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Tools and resources to connect kids to more opportunities in more meaningful ways.
Girls Sports
Information and Tools:
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The Game Plan: Building effective sports programs for girls - Done in partnership with the Women's Sports Foundation, this book is a resource guide for anyone interested in developing or improving a program that uses sports and physical activity to serve girls. The goal of this guide is to help create more opportunities for girls to play sports and allow them to reap the many physical, mental, and emotional benefits.
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Common Injuries - Injuries are part of physical activity and sports. Review some of the most common injuries seen in female athletes and consider ways to both prevent such injuries from occurring and to treat them when then do.
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Beyond Sports - Skills that Last a Lifetime. Sports have the potential to teach girls important life skills- leadership, communication, goal setting, time management and teamwork. It is the job of the coach to surface and nurture these skills.
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Facts about Girls, Sports, and Health - Participation in sports can increase girls’ chances of growing up to be successful, healthy adults. Unfortunately, girls in low-income neighborhoods have the fewest opportunities to benefit from the power of sports.
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Girls’ Sports Programs - Best Practices - Ten years of partnering with other organizations to increase and improve sports programs for low income girls have taught us a lot about what it takes to set up and run great programs.
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Recruiting Girls into Your Sports Programs - Recruiting girls is the biggest challenge for many after-school girls’ sports programs. A variety of strategies will help your reach your audience and get girls in the game.
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Athlete Identity - Many girls continue to play sports throughout adolescence in spite of the challenges this period presents. These girls have developed a love for the sport and a belief that they are competent in it; they have developed an athlete identity.
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Tips to Support Male Coaches - Men can play a key role in girls’ development and can be powerful allies in promoting girls’ sports. These tips will help you be a great coach for girls and contribute to their overall development.
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Quality Self-Assessment Tool for Girls’ Sports Programs - This assessment tool helps program staff assess their program, identify challenges, and develop strategies to enhance program offerings for girls.
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The Girls’ Sports Effect - Sports have the power to change a girl’s life. Here are twelve tips on how and why to make the investment in a girls’ sports program.
Copyright 2008, Team-Up for Youth
Resources
- The National Association for Girls and Women in Sport
Develops and delivers equitable and quality sport opportunities for all girls and women through relevant research, advocacy, leadership development, educational strategies, and programming. - Women's Sports Foundation
Advances the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. - The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport
Explores how sport, recreation, and physical activity affect the lives of girls and women. Activities include interdisciplinary research, education, community outreach, and public service.
Quality Self-Assessment Tools - NEW
The Quality Self-Assessment Tool for Sports Programs is meant to support a reflective process in which program staff and stakeholders explore their own programs and work collaboratively to develop strategies to enhance policies, procedures and practices. The QSA tool will help program staff and stakeholders assess their program and identify their challenges. The QSA tool should not be used as an external evaluation measure. It can be used alone or it can be used in conjunction with the California After-School Network's comprehensive After School Program Quality Self-Assessment Tool.
Also available is The Quality Self-Assessment Tool for Girls’ Sports Programs. This tool focuses on specific aspects of programming that can ensure girls have a positive and meaningful experience.
Coach Corner
- Coach Fact Sheet Trained coaches help children develop higher self-esteem and get along better with their peers. Our Coach Fact Sheet collects research that shows the impact that coaches can have on the lives on youth.
- 5-Star Coach & Program Guides These guides give you the tools you need to help young people succeed season-after-season. Follow the link to get a sneak peak at Part One of the Coach Guide. For a copy of the full Coach Guide or the complementary Program Guide, please send your address to info-at-teamupforyouth.org.
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 ING's Run for Something Better program funds school-based running programs.
- Kaboom! Kaboom! connects community-based organizations with corporate partners to build playgrounds in neighborhoods throughout the country.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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. - Playworks
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.
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
