Measuring Healthy Choice Behavior in At-Risk Youth

By School-to-School International

Up2Us Sports is encouraging undeserved youth in cities across America to make positive life choices through its Sports-Based Youth Development Program. Up2Us Sports harnesses the power of sports to ultimately reduce youth violence, promote health, and inspire academic success. School-to-School International had the opportunity to collaborate with the New York-based organization to help measure the extent to which their programming is instilling healthy choice attributes in participants.

Research has shown a correlation between certain attributes in young people and the types of life choices they make. In fact, eight “High Impact Attributes” have been isolated as key predictors of future healthy decision-making in youth: Self-Awareness, Positive Identity, Situational Awareness, Plan B Thinking, Future Focus, Discipline, Social Confidence, and Prosocial Connections. Up2Us Sports uses these eight High Impact Attributes as a scale to measure the success of its Coach Across America program.

STS assisted Up2Us Sports in producing annual surveys to study changes in youth before and after participating in Coach Across America programs. Tools for surveying youth in two different age groups were piloted. STS used widely accepted techniques of quantitative statistical analysis to analyze the pilot test results and ensure the survey design would produce reliable results. In addition to the eight High Impact Attributes, STS recommended the inclusion of a Global Well-Being1 scale, an overall predictor of social and emotional health.

We hope this work will help Up2Us Sports in establishing accurate linkages between their Sports-Based Youth Development Programs and healthy decision-making attributes in youth participants.

1. The items used in this survey are based on the well-being scale in Gallup’s publicly available survey items.

Up2Us Sports partnered with School-to-School International to increase the effectiveness of its evaluation of the Coach Across America program. The blog was originally published here on the STS blog.

Why Pope Francis Should Join My Board of Directors

Paul CaccamoFounder & CEO Up2Us Sports -

Youth sports are in desperate need of reform. Less and less kids are playing sports in America and kids from disadvantaged economic backgrounds are seeing their sports programs cut entirely. This is not just an issue of the decline of one our great pastimes, it is the loss of one of most effective tools for developing essential life skills in young people in this country.

I have spent my life not only calling for reform, but also implementing tools to carry out this reform. I launched Up2Us Sports in 2010 to train coaches on how to use sports to inspire success among youth. This means teaching coaches how they can impact health, violence and academic success using just a golf club or a tennis racket, a hockey stick or a soccer ball. In the poorest neighborhoods in this country, I also hire and train local adults as coaches to use sports to address issues of poverty. After all, kids who play sports are more likely to perform better in school and succeed in the future workplace. A recent evaluation of Up2Us Sports shows that the dollars invested in training coaches potentially saves society millions of dollars in costs associated with treating chronic diseases and/or incarcerating our youth. Both issues are preventable when youth have teams to belong to that inspire exercise and discipline.

Having spent my career in sports-based youth development, the most difficult part of my job is convincing donors that funding sports is not frivolous. It is a solution to violence prevention, health education and academic outcomes. But with a board member like the Pope, my job might just be easier.

If you haven't heard, the Pope recently gave a speech to the Pontifical Council for the Laity calling for reform in youth sports. He said that overemphasis on competitive sports have derailed the potential of sports to help lift children out of poverty. He said that training coaches is key to helping sports achieve its potential for all youth, but particularly those youth in disadvantaged communities. And he urged adults to reform youth sports so that it can be the solution that Up2us Sports envisions it to be. Okay, he didn't say "Up2Us Sports" by name but I'm sure if he knew about us he would have. And I'm sure if he read my recommendations for advancing the sports-based youth development movement, he might have included them in his pontifical lecture as well.

So Pope Francis, please consider this a standing invitation to be my Board Member. I'll schedule our first meeting during your trip to America. I'll have 3,000 trained Up2Us Sports coaches there to greet you to show that the reform you call for is underway.

And, I'll start the meeting with a prayer: that more people heed the cry for reform before more kids lose this invaluable platform to develop into healthy and contributing adults.

The Winning Team: Meet Coach Christian

For some kids, having a parent as a coach turns them away from sports. This was not the case for Christian Gutierrez, a Coach Across America coach with Woodcraft Rangers in Los Angeles. Growing up with his father as his soccer coach, Christian was able to see the positive impact his father’s coaching had not only on his life, but the lives of his teammates. This was the impetus behind Christian’s desire to become a coach himself.

Since starting as a soccer and basketball coach at Granada Middle School in his hometown of Whittier last August, Christian has flourished as a coach. In addition to teaching the kids sport-specific skills, he has become more effective in his ability to teach leadership and life skills. A fourth-grader named Jacob that Christian knew from a summer program at Woodcraft Rangers has shown impressive growth. Naturally athletic, Jacob lacked confidence in himself and in his soccer skills. Christian was able to incorporate lessons he learned from an Up2Us Sports National Coach Training Institute to help Jacob transform into a leader on the team.Through structured informal time and daily check-ins, Christian was able to get to know a lot more about Jacob, such as where he’s from and what some of his struggles are. “Talking to them when you have the opportunity really, really shows them a lot and it shows that you’re making an effort to listen to them and hear what they have to say.” Jacob grew to trust Christian and, in turn, grew the confidence to trust in his own leadership and soccer skills.

Other than following in his father’s influential footsteps, Christian’s favorite part about being a coach is seeing the kids use the skills he’s taught them. “When you teach them something at practice and then see them use that skill in a scrimmage or a game that really, really makes me feel good.” He doesn’t mean just sport skills either. He has a rule with the team - Encourage, Don’t Discourage. “When someone falls and the others don’t laugh at them and instead help them up, or if someone isn’t getting a drill and they help them throughout the drill...that really makes me happy.”

Aside from coaching, Christian attends college full time and is currently applying to work for the Los Angeles Police Department. A criminal justice major, he has already passed the physical abilities test and oral interviews. He wants to help affect change in the lives of inner city youth and sees a large connection between his passion to coach and his goal to become a police officer.

“I want to be a coach and police officer so that way I am helping my community while I am serving it.”

Up2Us Sports Founder on Why He Bikes Everywhere in NYC

-Paul Caccamo Up2Us Sports Founder & CEO

I swerve through Times Square, glide through Herald Square, pedal past the Flat Iron Building, and zoom down 5th Avenue to Washington Square Park.

I am one of those insane New Yorkers who is a biker. I bike everywhere—to work, to the gym, to the opera, to that bar in the Lower East Side. I also bike to all my funder meetings.

I often arrive windblown and, depending whether or not my chain fell off along the way, with rather embarrassing greasy fingers. But it gives the right impression; after all, I practice what I preach. At a meeting with a foundation, I may be drenched if it was raining, but I'm the most focused person in the room. That's because physical activity is essential for brain function. Not only does it keep us physically fit, but it keeps us mentally alert, focused, and on-task.

It's National Bike Month. National Bike to Work Week is May 11-15 and Bike to Work Day is May 15.  It's a great time for all of us to consider how we implement physical activity in our day-to-day life.  After all, we need to set an example for our children.  We need to advocate for getting kids moving and demand that every school guarantee at least one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity to every student every day.

Just in New York City, bicycle commuting to and from Manhattan has more than doubled since 2005, more than tripled since 2000, and more than quintupled since 1990. Further proof that people are transitioning to biking comes from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Over half a million New Yorkers ride a bike at least several times a month. It doesn’t matter if you’re commuting to and from work/school or just taking leisurely rides on the weekends, we love to see this boost in physical activity through biking and hope to see continued upward growth. If you’re a beginner, check out this article on Time.com with tips for first-timers, and you’ll be comfortably cruising in no time.

Happy and safe biking during this month of May!

America SCORES Poet-Athlete Ashalyn, on Soccer and Poetry

Up2Us Sports’ member organization America SCORES combines poetry and soccer as the foundation of their youth development programming. Their three-step model has proven successful and has been replicated in more than 150 public and charter schools in 14 major cities across the country: 1 - Create teams through the sport of soccer;

2 - Bring the teams into the classroom to discover their voices through poetry;

3 - As a team they use their voices to make change in their communities.

Poet-Athletes, as participants in America SCORES programs are called, write pieces to perform poetry slam-style.  Two children from each America SCORES chapter are chosen to represent their city in the Annual America SCORES National Poetry SLAM.  Ashalyn, a 10-year old who attends P.S. 173 in Harlem was selected to represent New York City at this years slam with her poem, “Water”.  We spoke with Ashalyn about writing poetry, being a SCORES poet-athlete and participating in the National Poetry SLAM!

Up2Us Sports: How long have you been part of the America SCORES New York program here at PS 173?

Ashalyn: About a year and a half.

Up2Us Sports: What is your favorite part about it?

Ashalyn: My favorite part is that we get to play soccer, we have a lot of fun.

Up2Us Sports: What about poetry? When did you start writing poetry, and did you do it before joining SCORES?

Ashalyn: Yes, since I was little. I make up songs! When I’m writing my poems it’s like I’m making up songs.

Up2Us Sports: What’s your favorite part about writing poetry and making up songs?

Ashalyn: The rhythm—I come up with music and tunes to go with the lyrics.

Up2Us Sports: When you found out you were selected as the girl to represent SCORES New York at the National Poetry SLAM! How did you feel?

Ashalyn: Happy, excited, proud of myself and nervous.

Up2Us Sports: How many other girls did you compete against to win?

Ashalyn: More than 20, including my friends.

Up2Us Sports: What was it like representing all of SCORES New York on a national stage?

Ashalyn: It was surprising and I felt very proud of myself. I just felt nervous, because it’s ME representing America SCORES New York.

Up2Us Sports: What was your favorite part about performing on a national stage, competing against others from around the country?

Ashalyn: The group poem! We got to wear some glasses and look cool, and were like “words can change the world!” (Note: these are lyrics from their group poem.)

Up2Us Sports: What would you tell other kids - kids that you know, or might not know - who might want to try writing poetry but are too scared?

Ashalyn: Believe in themselves. I would tell them that poetry is natural, because poetry is explaining someone’s feelings or explaining something around you. Everybody can do it if you believe in yourself.

Up2Us Sports: Do you think your songwriting and poetry writing helps you in other school in other subject areas?

Ashalyn: Yes, in music, and in concentrating.

Up2Us Sports: I know America SCORES focuses on both soccer and poetry – how does soccer help you in your poetry writing…or how does your poetry writing help you in soccer?

Ashalyn: Yes, soccer helps me write poetry because, it’s like I’m saying things, when I’m writing a poem I’m just explaining my experience. When I start to write poems, I think of my soccer games, and I think of if we won. When we win, I don’t try to say “we won!” but I try to explain it in the poem.

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America SCORES, is a part of the Up2Us Sports coalition, a group of over 1,000 grassroots organizations that use sports to improve the lives of at-risk youth.

External Evaluation Shows Benefits of Coach Across America Program

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) recently conducted an external data analysis to evaluate the impact of the Coach Across America (CAA) program on underserved youth nationwide during the 2013-2014 school year. According to the evaluation, youth with CAA coaches saw increases in physical activity, positive gains in relationships and decision-making and reduced their consumption of unhealthy foods. A summary of the report is available here and the full length report is available here.  

2015 Up2Us Sports Gala: Tickets on Sale Now

Join Up2Us Sports  on Wednesday, June 3rd to celebrate five years of creating change through sports and to honor Little League Star, Mo'ne Davis and her coach Steve Bandura. During this event, we will celebrate the power of youth sports coaches and for the first time, honor a military veteran as our Coach of the Year.

June 3, 2015 

Cocktail Reception  6:30PM - 9:00PM

IAC Building 555 W. 18th Street New York City

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A TICKET

Honorary Committee Sir Mick Jagger, Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Michelle Williams, Gretchen Mol, Kristin Davis

Prince Amukamara, Caitriona Balfe, Nate Berkus, Sandra Bernhard, Jeremiah Brent, Jennifer Carpenter, David Colbert, MD*,  Jill Demling, Ben Foster, Adam Glassman, Desiree Gruber, Kilian Hennessy, John Hickey, Michele Hicks, Kyle MacLachlan, Marisa Marchetto, Silvano Marchetto, Debi Mazar, Carolyn Murphy, Trond Myhr, Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Mimi Saltzman, Jeanann Williams, Robin Zendell

Host Committee Jody Bilney*, Peter Benet, Paul Caccamo, Kenneth DiPietro, Brandon Etheridge*, Angel Gallinal*, Matt Henson*, Sue Hunt*, Kevin Martinez*, Paul O'Neill, David Pace*, William Peters, Sue Portelli, Rob Ryan*, Scott Smith*, David Silbert, Conor Taniguchi, Alice Vilma, Nick Wood*

*Up2Us Sports Board Member

Sponsors

                  

More about the Event: This past year, Up2Us Sports hired eight returning veterans in a pilot program we call Operation Coach. We trained these veterans and placed them in communities where children desperately need role models to inspire them to say no to violence and yes to school. I am pleased to report that our veterans did an outstanding job. Not only did they teach principles of teamwork, discipline and perseverance to nearly 1,000 disadvantaged youth, but they also learned how to translate their sense of mission abroad to full-time jobs here at home.

Operation Coach is just the latest development as Up2Us Sports celebrates its fifth anniversary. During the last five years we have hired more than 2,000 coaches to serve nearly 275,000 disadvantaged youth across the country. Our training, which teaches coaches how to instill life lessons through sports, is the best of its kind in the nation.  And our new initiatives, like Operation Coach, are a win-win-win for young people, returning veterans and our communities.

We will honor Mo’ne Davis and her coach Steve Bandura for inspiring our nation and providing a powerful example of what a positive player-coach relationship can do, both on and off the field.  Last summer, Mo’ne, a 13-year-old from South Philadelphia, became the first African American girl to appear in the Little League World Series and the first girl in the international event’s 67-year history to earn a win and pitch a shutout. Thanks largely to the mentoring and support of Coach Bandura, Mo’ne is well on her way to attending college as a student athlete.  In the process, she captivated the entire nation and has become an inspiration to millions of young girls around the globe.

Every child in the nation deserves a trained, supportive coach like Coach Bandura, and Up2Us Sports will not stop until they all have one. On June 3, we will raise money to provide coaching jobs to hundreds of coach-mentors, including a new class of returning veterans. The enclosed reservation form details all opportunities for participation.  If you cannot attend, I hope you will support our program through an ad, sponsorship, or simply a donation.   Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you on June 3.

Wonder what the event is like? Take a look at our previous galas in 2014 and 2013.

The Winning Team: Meet Coach Marc

Marc started working as a Coach Across America coach at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in January 2015. His supervisor, Chris Reed, is the Program Manager at the Academy. They first met nine years ago through Progressive Sports and Entertainment Alliance, which is a nonprofit that teaches at-risk DC high school students the business of sport. According to Marc, "they helped me turn my life around and keep going on a straight path...I can basically say that’s my family.”

Marc, 23, grew up in the Ward 7 neighborhood with two siblings and his mother, who didn’t work. He picked up baseball at a young age because "it was a little different and easy to play.” Through baseball he learned vital life skills such as patience and focus, and it gave him the drive to want to be successful in life. He went on to graduate high school and play two years of baseball at Garrett County Community College in Maryland, before returning home to serve as a volunteer assistant coach with his high school’s baseball team for two seasons.

According to Chris, it’s hard to find quality baseball coaches in DC that not only know the game, but know the neighborhood and the challenges that the children face. So when it came to hiring Coach Across America coaches for the Academy, Chris says "it was a no-brainer” to hire Marc. "I’ve known him since he was 14 years old and he is one of the very few kids that I’ve worked with in my career that actually have a passion and a knack for playing the sport of baseball.” Equally important, Marc grew up in the same neighborhood and under the same circumstances that many of these youth face today. Sharing similar interests, and being relatable on and off the field, is what transforms a coach into a mentor, and helps him make a much bigger impact on these children that is bigger than baseball.

This past February, Marc attended an Up2Us Sports National Coach Training Institute in Chicago. The Institute teaches a session on trauma-sensitive coaching, with techniques on how to diffuse a situation once a child who has experienced trauma is triggered. Within a week, Marc was able to apply this training and calm down a child who had been triggered. He was proud to have a positive and immediate impact on this young person. Marc can now see the bigger picture of what his role as a coach can be. "It’s a whole lot easier now because I understand what we’re trying to do with the kids and their development. It’s given me a lot of help.”

Marc says coaching comes easily, almost as easy as playing baseball. He enjoys being able to help the kids grow, while keeping them out of trouble and off the streets. "Baseball is my passion and to teach it to the kids from the inner city of my home is a true blessing.”

A Must Read From the Up2Us Sports Founder: We Need Our Children to Play Again

The report discusses flaws in current youth sports programs and provides 12 recommendations for integrating sports-based youth development (SBYD) into communities and youth sports programs across the U.S. SBYD is based on the premise that sports are a critical venue for supporting and encouraging the positive development of youth participants. Download the report here.

“At Up2Us Sports, we’re leading the development, training, and integration of sports-based youth development in youth sports programs across the nation,” said Caccamo. “This report is a substantial starting point for programs, schools, and parents to review and consider integrating key components of SBYD into children’s lives specifically through their involvement in sports.”

A few of the recommendations include:

• Increase diversity of youth sports

• Train all coaches in SBYD

• Reclaim places to play

• Accredit programs in SBYD

Sports-based youth development incorporates highly trained, trauma-sensitive coaches and intentional skill building activities into sports to provide youth with a place where they feel physically and emotionally safe, can get the recommended amount of physical activity, and learn high impact attributes such as resiliency, determination, and self-confidence.

Up2Us Sports works with a coalition of member organizations to build a national movement through sports in order to defeat the most pressing issues affecting today’s children, such as bullying, gang violence, family problems, lack of support, self-esteem and more.

Sport System Redesign

Maren RojasEdgework Consulting -

Every sport has certain truths we all accept. You can’t touch the ball with your hands in soccer. A touchdown is worth six points. You can’t walk (or run) with the ball in basketball. But what if these rules weren't fixed? When you were a kid, did you ever reinvent part of a game due to obstacles or necessity? Maybe the power lines on your street kept knocking down passes so you re-did the down. Maybe your mom told you that you had to let your little brother play with your friends, so you made him play offense the entire game (even if you were not going to pass to him).

That enterprising little you was participating in Sports System Redesign (SSrD), taking what we know to be true about sports (baseball is played with nine players on each team) and questioning those assumptions (What if the teams had twelve players each? What if there were three teams?).

Your mother’s insisting your brother play forced you to change your game. While you had to be creative with a new, unexpected player, your brother got a chance to get outside, play, and hopefully learn from some older kids. Your mom, with you as her unwitting collaborator, introduced an element to your game to achieve a desired outcome. And it worked — your brother got to play and you had to be creative.

For the past several years, the team at Edgework Consulting has collaborated with Boston University’s Institute for Athletic Coach Education and Up2Us Sports to study the concept of SSrD and youth sports on a broader scale. How can we take these sports we know and love and tweak them for certain outcomes? Is there a way to make baseball more active? Basketball more inclusive? Soccer more rewarding of fair play? If you stripped these sports down to their core and rebuilt them with one of these outcomes in mind, how would you do it?

Change the Game

In April 2012, the trifecta joined forces to present the first annual "Change the Game" conference in Boston which introduced Sports System Redesign as a new model for youth sports coaches and administrators to address issues they’ve been finding — and affect change. Subsequent events were held in Los Angeles and New York City in the years following.

Historically, practitioners in the field have looked to coach education and/or curriculum to change the dynamics of youth sports. While there is a lot of value in these practices, we believe Sport System Redesign is just as important a factor and can be a catalyst for real change. Change the Game is an opportunity to discuss this approach and proffer ideas on how to make that change happen. When considering SSrD there are five different domains of the sport system we look at:

1. Playing space — the field, court, pitch
2. Equipment — helmets, gloves, the ball
3. Rules of the game — offsides, handballs, strikes zones
4. Roles of the referee/coach/supporters — what are each of their roles? What are their responsibilities?
5. Structure of the game or league — what does “winning” really mean?

By reimagining any of these elements, practitioners can create a formula to achieve a specific outcome. If you want to get scoring up in ice hockey, for example, you might consider making the net bigger — or even go as far as getting rid of the goalie.

As we dive more into SSrD we’ll share some of our findings from the Change the Game events and some of the changes that leaders in in the field are instituting — from small sided basketball games to good sportsmanship helping soccer teams to victory.

Have you had any experience with SSrD? What sports, or parts of sports do you feel could be redesigned and for which outcomes?

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Up2Us Sports partners with Edgework Consulting to develop training and content to advance sports-based youth development.  This is part of Edgework Consulting’s Sports Based Youth Development series. Each Sports Based Youth Development post is designed to enlighten and inspire new thoughts in the youth sports world. For more entries in the series click here.

Why I Love Being an Assistant Coach

Claire PerrySenior Program Manager, Philadelphia Up2Us Sports

I love being an assistant coach.  And not even first assistant coach - second assistant coach.  You’re not constantly thinking about macro, strategic offensive play calls or defensive switches.  You’re not worried about the next subbing rotation or, potentially, which parent is sending daggers because their daughter is not yet in the game.  No, second assistant coach is all about connecting with the players; developing a relationship with an individual to help elevate their specific game which, in turn, will better their overall team play.  Teaching basketball skills coincides with another goal, to teach lessons on the court that can be translated and applied to life.  As a past collegiate player, employee of Up2Us Sports and current second assistant coach of Central Bucks High School West girl’s basketball team, this coaching position allows me to impart - rather, unleash - all my experiences and knowledge to the many girls I coach.

Last week, our team earned their way to the PIAA Class AAAA State Championship game.  Five of the six seniors had been playing together since fourth grade, had won only a handful of games as freshmen, then fought to a 31-2 record in their final season. They fell just short of a state title with a 25% shooting percentage for the night. Hustle, heart, and determination were never factors; the ball just liked the rim better than the net.  Watching the girls bury their heads in their uniforms—crouching on the very spot they stood when the final buzzer sounded, watching the other team sprint to center court to celebrate.  I cried.  Easily, too.

More than just the moment of having lost the game, it was the loss of 20 hours a week of playing and being a family. The one minute conversation we’d have on the bench, having just asked, “what do you see out there?” The two minutes spent talking about school, family, and prom dresses while rebounding free throws at practice. The 30 minutes after practice where we would just shoot around, dance and play with my two year old son.  What really pushed me to tears was the realization that whether we won or not, these sometimes-basketball, sometimes-life moments with this group of girls would cease.

Here at Up2Us Sports, we call these moments of unstructured play Informal Time; the time where, as a coach, you’re able to develop better, deeper relationships with the player through technical and non-technical conversation.  I believe I would have still developed good relationships with the team, but through attending over 20 Up2Us Sports coach trainings I’ve learned that as sports-based youth development (SBYD) coaches, we need to do MORE than just what is expected to develop GREAT relationships.  We need to Demo, Show, Demo when we instruct our players to fine tune skills.  We need to ask, “how did you do that?” to actually have the players think through the process of completing the said task so that the process is understood and can be readily repeated.   It’s easy to just tell our players what to do; but if they are able to break down why and how they’re doing something, we can get them to think, understand and improve.  What makes coaching such an incredible opportunity is the moment where a player realizes they worked hard and accomplished a goal or really improved a skill.  Through this process they develop characteristics, such as discipline, social confidence, and situational awareness - that are transferrable to school and life.

I’m sure the players didn't realize how often I was using skills and techniques learned at the Up2Us Sports coach training—which was all the time.  As second assistant coach, I had numerous moments to address players individually and develop the relationships I learned about at Up2Us Sports Trainings.  It gave a new meaning to holding conversations on the sidelines with the players about practice and life, and hanging out afterwards while my two year old son was “dribbling” the ball alongside our star point guard.

I’m also positive the players don't know how much they gave me this past season.  I know they don't realize how much I miss them, even just one week out from losing the state championship.  They were the twenty big sisters for my son, the twenty younger sisters for me: a true family.  Hard to say goodbye to a family.

Good thing, then, that post-season starts back up next week.

What Youth Sports Can Do For the Mentoring Movement

Did you know, sports could triple the number of mentors in this country? That’s because coaches are the largest untapped source of mentoring in the nation. For one reason, many coaches still see themselves as just that, “coaches” and not as “mentors”. They view their primary goal as teaching their players athletic skills and strategies for winning their game; however, the better coaches embrace their role as mentors. They incorporate techniques for building positive team cultures, strong relationships among players, and life skills counseling into their practices and games. It’s time that we demand this “mentoring" from all coaches. The results will not only be more successful athletes but better students as well.

Literature is increasingly pointing to the lack of character development education among youth as a contributing factor to school dropout rates, youth violence and other negative social behaviors. Coaches are in a unique position to fill the gap in character education. This is because coaches are uniquely able to engender trust among youth, even those youth who have learned not to readily trust adults and authority figures. Coach-mentors can use this trust to provide young people guidance and advice, tackling the difficult decisions of adolescence. Coach-mentors can make their practices an alternative “space", outside of the school and the home, where young people feel more confident testing themselves mentally and physically without fear of judgment or failure. Coach-mentors help their teams develop values like leadership, teamwork, discipline, stick-to-itiveness, and resiliency. These values directly translate to success in the classroom and the community.

But this transition from “coach” to “mentor” will not happen naturally. It will take training to achieve the fullest potential of the estimated 2-3 million coaches in this country.   Up2Us Sports is beginning a national effort to provide this training and certify coaches in sports-based youth development (SBYD).

SBYD is the merging of athletics and mentoring into an intentional methodology for fostering positive child development. As parents wake up to the examples of poor coaching and the negative impact it has on their sons and daughters, parents should demand SBYD training be integrated into all coach licensing. Schools should require that athletic directors and coaches be SBYD certified so that their coaching reinforces their overall drive for educational excellence.

One day, all coaches should be able to say, “I am a coach, and I am a mentor”. That will be the day several million more adults have joined the mentoring movement to ensure that all American youth have safe and successful pathways to adulthood.

Paul Caccamo Founder & CEO Up2Us Sports