TeamSnap

The Best Healthy Snacks for Kids Before, During and After the Big Game

4 Types of Success Every Athlete Can Achieve


When local conditions allow for a safe return to play, we must prioritize kids’ gradual return to physical activity during and after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic — which requires knowledgeable coaches focused on health and safety as kids resume youth sports.

Given most injuries occur during preseasons or early in the season, doctors encourage deconditioned athletes not to rush back into competition. A good rule of thumb? Ramp up increased physical activity by about 10 percent each week.

How many kids return to sports, and when, remains an open question. According to research from the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative and Utah State University, only 53 percent of parents expect their child to resume sports activity at the same or a higher amount when current COVID-19 restrictions are removed. To lessen any concerns, coaches need to be mindful and communicative of how they prioritize health and safety in the return to play, especially since so many kids have lacked physical activity during sports shutdowns.

Park and recreation professionals identified coach training on safety and health as a top priority in youth sports (71 percent), according to a survey by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). And while many park and recreation agencies require coach training in the prevention of concussions and health-related risks, it’s important to note that park and recreation departments don’t need to have all the answers for training coaches. There are many free resources agencies can leverage to boost their coach training offerings, meanwhile eliminating the burden of creating resources of their own.

Below are a series of best practices park and recreation agencies can utilize as they support coaches in ensuring youth safely return to play. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued Guidance for Youth Sports Administrators outlining how to safely resume youth sports programming based on rates of community transmission, and when local conditions allow, all youth sports providers should follow these guidelines to ensure a safe return to play. 

### RETURN TO PLAY GUIDANCE FOR COACHES MUST INCLUDE CLEAR PROTOCOLS RELATED TO LIMITING THE TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19.
According to the CDC, there are critical areas that organizations’ COVID-19 protocols need to address. These include assessing risk, promoting behaviors that reduce the spread and maintaining healthy environments. While most guidelines are community and sport-specific, park and recreation agencies can support coaches by directing them to resources and providing training. In addition, Project Play’s Return to Sport Risk Assessment Tool can help guide coaches on relative risk in their sport and connect them with sport-specific guidance.  

NRPA recently released a statement in support of healthy youth development through equitable access to youth sports during the pandemic recovery. While applauding the tireless effort of park and recreation professionals to keep parks, trails and green spaces open to support the physical and mental health of their communities, the statement called for restrictions and requirements imposed upon youth sports providers to be applied equitably across all public and private organizations. Thus, in addition to clarity, coaches need to be receiving and held accountable to the same guidance for all entities providing youth sports.

### COACH TRAINING SHOULD INCLUDE COMPONENTS OF INJURY PREVENTION, INCLUDING INJURIES DUE TO OVERUSE.
Injuries can end a child’s sports experience and cause long-term health problems. More than 3.5 million children under age 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries annually, according to the CDC. More than half of all sports injuries are considered preventable — with nearly half of those injuries due to overuse, in part because coaches are not well versed in best practices related to duration and intensity of practices and treating injuries. In 2019, only 37 percent of youth sports coaches were trained in CPR and first aid, and just 34 percent were trained in general safety and injury prevention, according to the Aspen Institute. Injuries are one of the easiest ways for a child to stop playing sports.

One way to train coaches in injury prevention is to explore partnerships with sport or medical organizations that can offer community trainings. Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) has a Youth Sports Safety Program that offers free workshops and on-demand resources, including information for coaches on how to lead a neurodynamic warmup with exercises that reduce the risk of ACL injury for young athletes.

Also, with one in five high school athletes sustaining a concussion, TeachAids offers its interactive CrashCourse curriculum to help coaches, athletes and parents with the latest medical knowledge on preventing and treating concussions. A study presented at a recent Association of Academy Physiatrists meeting reported that athletes who took CrashCourse showed higher concussion-reporting intention levels immediately after the education compared to athletes who were educated through other materials.

### COACHES WITH BASIC KNOWLEDGE IN SPORT SKILLS AND TACTICS WILL IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF A CHILD’S EXPERIENCE.
Many volunteer coaches understandably enter their first coaching experience with fright and confusion, worried about how they will learn to coach the children in front of them. Coaches don’t need to be great in X’s and O’s to provide a positive experience, but learning some skills and tactics is important. A published study in the 1990s found that only 5 percent of kids who played for a trained coach quit the next year; the attrition rate was 26 percent for kids who played for an untrained coach.

Technology is changing how coaches can be trained. How to Coach Kids, a resource created by Nike and the U.S. Olympic Committee in partnership with the Aspen Institute, offers resources on how to coach various sports, girls, youth with disabilities and other audience segments as well as sports-specific training resources. Another new resource is Mojo, a digital platform to help coaches run practice. While currently only available for soccer, the app builds personalized practices customized to the age, skill level and preferences of each team based on a curriculum developed by coaches and experts in the fields of youth sports and child psychology.

Trained coaches are essential to creating environments where youth and their families feel confident kids can safely return to sport and play. Park and recreation agencies play a unique role in providing coaches with a diversity of resources to ensure health, safety and wellbeing for all.

---

This blog was originally published by the Aspen Institute.

Source: [https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/coronavirus-and-youth-sports/reports/how-park-and-recreation-agencies-can-empower-coaches-in-the-return-to-play](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/coronavirus-and-youth-sports/reports/how-park-and-recreation-agencies-can-empower-coaches-in-the-return-to-play)

Project Play

How park and recreation agencies can empower coaches in the return to play

Key Considerations For Coaches When Returning To Sports

7 Ways to Prevent Overtraining


Coaches play an incredibly influential role in the lives of athletes. Often players spend more time with their coaches than anyone else outside of the home environment. Therefore, it is important that school and youth sports organization (YSO) leaders and administrators take care in setting standards of success for the coaching staff, especially when hiring 1st-time coaches.

At Positive Coaching Alliance, we believe these standards are reflected not just on the scoreboard. While winning is important, it is more important that coaches teach life lessons through sports. We consider a coach that focuses on both of these outcomes to be a Double-Goal Coach®.

A school or YSO where every coach is a Double-Goal Coach will almost certainly find success. Coaches will model and teach players respect through Honoring the Game. Players focus on mastering their sport, which leads to higher effort, learning and improved athletic performance. Athletes also will also have more fun and feel good about what they are accomplishing because coaches are empowering them with positivity as they fill their Emotional Tanks.

To learn more about these Double-Goal Coach methods, check out this job description. This tool can set new standards for your organization or team, and can help improve the experience for athletes.

---

This blog was originally published by the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Source: [https://devzone.positivecoach.org/resource/article/double-goal-coach-job-description](https://devzone.positivecoach.org/resource/article/double-goal-coach-job-description)

Double-Goal Coach Job Description

Team Building Activities Your Whole Team Will Love

Why Providing Continuing Education Opportunities for Your Coaches Matters


Keyshawn Hunter, a senior football player at H.D. Woodson High School in Washington D.C., feels hopeless during the coronavirus pandemic.

A couple relatives died from COVID-19, so Hunter avoids seeing elderly family members and hopes he doesn’t get sick too. He won’t join friends at Black Lives Matter protests in Washington D.C., because he doesn’t feel comfortable with that yet. Lately, he can’t even walk around outside at certain times because of city curfews.

This should have been an exciting time for Hunter, who plans to play college football in the fall at Old Dominion University. It’s unclear when he will report to school – maybe sometime in July – and he hasn’t been in a gym lifting weights for a while due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“Now what do I do?” Hunter said. “That was just a waste of time. I did all this work for nothing and now have to start all over from ground zero. It’s just feeling lost.”

Once a week, Hunter logs on for a virtual Men’s Group meeting with Donald Curtis, a former high school assistant basketball coach who since 2013 has gathered at-risk youth for a group chat through SOUL, his community outreach program. Most of the youth are Black, live in public housing and play sports. They talk about anything. Sessions begin with youth asked to use a rap verse to describe how they feel. Curtis found that’s easier for kids than explicitly saying they feel sad or depressed.

Before the pandemic, Curtis would have as many as 40 athletes attend his weekly session in person. Now, Hunter is the only one who appears. Some of the others, Curtis said, are starting to fall into the wrong crowds again or don’t trust this new way to engage, so he has to rebuild that trust all over again.

These discussions with Curtis help because “you’re just letting it out and letting it be heard,” Hunter said. “You’re not holding it in no more. You can just be that kid and be weak for a second. I don’t want to say weak – human. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”

COVID-19 could fundamentally change the purpose of youth sports so adults in charge better care for athletes’ mental health and develop their social and emotional skills, not simply their athletic talent. Experts say this transformation must happen in order to catch some youth who are slipping through the cracks, and if they return to sports, will reenter with greater problems.

The shutdown of American schools due to the pandemic severed students not only from classrooms, friends and extracurricular activities like sports, but also from help. An estimated 55 million children and teenagers have been cut off from school staff members who helped them build self-esteem, cope with trauma, and in some cases, provide basic nutritional needs.

A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, according to Census Bureau data, the most alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the pandemic. There are exceedingly higher rates in some parts of the country – 48% of adults in Mississippi have symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders, compared to 26% in Iowa. The figures don’t take into account anyone under the age of 18, but these challenges are impacting youth too.

In Stockton, California, 15-year-old high school athlete Jo Vianni Smith died by suicide in her bedroom on April 4. Smith was a talented athlete who played on her high school’s varsity softball team and competed in the junior Olympic track and field championships last year. Her mother, Danielle Hunt, told KCRA3 News that her daughter struggled amid the outbreak and having to stay home. “The world was taken away from her when she couldn’t do sports – that was her world,” Hunt said.

In Asheville, North Carolina, local students calling themselves “Uplifting Youth Voices” surveyed each other about the transition to virtual learning. Just over 16% of the middle and high school students reported “definitely” needing mental health counseling since schools shut down, according to the Asheville Citizen Times.

According to the NCAA, the rates of mental health concerns experienced by college athletes within the last month are 150% to 250% higher than historically reported. The NCAA’s recent survey of more than 37,000 athletes found that emotional barriers include a fear of exposure to COVID-19 (43%), lack of motivation (40%), feelings of stress or anxiety (21%), and sadness or depression (13%). One in 12 athletes reported feeling so depressed that it has been difficult to function “constantly” or “most every day.”

In recent years, discussing mental health has become much more common in professional and college sports. Some pro athletes and Olympians are now regularly speaking publicly about their battles with depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, some college athletic departments have the resources available to hire staff devoted strictly to the mental health of their athletes.

But these intentional daily discussions rarely trickle down to youth sports.

“There’s not really a spokesperson who has a lot of clout leading the charge,” said Rebekah Roulier, chief operating officer of Doc Wayne Youth Services, a sport-based group therapy program. “It would be terrific if an athlete would say, ‘I’m at this level now in sports, but I needed these services when I was 7.’”

### ‘WE’RE ONLY SEEING THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG’
As kids return to practices and games, experts say that intentionally addressing mental health and life skills will be critical for youth sports providers. Many youth, especially those in disadvantaged communities, are really struggling. Parents are stressed with poverty or unemployment. Reports of child abuse are down, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Kids have been disconnected from support.

At Doc Wayne Youth Services in Boston, Roulier said many kids they are seeing virtually have regressed after making great strides over several years. That can cause frustrated parents to lash out at kids, creating a negative feedback loop.

Roulier speaks to many coaches lately who tell her they feel ill-equipped to handle difficult situations with players – and they’re even more worried as reentry to sports happens. Some coaches have Zoom calls with kids and witness what could be characterized as mild domestic violence. Roulier said most coaches and sport-based youth development programs have no idea or protocol for how to handle such a situation.

“We’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. I’m pretty concerned,” Roulier said. “Kids with parents who are attending to them and can manage their own stress, those kids will bounce back because kids are resilient. For the parents who are tuned out or stressed out, it’s going to take a lot more to get those kids back. It’s an opportunity for youth sports as a whole to ask, ‘Did we have it right in the beginning? How can we put the whole person at the center, so perhaps it’s a better version of youth sports than before?’”

Even before the pandemic, the U.S. struggled to adequately diagnose, treat and support children with mental health conditions for years. Nearly 1 in 7 children have a mental health condition, and half go untreated, according to a study published last year in the Journal JAMA Pediatrics. The number of children and teens who visited emergency rooms for suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts doubled between 2007 and 2015, according to an analysis of data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year.

Roulier stresses that there will not be enough health care professionals to handle so many psychological needs for kids. Many Medicaid providers, on which 40% of children in this country depend, are at risk of shutting down.

“We need to have a second wave of public health communication that says, ‘We need you coaches. You are our first line of defense for kids,’” Roulier said. “Then you need to give these coaches very basic education.”

Roulier suggests focusing trainings on how to talk to kids, which she believes is even more important than identifying mental health symptoms. Coaches can learn how to practice reflective listening, how to hold space for kids to talk, and then how to process the information and determine what to do if they hear certain comments.

This won’t be easy, acknowledged Roulier, who said too many youth coaches still have a win-at-all-costs mindset.

“It’s a really tough battle to fight in the youth sports world, especially with those coaches who think they have the next Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm,” he said. “We can’t change these folks entirely, so let’s make the case that if you want to build up their confidence and self-esteem, they’re more likely to succeed on the field. If you destroy their self-esteem and don’t check in on them or yell and scream, you may lose that game.”

### BUILDING TRUST WITH ATHLETES
Curtis, the director of SOUL, said coaches too often punt the responsibility of handling their players’ social and emotional problems off to school administrators who don’t know the youth. “Coaches aren’t psychiatrists, but they play the role of them all the time – some good, some bad,” he said. “There needs to be some level of training that talks through social and emotional needs for coaches to think about.”

The Aspen Institute’s Project Play has Calls for Coaches resources to help youth sports coaches develop personal growth in their players, both in person and now virtually during the pandemic. The resources include a simple checklist for coaches to use at practices and games.

Positive Coaching Alliance offers online courses to help coaches be equipped with skills to deal with their social and emotional needs. Up2Us Sports has trainings for coaches to help players improve their mental health, heal from trauma, and learn conflict resolution skills. Doc Wayne Youth Services, which uses sports in school settings for trauma-informed group therapy, envisions in the near future collaborating with youth sports organizations to be a resource.

“There are training tools coaches can be using to engage kids now, but a lot of coaches think that will make kids soft,” Curtis said. “A lot of times coaches want players to have a certain edge to them. They don’t question how the edge came to exist, but they want that edge. OK, so what happens when that kid with that edge hits a roadblock and is trying to figure out the next step and all you can give the young kid is, ‘Push harder, you’re not working hard enough.’”

To Hunter, the high school football player currently in limbo, “if I can’t come and talk to my coach, I can’t play that for coach because there ain’t no trust.”

Hunter finds that talking lately helps him work through his worries about his health and feelings of hopelessness. “You never know if (COVID-19) will be better or not,” he said. “They say the wave might come back in the winter. Will we have to go through all of this again?”

---

This blog was originally published by the Aspen Institute.

Source: [https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/coronavirus-and-youth-sports/reports/2020/6/8/why-the-time-is-now-to-coach-mental-health-in-youth-sports](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/coronavirus-and-youth-sports/reports/2020/6/8/why-the-time-is-now-to-coach-mental-health-in-youth-sports)

Why the time is now to coach mental health in youth sports

Rise Athletes

What is ‘Mental Health’?


The supply of sport options provided by high schools is not meeting the demand for them, and the menu needs to be updated to include more casual and fitness-focused activities, according to a new national student survey released by the Aspen Institute and Resonant Education.

Archery, which only 1% of students have ever tried, was the sport they most wish was offered by their school. Thirteen percent of all surveyed students, both athletes and non-athletes, expressed interest in trying archery, followed by gymnastics, lacrosse and bowling (7% each).

When asked what additional physical activities outside of interscholastic teams that students would like to participate in, strength training (35%) was the No. 1 choice, followed by biking (24%), skateboarding (21%), yoga (21%) and climbing (20%). Males showed a higher interest in strength training and parkour, and females favored yoga and dance.

The findings are part of a comprehensive report showing results from a national high school student survey conducted during the 2020-21 school year. The survey, created by Resonant Education in collaboration with the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative, asked students about their participation in sports as well as other perceptions about high school sports.

Over the past year, Project Play’s [Reimagining School Sports initiative](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/reimagining-school-sports) has studied ways to make quality sport and physical activities accessible to all students. Eight reports highlight strategies school leaders in different school types and urbanicities can use to grow participation, with $20,000 prizes awarded to eight high schools that display innovative and exemplary ideas. The national student survey findings will help guide Project Play’s recommendations on how to improve the high school sports model when a final report is released in March 2022.

Nearly 6,000 students responded to the anonymous, online survey from schools representing all regions of the country as well as different school types (public, private and charter) and urbanicity (urban, suburban and rural). The results provide critical insight from both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic of high school students’ needs, interests and attitudes related to sports and physical activity.

Below are some additional findings from the Aspen Institute/Resonant Education survey:

The supply of sport options provided by high schools is not meeting the demand for them, and the menu needs to be updated to include more casual and fitness-focused activities, according to a new national student survey released by the Aspen Institute and Resonant Education.

Archery, which only 1% of students have ever tried, was the sport they most wish was offered by their school. Thirteen percent of all surveyed students, both athletes and non-athletes, expressed interest in trying archery, followed by gymnastics, lacrosse and bowling (7% each).

When asked what additional physical activities outside of interscholastic teams that students would like to participate in, strength training (35%) was the No. 1 choice, followed by biking (24%), skateboarding (21%), yoga (21%) and climbing (20%). Males showed a higher interest in strength training and parkour, and females favored yoga and dance.

The findings are part of a comprehensive report showing results from a national high school student survey conducted during the 2020-21 school year. The survey, created by Resonant Education in collaboration with the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative, asked students about their participation in sports as well as other perceptions about high school sports.

Over the past year, Project Play’s [Reimagining School Sports initiative](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/reimagining-school-sports) has studied ways to make quality sport and physical activities accessible to all students. Eight reports highlight strategies school leaders in different school types and urbanicities can use to grow participation, with $20,000 prizes awarded to eight high schools that display innovative and exemplary ideas. The national student survey findings will help guide Project Play’s recommendations on how to improve the high school sports model when a final report is released in March 2022.

Nearly 6,000 students responded to the anonymous, online survey from schools representing all regions of the country as well as different school types (public, private and charter) and urbanicity (urban, suburban and rural). The results provide critical insight from both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic of high school students’ needs, interests and attitudes related to sports and physical activity.

Below are some additional findings from the Aspen Institute/Resonant Education survey:

<br />

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/e5781e1c-8e51-4b38-8eec-b2eb9af6d085/Wrestling+%28Best+Pender+photo%3B+definitely+use+this%29.jpg?format=1000w)

<br />

### **ALL STUDENTS**

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/4994f3b4-23cd-4500-a9c6-b9ba2f4f03eb/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_All+Students_1.1cr.png?format=1000w)

**Winning and scholarships ranked low as motivations to play.** The most common motivations students said for playing high school sports were having fun (81%), exercise (79%), learning and improving skills (66%), playing with and making new friends (66%), and competing (64%). Multiple answers were allowed. Winning games (53%) and pursuing college scholarships (39%) ranked lower. Black students (50%) were more likely than other races and ethnicities to cite scholarships as a motivation for playing. Males showed higher rates for winning games and competing than females. Females were more likely to report mental health and well-being, belonging to a group and improving college applications as reasons they play sports.

**Schoolwork impacts sports participation.** Among students who don’t play sports, the most common reason for not playing was schoolwork (42%). Females listed schoolwork as a barrier more than males, and Asian students said the same more than any other race or ethnicity. Other reasons cited by all students: not enjoying sports (32%), not having sports that are of interest (26%), and not trying out because students didn’t think they were good enough to make the team (25%).

**Opinions of coaches decline as students advance in age.** As students got older, they were less likely to agree with statements such as “Coaches at my school value every member of the team” and “Coaches at my school have positive relationships with all of their players.” This shift may reflect differentiated treatment in upper grades for stronger members of the team as students reach higher levels of competition, such as playing varsity instead of junior varsity. Students gave the lowest marks to athletic personnel for encouraging multisport play and educating them on good nutrition.

<br />

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/1637339887257-A8292HM1SH1SS5OL7QF5/Deiarie+Banks.+Track+2019.jpg?format=2500w)

<br />

### **URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS**

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/e8fb1dec-281b-462d-b90a-6f16d5a7aba6/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_Urban_1.1cr2.png?format=1000w)

**High school basketball participation rates are lower at urban schools.** Basketball carries a well-earned reputation as an urban sport, but fewer urban males (18%) reported having played high school basketball than males at rural (28%) and suburban (22%) schools. Urban girls played basketball at a lower rate than rural girls. And White, Black and Hispanic students at urban schools played high school basketball at lower rates than their same race or ethnicity in rural and suburban communities. Basketball was among the top 10 sports all urban students said they wish their school offered. Increasingly, they attend smaller schools that lack gyms.

**Urban students rely on community programs as much as school teams.** For example, urban students participated on track and field, soccer and football teams outside of school more than suburban and rural students. Urban students were twice as likely to report they planned to participate in track outside of school than their peers. Interestingly, the highest rate of male cross-country runners came from urban schools (18%), not suburban (12%) or rural (9%) communities that offer more undeveloped land for running. Black students expressed the most interest in trying gymnastics, whereas White, Hispanic and Asian students most favored archery, which has seen exponential growth among high schools over the past decade.

**Many students feel they aren’t good enough to play sports.** In urban settings, many students arrive in high school behind the curve in sports knowledge and skills. Almost one-third of ninth-grade urban students (32%) said they don’t play high school sports because they are not good enough, compared to 23% of ninth-grade suburban students. The older they get, the more urban students said they don’t enjoy sports (24% of freshmen vs. 35% of seniors).

<br />

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/605b41b1-7e11-4375-97a5-2014a8c0a26d/Softball+-+New+Weight+Bars.jpg?format=1000w)

<br />

### **SUBURBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS**

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/e621eddf-1e3a-4ab6-84a4-18fa6faa3e1e/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_Suburban_1.1cr3.png?format=1000w)

**Costs to play sports add up.** Males at suburban public high schools, which often require participation fees, were three times more likely than urban males to identify expense as a reason they don’t play sports. Suburban females (18%) also listed costs as a barrier more than urban females (11%).

**Hispanic students lack offered sports that interest them.** Among suburban students who don’t play high school sports, 26% of Hispanics said they sit out because no sports offered by the school interest them. That was twice the rate of Hispanic students at urban and rural schools who said they were not interested in their school’s offered sports.

**Demand for fitness activities and yoga is strong.** Males (44%) and females (33%) at suburban schools reported they work out at gyms at higher rates than their peers. The older they are, the more suburban students said they work out (28% in ninth grade vs. 44% in 12th grade). One in three female suburban students said they were interested in trying yoga, with 16% of all freshmen expressing interest compared to 31% of all seniors.

<br />

![https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/0fc21506-e8e7-455d-ba3a-f509f1e254e2/Ultimate+photo+1+%28use+this+in+SLA+profile+story+on+a+page+talking+about+Ultimate%29.jpg?format=1000w](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/0fc21506-e8e7-455d-ba3a-f509f1e254e2/Ultimate+photo+1+%28use+this+in+SLA+profile+story+on+a+page+talking+about+Ultimate%29.jpg?format=1000w)

<br />

### **RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS**

![https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/b1e25bee-a658-4309-a927-cbe262f62b15/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_Rural_1.1cr4.png?format=1000w](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/b1e25bee-a658-4309-a927-cbe262f62b15/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_Rural_1.1cr4.png?format=1000w)

**Rural students have highest participation rates.** Students at rural schools reported the highest rates of participation in basketball, softball and track and field, and more frequently take part in other physical activities, such as walking/hiking, pickup games, jogging and swimming. Football was especially popular among Black rural students (42%) compared to Black students at suburban (27%) and urban (25%) schools. More than half (58%) of Hispanic rural students reported they have played soccer, above the national average for all Hispanic students (39%). All rural students (71%) also said they enjoyed PE more than all surveyed students (62%).

**Transportation is a major challenge.** Rural students were twice as likely as students from urban areas to cite transportation as a reason they don’t play sports more often. Rural students were also the most likely to indicate they don’t play due to jobs, family responsibilities or their disability was not accommodated to play sports.

**Winning, family pride and feelings of inferiority show up.** Winning games and making their family feel proud mattered slightly more to rural students – especially among girls – than students elsewhere. On the other hand, rural students were also slightly more likely to report they didn’t try out for a team because they don’t believe they are good enough.

<br />

![https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/7e3e4faa-6831-4c88-b6e4-98fd3eb0d47e/IMG-3393.jpg?format=1000w](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/7e3e4faa-6831-4c88-b6e4-98fd3eb0d47e/IMG-3393.jpg?format=1000w)

<br />

### **PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS**

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/c889ed15-3e6e-4a28-a2b6-ee98ecc9fe5d/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_Private_1.1cr5.png?format=1000w)

**Scholarships are not the driving motivation for participation.** The chase for the college athletic scholarship wasn’t among the top 10 reasons private school students said they play sports, a notable finding given the national reputation that some private schools have in sports like basketball and football. Private school students (27%) were less likely to cite scholarships than public school students (42%). Private school students were more likely to participate for exercise, to make new friends, to belong to a group, and to support their mental health.

**Students of color and different gender, sexual preferences feel less welcome on teams.** Among private school students who don’t play sports, 25% of Blacks and 40% of Hispanics said they “don’t feel welcome” on school teams. That was five times greater than Black students at public urban schools and almost twice the rate of Hispanic students at public urban schools. Also, 8% of private school students said they avoid sports because “I don’t feel safe because of my gender identification or sexual preference” – twice the rate of public school students.

**Private schools offer less PE and prioritize sports that can be played for life.** More than half of private school students (58%) said they have never taken PE in high school compared to 14% of public school students. Only 15% of male students said they play football at private schools, less than half of the national average (33%) and below that of tennis (23%). More than twice as many boys at private schools reported playing soccer (29%) than boys at suburban public schools (12%).

<br />

![https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/dd1baaef-e4fc-462c-959c-7f3a462b8965/755A0818.jpg?format=1000w](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/dd1baaef-e4fc-462c-959c-7f3a462b8965/755A0818.jpg?format=1000w)

<br />

### **CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS**

![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595ea7d6e58c62dce01d1625/92cc55b6-1759-4207-ad85-8363b9585538/2021_Aspen_RSS_Release+charts_Charter1.1cr6.png?format=1000w)

**Charter students want more sports.** Students in charter schools, which have proliferated over the past couple decades, were more likely to report that they wanted more options for sports and fitness activities. Requests included a desire for swimming and football – sports more often found in traditional public schools – as well as bowling, gymnastics and dance. Charter students reported higher participation rates in traditional sports like soccer, basketball and volleyball compared to traditional public schools and private schools.

**But charter students lost the most interest during COVID-19.** Eighteen percent of charter school students said they lost interest in playing sports during the pandemic. That was slightly higher than students at public (16%) and private (13%) schools. Charter students tended to report greater barriers, such as fewer sports offered, transportation and too much schoolwork.

**PE helps develop sports interest.** Among charter school students, 10% said that trying a sport in PE made them want to play that sport at school. That doubled the national average. Charter students reported a greater level of education on nutrition, especially compared to private school students.

<a class="Button Button--large Button--primary mt20 mb20" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Aspen-National-Student-Survey-FINAL-Report.pdf">See full report here</a>

*Jon Solomon is editorial director of the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program and its Project Play initiative. Read all the Reimagining School Sports reports [here](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/reimagining-school-sports).*

---

This blog was originally published by the Aspen Institute.

Source: [https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/school-sports-survey-high-school-students-want-more-sport-physical-activity-options](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/school-sports-survey-high-school-students-want-more-sport-physical-activity-options)

Survey: High school students want more sport, physical activity options

What is your “WHY”?


As youth sports return in some communities, there’s a greater need than ever for parents to identify the right sports to meet their child’s health needs. Different sports have different benefits, and different children have different needs.

Kids have been missing the physical, social and emotional benefits of playing sports for many months. [A new study by the University of Wisconsin](https://www.wissports.net/news_article/show/1110971) found that 65% of adolescent athletes in Wisconsin reported anxiety symptoms in May, with 25% suffering moderate or severe anxiety. Using historical data, the study found the rate of mild to severe depression in youth athletes increased from 31% to 68%. Physical activity was down 50% in May.

First and foremost, any return to play should follow advice from public health experts on whether it’s safe based on local transmission of COVID-19. Phased returns to sports are best. High-contact sports may carry different COVID-19 risks than low-contact sports. The Aspen Institute’s [Return to Play risk assessment tool](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/return-to-play) offers guidance on assessing sports based on the risks of contracting and transmitting the virus.

As kids return, there are other health needs to consider when picking sports. How much are athletes moving their bodies in each sport? How are prevalent are injuries by sport? How has playing each sport changed the behaviors of its athletes, such as emotional and social skills, academic motivation, and prevalence of abusing drugs and alcohol?

The [Healthy Sport Index](https://healthysportindex.com/), created by the Aspen Institute in 2018, combines data and expert analysis to identify the relative benefits and risks of participating in the 10 most popular high school boys and girls sports. Parents and youth can use the tool to compare each sport by physical activity, safety and psychosocial benefits, based on how much a person emphasizes each of those three health categories. Users also receive expert advice on other sports that kids can sample to improve their health and skills in their primary sport.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UA5nUDabyBU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

No single experience is the same in youth sports. It’s all about how the sport gets delivered by a coach and organization. But as we start to return to play, there are several [key findings](https://healthysportindex.com/report/key-findings/) from the Healthy Sport Index that can guide the decision-making when parents and youth are selecting sports to try.

### CROSS COUNTRY OFFERS THE MOST PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
No great surprise here: Cross country is an obvious choice if physical activity is the chief benefit sought from sport participation. The sport finished at the top of our list in that category, for boys and girls. However, beyond that, there is great variation in relative physical activity rates. [Research](https://healthysportindex.com/report/physical-activity/) conducted by North Carolina State University showed a majority of boys sports had higher energy expenditure rates than girls at practices. Observations were conducted at 605 varsity sports practices, amounting to 2,420 total athletes being observed with 125,286 recorded individual observations.

Standard metabolic equivalents (METs) were calculated by multiplying each observed athlete’s physical activity level with an assigned energy expenditure value: 1.5 for every sedentary athlete, 3.0 for every moderate athlete, and 6.0 for every vigorous athlete. The higher the score, the more vigorous activity existed. If you’re looking for more physical activity in a child’s sport, here's how the most popular sports compare from highest level of physical activity to lowest.

Track and field showed a major gap in physical activity by gender – 60% of boys were observed practicing vigorously, compared to 31% of girls. North Carolina State researchers say this is likely due to how much more time girls track and field athletes spent in activities not intended to be part of practice, such as the transition between drills, break times, changing equipment, getting a drink of water, and telling jokes. Girls track and field athletes spent 30% of their practices in activities not intended to be part of practice, compared to 9% for boys.

### SOME SPORTS ENCOURAGE EARLY SPECIALIZATION MORE THAN OTHERS
[Our survey of high school athletes](https://healthysportindex.com/report/psychosocial-report/) conducted by the University of Texas showed the average age they started specializing in their sport. Many studies show early specialization can lead to overuse injuries and burnout. If you’re looking for sports that are more conducive to multisport sampling, these are the average ages by sport when kids start focusing only on one sport.

### TEAM SPORTS FARE BETTER THAN INDIVIDUAL SPORTS IN SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS
Out of the 10 most popular high school boys sports, football ranked first in our psychosocial survey of 1,290 high school athletes that measured Positive Youth Development. The survey questions focused on personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting skills, initiative skills, health skills and negative experiences.

Team sports fared better in these areas than individual sports such as tennis, track and field, and cross country, which ranked near the bottom for both genders. There seems to be evidence that more traditional team sports may be structured – or, at least, interpreted by the participants – in a manner that produces more concrete experiences associated with well-being.

The results suggest that football, which draws from a lower socioeconomic graphic than most sports and often sits at the center of high school culture, provides a social context that is highly important for some athletes. There is perceived value of football among some youth, even as the sport encounters scrutiny over concussions and the risk of long-term brain injuries.

### FOOTBALL AND GIRLS SOCCER HAVE THE MOST INJURIES
Not surprisingly, football has the highest overall injury rates, concussion rates and catastrophic injuries/illnesses, according to [Healthy Sport Index’s safety analysis report](https://healthysportindex.com/report/safety-analysis-report/). Research from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study showed that football players were more than twice as likely to have reported concussions than lacrosse, the next closest boys sport.

In North Carolina, the Wake Forest High School football team reported 22 concussions in 2018 while winning a third straight state championship, according to a recent story by the Raleigh News & Observer analyzing concussion data in the state. No other school or sport in the county came close to that number. Several school districts did not provide data, preventing more lessons to be learned on how to potentially reduce concussions in football.

For girls, the Healthy Sport Index found that soccer had the highest overall injury rates and concussion rates. Boys and girls tennis emerged as the safest sports, with very few overall injuries, concussions, time loss due to injuries, surgeries, and catastrophic injuries.

### YOUTH IN CONTACT SPORTS SHOWED THE RISKIEST OFF-FIELD BEHAVIOR
[Healthy Sport Index psychosocial data](https://healthysportindex.com/report/monitoring-the-future-data/) analyzed by the Women’s Sports Foundation showed that 52% of high school boys lacrosse players reported binge drinking in the previous two weeks; girls lacrosse was 32%. Wrestling (35%) and football (32%) had a high drinking volume, too. The average figure for all male athletes was 28% and for girls 18%.

Football, lacrosse and wrestling also fared among the worst for cutting class, having an average grade of an A or A-, and expecting to graduate from a four-year college. Cross country and track and field showed the least-riskiest options.

The good news: No matter what sports your child plays, benefits exist if the sport is delivered properly. Athletes are more likely to plan to graduate from a four-year college, report higher self-esteem, and disclose less loneliness than their non-athlete peers.

Find the best sport for you at [HealthySportIndex.com](https://healthysportindex.com/).

---

This blog was originally published by the Aspen Institute.

Source: [https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/coronavirus-and-youth-sports/reports/2020/7/6/what-healthy-sport-index-can-teach-us-about-returning-to-youth-sports](https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/coronavirus-and-youth-sports/reports/2020/7/6/what-healthy-sport-index-can-teach-us-about-returning-to-youth-sports)

What Healthy Sport Index can teach us about returning to youth sports


Brad Frost is the Head Coach for the University of Minnesota Women's Ice Hockey team. The Bethel University graduate has guided the Gophers to four NCAA national championships, six NCAA Frozen Four appearances, five WCHA regular season titles and three WCHA Final Face-Off championships. Frost concluded the 2015-16 season with a career record of 293-45-22 (.844) and has not had a team finish lower than second in the WCHA.

Frost believes it is in the best interest of youth athletes if their parents support their athletic experiences no matter the level of competition they play in. If a youth athlete is not playing for a top-tier team, that is not a good reason to be less supportive because the ultimate goal should be for a kid to have fun in any youth sports league. Essentially, it is more important to enjoy time with your kid than critiquing everything they did wrong in a game. Frost believes parents who put too much pressure on their kids, especially during that 'car ride home,' will chase them away from sports. If a kid is afraid to get into the car ride home after a bad game, it is unlikely he will want to continue to play.

Too Many Kids Leave Sports Because Of The Car Ride Home


Santa Clara University Head Women’s Soccer Coach Jerry Smith (@SCUJerrySmith), a PCA National Advisory Board Member, has established a standard of excellence few can match, ranking as one of the five winningest women’s soccer coaches in NCAA Division I history.

When Smith recruits athletes to play in college, he looks at their verbal and nonverbal behavior. Recruiting positive players, who will spread positive influence among teammates, is crucial to the program's success. Therefore, Smith fully vets a young athlete's personality and work ethic as part of the recruiting process.

He does this by focusing on how they play and what attitude they exhibit on days when the conditions are not ideal. He wants to know how an athlete comes to practice in the “dog days of summer” and after several losses. How hard is that athlete working when times are tough? Hard work and positive attitudes will take an athlete a long way with college coaches and recruiters.

What A College Coach Looks For In Recruits

NFL Christine Michael`s Drills for Running Backs

CoachTube


## Model good character and decision-making

As leaders, coaches should model positive behavior in their interactions with other adults and youth athletes, with opponents and referees, and particularly when mediating conflicts. 

### PRACTICE SPOTLIGHT
- Participate in drills with players 
- Practice the positive interactions that are encouraged of players 
- Practice self-care and engage in reflection around your own social and emotional well-being 
- Be cognizant of your own and others’ perspectives 
- Manage conflicts with calmness and clarity, acknowledging player feelings and emotions

### RESOURCE LIBRARY

#### PEER TO PEER LEARNING
[Download](https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Peer-to-Peer-Learning_v2_FINAL.pdf)


Be a Role Model


Introduction plus methods to better yourself at catching.

The Mechanic: Introduction


Casey Miller (@4caseymiller) is Positive Coaching Alliance's Program Manager, Movement Builder. She previously played two years of professional basketball in Oviedo, Spain, coaching youth girls basketball during her time there. Casey attended Merrimack College in North Andover, MA where she was a four-year starter for the NCAA Division II women's basketball team.

Social media can be a very powerful tool for student-athletes IF it is used in the right way, she explains. Most high school student-athletes, and sometimes younger, are connected to social media via Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and Tumblr. They follow their favorite athletes and teams, as well as friends, family, coaches and teammates.

Social media accounts can be a very effective communication tool, but only when used in a respectful way. It is very important for student-athletes to be aware that college coaches are continuously looking at the social media accounts of their recruits, and to know that whatever they post on social media (public or private) is on the internet forever for people to see.

Casey urges all student-athletes to think critically before they post to social media: "Could I tell my parents about this? My coach? Am I doing something disrespectful?"

Most likely, if you have to question what you are posting, you shouldn't do it.

Social Media: Don't Lose A $140k Scholarship for a 140-Character Tweet


Hitting habits through equipment basics, proper grip and stance, how to use a batting tee, and drills to improve performance.

Softball Hitting Tips & Drills


Video analyis and tips to enable your linebackers to be the best they can be at fundamentals

Linebacker Skills and Drills

baseball

basketball

football

ice hockey

lacrosse

soccer

softball

volleyball


Brazilian soccer training methods designed to give players a competitive edge.

Soccer Tips and Techniques 


Doc Rivers (@DocRivers) is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers and a PCA National Advisory Board Member. He had a stellar playing career with Marquette University and several NBA teams before moving on to coach the Orlando Magic and then the Celtics, whom he led to the 2008 NBA Championship. Rivers is also a prominent sports parent, most notably as father of Austin Rivers, who played at Duke University before joining the New Orleans Pelicans in 2012.

In this video, Rivers shares his approach as a sports parent when his kids sought help getting more playing time during their youth sports days. Rivers never went to the coach to request more playing time for his children; instead he used it as a teachable moment, explaining to his children what motivates a coach and encouraging them to focus on what they can control and earn their playing time. If your children complain about playing time, talk to them about what they can do at practice to get their minutes to go up during game situations. This might involve working harder or spending time outside of practice on a skill. It also might mean encouraging your child to have an honest conversation with the coach. Most importantly, Rivers believes that kids need to learn to earn their playing time and it’s not the parent’s role to talk to the coach about this coaching decision.

Doc Rivers On Sports Parents Seeking More Playing Time


Three part series on how to correctly set.

Setting Basics


Lists several skill moves and shows how to perform them

The Challenger Way


Hitting Drills & Techniques provides some of the most creative hitting drills and techniques for the youth player including a comprehensive breakdown of the swing.

Hitting Drills & Techniques


Outlines various dodging techniques to create space and separation from a defender

Situational 1v1 Drills


Techniques as a Goalie to block shots and start attacks.

Youth Hockey Goalie Training


Steve Kryger (@coachskryger) is an Athletic Director at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, CA. Kryger has been at M-A since 2008, also teaching math and coaching boys' lacrosse. Prior to M-A, he coached basketball at Hillsdale, Palo Alto, and San Mateo highs, and was named San Mateo County Girls' Basketball Coach of the Year in 2000 and again in 2008. In 2017, Kryger and Co-AD Paul Snow were named the Northern California Girls and Boys Athletic Directors of the Year by the California Coaches Association (CCA).

Often times when parents complain to an Athletic Director, it's about playing time. At his school, Kryger says that this is not a conversation that should happen between Athletic Directors and parents. Kryger also advises his coaches that they shouldn't talk to parents about playing time.

To Kryger, the playing time conversation should be between an athlete and a coach. In his opinion, the athlete has the right to understand why they are getting the playing time they're getting or not getting, and should also have clear expectations from the coach about what they need to do to improve in order to get more playing time. As an Athletic Director, this is not a conversation that he'll even entertain, and he advises other Athletic Directors to do the same.

Parents Shouldn't Be Involved In Playing Time Discussions


Covers all basics for youth: equipment, throwing, hitting, baserunning, fielding, pitching. 

Coaching Youth Softball Fundamentals


How to protect the puck, position yourself, and have access to multiple drills that will make you a stronger skater.

Exclusive Youth Sports Coaching Tips & Tricks

article

What Healthy Sport Index can teach us about returning to youth sports

video

Too Many Kids Leave Sports Because Of The Car Ride Home

video

What A College Coach Looks For In Recruits

article

Why Providing Continuing Education Opportunities for Your Coaches Matters

video

NFL Christine Michael`s Drills for Running Backs

article

What is ‘Mental Health’?

video

Be a Role Model

video

The Mechanic: Introduction

video

Social Media: Don't Lose A $140k Scholarship for a 140-Character Tweet

article

Double-Goal Coach Job Description

video

Softball Hitting Tips & Drills

video

Linebacker Skills and Drills

Popular Videos

video

The Mechanic: Introduction

video

Softball Hitting Tips & Drills

video

Soccer Tips and Techniques

video

Doc Rivers On Sports Parents Seeking More Playing Time

video

Setting Basics

video

The Challenger Way

video

Hitting Drills & Techniques

video

Situational 1v1 Drills

video

Youth Hockey Goalie Training

video

Parents Shouldn't Be Involved In Playing Time Discussions

video

Coaching Youth Softball Fundamentals

video

On Ice Skill

video

The Mechanic: Introduction

video

Softball Hitting Tips & Drills

Sports

More from TeamSnap

Help Center

Sport Organization Resources

Return to Play

Back to Sports Report

Get Access to the Coaches’ Corner