On August 3, 2017, 25 Army and Navy Academy coaches and administrators attended a workshop put on by the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). Presenter Nick Davidson gave a fantastic, engaging and interactive presentation. The mission statement for PCA is simple:
The Positive Coaching Alliance mission is to transform the youth sports culture into a Development Zone® where all youth and high school athletes have a positive, character-building experience that results in Better Athletes, Better People.
The Positive Coaching is an organization started at Stanford University by Jim Thompson.
PCA courses have been given to thousands of coaches and reached millions of athletes.
A positive approach gets the most from youth and high school athletes, which is what coaches, parents, and the athletes themselves want. Staying positive also helps youth get the most out of sports.
Encouraging athletes with positive reinforcement helps them hear and heed the necessary corrections. With that winning combination of truthful, specific praise and constructive criticism, athletic performance improves and so do the chances that kids stick with sports longer and learn all the valuable life lessons inherently available through organized competition.
Academic research and real-world scoreboard results from millions of coaches, parents and athletes that PCA has trained and educated prove what the pro and college coaches on PCA’s National Advisory Board already know: Positive is powerful.
