Time To Update
Staying on top of issues will cultivate the best youth-sports coaches
By John Engh
The biggest challenge for an organization that offers online education or training almost certainly is making sure the information and curriculum are up-to-date. Even for a subject that may seem simple, like youth sports, the amount of change can be overwhelming. Fifteen years ago, our data-management provider informed us that our systems were out of date and we needed to overhaul, including the website. It wasn’t that the training materials were old, but the technology we were using to provide these resources was no longer being supported. So, fast forward to last year and there we were again, facing the same problem. To provide up-to-date content, we needed a total overhaul of our technology.
NAYS
Sounds like a nightmare, I know. But to a certain extent, the last 14 months have given us the opportunity to look at some great content and work on updating it, and also to catch up in a world where providing even basic information on how to be a better youth-sports coach wasn’t enough. Think about all the things that have changed over the last 15 years and the challenges we face as youth-sports administrators. Implementing effective background screening, preventing and identifying concussions, keeping children safe from abusive situations that can ruin a life, and recognizing heat illness and dehydration are just some of the must-haves when considering volunteer training. And, now, as we try to recover from the pandemic, the challenge to make sure volunteers understand and recognize the mental-health issues for coaches and children is as important as ever.
Keeping Up With What Matters
And, even with all that, as an organization we must still be focused on the core area of developing better coaches who understand the challenges of leading young children in environments that are not always expected. We must provide training to administrators that, in the end, make their jobs easier and more rewarding. Even with technology changes, we must be certain that the information we provide comes from the best sources and deals with the most important issues facing volunteers today. As we update Coaching Youth Sports training in 2022, it is gratifying to see all of the well-known and qualified professional and college coaches who have been willing to offer their insights to the world of youth sports and the ways to improve the kids’ experiences. It’s refreshing and reaffirming to hear the passion in their voices as they share what it means to be a coach and a leader of young people, and the importance of running safe, positive, and quality youth-sports programs.
And because of all the changes in technology, we will be able to provide updated content much faster and more efficiently to the people who matter, the youth-sports administrators and the volunteers they oversee. Now I have the next couple years to wait for someone to tell me that this new technology isn’t new anymore!
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.