Yuma Union High School District partners with Positive Coaching Alliance for professional development
Yuma Union High School District partnered with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), a national non-profit developing “Better Athletes, Better People,” to provide two professional development sessions to coaches on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at the YUHSD District Office.
More than 65 coaches and administrators from all five comprehensive high schools in the district learned about developing positive culture within their programs and “getting the best from young athletes” from PCA presenter Rick Kruger, who spent more than a dozen years with the Minnesota Vikings and has served as a coach, referee and former Division I athlete.
“The PCA workshop was an amazing opportunity for all of our district coaches to meet and collaborate,” Gila Ridge High School baseball and golf coach James Kuzniak said. “We learned a lot of new strategies about the many positive ways we can become dual impact coaches and help promote positive coaching to not only our athletes, but ALL students on our campuses. These strategies will help us make an even longer lasting impact on student athletes, families and community stakeholders.”
The partnership provides YUHSD access to PCA’s training for coaches, sports parents, student-athletes and administrators, comprising live group workshops, online courses, books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson and additional online resources, such as emailed follow-up tips and reminders.
PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools, districts, conferences, youth sports organizations and park-and-rec departments to create a Development ZoneTM culture, where the goal is using youth and high school sports to develop Better Athletes, Better People, Thompson said. “We look forward to working with Yuma Union High School District to create the best possible experience for the student-athletes. Our research-based materials combine the latest in sports psychology, education and practical advice from top pro and college coaches and athletes that help improve athletic performance while also ensuring kids take life lessons from sports that will help them throughout the rest of their lives.”
ABOUT POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE
Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) develops BETTER ATHLETES, BETTER PEOPLE through resources for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, administrators and student-athletes. In addition to more than 1,800 free multimedia tips and tools at www.PCADevZone.org, PCA has partnered with roughly 3,500 schools and youth sports organizations nationwide to deliver more than 20,000 live group workshops, along with online courses and books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson that help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture.
PCA resources, which have reached more than 8.6 million youth, strive to transform high school and youth sports into a Development Zone® culture, where the goal is to develop Better Athletes, Better People and the following become the prevailing models in youth and high school sports:
- The Double-Goal Coach®, who strives to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports
- The Second-Goal Parent®, who concentrates on life lessons, while letting coaches and athletes focus on competing
- The Triple-Impact Competitor®, who strives to impact sport on three levels by improving oneself, teammates and the game as a whole.
PCA gains support from a National Advisory Board, including National Spokesperson and 11-time NBA Champion Coach Phil Jackson, and many other top coaches, athletes, organization leaders and academics who share PCA’s mission.