Positive Coaching Alliance
Encyclopedia
Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a national non-profit organization
that provides training workshops to coaches, parents, and administrators of schools and youth sports organizations in the United States. Founded in 1998, PCA has conducted more than 5,000 workshops for more than 1,100 schools or youth sports organizations, affecting more than 3 million youth and high school athletes. PCA Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson launched PCA in 1998 within the Stanford University
Athletic Department after seeing a "win-at-all-cost" mentality in youth sports while coaching his son’s baseball team. Positive Coaching Alliance was created with the mission to "transform youth sports so sports can transform youth."
Thompson, who served more than ten years as the Director of Public and Global Management Programs at Stanford University, in 2004 was recognized as an Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Fellow for outstanding social entrepreneurship
. He has authored four books on coaching: Positive Coaching in a Nutshell (2007), The Double Goal Coach (2003), Shooting in the Dark: Tales of Coaching and Leadership (1998), and Positive Coaching: Building Character and Self-Esteem Through Sports (1995).
PCA’s philosophy focuses on sports as an opportunity for character education, espousing the Double-Goal Coach, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.
Positive Coaching Alliance has three national goals:
1. Replace "win-at-all-cost" coaching with Double-Goal Coaching
2. Help youth sports organization leaders create a culture in which "Honoring the Game" is the norm
3. Spark and fuel a "social epidemic" of Positive Coaching in the United States
Focusing on mastery of skill, rather than on scoreboard results, decreases anxiety and gives youth athletes a sense of control over the outcome. Positive Coaches recognize that mistakes are an inevitable part of sports and cultivate effort rather than concern about outcome, fostering an environment in which players don't fear making mistakes.
Positive Coaches frequently give truthful, specific praise, laying the groundwork for "teachable moments," when players will be receptive to specific, constructive criticism.
Positive Coaches train their athletes to respect Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates, and Self.
PCA National Spokesperson:
Board Members:
, Amateur Athletic Union
(AAU), American Youth Soccer Organization
(AYSO), US Club Soccer, USA Rugby
, Ice Skating Institute
, Pop Warner
, USA Water Polo
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that provides training workshops to coaches, parents, and administrators of schools and youth sports organizations in the United States. Founded in 1998, PCA has conducted more than 5,000 workshops for more than 1,100 schools or youth sports organizations, affecting more than 3 million youth and high school athletes. PCA Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson launched PCA in 1998 within the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Athletic Department after seeing a "win-at-all-cost" mentality in youth sports while coaching his son’s baseball team. Positive Coaching Alliance was created with the mission to "transform youth sports so sports can transform youth."
Thompson, who served more than ten years as the Director of Public and Global Management Programs at Stanford University, in 2004 was recognized as an Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of...
Fellow for outstanding social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship
Social entrepreneurship is the work of social entrepreneurs. A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change . While a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a...
. He has authored four books on coaching: Positive Coaching in a Nutshell (2007), The Double Goal Coach (2003), Shooting in the Dark: Tales of Coaching and Leadership (1998), and Positive Coaching: Building Character and Self-Esteem Through Sports (1995).
Mission
"Transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth"PCA’s philosophy focuses on sports as an opportunity for character education, espousing the Double-Goal Coach, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.
Positive Coaching Alliance has three national goals:
1. Replace "win-at-all-cost" coaching with Double-Goal Coaching
2. Help youth sports organization leaders create a culture in which "Honoring the Game" is the norm
3. Spark and fuel a "social epidemic" of Positive Coaching in the United States
Philosophy
Positive Coaching Alliance developed "The Positive Coaching Mental Model," a research summary based upon several psychological studies, in order to guide youth sports coaches in creating positive and effective team cultures. The model comprises three principles:- Redefining "Winner"
Focusing on mastery of skill, rather than on scoreboard results, decreases anxiety and gives youth athletes a sense of control over the outcome. Positive Coaches recognize that mistakes are an inevitable part of sports and cultivate effort rather than concern about outcome, fostering an environment in which players don't fear making mistakes.
- Filling "Emotional Tanks"
Positive Coaches frequently give truthful, specific praise, laying the groundwork for "teachable moments," when players will be receptive to specific, constructive criticism.
- Honoring the Game
Positive Coaches train their athletes to respect Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates, and Self.
The National Advisory Board
Notable figures from sports, academia and business comprise PCA’s National Advisory Board:PCA National Spokesperson:
- Phil JacksonPhil JacksonPhilip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
, Head Coach, Los Angeles Lakers
Board Members:
- Bill BradleyBill BradleyWilliam Warren "Bill" Bradley is an American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, and former three-term Democratic U.S. Senator from New Jersey. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in the 2000 election.Bradley was born and raised in a suburb of St....
, Former US Senator; two-time NBA champion; Captain of 1964 gold-medal winning US Olympic basketball team
- Summer SandersSummer SandersSummer Elisabeth Sanders is a sports commentator and reporter, TV show host, actress and retired Olympic gold medalist in swimming.- School and swimming :...
, Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming
- Kerri Strug, Olympic Gold Medalist in Gymnastics
- Dean SmithDean SmithDean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
, Former Head Coach, University of North Carolina Men’s Basketball
- Larry BrownLarry Brown (basketball)Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
, NBA and NCAA Champion Coach; member, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
- Joy Fawcett, Olympic Gold Medalist, US Women's National Soccer Team
- Herm Edwards, Head Coach, Kansas City Chiefs
- Doc RiversDoc RiversGlenn Anton "Doc" Rivers is a former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics. Rivers was known for his defense while playing in the NBA...
, Head Coach, Boston Celtics
- Steve KerrSteve KerrStephen Douglas "Steve" Kerr is a retired American professional basketball player. He shot .454 from three point range over his career and currently holds the record as the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history...
, General Manager, Phoenix Suns
- Nadia ComăneciNadia ComaneciNadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
, Olympic Gold Medalist in Gymnastics
Awards
The Positive Coaching Alliance gives out the Ronald L. Jensen award for Lifetime Achievement. The winners include:- 2008 - Jim SochorJim SochorJim Sochor is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Davis from 1970 to 1988 during which time compiling a record of 156–41–5 and won 18 consecutive conference championships,...
National Youth Sports Organization Partners
Little League Baseball, US LacrosseUS Lacrosse
US Lacrosse is the national governing body of men and women's lacrosse in the United States, primarily serving the youth game. It provides a leadership role in virtually every aspect of the game, boasts 63 chapters throughout the United States, and offers programs and services to inspire...
, Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
(AAU), American Youth Soccer Organization
American Youth Soccer Organization
The American Youth Soccer Organization is a non-profit soccer organization in the United States for children aged 4 through 19. Headquartered in Torrance, California, AYSO has local programs known as "regions" in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago...
(AYSO), US Club Soccer, USA Rugby
USA Rugby
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
, Ice Skating Institute
Ice Skating Institute
The Ice Skating Institute is a trade association for ice rinks, and also an international governing body for recreational figure skating. It was founded in 1959 in order to promote skating as a recreational activity...
, Pop Warner
Pop Warner Little Scholars
Pop Warner Little Scholars is a non-profit organization that provides youth football, cheerleading, and dance programs for participants in 43 U.S. states and several countries around the world. It is headquartered in Langhorne, Pennsylvania...
, USA Water Polo