The Center For Kids
FIRST In Sports,
Health, and Education founded
by Regis Tremblay and Jerry Stitt, is a national resource
for young athletes, parents, league administrators, coaches,
and other adults who care about the influence of youth sports
on child development, families, schools, and culture.
Our Mission is to keep
kids physically active, healthy, and playing sports for life.
We will do this by providing less-organized, loosely structured
age-appropriate games for kids and through the reform of organized
youth sports.
We will educate, inform, and counsel
young athletes and their parents, participate in the on-going
development of coaches, provide support, resources, and leadership
to schools, leagues, and boards.
We envision a culture
that fosters respect for children and considers their needs
and wants FIRST; a culture where kids love to play and have
FUN; a culture that enables children to make new friends,
and trust their coaches and teammates; a culture that teaches
children to honor and respect their opponents and officials
Alarming Signals
70% of 40 million
kids ages 7-18 quit youth sports by age 15.
Less than 10%
of coaches have received any training at all.
13-15% of children
ages 6-19 – 9 million - are overweight or obese.
64% of American
adults are overweight or obese
Healthcare professionals are calling
it an epidemic and calling for immediate actions before the
health care system is overrun. The answer to both problems:
the inactivity of kids who stop playing and exercising, and
the related health crisis, lies in prevention.
Kids FIRST Student Athlete
Workshops help kids understand who they are emotionally,
spiritually, socially, academically, and athletically. Our
“Whole Person” Workshops also teach students about
the role of sports in our culture, as well as their reasonable
expectations from sports, coaches, and parents.
The Kids FIRST
Leadership & Mentoring Program
Students athletes make wonderful coaches! In order to fill
a huge void of qualified and experienced volunteer coaches
within the school system, The Center For Kids FIRST In Sports
trains student athletes in the philosophy and
techniques of the Coaching Development Program. High School
students who complete the training will be assigned to coach
middle school teams. Middle School students will coach elementary
students in PE and intramurals,
Topics
Transition from Middle School, Jr.
High to High School.
The facts about scholarships.
Specialization and year ‘round
sports.
Parents, Pressure, and Fear.
Overbearing coaches.
Your rights and reasonable expectations.
Character, Ethics, and Sports.
Proper nutrition and exercise vs steroids,
supplements, and performance enhancing drugs
Kids
Provide “Whole Person”
Workshops.
Administer the Kids FIRST Youth Sports
Survey to 15,000 kids nationwide.
Conduct our Kids FIRST Student Town
Hall Meetings for K-12 school children.
Provide leadership training
for student mentors and coaches.
The Center For Kids FIRST
in Sports conducts research to determine how young
children think about all aspects of their participation in
organized youth sports. We will administer our Kids FIRST
In Sports Survey to 15,000 students nationwide in grades K-12.
The primary purpose of our research is
to provide empirical data that will influence parental decision
making and choices with regard to sports and physical activity
for their children.
We also hope to influence public policy
that will impact the role of sports and physical activity
within our public schools so that all students have the opportunity
to be physically active and learn from their participation
in sporting activities.
Our Student Town Hall Meetings
are designed to allow children in grades K-12 to tell us what
they think about all aspects of youth sports. We professionally
videotape each Student Town Hall Meeting in an attempt to
reach and move the hearts and minds of adults in ways that
statistics cannot.
It is our belief that we should be listening
to what the children are telling us and we must involve them
directly in changing and improving the culture of youth sports.
Contact:
Jerry Stitt 520-795-5652
Regis Tremblay 602-725-2134
The Center For
Kids FIRST In Sports
5447 E. Lafayette Blvd.
Phoenix, Arizona 85018
