Project Coach and Youth Development
Mission


Project Coach is a program that uses sports as a means to engage, connect, and empower adolescents and youth living in Springfield, MA. Teenagers are trained and employed as coaches for elementary aged children living in their communities. The major objective of the program is youth development. Sport involvement provides an excellent medium through which leadership qualities can be developed, while also teaching and reinforcing the importance of positive health and social behaviors. It is our belief that the knowledge, skill, and behavior learned in sport environments have the potential to generalize to a variety of other domains (e.g., school, community, and family).

  • Project Coach develops leadership skills and promotes generalizable assets in youth coaches that can be transferred to school, employment, relationships, and other community endeavors.
  • Project Coach builds the capacity of local community organizations by providing a cadre of well-trained and knowledgeable youth workers- who happen to be teenagers.
  • Project Coach's emphasis on sports and health provides opportunities for elementary school aged children to engage in and enjoy physical activity.
  • Project Coach provides a range of opportunities for Smith graduate and undergraduate students to gain experience working with urban youth in an educational setting.