Do you see parents berating officials and opposing players, and screaming at children during youth sports activities...and volunteer youth sports coaches cursing at children on their team?

Do you see volunteer youth sports coaches using laps and pushups as punishment when youngsters don't perform to their expectations or when they don't win a game?.. .coaches "stacking" teams with the "best" players?

Do you see volunteer youth sports coaches arguing with game officials over calls?...parents and coaches arguing over coaching techniques, the amount of time a child plays and what position the child should be playing?

Do you see motivated parents, volunteering to coach their child's team, turning into out-of-control adults whose only motivation appears to be winning?

Do you see coaches and spectators at youth league games drinking beer, smoking on or near the field.. .the concession stand selling beer to support the league?

Adults are losing sight of what youth sports should be about and why they are so important to me healthy development of young people. Youth sports programs are conducted in many ways. Some are sponsored by national/international organizations such as the American Legion, Pop Warner and American Little League. Some programs are completely independent from any national organization and are run by parents and other interested adults. These two groups may own their own playing fields or lease/rent them from local school districts, park districts and municipalities. Many programs are conducted by local park districts and recreation departments on fields they own and maintain.

All of these programs profess to provide a quality sport experience for young people. Many of them do. The problem is that the experience is too much left to chance. A quality experience is the result of planning, forethought, training and the implementation of program goals. Most of us plan the program and budget but only hope for the best as far as getting volunteers that will make good coaches. What do we offer these volunteers in exchange for their willingness to commit their time and effort, to take responsibility for other children and. in so doing, risk personal liability? The answer is, not nearly enough.

As a professional, I am responsible for the efficient and effective provision of leisure services in my community. I am concerned about the well-being of children and the quality of programs being offered them. The volunteers, as a part of the program, are also a concern. Many of them have no coaching experience or formal training. Without some training they will enter the season knowing only what they learned in high school or college and what they see on television.

You are probably asking, "What can I do that will provide my volunteers with a basic knowledge of the sport they are coaching, the characteristics of the children they will be dealing with, techniques that are appropriate for the children and the sport and a philosophy that is attuned to a youth sports experience?"

Some suggestions:   1) develop your own training program

using generic materials available from several sources, local "experts" to talk about specific topics and staff to cover agency philosophy and operations or; 2) rely on one of the established, recognized, training programs dedicated to helping volunteers be belter coaches.

The National Youth Sports Coaches Association (N.Y.S.C.A.) certification program is well-suited to implementation by agencies of all sizes and financial conditions. It is available to public park and recreation agencies, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA's, YWCA's and military-affiliated programs who have the professional staff to implement the program. In operation, the local agency becomes an NYSCA Chapter by completing a Chapter Agreement, designating a staff person to serve as chapter director and training someone as a clinician who will conduct training sessions. In many agencies the chapter director and clinician are the same person.

NYSCA offers training materials geared to the volunteer youth sport coach dealing with children ages five through twelve. These materials are available for baseball, softball, soccer, football, basketball, cheerleading, volleyball, flag football and ice hockey. The training is a three-year, multi-step program. The first year the coaches are introduced to material covering safety, first aid, the psychology of coaching young athletes, the role of winning, conditioning, nutrition, drug and alcohol abuse, liability, proper equipment, organizing practices, skill drills, parent meetings and other sport-specific topics. The first-year clinic takes about six hours to complete and can be offered in either one or two sessions.

The following two years the coach returns for a clinic which lasts two to three hours. The clinics are designed to expand upon topics discussed during the first year, including sportsmanship and the role of winning in youth sports. At the conclusion of each clinic coaches are required to sign the NYSCA Code of Ethics which spells out in clear terms the important role the coach plays and the perspective he or she is to bring to the experience.

Sometimes volunteers are reluctant to give up a Saturday or evening before the season starts in order to attend clinics. However, we have found that the volunteers generally appreciate this opportunity to gel information that will make it easier for them to handle the kids and parents during the season. They also appreciate the agency interest in improving the quality of adult role models available to the children. We use the clinic as a time to educate these volunteers about the philosophy we want demonstrated on the field as well as any program information that needs to be given out.

Each community must decide what approach they wish to take to improve the quality of youth coaches and to protect their children from potential harm. Each agency must decide what steps it will take to improve the quality of its programs and reduce its liability from untrained volunteers in youth sports programs. The NYSCA offers a cost-effective program which is easy to implement and promote among volunteers.

Other aspects of the certification program, in addition to the Coaches Code of Ethics, include the Parents Code of Ethics and the National Standards for Youth Sports. The National Standards represent the thinking of forty-eight of the nation's leading experts representing a variety of disciplines affecting youth sports. These standards represent a national policy for children's sports which can be implemented at the local level.

You're probably wondering about the cost of this program. Various materials used as part of the coaches' training include pamphlets, booklets, video-taped presentations and, following certification, each coach receives Youth Sport Coach, the quarterly newsletter of NYSCA. The NYSCA program is available to your agency at no cost!

Each year mere is a fifteen dollar membership fee for each coach. Many communities pay this fee as an incentive to the coach. Some communities have sponsor organizations that cover this for the coaches, and other communities have the coaches pay their own membership. As part of the certification NYSCA and the office of substance abuse prevention also promotes the ALL-AMERICAN DRUG-FREE TEAM designed to increase awareness among adults and children of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Recognition certificates are provided to teams that pledge to be drug and alcohol-free.

Sound interesting? NYSCA of Illinois is conducted through the Illinois Park and Recreation Association, To receive information about becoming an NYSCA Chapter contact the IPRA office at 708/752-0141 or NYSCA State Coordinator Larry Piekarz at 708/366-7500.

About the Author
Mark Badasch is Director of Parks and Recreation for the Roxana Park District and Recreation Department. As the Southern District Coordinator for NYSCA he assists local agencies in central and southern Illinois in organizing and conducting their volunteer youth coach certification programs. Mark received the NYSCA Outstanding Youth Sports Leader Award in 1990.