The National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) is pleased to release this revised edition of the National Standards for Youth Sports. The original version of the National Standards for Youth Sports were released in 1987 to provide direction for parents to follow when developing and administering youth sport for children. Since then, the Standards have served as the blueprint for how thousands of recreation professionals have conducted their youth sports programs through the years in an effort to meet the needs of all their participants.

In December 2007, a dedicated group of professional youth sports administrators convened during the International Youth Sports Congress in Orlando, Florida to re-examine the Standards in relation to the current youth sports environment. This new edition reflects the consensus of this group and addresses a variety of topics that currently affect the delivery of youth sports programs.

The purpose of these Standards is to provide a framework by which youth sports programs are designed and executed. While the previous edition was focused on parents and the role of parents within the youth sports landscape, this new version is directed to the league and program administrators. The National Standards for Youth Sports place in motion a nation policy for youth sports.

In addition to the nine standards, we have included three additional sections that provide information to parents, volunteer coaches and participants to explain what the National Standards for Youth Sports specifically mean to each group.