excellent graduate students from whom I learned much, and who, I hope, learned something from me. There is, of course, a fine line between arrogance and confidence in the minds of some people.

PIM: How do you see yourself as a teacher and researcher?

RM: I believe that good teachers must involve themselves in research, and bring that research into their teaching. This may be offensive to some people, but at the university level, a good teacher must be involved in research. The two are synergistically related.

PIM: Tell us more about your background.

RM: I am of Czech and Polish ancestry, but was raised culturally Polish. By that I mean my brothers, sisters and I attended a Polish parochial school. In addition, we learned many of the historical and cultural practices of Poland in Brooklyn. In terms of sport, my major youth sports experiences were in Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) baseball beginning at age 9. I played baseball, soccer and basketball in high school, and coached CYO youth basketball in Philadelphia (while a student at the University of Pennsylvania). I also experienced some of the difficult times, including riots and demonstrations, of the 1960s. I observed first hand difficulties of children raised under conditions of poverty and malnutrition. My views of children and cities were not altered. Children are the future, and cities are the heart of the nation. It is important to improve and maintain the infrastructure of the cities, and opportunities in sport and physical activity for children and youth are important components.

PIM: Where do you see the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports headed?

RM: I am staying with the mandate of the Institute, which is threefold. First, we will continue to research the benefits and limitations of participation in youth sports. Second, we will continue the long history of preparing and presenting educational materials related to youth and sport. These two objectives are related. I would like to develop a system for monitoring injuries in youth sports and developing preventive measures. I also would like to address the issue of how youth sport experiences influence activity habits when the individual is an adult. Currently, many in public health are critical of youth sports and emphasize physical activity per se. I would suggest that for most children, they are obtaining their physical activity largely in the context of organized sport. Back to the objectives of the Institute, the third focus is our outreach program dealing with coach education and programs for inner city youth as outlined in the Skillman project.

PIM: Where do you see your personal research headed?

RM: I hope to do another field season in Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. This would entail a follow-up of communities initially studied in 1968 and the early 1970s. The impact of chronic mild-to-moderate undernutrition on motor performance and physical activity will be studied. In addition, I plan to continue my collaborative efforts on studies of growth, physical activity, performance, and sport with colleagues in Belgium, Poland, and Quebec. The cross-cultural study of youth sports is an untapped area.

Performance in Motion wishes to thank Bob Malina for his willingness to share his time and to serve as this issue's interviewee for the Spartan Profiles section.