Explanations On An Elevator
Delivering quality information to parents about youth programs offers peace of mind
By John Engh
Photos: NAYS
One of the great lessons I learned from my dad, who founded the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in 1981, is that, if someone asks what you do on a elevator, you should be able to explain it before getting off on the next floor.
“NAYS is about educating the adults who are involved with recreational youth-sports programs. We began 40 years ago with volunteer coaches, but that has evolved. Today, we have programs for league administrators, officials, professional administrators, and even classes on being a good sports parent.”
“Nice try,” “but I’m already at my floor, and I really don’t get it.”
So how about “We have educational programs aimed at making the parents of youth-sports participants feel confident that the adults involved with their kids’ activities know what they are doing.”
“Nope, still don’t get it.”
The good news for me is that, although my dad is still involved in NAYS, he’s retired and we haven’t been on an elevator lately!
The Teacher Comparison
Why do I bring this up? A couple of years ago, two staff members were brainstorming ideas for a new educational presentation to youth-sports professionals. The concept was to figure out the factors that are most important to parents when they sign up a child for sports in their community. After all, when they take children to their first day of school, parents already know the following:
The teachers’ qualifications
A place to sign up to get involved
The principal’s office
A daily and monthly schedule
Arrival and departure times.
So why is it so different for youth sports?
So, when this new presentation was discussed, I thought about my elevator story. We want parents to feel confident by addressing their most pressing concerns.
To begin, parents want to be sure that, on the most basic level, the coach knows what he or she is doing and has been effectively screened. As with teachers, this should be a given; parents should not have to wonder. The person who will have the most interaction with the child in sports should not have a criminal record but should have a basic understanding of the sport and know how to teach it.
Additionally, policies and procedures should be readily available and acknowledged. I am referring to the philosophy of the organization with all information to be shared in advance. This includes the accountability policies for coaches, officials, and spectators; if someone acts up, what is the process to make sure that bad behavior is not tolerated?
A New Place
The discussion about this educational session actually took us to a whole new place. It wasn’t enough to understand what parents’ concerns were, for we needed to be proactive in order to help a community meet and exceed those expectations. This led to the creation of our Better Sports for Kids Quality designation. The process is available to any youth-sports provider to be evaluated so the community can be confident these issues are taken seriously and parents will know all of their concerns have been addressed. If a program does not meet the requirements to earn the designation, we will work with the administrators to help them in the areas where they need to improve.
I’m proud to say that more than 200 organizations have applied and received the Quality designation. We hope they display it proudly because they deserve it. Now, I just need to come up with an elevator story for that too!
John Engh is executive director of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in West Palm Beach, Fla. He can be reached via email at jengh@nays.org. To join more than 3,000 communities by starting a NAYS Member Organization, visit www.nays.org, email nays@nays.org or call (800) 729-2057.