PCA August Partner of the Month: Schools

This month we celebrate one of our most important partners, Schools. We interviewed Ripper Hatch, PCA Vice President, Partner Development to get a better understanding on how PCA works with Schools.

What type of Schools does PCA work with?

PCA partners with all types of schools, in almost every state. We work with large public school districts, including some of the largest in the country – Public School Athletic League (NYC), Chicago Public Schools, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and Hillsborough County Public Schools. We also work with many private, independent, and charter schools.  Finally, while most of PCA’s school partners concentrate their efforts on their high schools, we also work with numerous middle and elementary schools.

Why do schools find value working with PCA? 

Our school partners are not much different from other youth sports partners that find value in the terrific content provided at our workshops, as well as the excellent PCA Trainers who facilitate the workshops.  They also benefit from the ongoing resources we provide throughout the school year, which allow school leaders to reinforce the goals of their partnership with PCA.

Our school partners also find significant value in the content and workshops PCA has developed for student-athletes, including the Character and Leadership Development Program, which helps schools develop leaders within their school programs.

The recent merger of PCA with Coaching Corps has deepened our focus, allowing us to work with districts to eliminate participation gaps and enhance equity and accessibility in their programs. We are now positioned to help schools address systemic barriers and increase participation among girls and marginalized groups. This additional equity focus helps our partners ensure that all children, regardless of background, have access to positive sports experiences.

Is there a minimum size of school PCA works with?

We work with schools of all sizes.  We work with some of the largest districts, as well as individual schools.  Each school has their own culture, and PCA is here to help each one achieve the goals that will lead to a positive, equitable, and accessible youth sports environment.

What PCA workshops are best for schools? 

Schools are able to choose from all of the workshops that PCA has to offer.  With coach workshops, they enjoy the variety of six workshop offerings.  The series of coach workshops allow for continued education for coaches in school programs.

Schools are also very dedicated to helping educate the parents of their student-athletes in being positive sports parents.  PCA’s parent workshops (which includes a 30-minute Parent Talk) are easily integrated into meetings that schools are already doing with their parents, leading to increased awareness and attendance.

As mentioned before, the series of athlete workshops allow for a continued curriculum of content that schools can use to create leaders within their programs.

Finally, the Leading Your Athletic Department workshop helps school leaders develop a positive sports culture, while developing action plans for implementation of PCA workshops throughout their community of coaches, parents and athletes. 

PCA is also excited to integrate the new Positive Youth Sports Culture Index, which clearly describes the characteristics of a positive youth sports culture so that schools can assess where they are currently, set goals, take action, and measure their progress as they improve. This tool and process will help schools create environments where kids thrive and learn.

How do schools find out about PCA?

Most schools find out about PCA by direct contact with one of our Partnership Managers.  They also will see PCA at their state association conferences.  PCA’s website is also a very valuable tool to find out what PCA can offer.  Finally, many schools will find out about PCA because of work that PCA is doing with the numerous youth sports programs in their city.

How can a school create a partnership with PCA?

By working with a Partnership Manager, a school leader can develop a partnership that meets their specific needs.  Because of the variety of workshops PCA offers, the partnership will be developed that helps create the positive sports culture that a leader hopes to achieve.   Once the partnership is signed with PCA, the process of implementing the various elements is turned over to one of PCA’s Program Managers.  The Program Manager will work closely with the leader to implement all of the elements of the partnership, while providing ongoing support and resources that enhances and reinforces the workshops and overall goals.

What outcomes can a school expect?

Schools that partner with PCA should expect to see a more positive culture within their program.  They should expect their coaches to exhibit behavior more conducive to a positive youth sports culture.  They should expect their athletes to be more committed to being leaders that create a culture on their teams, working in conjunction with the coaches to develop a positive team atmosphere.  Parents should be more educated on how to manage their involvement in their child’s sports experience, while understanding the ultimate goals of being involved in school sports. Furthermore, if our partnership addresses issues related to equity and access, schools can anticipate significant improvements in inclusivity and participation.

Testimonials from School Partners about working with PCA

Hillsborough County Public Schools

“PCA programming reminds coaches that they have a responsibility to more than the scoreboard.”

“Coaches are required to attend the annual workshop before they interact with kids in any context including conditioning or practices.  Additionally, we remind our paid coaches that they will not receive their coaching stipend without the required PCA training. In addition, support for PCA programming is top-down, from the school board to district leadership.”

“Since COVID, more of our coaches have found that the old ways of coaching don’t work as well, and they’ve turned to PCA tools and techniques to build stronger teams. Coaches are learning that being positive doesn’t mean not holding players accountable. They can be respectful towards athletes and treat them as individuals while still setting expectations and holding the athletes accountable.”

“PCA trainers work directly with specific teams and their coaches – which has resulted in increased team camaraderie, and increased focus on teamwork and sportsmanship.”

Oakland Unified School District

“Collaborating with the Oakland Sports Equity Coalition is not a sports technical connection but a strategic alliance to advance local change for community impact. This collaboration has transformed challenges into triumphs for the YES! Sports program. When we say yes to sports and are grounded by equity and the courage to challenge the status quo, we push forward towards a common goal and ideas, creating blueprints that change the youth sports landscape. We intend to cultivate joy, and our arrival is to say ‘YES!’ to sports for all youth. Thank you, PCA for playing a pivotal role.”

Nathan Hale Elementary, partner CIS of Chicago school

“PCA’s Jr. Triple-Impact Competitor activities are a direct focus on Social-Emotional Learning and complement what we’re trying to do with our students in the classroom. Through PCA, we’re able to better instill discipline and increase students’ ability to exercise self-control.”

Highland Oaks Middle School, Miami Dade

“The workshops were great. The students are engaged and participating. The presenters are great and have a lot of energy, which I think gets the students more motivated too. They are all communicating well. The presenters seemed very impressed with the responses. I see the students getting more comfortable with communicating.  I have enjoyed the views and variety of topics.”

American Senior High School

“Our students are understanding the importance of having a healthy growth mindset, which has enabled them to approach challenges with determination and continue to strive to ultimately get better and better through time. Since the PCA workshops were conducted… (we) saw a change in a star softball pitcher.  He noticed that she was becoming an even more positive leader, helping the team advance to the playoffs with her positive energy that was becoming infectious as time went on.  Ultimately, focusing on growth mindsets, working to be more resilient, and filling the emotional tanks of teammates has resulted in success on and off the field for her and her teammates.”

Feedback received from Post-Workshop surveys

“The PCA workshop just opened my eyes on how important my role as coach is daily.”

“Having a positive mindset. Framing negative situations in a positive way to encourage growth. I believe it gives the player an extra incentive to retain coaching info and apply towards getting better.”

“Learned how to help athletes see opportunities rather than failures.”

“Learning how to listen to my athletes and we both sharing good information and seeing growth.”

“It was just a great experience to listen and talk with other coaches about how they all work in their programs. We do not always get a chance to come together as coaches and discuss what works for our team, what is positive and how to continually motivate student athletes.”

“Communicating and understanding each other… we help and learn from one another. There is never to much learning from your own athletes as well they do have ideas as well”

“I’m more focused on how my athletes can learn from playing sports now.”

“I put less pressure on my student-athletes to have fun and improving than just winning.”

“It helped me understand building a positive culture in the locker room will assist my players beyond the football field.”

“Creating a more positive post-practice feeling in order to foster motivation for the next practice…”

“More positive with my athletes when my first instinct would be to say something negative.”

“Motivated me to become more active during the off season.”

“I find different ways to correct mistakes and help them improve their conversations with each other also.”

“Better outlook on how important the results actually are.”