Fundamental flaws in the governance model of youth sports have been laid bare by COVID-19. Without coordinated leadership, youth sports was the last cog in our sport ecosystem to halt play and the first to restart — with some organizations moving right back into games and tournaments despite recommendations to do otherwise from the CDC, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and even their own National Governing Bodies. More accountability can help address many challenges in our sports delivery system, from improving coach quality to reducing injury rates to controlling costs. But how best to achieve that? What are the right mechanisms to oversee and promote sport development at the local, state and national levels?
WATCH
PANELISTS
BRIDGET NILAND
Director, Project Play WNY, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
Professor of Sport Management and Business Law, Daemen College
Bridget Niland is the Director of Project Play WNY, a youth sports initiative based at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo to ensure all children in Western New York have the opportunity to be active through sports and build physical literacy. Prior to joining the Community Foundation, Bridget served as the Director of Athletics and Special Assistant to the President at Daemen College where she oversaw the athletic program’s transition from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II membership. She has also worked as an Associate Director at the NCAA in Indianapolis, Indiana and as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. She serves on the board of numerous sports organizations in Buffalo and volunteers as a youth mentor and baseball, softball and swim coach.
HON. ADRIANA G. SÁNCHEZ PARÉS
Secretaria, Departamento de Recreación y Deportes, Puerto Rico
Adriana Sánchez Parés is Secretary of the Sports and Recreation Department of the Government of Puerto Rico. Sánchez Parés, who was a collegiate volleyball player, is in charge of developing and implementing the sports and recreation public policy for the Government of Puerto Rico. In this task, she has emphasized education of sport managers, trainers and coaches, partnerships with nonprofit organizations, and reconstruction of sports venues as her roadmap to developing continuous sports programs, efficiency and sustainability. Sánchez Parés, who is also Vice-President of the Consejo Americano del Deporte (CADE), is currently working on the implementation of a new public policy focused on minors’ wellbeing while playing sports and reducing practice overload. With the implementation of this new public policy, Puerto Rico will be the first jurisdiction in the Americas to regulate this matter.
MAX COBB
President & CEO, U.S. Biathlon Association
Max Cobb is the CEO of U.S. Biathlon, the national governing body for the sport of biathlon in the United States. Max joined the association in 1989 and has served as CEO since 2010. Max also serves as the chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s National Governing Bodies Council, which represents the national governing bodies to the USOPC board of directors, the Athletes’ Advisory Council, and other USOPC entities.
RECAP
NGB Council chair: It’s time for USOPC, NGBs to train youth coaches
ADDITIONAL READING
Tom Farrey’s vision for what reform can accomplish
Inside Puerto Rico’s efforts to reform youth sports
