A Call to Action

2. A Call to Action “Having acknowledged the prominence of sports in our nation and our state, we need to acknowledge a concern with how we conduct school sports. Can we serve our student-athletes better? Is there a way to describe healthy school sports? Is there an urgency to make some corrections?”

3. Background • Federally Funded • University of Maine’s Center for Sports and Coaching • Select Panel consisting of coaches, educators, athletic directors, parents, administrators, superintendents and 350 Maine Student-Athletes contributed to the 2005 Report • National attention: NPR, Parade magazine; American School Board Journal

4. MSAD 51 • One of 12 pilot sites in Maine • Year long grant - $3,000 • Free professional development for coaches • Formation of local committee of community members, coaches and administrators • Local committee to seek input through community conversations on how SDR might be implemented in MSAD 51 • Recommend policies to Board of Directors by spring, 2006

5. Process to Date • Local Committee:Chair-Diane Morrison,Barry Crommett,Dave Dowling, Polly Frawley, Ron Graham, Mike Griffin, Bill Landis, Eliza Miller, Ken Marks, Mike Andreasen, Todd Livingston, Students: Gain Robinson, Scott Alexander, Kim Chapman, Rachel Aranson • Spring, 05: Information session and input from coaches • Spring, 05: Survey of Grades 7-11 students • Fall, 05: Public Gathering with Duke Albanese - Guest Speaker

6. The Strategy and Design of the Report • Core Principles: recommended philosophies • Core Practices: list of practices that should be encouraged • Out-of-Bounds: list of practices that should be discouraged

7. #1 Philosophy, Values and Sportsmanship • Principle: Athletic participation must be healthful, positive and safe for everyone involved, conducted in an environment that teaches values and ethics, strengthens the community, promotes competition without conflict and enriches the lives of the athletes. • Sample Practice: Codes of conduct for coaches, players and parents. • Sample Out-of-Bounds: Showing disrespect to opponents or officials.

8. #2 Sports and Learning • Principle: Learning and personal growth form the foundation for interscholastic and intramural sports. • Sample Practice: Coaches are educators, first and foremost. • Sample Out-of-Bounds: Programs that highlight the elite athlete and fail to provide a broad range of sports opportunities at all levels.

9. #3Parents and Community • Principle: Parents and community are actively involved in creating and supporting an environment that fosters positive athletic experiences for student-athletes. • Sample Practice: Parents leave coaching to the coaches. • Sample Out-of-Bounds: Out-of-control spectators who berate and taunt officials, coaches and the opposing team through their actions, words and signs

10. #4 Quality of Coaching • Principle: The coach is the key to making the student-athlete experience appropriate, positive and educational. • Sample Practice: Coaches support the complex needs of maturing adolescents. • Sample Out-of-Bounds: Coaches that fail to understand that they are first and foremost teachers.

11. #5 Opportunity to Play • Principle: Each student who meets the eligibility standards has the opportunity to participate and learn through sports. • Sample Practice: Schools promote and fund athletics at interscholastic and intramural levels as part of the educational program. • Sample Out-of -Bounds: Putting pressure on students to participate in costly out-of-school sports programs or camps.

12. #6 Health and Fitness • Principle: Participation in sports builds self-confidence while teaching good health and fitness habits to last a lifetime. • Sample Practice: Physical and emotional health and safety of the students are the primary considerations of all athletic programs. • Sample Out-of-Bounds: Inappropriate, premature focus on a single sport.

13. #7 Leadership, Policy and Organization • Principle: High-quality athletic programs are built upon a foundation of strong leadership, clear policy, adequate resources and effective organization. • Sample Practice: Parents, coaches, students and administrators work to establish codes of conduct. • Sample Out-of-Bounds: Inequitable distribution of human and fiscal resources that support more than one sport or gender over another.

14. Other Topics Covered • Middle Level Sports: exploration rather than specialization; continuing opportunities to play; teamwork and sportsmanship • Out-of-School Sports: coordinating seasons and activities to benefit student-athletes; parents play the key role in assuring children have balanced schedules • Suggested Compacts: making the Core Principles stick through compacts for school community, parents, student-athletes and coaches.

15. What Sports Done Right Is and Is Not • It’s NOT about changing the level of competition • It’s NOT about changing the selective nature of varsity sports • It IS about developing a consistency in attitude and approach between coaches, parents, athletes and officials

16. What’s Next? • Parent University: Introduction of Spring 05 Survey data and solicit comments on data • Winter 05/06 Information sessions with parents and students • Winter 05/06 Opportunity for community input on recommended Sports Done Right policies • Presentation of recommended Sports Done Right Policies to Board of Directors: spring, 06

17. For more Information - • Obtain local Sports Done Right info at: http://greely.msad51.org/Pages/MSAD51_GHSAthletics/Sports/index • Email contacts for selected SDR members • Bcrommett@apple.com (Barry Crommett) • Ddowlin1@maine.rr.com (Dave Dowling) • Frawleyp@maine.rr.com (Polly Frawley) • Rgraham1@maine.rr.com (Ron Graham) • Mike_griffin@msad51.org (Mike Griffin) • Blandis@cumberlandmaine.com (Bill Landis) • Enm@maine.rr.com (Eliza Miller) • Nyarm@maine.rr.com (Diane Morrison) • Attend community meetings • Get FREE Sports Done Right Document at: http://www.sportsdonerightmaine.org/