California Takes Bold Step to Revolutionize Youth Sports with 25×25 Coaches Challenge
California Takes Bold Step to Revolutionize Youth Sports with 25×25 Coaches Challenge
Governor’s Advisory Council and Million Coaches Challenge Join Forces to Train 25,000 Youth Coaches in California by 2025, Setting New Standard for Positive Youth Development and Sport Equity
(October 7, 2024 – Sacramento, CA) – The California Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-being is teaming up with the Susan Crown Exchange’s Million Coaches Challenge (MCC) to launch 25×25: The California Coaches Challenge. This initiative aims to train 25,000 coaches in positive youth coaching across California by the end of 2025.
Physical activity and sports participation rates are declining nationally, and California is no exception. Today many children in California are not meeting daily physical activity recommendations, and only half of California’s youth participate in sports. With around 70% of children discontinuing organized sports before reaching high school, the 25×25 California Coaches Challenge aims to create a more positive and inclusive sports and fitness culture that keeps youth engaged in sport and helps them develop the skills needed to thrive.
Through the Council’s Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind campaign, MCC partners Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) will spearhead a statewide effort to instill the principles of positive youth development, social-emotional learning, healing-centered practices, and culturally responsive coaching in youth coaches. Coaches will learn a range of youth-centered strategies, including creating safe spaces for all young people, fostering a sense of belonging, and coaching with empathy. The American Institutes for Research (AIR), who leads the multiyear implementation study of the MCC, will provide research support for the 25×25 California Coaches Challenge.
“A positive and empowering youth sports culture is critical to the mental health and overall well-being of our children,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “When coaches are trained to prioritize character development, teamwork, grit, and emotional resilience, young people are more likely to stay engaged in sports and build essential life skills. The partnership between the Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-being and Million Coaches Challenge will ensure that our youth not only experience the physical benefits of sports but also gain the social and emotional support they need to thrive on and off the field.”
Through existing relationships with parks and recreation systems, schools, community-based organizations, and club teams, PCA and CHJS will provide training to at least 25,000 coaches across California by December 2025. The Governor’s Advisory Council will promote the initiative statewide, reaching communities with significant need and underrepresentation in youth sports. CHJS has existing coach training partnerships across the state. Notable examples include the Dodgers Foundation, the Los Angeles Clippers, the YMCA of Greater Los Angeles, and, together with Nike, the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department. PCA, with its robust state-wide infrastructure, also has planned trainings this fall with the LA Jr. Clippers, USTA Southern California, Boys and Girls Club of Burbank, Irvine Ice Foundation, Santa Maria Swim Club, and numerous high schools across the state.
“California is setting a powerful example for the country,” said Kevin Connors, Managing Director of the Susan Crown Exchange, funder of the Million Coaches Challenge. “This initiative will help ensure that hundreds of thousands of young athletes experience sports in ways that promote physical, emotional, and mental well-being.”
Coaches and organizations interested in joining the 25×25 California Coaches Challenge can learn more or sign up for training by visiting https://moveyourbodycalmyourmind.org/ or emailing Info.AdvisoryCouncil@cdph.ca.gov. Trainings will be available both in-person and virtually. Organizations will be able to schedule specific training sessions for their coaches or join publicly available options. CHJS will host a public virtual training focused on healing-centered sport on November 12, 6:30-8:00pm PT. A self-paced online option is also available for the public through Positive Coaching Alliance. Both opportunities will be available at no cost.
To learn more about the Million Coaches Challenge visit millioncoaches.org. For media inquiries, please contact: Jen Peters peters@collaborativecommunications.com.
About the California Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-being
Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind is a California campaign launched in 2023 by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being, with a goal to provide guidance and resources on physical activity and mental well-being for Californians of all ages; increase awareness among all age groups about the benefits of movement, sport, nutrition, and overall mental wellness; encourage intergenerational physical fitness activities; promote equitable access to outdoor and physical activities for underserved communities; and facilitate collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies, education, business and industry, the private sector, and others in the promotion of movement and mental wellness. The campaign provides easy ways for Californians to get active and to take steps to increase mental well-being. Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind provides resources for both individuals and organizations.
About The Million Coaches Challenge
The Million Coaches Challenge partners have embarked on a journey to grow a generation of coaches trained in youth development. Coach training is essential to creating quality sports experiences and we envision a world in which all young athletes, regardless of their family’s income, their gender, their race, or their ability status, have access to coaches who are well-versed in youth development and skill-building techniques that help kids succeed on and off the field. The first step: train one million coaches in youth development practices by 2025. The Million Coaches Challenge is funded by the Susan Crown Exchange.
About Center for Healing and Justice through Sport
The Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to healing-centered sport experiences for young people and athletes. Grounded in neuroscientific research demonstrating the physiological and psychological healing potential of sports, CHJS empowers coaches and teams through comprehensive training programs, expert consultation, and initiatives aimed at systemic change. Their mission focuses on harnessing the transformative power of sports to promote healing and foster positive development in young people, athletes, and communities.
About Positive Coaching Alliance
Positive Coaching Alliance‘s mission is to change the culture of youth sports so that every child, regardless of social or economic circumstance, has access to a positive youth sports experience. PCA’s work focuses on providing a positive, equitable and accessible youth sports experience for all communities across the country. Through partnerships with schools, youth sports organizations and community based organizations, PCA’s in-person, virtual and self-paced online coach training courses help train over 100,000 coaches a year, with close to half of those coaches working in under-resourced communities. PCA also works alongside community stakeholders to close the sports equity gap, launching sports equity coalitions across the country, including three in the state of California (Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego) to help remove barriers to play, and providing more opportunities for youth to participate in sports.
About American Institutes for Research
Established in 1946, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of education, health, and the workforce. AIR’s work is driven by its mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world. For more information, visit www.air.org.