For many youth athletes, the new year marks the start of a new winter sport season or early preparations for the spring season, along with the excitement, expectations and, in some cases — concerns that can accompany it. Here’s some expert advice — and a new app every parent should download — to help young athletes navigate the challenges and get the most out of their sports experience.
Youth Sports: A Key Player in a Healthy Childhood
The advantages of playing youth sports are immense. From building self-confidence to reducing anxiety to improving overall physical health and life satisfaction, playing a youth sport comes with countless research-backed benefits you won’t want your child to miss out on.
However, while sports have the potential to positively impact your child’s life, not all sport environments are supportive — or safe.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport, an independent nonprofit committed to building a sport community free of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and misconduct, offers prevention education resources for parents and guardians to help them ensure their children have safe, respectful sport settings for play, learning, and growth.
A Positive Sport Experience Makes a Difference
Sport experiences rooted in teamwork, trust, and honesty can have a powerful impact. Yet negative coaching behaviors — like denying water breaks — or bullying behavior between teammates can turn a positive sport environment into one that’s harmful.
Parents and fans can also play a role in negatively impacting sport. Campaigns like Bench Bad Behavior confront these hurtful actions and champion the importance of respect on every playing field.
In positive sport environments, athletes are encouraged and motivated to develop skills and improve as a whole person rather than just as an athlete. When supported in this way, athletes are more relaxed, confident, and willing to test the boundaries of what they believe they can achieve.
Coaches play a pivotal role in preventing abuse and creating team environments that value respect and camaraderie. Here are three characteristics of positive coaching to look for in your child’s coach:
- Model appropriate and respectful behavior. When interacting with athletes, parents, officials, and other adults, coaches should always be respectful. They shouldn’t use slurs or other demeaning language when talking to or about others.
- Prioritize growth and well-being. Positive coaches reinforce to athletes that while winning matters, their growth and well-being matter more.
- Consistency. Effective coaches remain consistent in communicating and holding athletes accountable to core values, expectations, and policies.
Being able to recognize harmful behavior is the first step to addressing it — and preventing it from happening in seasons to come.
The New App Every Parent of a Child Athlete Should Download
Dropping your child off at soccer or baseball practice can be exciting — but it can also make you feel uneasy, especially if your child is joining a new team.
SafeSport Ready, a new educational mobile app, helps educate and inform parents and guardians about recognizing and preventing abuse and misconduct in sport. The app gives parents access to resources like the Centralized Disciplinary Database (CDD), which lets you check to see if your child’s coach is under any form of temporary or permanent restriction within the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Movement — and guidance on what to do if a familiar name appears in the search results. Other key features include:
- Age-specific advice: Tips tailored to different age groups for discussing healthy boundaries and identifying appropriate versus inappropriate behaviors in sports settings.
- Awareness tools: Quizzes designed to educate users about various forms of abuse, including bullying, emotional misconduct, and physical misconduct, as well as how to recognize warning signs.
- Reporting guidance: Step-by-step instructions outlining how to file a report of abuse or misconduct.
How to Help
Playing youth sports is an essential component to your child’s healthy development as an individual along with offering lifelong physical, emotional, and social benefits.
Your financial support helps the U.S. Center for SafeSport create informed educational materials and resources for parents, coaches, and athletes of all levels. By donating today, your contribution helps create a safer sport environment where every athlete thrives.
Have a question? Reach out to the U.S. Center for SafeSport at partners@safesport.org.
Allison Donohue is an editor and writer at the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Her written and edited content has been featured on a variety of media channels, including adidas.com.
