Coaches are some of the world's most important people. They are entrusted with young lives, often spending more time with them than their parents and teachers do. Yet according to research, less than one-third of coaches are trained. And having trained coaches is critically important to creating a positive experience for youth. One study found that only 5 percent of kids who played for trained coaches quit the sport the next year; the attrition rate was 26 percent otherwise.

That’s why it is critical that youth have a positive coach who pursues winning and the even more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. That way, no matter the outcome of a contest, all children can take a valuable, enriching experience from sports and apply it to the rest of their lives.

Please follow the steps below to become a positive coach today!

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If you are interested in bringing PCA coach workshops to your community with Zoom during these uncertain times, please click below for more information!

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STEP 1: Sign up for our emails

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STEP 2: Check out Our Resources

As we return to Youth Sports, it is critical Coaches have the skills to deal with social and emotional needs of our athletes as they emerge from the trauma of Covid- 19. Make sure Coaches, Athletes, Parents Officials take advantage of these resources.

• 11 Tips for the First-Time Coach

• Learn What it Takes to be a Positive Coaching Alliance Coach, what we call a Double-Goal Coach®

• Parent/Guardian Meeting Agenda for Coaches

• Use this Positive Charting Worksheet to Track your Players' Success



Excited? Interested? get involved today



• PCA's Zoom Workshops - These 60-minute workshops are highly interactive and provide tangible and practical tools, all while allowing your coaches to connect and interact. Schools and youth sports organizations can click below for more information and to sign up for more information about these Zoom workshops.

• Take PCA's Online Coaching Course: These courses feature top pro athletes and coaches providing insights on how to create a positive, character-building environment for teams, allowing young athletes to learn life lessons and build skills in their sport.

• Learn About Our Annual Double-Goal Coach® Awards:  Nominees are assessed on the extent to which they reflect the model of a Double-Goal Coach, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.

• Check out Books by PCA Founder Jim Thompson to Help Guide your Coaching

Frequently asked questions

Isn’t Positive Coaching just a lot of soft, happy talk?
No. Positive is Powerful. That’s why such accomplished coaches as Steve Kerr, Phil Jackson and dozens of other top pro and college coaches use our techniques and advise us on theirs as members of PCA’s National Advisory Board. Positive reinforcement and demonstration of belief in your athletes keeps them attuned to the necessary corrective criticism the best coaches provide. When coaches apply the right balance between specific, truthful praise and specific, constructive criticism they help athletes improve and compete better, while also helping them develop as people.
Is PCA's training appropriate for both rookie and veteran coaches?
Yes. All coaches should take PCA Training, from the prototypical T-Ball parents who coach because their child’s team needs a volunteer to professional coaches. Coaches need training in simple matters such as taking a knee when speaking to a small child, and even top pro coaches gain from Positive Coaching techniques. For example, Phil Jackson in this video explains how Positive Coaching helped him and Horace Grant past some obstacles to lead the Chicago Bulls to their first three NBA Championships. In fact, that experience moved Phil to volunteer as PCA’s National Spokesperson.
Does PCA provide sport-specific training?
PCA does not provide sport-specific, skills-and-drills training. We focus on how coaches and parents use sport psychology, educational psychology and interpersonal communication to develop youth as athlete and people via life lessons inherently available through sports. Whenever possible, for single-sport workshops (i.e., a group of baseball coaches), we provide a PCA Trainer with a deep background in that sport. That way, the Trainer is speaking in language, metaphor, analogy and scenario that resonates with the audience and more likely can address certain sport-specific, skill-specific questions that may arise during the workshop.
Where does PCA outline recommendations for playing time?
We have many resources on playing time in our Development Zone™ Resource Center website. By analogy, you can find an answer to most any question about youth sports by searching that site. You also can “Ask PCA” through our Ask PCA Blog.