Training Youth Sports Coaches, Officials and Directors [Podcast Series]

“And so we started back in 1981 as an organization with the idea that there were all these moms and dads out there coaching youth sports for their kids in a recreational setting. So when we talk about our coaches, we're all out of school sports and, like I said, moms and dads who volunteer their time, not only coaching, but on boards serving and running recreation activities for kids, and for every sport out there. And the idea was that they're looking for—in some cases looking for it, in other cases needing—training or retraining on what it means to be a youth sport coach.”

“So that's kind of our job is to educate them. Let the parents understand who they're dealing with. Let the coach understand what the parents’ expectations are so that when you do start to coach you can actually do the coaching and have a, have a great experience. And of course make it the best that it possibly can for the kids. So I think that's what's so appealing about what we do.”

“Understanding concussion awareness and the symptoms, to a sudden cardiac arrest, to just the understanding of the use of an AED, what an AED even looks like and where it might be located, basic CPR, those kinds of things are easy now to understand. But they can be overwhelming if you put them all into one big package. So we kind of lay that out, so that you understand that.”

“And your philosophy is that whole positive outlook and making it fun for all the kids. And people think, ‘Oh, fun. Everyone says fun. That sounds like it's not sports. It's not competitive’. Well, guess what? That's not true. Competition for many kids is what is fun, okay? But you have to get the competition done the right way to make it fun. Or it can be the opposite, right?”

“You're right about the officials thing, too. And it's because parents are, they're entitled that way that they feel like and I really do feel like it ties into this idea of how sports are as a whole in, especially in our country but…actually that's a worldwide phenomenon, I think, the way that fans act. And so fans are fans. And if you're watching a game, it doesn't matter who you're watching, this is how you're supposed to act, and this is how people are supposed to deal with officials…”

“Well, all these organizations have team psychologists, they have people that are talking to their athletes, and they couldn't have been more willing to help us out with this. I mean, everybody said yes. So it was great. It was almost like we were talking about earlier, having too much content is better than not having enough content. And then we got some really quality stuff.”

“It's not just a privilege, but it is a big responsibility to understand that you're going to send that child home or you have the opportunity to send that child home much better off emotionally than they were when they got there.”

“Yeah, so anybody that wants to look at the mental health training can go to nays.org, you do have to do a very simple registration, which is just your name and your email address, and you can sign up for any of our free trainings. You do not have to be a member, you don't have to go through any of the others. And you can see all the different resources that we have on our site.”

Empowering Americans to Lead Physically Active Lives [Podcast Series]