Youth Sports

Information and Tools: Copyright, Team-Up for Youth.

• Fact Sheet: Youth Sports Participation and Educational Outcomes
• Building Blocks for Quality Youth Sports Team-Up's foundational tool to help focus program leaders and coaches on the core principles youth need in sports and life to grow into successful, healthy adults
• Parent Checklist for Quality Youth Sports A checklist to help parents identify strong programs that will support their kids' positive emotional, social and physical growth.
• Conscious Coach Model  A model that helps program leaders and coaches understand the role of the coach in helping youth learn life lessons through sports
• Coaching Philosophy  A tool that helps coaches create a guiding philosophy, goals and strategies for coaching success
• Supervisor Philosophy A tool geared to help program leaders create a cohesive vision and structure for coaches and program staff to insure a consistent, high quality experience for youth participants
• Planning a Season A tool that helps all coaches actively plan every phase of their season through Team-Up for Youth's Building Blocks for Quality Youth Sports to insure the best experience for youth participants

Research

• Learning to Play and Playing to Learn:  Organized Sports and Educational Outcomes  A comprehensive report on the link between sports and success in school.  Authored by Ann Rosewater.
• Go Out and Play Read the Women's Sports Foundation's 2008 research on sports and American families which confirms that sports are an important resource for U.S. children as well as their families.

Funding Sources

• Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame  Provides grants for equipment and uniform costs for sports teams and school athletic programs throughout the Bay Area. They also distribute scholarships to help youth athletes afford their college educations.
• Go Girl Go!  Sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation, these grants enable new sport and physical activity opportunities for economically disadvantaged and underserved girls and expand programs to accommodate recruited inactive girls. 
• ING Grant Program The Financial institution ING and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education are awarding fifty $2,000 grants to schools that desire to establish a school-based running program or to expand an existing program.
• Kaboom!  Kaboom! connects community-based organizations with corporate partners to build playgrounds in neighborhoods throughout the country. The Bay Area has been selected as one of their targeted regions for 2008 and 2009.
• LA84 Foundation The LA84 Foundation awards grants in Southern California. The Foundation seeks to serve the entire community, but gives special attention to groups and communities underserved by traditional sports programs, including girls, ethnic minorities, and the physically challenged and developmentally disabled.
• NFL Grassroots Program  Administered by LISC, this grants program provides funding to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local football fields in low-income communities.
• Philanthropic Ventures Foundation This foundation has two specific grant programs that provide from $500 to $1500 for low-income students to participate in sports and for equipment purchase and instruction in new sports programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. More info...
• Responsible Sports Community Grants  The Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Community Grants Program provides grants of $2,500 for equipment upgrades, facility repairs, and scholarship programs to improve the lives of youth athletes and their families.  Applications are due November 9, 2009.
• Saucony Run for Good  Provides grants of up to $10,000 to support running and fitness programs to encourage active and healthy lifestyles in children.
• Tony Hawk Foundation The Tony Hawk Foundation is committed to promoting high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States by providindg grants to encourage and facilitate the design, development, construction, and operation of new skateboard parks and facilities.  Deadline: October 1, 2009
• United States Soccer Foundation's Program and Field Grant initiative annually provides funding, equipment, and services for soccer programs across the United States. 

 Resources

• The Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
  Promotes physical activity for all Californians, with an emphasis on children and youth
• American Association of Adapted Sports Programs
  Supports sports for physically disabled children and youth
• National Alliance for Youth Sports
  Advocates for positive and safe sports and activities for children nationally
• National Association for Sport & Physical Activity
  Enhances knowledge and professional practice in sport and physical activity through scientific study and dissemination of research-based and experiential knowledge to members and the public
• The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports
  Researches the benefits and detriments of participation in youth sports, produces educational materials for parents, coaches, officials, and administrators, and provides educational programs for coaches, officials, administrators, and parents
• Positive Coaching Alliance
  Provides training and tools for youth sports coaches, parents, and athletes to learn how to create transformative sports experiences for young people.
• Sports4Kids
  Works with public elementary schools to transform recess into a time for physical activity and personal growth for kids. Site includes useful games coaches can use.
• The Sports Philanthropy Project
  Works to maximize the impact of sports foundations on the health, social development and well-being of their communities
• The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
  Promotes, encourages and motivates Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sports.

Books

It's All for the Kids: Gender, Families and Youth Sports, by Michael Messner. Sociologist Michael Messner's insightful book explores the rich,complex gender dynamics of youth sports.

Health, Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Prevention

Information and Tools: Copyright 2008, Team-Up for Youth.

• Fact Sheet: Youth Sports and Health

Resources

• National Adolescent Health Information Center
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
• CDC Nutrition and Physical Activity
• CDC Adolescent and School Health
• California Adolesent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit)
  Engages communities and builds their capacity to improve the nutrition and physical activity status of California´s low-income African American, American Indian, Latino, and Asian/ Pacific Islander youth 10-14 years old.
• California Project L.E.A.N.
  Creates healthier communities through policy/environmental changes, educates Californians to choose healthier foods and be more physically active, conducts research-based, consumer-driven nutrition and physical activity campaigns and leads State and local efforts promoting nutrition and physical activity.

Youth Policy

Resources

• Children Now
  Uses national research, action and media strategies to improve children's lives while helping America build a sustained commitment to putting children first
• Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
  Addresses national and state policy issues such as childcare, preschool and after-school activities through research and advocacy
• San Francisco Youth Commission
  17 young people between the ages of 12 and 23 from San Francisco who serve as the official youth voice at City Hall
• The Afterschool Alliance
  Raises awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children
• National Institute on Out-of-School Time
  Brings national attention to the importance of children's out-of-school time, influences policy, provides training and consulting, and aims to improve the availability, quality and viability of programs serving children and youth