Today, January 12th, 2022 is 12 years since we started Up2Us Sports with a simple vision: to build a national service program that is based on the power of coaches as mentors for youth across this nation.

Well, we have come far. We have supported over 4,000 AmeriCorps members through our Up2Us Coach and Up2Us VISTA programs. We have reached nearly 650,000 youth. We have impacted youth sports organizations in almost every state in the country. And we have generated a movement called Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD).

We have also learned some pretty valuable lessons along the way. Here are a few of them:

Sports are critical to the health and well-being of youth across this nation. We already know how important sports are for inspiring physical activity, but the COVID-19 pandemic really put a spotlight on the role of sports in mental health and well-being. Put simply, kids missed their teams and their coaches. They missed the social interaction that comes from participating in a structured environment that is both skill-building and fun. They missed the chance to demonstrate the kind of skills that make them feel valuable as human beings: teamwork, leadership, praise and encouragement, skill acquisition, and social bonding.
Trained coaches are the lifelines to reaping the benefits of sports. We have conducted numerous studies on the impact of our AmeriCorps coaches on athletes. The studies demonstrate that a committed coach can do nearly the impossible: foster measurable improvements in social emotional learning among youth. A trained coach also makes every child feel they belong and serves as a crucial safety net when a young person is experiencing problems in school, in their community, or at home. In fact, one consistent thing that national surveys tell us is that the more caring adults in kids’ lives, the more likely kids will succeed as adults. Coaches are these caring adults.
More sports programs are heeding the SBYD call. By this, I mean more traditional youth sports programs recognize that they have a responsibility to not only develop athletic skills but to foster the health, wellness and positive youth development of their athletes. In a nutshell, sports programs are becoming Sports-Based Youth Development (SBYD) programs. And national efforts to salvage sports from this pandemic are increasingly pointing to the SBYD philosophy as a pillar for substantiating their agenda. We are experiencing this firsthand at Up2Us Sports where now more than 1,800 youth sports programs belong to our network.

With these three lessons learned, we still have a long way to go. Specifically, the opportunity to play sports continues to vary dramatically based on wealth, race, and gender. Given the critical role of sports in life skills development, we must forge new partnerships and new funding to put more male and female coaches on the ground in schools, parks, and nonprofits in underserved communities. I have no doubt that the consequence of this investment will be better performing schools, safer neighborhoods, less substance abuse, and greater economic vitality.

Lastly, we need to engage other sectors in the SBYD agenda. The healthcare industry needs to see our return on investment. State and city politicians need to see our role in violence prevention. Environmental leaders need to see how sports can educate young people about the air they breathe. And educators need to understand how our contribution to social emotional learning skills is fundamental to a child’s ability to learn. Of course, none of the sectors will hear these messages unless we raise our voices. During the next year, please join Up2Us Sports, our staff, our AmeriCorps service members and our supporters as we broadcast these messages loud and clear.

Thank you for being part of the program and the movement that we have built together.

Happy Anniversary Up2Us Sports!