The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which involvement in sporting activities improves the self-esteem of young athletes. Further, it investigates the impact participation has on different aspects of the self. Eight athletes from Bukit Jalil Sports School and six undergraduate athletes from the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) volunteered for the study. Drawing on the hermeneutic philosophy of Ricoeur, the researchers developed a methodological approach that requested the participants to narrate how their involvement in sports had enhanced their self-esteem. The narrative texts were content analyzed and the results obtained showed that participation in sports had impacted positively in the enhancement of self-esteem in a number of key ways. The findings show that a high value is attached to a range of competencies related to social acceptance, educational health attainment, success in sport and issues pertaining to physicality. The paper argues that further research involving longitudinal designs based on large representative samples is needed to investigate attitude changes in more depth. In this regard the authors suggest the need for a ‘sport for all’ strategy for developing a more sustainable ‘sport participation culture’ in Malaysia.