Experiences in sport and physical activity prior to formal teacher preparation are thought to be influential on perceptions of aspiring teachers. Various types of sport and teaching experiences of future teachers have not, however, been linked to specific beliefs and perceptions of teaching effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of varying levels of athletic, coaching, and teaching experience on pre-service teachers' perceptions. Seventy undergraduate students representing four different profiles of experience were studied. Participants viewed a 40-minute videotape of an elementary soccer lesson, commenting on good and bad aspects of the lesson. One-half of the participants had previous experience playing the sport, and more than 70% had some combination of teaching and coaching experience. In spite of different histories, profiles of observations were remarkably similar. Consequently, the impact of varied backgrounds may not be a major source of differences across prospective teachers. There was also evidence to suggest that prospective teachers may be able to generalize experiences across different types of playing and teaching or coaching backgrounds. This means that preparation programs do not need to provide recruits with experience in every possible sport activity area. (Contains 5 tables.)