Since joining NAYS on July 27 of this year Pasco PAL has already had 32 coaches complete NYSCA training and certification through the easy-to-use NYSCA Online Web site. All Pasco PAL football and cheerleading coaches are now mandated to complete NYSCA training before stepping foot onto a field or gym. In fact, Pasco PAL has further demonstrated its commitment to positive and safe youth sports by requiring athletic directors and cheer coordinators receive training as well.

 

"This will allow the coaches and volunteers for this organization a better way to train and learn the concepts of working with youth,” said Mark Gardiner, president of Pasco PAL. “It gives youth leagues the opportunity to train their coaches at a reasonable rate in any sport.”

 

Pasco PAL provides youth sports activities for up to 4,000 children throughout Pasco, Hillsborough and Hernando Counties.

 

Although traditional NYSCA clinics are held in classroom-like settings, large leagues like Pasco PAL often benefit from the ease and convenience of NYSCA’s popular online clinics. Both training formats offer a unique educational experience, but the content and curriculum of both are exactly the same.

 

Coaches who complete NYSCA training online receive the full benefits of regular NYSCA membership, including a subscription to SportingKid magazine and up to $1,000,000 in excess liability insurance when performing coaching duties.

 

“I like the ease of online training and the lessons learned, and also the benefits of insurance,” Gardiner said. “I expect a more educated coaching staff and a more resilient coaching staff that uses the same techniques.”

 

Pasco PAL is following the lead of many PAL organizations across the country that are striving to promote accountability and proper perspective when it comes to youth sports. As the leader in volunteer youth sports coaches training, NYSCA is a natural fit for PAL organizations looking to reach this goal.

 

“With the training they are receiving we’re hoping to stop bad coaching techniques and teach proper techniques,” Gardiner said.

 

Pasco PAL coaches are now receiving valuable education on all aspects of coaching youth athletes, including the psychology of coaching youth sports, working with kids with special challenges, tips on teaching and communication, working with parents, injury prevention and hydration, among many other areas.

 

NYSCA coaches also have access to a wide variety of innovative new resources that have been unveiled this year to assist them with their coaching responsibilities.

 

There is a coach rating system that allows league administrators who are affiliated with NAYS to provide a digital link for parents to evaluate coaches anonymously. The link can either be placed within an email or posted directly on a league or organization’s Web site. The questions hit all the key coaching areas, such as safety, sportsmanship and how well they teach skills, among others.

 

Coaches can log on and see how parents rated them. While the parents’ answers are confidential, coaches can see their average scores in each category.

 

The system will also be particularly helpful for volunteers who often could go through an entire season without knowing what impact they were having on the kids. For example, through the new system coaches may find that they received high marks in every category except one, so armed with that information they can focus on improving their skills in that particular area. Or, receiving high marks in each category provides that valuable positive reinforcement that how they are handling their responsibilities is right on track.

 

NYSCA coaches also have access to other innovative sections on the new NAYS Web site, including a Skills and Drills section that features hundreds of animated drills, as well as those that can be printed out and taken to practice to use as a handy reference while working with players; and the Coaching Forum, where volunteers can tap into the expertise of more than 100,000 coaches to gain insight on a variety of issues that are typically encountered while coaching children.

 

NYSCA coaches can utilize ShapeStuff™ mobile-web technologies as well, an easy-to-use tool that enables youth sports coaches to create skill-building exercises for their players to use between practices. Coaches quickly create short, customized skill-building programs on their PCs. Programs can contain any combination of video clips and interactive exercises supplied by NYSCA, as well as anything on their own computer – even personalized audio or video messages. A push of a button then sends the skill-building exercise to players’ personal computer and even cellular phone.