Expo Grand Opening

Academy for Youth Sports Administrators: Session 2

Building Your Mental Skills to be Helpful in Sports and Life

Youth sport administrators often wear many hats and must assume a variety of sport roles (e.g., coach, referee) and non-sport roles (e.g., leader, office worker, director of facilities). Having the ability to handle adversity, avoid emotional upheaval, focus on appropriate stimuli, remain impartial, communicate effectively, and team-build are all critical to reaching one’s peak performance as a youth sport administrator. In this interactive session, we will focus on four specific psychological skills: mindfulness, effective communication, successfully recovering from mistakes, and attentional control. Improving these skills will aid in athletic and non-athletic work performance and is useful to youth sport administrators both on and off the field.

Faculty: Daniel L. Wann, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Murray State University, KY and Julie A. Partridge, Ph.D., Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Department of Kinesiology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL

AB Welcome Reception at B.B. King's

Impact of Tech on Teams, Communications and Performance

This session examines the negative impact of technology on individual and systemic learning and development. Relying on the most current data available this session shows how team sports are negatively impacted and why even some professional sports teams are banning players from gaming during the playing season. How team communication is impaired and the negative impact of tech on interpersonal and social interactions will be discussed, as well as how tech is reducing focus and attention, even making it harder for many to be socially involved or join teams. Discover what you can do to assist your players to develop more socially, emotionally and physically in this technological world.

Faculty: John Kriger, adjunct faculty at Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies, and School of Social Work Office of Continuing Education, author of “The Pond: A Small Book About Making Big Changes” and “Turned On & Tuned Out, A Guide to Understanding and Managing Tech Dependence” New Brunswick, NJ

When Terror Strikes at a Youth Sporting Event: Planning and Response

Active shooter incidents have occurred in schools, workplaces, cinemas, and open-air environments, such as concerts. Indoor and outdoor sporting events are no exception. When safety is the #1 priority of our youth, learning how to respond to a threat while at practice or a game is critical to any program. Learn actions your coaches must take if confronted with a potentially dangerous situation that will protect your athletes. Then, learn tips to jumpstart planning efforts!

Faculty: Steven S. Smith, co-founder and president of Guardian Defense, Boca Raton, FL

AB KEYNOTE #2 Normal is Overrated — Aim Higher!

Bonnie St. John, Paralympic Ski Medalist, Fortune 500 Business Consultant, Rhodes Scholar, Former White House Official and Best-Selling Author

Elite international Paralympic athletes are all about achieving excellence when the circumstances are less than ideal — a perfect metaphor for today’s dynamic economic times. Instead of wishing and waiting for things to get back to “normal,” Bonnie expands the dialogue to go beyond traditional thinking. Disabled athletes — including wheelchair basketball players, blind runners and others — never expect things to be “normal.” Bonnie’s story is proof that you can strive for excellence no matter what obstacles are thrown in our way. Hailed as “one of the five most inspiring women in America” by NBC Nightly News, Bonnie St. John uses her unique experience as a one-legged ski champion, Rhodes Scholar and White House official to encourage audiences to aim higher and achieve extraordinary results.

Expo Hall Open

Happy Hour in Expo Hall

Best Practices for Specific Emergency Situations in Youth Sports

National governing bodies for youth sports strive to promote fair play, increase physical activity and foster life lessons while providing a safe environment for youth to thrive. We will review the best practices for health and safety policies as outlined in the 2017 NATA Consensus Statement and discuss challenges, strategies and resources to implement the established recommendations. Case studies on the implementation of these guidelines will be shared.

Faculty: Katie Scott, MS, ATC, Senior Special Projects Coordinator, National Athletic Trainers Association, Dallas, TX

Focus on QUALITY: A Roundtable on Youth Sports

The Better Sports for Kids Quality Program Provider designation is a critical way to recognize and promote youth sports organizations that meet the industry’s most important standards. This session will dig into the benchmark standards that quality programs should meet in five areas: written policies, volunteer screening, coach training, parent education and accountability. This round-table, interactive session will provide a chance for every attendee to ask questions and share success stories.

Faculty: Moderator Erice Wingate, NAYS Program Coordinator, West Palm Beach, FL, Lacy Freeman Recreation Programmer, City of Mesa, AZ, Rance Gaede, Recreation Superintendent, City of Tamarac, FL and Miste Adams, Recreation Programmer, National Trails Park District, OH