Del Dicho al Hecho, Hay Mucho Trecho: Employing Testimonio in SBYD Research

This conceptual paper advocates for the use of Testimonio as a critical methodological approach in sport-based youth development (SBYD) research, particularly with Latine youth. Recent scholarship has called for critical methodologies that center race, expose systemic inequities, and challenge entrenched power structures in SBYD research. Testimonio does precisely that. Rooted in Latine ways of knowing, Testimonio has long been used to document the injustices faced by Latine communities in both Latin America and the United States. Defined by its five pillars—(1) bearing witness, (2) denouncing injustices, (3) consciousness-raising, (4) social justice orientation, and (5) transformational power—Testimonio is widely used in the fields of education, psychology and sociology, yet it remains absent in SBYD research. This paper argues that Testimonio offers a powerful means of capturing the lived realities of Latine youth that traditional research methods often overlook or erase. Preliminary considerations and best practices are offered for scholars and practitioners seeking to employ Testimonio within SBYD contexts.