On September 20TH, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) delivered their “2nd Goal Parent” workshop to our parents/guardians in English and again on the 27th in Spanish. The workshop is the first parent-specific training held for our chapter, but the 3rd time that our two organizations collaborated to deliver a training/workshop. The first instance occurred in 2020, and was the pilot training/collaboration that led to a national partnership between First Tee and PCA.
PCA’s content, training, and resources are now shared nationwide, throughout First Tee‘s network. They provide resources and training that help participants, parents, and coaches build a positive and impactful youth experience. Their mission is to change the culture of youth sports so that every child, regardless of social or economic circumstance, has access to a positive youth sports experience.
Both First Tee – Silicon Valley and PCA share common coach and learning philosophies centered around process-focused coaching, participant empowerment, and a positive and supportive team culture.
In the hour-long workshop the trainers helped FTSV parent/guardians:
- Assess their children’s goals and desires in youth sports in comparison with their own.
- Provide suggestions on how to talk with their child about practices, and what their child is learning (other than outcomes) through the sport.
- Enact and reinforce PCA’s main principles: Mastery of Sport (Not Just Scoreboard Results), which values effort, learning and bouncing back from mistakes and adversity; and Filling Emotional Tanks, with the correct mix of truthful, specific praise and constructive criticism.
“Non-profits are more effective when they work together to reinforce their values,” says First Tee – Silicon Valley Program Director, Chris Moreno-Hunt. “We are grateful to PCA for delivering their workshop in English and in Spanish to our parents/guardians. When parents and coaches are in alignment with their learning goals, and work together to deliver a supportive learning environment, we notice the participants are more likely to enjoy sport and more likely to absorb the key life lessons that build character.”
In addition to the workshop, we have PCA articles and resources for parents/guardians and coaches on the private side of our web site.
In a world with rising mental health concerns, we all need to work together to build supportive environments for youth. Thank you PCA, and thank you parents/guardians for taking the workshop and being committed to reinforcing life lessons that build a positive youth sports experience.