Promoting Better Health for Young People Through Physical Activity ...

A Report to the Presidentand recreation programs and the equipment and supplies needed toparticipate in such programs.Many young people are not able to participate in youth sports and recreationprograms because they have no means, or no safe means, of gettingto the programs from home or school and getting home afterwards. Sportsand recreation program directors cite this transportation problem as oneof the most critical barriers to youth participation in their programs.Transportation difficulties affect a wide variety of young people, includingthose who live in low-income, urban communities and those who live inrural areas, as well as those who are part of single-parent families and thosewho have two parents who work outside the home. This barrier shouldbe overcome to make sports and recreation programs accessible for all ofour young people.Training for coachesshould emphasizeteaching young people. . . about responsibility,leadership, nonviolentconflict resolution,sportsmanship, integrity,and cooperation.Community recreation programs have attempted to address the transportationproblem in a number of ways, including• Having the public bus system take children to local swimming poolsat no charge.• Purchasing buses to transport children to and from programactivities.• Taking vans with physical activity equipment (i.e., mobile recreationunits) into neighborhoods that do not have access to physical activityfacilities.• Establishing sports leagues near public housing communities toeliminate the need for transportation.Strategy 7: Enable youth sports and recreation programs to providecoaches and recreation program staff with the training they need tooffer developmentally appropriate, safe, and enjoyable physical activityexperiences for young people.The quality of any youth sports and recreation experience depends on thecompetence and supportiveness of its adult program leaders, particularlythe coaches. Approximately 2.5 million adults generously volunteer theirtime each year as coaches of youth sports teams. The commitment ofthese individuals provides a vital source of support for our young people.However, many coaches have no formal education in coaching techniques,first aid, injury prevention, or emergency care. 17 A variety of excellentsport-specific training programs and standards for coaches, as well asNational Standards for Athletic Coaches, 33 are available.Training for coaches should emphasize teaching young people not onlyabout sports skills and lifetime physical activity, but also about responsibility,leadership, nonviolent conflict resolution, sportsmanship, integrity,and cooperation. It is important that all youth coaches be offered and25