When the City of Arlington Parks and Recreation (Texas) surveyed the parents in their youth sports program the number one overall complaint was that volunteer coaches were not adequately trained. When the recreation department decided to address this complaint, athletic sports manager Andy Tarkington knew exactly where to turn.
“I have used the NYSCA program in other cities that I have been employed and because of the success of implementing the coaches training program in other cities, I felt like it would be beneficial for the youth sports program in Arlington,” Tarkington said. “I think that education is very important for sports coaches of our youth. Teaching children about good sportsmanship is something that is often overlooked these days and it is important to remind coaches to promote good sportsmanship.”
NYSCA is a volunteer coaches education/membership program provided by the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS). In the City of Arlington’s first-ever NYSCA clinic, 25 coaches were trained and certified.
The City of Arlington provides youth sports leagues for more than 2,500 children living in the Arlington area. By agreeing to train their coaches through NYSCA, the City of Arlington joins more than 3,000 other communities worldwide who utilize this innovative educational program.
“Initially, we will make the NYSCA program voluntary,” Tarkington said. “However, later as we are able to train some coaches and get positive feedback from participants of the coaches training program, we will make it mandatory.”
NYSCA is grounded in the philosophy that youth sports must be a safe, positive and educational experience for children. In order to achieve that all adults involved must maintain proper perspective at all times, and must be held accountable for their behavior.
To become NYSCA certified, coaches must attend a 3-hour educational session and sign the NYSCA Coaches Code of Ethics. Should a coach ever violate that code, a strict disciplinary plan of action is in place to handle the matter.
“I do feel like the education provided by NYSCA will definitely curtail instances of violence and poor sportsmanship and greatly reduce the chances of an incident occurring,” Tarkington said. “I am not sure that any program can totally prevent it from happening, but if it does happen, NYSCA can revoke the membership of any coach involved in such an incident and prevent that coach from just moving to another community and causing problems for another community or sports association.”
Tarkington believes that holding coaches accountable in this manner is the only way to ensure proper behavior.
“When coaches understand that they can be banned from coaching in more than just one community if they behave poorly, it is a definite deterrent to bad behavior,” he said.
Along with educating coaches on their role as volunteers, NYSCA training also involves a sports specific component. NYSCA coaches are educated in how to teach the sport they’re coaching, as well as how to effectively deal with children, parents and officials in game and practice settings. Coaches are also provided with various educational materials to help them instruct players and design practices.
However, Tarkington admits that one of the most appealing benefits to NYSCA membership is the liability insurance that coaches receive as a benefit. Such a benefit can come in handy in today’s high energy youth sports environment.
Having used the program in multiple communities, Tarkington is a strong advocate of NYSCA training and openly recommends the program to other recreation professionals.
“The education that your coaches get from attending the clinics will be beneficial for them and the education that your coaches receive will benefit your program,” he said. “I would say that the time that you spend doing the clinics will likely save you time later in the season of having to deal with a problem situation from a coach who does not have the well being of the children in mind.”
