Notes

Narrator:
Sport is an ideal activity for developing young people. Through sport, athletes can learn respect, perseverance and teamwork. They build self-esteem, confidence and social skills. Every athlete can thrive when we foster a sport culture of respect and safety, on and off the field of play.

Research shows that athletes have better mental health, higher graduation rates and more productive social relationships. But we know that the sport environment isn’t always positive for every athlete. Emotional, physical and sexual abuse and misconduct do happen. The good news is, the power to prevent abuse and misconduct belongs to each of us and starts in our own programs.

At the core of a positive environment is the simple concept of kindness: treating others the way we want to be treated. Kindness is easy to practice. Encourage your athletes to do things like:

Be supportive—offer a kind word or a simple fist-bump after a tough play.
Give positive feedback: “Great work at practice today.”
Include everyone in team activities off the field. Going for ice cream after the game? Make sure all players know they are welcome to join.

As a coach, don’t forget to praise kind behavior when you see it in action. You can use the behavior as a teachable moment when you recognize it in front of others.

Engaging in kind behavior has been shown to positively impact young people, improving things like their happiness, self-esteem and even their physical health. It also reduces negative feelings like depression and stress and reduces the likelihood of engaging in bullying.

In a kind and positive sport environment, every athlete is safe, supported and strengthened—and that is integral to helping them excel.

Stephanie Smith:
We start teaching children very young to play games and to play sport because it does help build self-esteem, it does help them become part of the crowd, it does help with fair play, it does help them become well-rounded individuals physically, emotionally, mentally. It has so many things going for it.

Coach Craig:
What you’re trying to do is create an environment of acceptance, an environment where they’re enhanced, an environment where they can develop their personality, and an environment where they will contribute towards the team as a whole.

Melinda:
I think it’s just as important to remember your teammate is your teammate on the field no matter what. So the background doesn’t matter. I think we all need to be out there supporting each other.

Cindy Aron:
In order to have the most effective environment for children to grow and flourish in and develop appropriately, it needs to be a culture of caring and of help.


Narrator:
Nothing brings us together quite like sport--the community, the competition, the opportunity to help youth develop as athletes and people.

We believe that every athlete should be:

Safe: Protected from emotional, physical and sexual misconduct.
Supported: By welcome, respectful environments where diversity is actively embraced.
And Strengthened: Using the skills they’ve learned in sport to contribute to the well-being of their communities.

This training is designed to support you in developing and sustaining a positive sport culture that helps ensure athletes are safe, supported and strengthened through sport.

This training covers several topics related to abuse and misconduct, including issues of emotional, physical and sexual misconduct, such as child sexual abuse, bullying, harassment and hazing.

This training will help you understand these issues so you can create positive environments that make them less likely to occur.

This training will also help you understand what to do if misconduct or abuse does occur in your organization. You’ll learn how to respond to meet your responsibilities, to help the victim and to prevent further incidents.

If your sport’s National Governing Body is part of the Olympic or Paralympic Movement, then policies around misconduct are also governed by the SafeSport Code. Throughout this course, we will reference the Code and various SafeSport policies. Please keep in mind that this training is intended to be general and provide information any sport organization can apply to help create safe and positive environments.

At its best, sport is a community that unites us, challenges intolerance and champions diversity. By taking this training, you are helping to create a sport environment where every athlete you serve can thrive.