NFHS Learning Center Releases New Course in Collaboration with the University of Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (April 8, 2024) — A new course focused on developing young athletes is the newest addition to the NFHS Learning Center, the online education platform of the NFHS. “Developing Youth Through Sport” is now available at www.nfhslearn.com.

“We are excited to introduce this new course to our expanding library of courses for the interscholastic community,” said Dan Schuster, NFHS director of educational services. “We believe this course will bring value to those who take it and will contribute to improving the interscholastic experience for young people.”

The course was produced in collaboration with the University of Washington’s Center for Leadership in Athletics (UW CLA), a leader in coaching education, conducting innovative research, and training in youth sports and coaching.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with NFHS Learn to bring Developing Youth Through Sport to coaches, administrators and parents,” said Hannah Olson, director of the University of Washington’s CLA. “This course has a great mix of research and best practices, combined with relevant and ready-to-use strategies that coaches will be able to use immediately. The content was developed with input from over 2,300 active high school coaches and student-athletes, so it is responsive to both what coaches want to know more about and what athletes want to see from their coaches.”

Schuster said the course was created to help promote some of the key goals the NFHS hopes to instill in coaches and student-athletes nationwide, fostering a safe and healthy environment and developing leaders through educational programs.

The course has four units, including unit two, “Building Skills Through Sport,” which covers skills that can be translated into life for student-athletes, such as learning responsibilities, working well with others, being held accountable and improvement through hard work.

Fostering a safe physical and emotional environment is another key aspect of this course. In unit three, coaches are provided resources to help monitor the physical and mental health of their athletes and create an environment where students feel safe and heard.

Unit four builds on unit three by teaching coaches how to create an environment for learning for their athletes. Athlete autonomy, developing a fun and intense atmosphere and a “mastery climate” are the topics in this section. It highlights how a safe learning environment is essential for young student-athletes, and how they can benefit from having an environment that promotes learning and hard work.

Unit five, “Modeling Positive Behavior,” gives coaches information on how they can be effective leaders and role models for their student-athletes. The materials state that coaches can be some of the most influential people in a person’s life, coaches need to be able to recognize how their behavior affects their athletes and know how to be a positive influence. Positivity, respect, reassurance and support are some of the key ideas in this unit.

More information on the “Developing Youth Through Sport” course can be found at:

https://nfhslearn.com/courses/developing-youth-through-sport

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About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,800 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.8 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org.

About the University of Washington’s Center for Leadership in Athletics (UW CLA)

The University of Washington's Center for Leadership in Athletics (UW CLA) is a national leader in coaching education, conducting innovative research and training in youth sports and coaching. The UW CLA seeks to provide sports leaders with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to maximize the positive educational impact of athletics.