Institute for Sport Coaching
5 Prospect Street * Acton MA 01720 * 978-201-1024
instituteforsportcoaching.org

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Christopher Hickey (Executive Director), [email protected]

Better Sports Experiences for Metro Boston Area Youth

November 5, 2007
For immediate release

ACTON, Mass. – Metro Boston’s sport coaches are an unheralded but vital part of their communities in their role as teachers and mentors to youth. Metro Boston’s sport coaches are currently underserved due to the voluntary nature of many youth sport organizations and volunteer coaches often do not have the opportunity to attend training and education programs yet have continued and prolonged contact with today’s youth. This problem was highlighted by the 2006 Boston Youth Sports Initiative study, “Helping Out: Volunteerism in Youth Sports in Boston.”

As a result of that study, and based on the efforts of a variety of youth sport advocates over the past few years, the idea for a locally-based organization to assist youth sports organizations develop their coaches in the metro Boston was born. The Metro Boston Coaches Academy is the result. The Academy is a collaborative effort between the Institute for Sport Coaching, and the Urban Youth Sports Program from the Center for Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University with assistance from the Boston Centers for Youth and Family and the Boston Youth Sports Network. “The Institute is very excited to be working with a notable organization such as Sport in Society to provide this needed service to the youth sport coaches in the Boston area,” responded Christopher Hickey, the Institute’s Executive Director. “The Academy will be the first of its kind in the United States reflecting the progressive nature of Boston when it comes to youth development,” added Hickey.

The Metro Boston Coaches Academy’s mission is to create safe and quality sports experiences for Boston youth through a network of quality trained sport coaches. All of its offerings will be designed with the goal of meeting the National Standards for Sport Coaches. It started its efforts this summer with two pilot projects, a coaching clinic for the Boston Neighborhood Basketball League and the debut of the Sport Coach Boston: Successful Youth Coaching Workshop in Charlestown and Dorchester. The Academy will also be developing sport official training programs for both adults and teenagers. “I welcome the addition of the Academy to the Boston youth sports world as a provider of quality sport coaching education. The Academy’s ability to deliver coaching education programs in the neighborhoods of Boston will assist in creating more sports opportunities for Boston youth,” stated Chris Lynch, Boston Youth Sports Network Coordinator.


---Institute for Sport Coaching---
The Institute for Sport Coaching, headquartered in Acton, MA, is a national, non-profit 501(c) 3 organization dedicated to developing and delivering educational experiences and leadership tools critical to the advancement and improvement of sport coaches in the United States. The Institute develops and nurtures professional, intercollegiate, interscholastic and youth sport coaches, and prepares them to provide positive experiences in sport and teach life skills to athletes. The Institute’s goals include combating obesity and inactivity among America’s youth and creating safe and quality sports experiences for young athletes through a network of quality sport coaches. Please see instituteforsportcoaching.org for more information.

---Sport in Society/Urban Youth Sports---
Sport in Society’s Urban Youth Sports (UYS) program provides physical activity and healthy development programming. UYS provides the leadership and the partnerships necessary to affect the lives of Boston’s urban youth through sports. Since its inception more than 14,000 youth have been impacted, and in the past two years more than 1,600 new sport and recreation opportunities have been created.
UYS improves the health and well-being of urban youth through physical activity and healthy development initiatives. UYS facilitates collaborations between communities and their children, develops standards of physical activity and health, creates sports opportunities and programs, and offers life skills training and healthy development initiatives. In addition, through research, education and advocacy of physical activity and health issues, UYS has been able to inspire widespread change in urban communities regionally, nationally and internationally.
The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University is the world’s leading social justice organization that uses sport to create social change. The flagship organization located in the heart of Boston, Mass. was founded in 1984 by Dr. Richard Lapchick and touts a branch in Baltimore, Md. Through research, education, and advocacy the center works locally, nationally, and internationally to promote physical activity, health, violence prevention, and diversity among young people, adults, and college and professional athletes. Sport in Society’s innovative programs are all staffed by former college, Olympic, or professional athletes and has been awarded America’s most successful violence prevention program by Lou Harris, the Peter F. Drucker Award as the most innovative non-profit program in the social sector. Most recently it was recognized by the Boston Red Sox for its dedication and service to the community. Visit Sport in Society at www.sportinsociety.org.