PHOENIX – Thunderbirds Charities recently awarded Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) – Arizona with a $50,000 grant. The funds will enable PCA-Arizona to provide PCA workshops to underserved and underfunded middle schools throughout Maricopa County.
“We at PCA-Arizona are incredibly grateful to the Thunderbirds for this grant, which will allow us to conduct a multitude of workshops that teach valuable life lessons for coaches, athletes and parents in Maricopa County,” said Rich Tomey, Chapter Executive Director. “The Thunderbirds and PCA both share a common mission to provide the young children of Arizona with a positive learning environment both on and off the field.”
“The Thunderbirds are proud to support Positive Coaching Alliance,” said Thunderbirds Charities President Andy Markham. “They’re instilling in our youth essential life lessons, and we are excited to help fuel their efforts.”
With the generosity of The Thunderbirds Grant, teachers, coaches and students throughout Maricopa County middle schools will have an opportunity to learn and benefit from PCA tools and concepts. The ability to work with all key stakeholders (school leaders, coaches, and student-athletes) through live, interactive educational workshops will enrich the development of a county-wide culture that utilizes sports as a means of teaching character education and life lessons. PCA lessons foster character development that lasts a lifetime and can break the negative youth-sports cycle forever. Athletic fields are classrooms, that ultimately teach us our greatest lessons in life and provide a springboard to excel both in the classroom and in life.
Some of the lessons learned will be:
Leadership Training: sets the table for success by aligning School Administrators, Staff and Coaches to achieve great things. Topics include:
- Culture-shaping skills development for leaders
- Elements of a positive coaching culture
- Structural pillars and maintenance of a positive culture
- Development of an organization-specific development plan
Coach Training: introduces PCA’s Double-Goal Coach model and presents research from experts in coaching, education and sports psychology. Every participant gains access to practical, proven tools that they can immediately begin using in their next practice or competition. Topics include an in-depth review of the three principles of Positive Coaching:
- ELM Approach to Building a Mastery Environment
- Filling of Emotional Tanks for Optimal Performance
- Honoring the Game
Athlete Training: educates high-school athletes on becoming a Triple-Impact Competitor who strives to improve themselves, their teammates and the game. Outcomes include:
- Inspiration to value competitors and respect rules, officials and the game
- Education of powerful sports psychology techniques to improve performance
- Player self-confidence, resiliency, response to adversity, self-control and mental toughness
About Thunderbirds Charities
Thunderbirds Charities is a non-profit organization formed in 1986 to distribute monies raised through the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament. The Thunderbirds Charities Board consists of 15 board members from varying professional backgrounds. The mission of Thunderbirds Charities is to assist children and families, help people in need and improve the quality of life in our communities. The organization’s giving is directed toward organizations based or with a significant presence in Arizona. For more information on Thunderbirds Charities or the Waste Management Phoenix Open, visit www.wmphoenixopen.com or call the Thunderbirds office at (602) 870-0163.
About Positive Coaching Alliance
Founded in 1998 at Stanford University, Positive Coaching Alliance is a national 501C3 nonprofit organization dedicated to developing “better athletes and better people.” PCA has developed a variety of programs and resources for youth and high school athletes, coaches, sport leaders, parents, and officials. These include “live” educational workshops as well as online courses, published books, and articles. All of our programs are research-based and are delivered by PCA trainers who have deep coaching experience and are equipped with the latest research in sports and educational psychology. We also leverage alliances with nationally recognized coaches, athletes, professors, businesses and national youth sports organizations, many of whom also serve as members of PCA’s National Advisory Board.Specifically, our programs and activities are designed to develop: Double-Goal Coaches®, whose first goal is winning and whose second and more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports;
Second-Goal Parents®, who concentrate on life lessons while letting coaches and athletes focus on competing; and Triple-Impact Competitors®, who strive to impact sport on three levels, by improving themselves, their teammates, and the game overall
For information on PCA-Arizona, contact Rich Tomey, Chapter Executive Director. Rich_Tomey@positivecoach.org or call 602-647-2864.
For more information about Thunderbirds Charities, visit thunderbirdscharities.org.