The Sacred Purpose: How Youth Sports Organizations Can Do More to Prepare Athletes for Life

Youth sports organizations have achieved great success during the past several decades. A review of their programs confirms that most of them are doing a good job helping volunteer coaches understand the game and how to teach it to kids. But creating better athletes isn't the primary goal. The avowed sacred purpose of these organizations is "youth development"-to help young people grow stronger for life through participation in sports. What's lacking in most organizations are training programs to help coaches improve the coach-athlete communication skills that will empower them to be effective mentors of the players. This is the greatest opportunity for the future of youth sports.