Coaches are the backbone of youth sports, serving as mentors, role models and inspirations for generations of young athletes. But unlike other educators, youth sports coaches are often unpaid or underpaid volunteers, with little training or time to complete it beyond the mandated certifications in critical topics like CPR, concussions and SafeSport. Research has consistently shown that kids who play for trained coaches have a better experience. It is time to recognize coach training as critical to the youth sports experience, and to work together to make it more accessible to every coach.

From Sport for All, Play for Life:

One study found that only 5 percent of kids who played for trained coaches quit the sport the next year; the attrition rate was 26 percent otherwise (Barnett, Smoll & Smith, 1992). Of the 6.5 million youth coaches, fewer than 1 in 5 are trained in effective motivational techniques — how to communicate well with kids — and only 1 in 3 say they have been trained in sport skills or tactics (SGMA, 2012). Whether by mandates or incentives, the time has come to greatly increase the number of credentialed coaches in the United States. The minimum ask: training in 1) coaching philosophy on how to work with kids, 2) best practices in the areas of physical literacy and sport skills, and 3) basic safety.

What Kids Want from a Coach

The answers they gave researchers.
(Data: Visek et al., Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 2014)

 

IDEAS

Featured
Community Recreation Groups
Community Recreation Groups

Community Recreation Groups: Actively recruit more mothers as coaches. Offer “women-only” coaching clinics, co-coaching arrangements, and plug-and-play practice plans to ease the transition. Allocate a minimum number of board spots to women.

National Sport Organizations
National Sport Organizations

National Sport Organizations: Create or endorse online tools that deliver training in the key coaching competencies in working with kids from all backgrounds. Make the tools free to every youth-serving organization.

Education
Education

Colleges: Give the 100,000-plus athletes who cycle out of NCAA campuses each year the tools to become effective community coaches. They already know skills and tactics in 24 sports. Teach them how to work with kids.

High School Coaches: Connect your athletes with youth programs and get them qualified to serve as assistant coaches. Kids respond to teens, who can bridge age and cultural gaps.

Business & Industry
Business & Industry

Corporations: Incentivize youth sport providers to mandate best-in-class coach training courses by offering steep discounts on equipment — or whatever you sell. Cover the cost of background checks by offering goods in online barter pools.

“A lot of coaches really stay focused on winning the game, and if your kid has a great arm they try to overuse it. That could be a red flag.”

Albert Pujols, MLB legend

RESOURCES

5 ways to tell that your child has a trained coach

Learn more in this one-pager created for Project Play by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

HOW TO COACH KIDS

Find the resources you need to be a better coach at our How to Coach Kids website, which includes a free, 30-minute course that offers grounding in the basics.

CALLS FOR COACHES

For a deep dive on developing social and emotional skills in children through coaching, explore our Calls for Coaches report, which includes a one-page checklist.

 

SUMMIT SESSIONS

“There are lots of volunteers who want to do this. It's not like we have to convince them. The bad news is they don't have access to the information they need, to be able to coach in a positive and age-appropriate manner.”

Janet Carter, Executive Director, Coaching Corps

FINDING SUCCESS

Only 25 percent of youth coaches in the United States are women (SFIA survey for the Aspen Institute, 2013). But at Coaching Corps in California, it’s 47 percent — women are seen as critical agents in mentoring and as role models for girls, especially those in immigrant communities. To recruit women, Coaching Corps forges partnerships with universities, some of which provide students with college credit for participating in leadership training and volunteering as coaches.

For more ideas, read about the commitments made by Project Play Champion organizations here.