Youth 1st

Youth 1st Alliance

Thank you for investing in your community’s youth by providing opportunities to participate in sports!  Youth sports can provide us with great learning experiences if we approach them with the proper perspective.  Perspective is how we see the world, which then determines our conduct / actions.  We help parents and coaches see the youth sports experience as it was meant to be: an extension of the classroom, a piece of a child’s development process.

Every week it seems there is another story in the news about a parent, coach or fan verbally or physically attacking an official.   Our young athletes see how officials are treated and disrespected during their games.  Is it any wonder why they would not want to become an official?   This scenario has played a major role in creating the shortage of officials.

Surveys tell us that 50% of officials are over 55 years of age, while only 12% are under 34.   According to the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), 57 percent of officials say that sportsmanship is getting worse, primarily among competitive youth sports, caused by parents (40%), coaches (30%) and fans (19%).   We have some work to do!  We can do better!

 Community-based associations can influence parent/coach behavior by implementing Youth 1st Environments in your league games and tournaments, reminding players, parents, coaches and fans to:  

Benefits of implementing a Youth 1st Environment

1. Increased positive atmosphere for everyone
2. Higher retention of teams
3. Higher retention of officials
4. Training opportunities for new officials
5. Increased visibility and promotion of your association
6. Increased visibility and promotion of your tournament
7. Recognition of Youth 1st selected teams and programs

Youth 1st Team Awards