ESPN, Positive Coaching Alliance team up on Take Back Sports, a Resource for Parents, Coaches
It was a typical conference call last November between ESPN and the Positive Coaching Alliance. The two organizations were exchanging ideas about youth sports when someone on the ESPN team asked PCA if they had an ideas for youth sports parents. Positive Coaching Alliance CEO Jason Sacks’ jaw dropped.
“It was almost like they read our minds,” said Sacks. “We had been thinking about a parents initiative for a while and I had a full pitch deck ready. I pulled it out and said, ‘This is what we have planned.’ It was a full Spiderman moment for me.”
The details of the joint initiative got hammered out a few months later, at the NBA All-Star Game in San Francisco, and Take Back Sports was formed. The program gives parents a lot of resources to navigate the world of youth sports. It also encourages parents to take a pledge to create a “more positive, respectful and supportive experience in every practice game and conversation.” You can take the pledge here.
Take Back Sports is not only backed by ESPN, but also Disney and features several big-name ambassadors: Steph Curry, Luka Doncic and Peyton and Eli Manning.
Youth Inc. recently spoke with Sacks and ESPN VP of Corporate Citizenship Kevin Martinez about the initiative.
What are the main goals of Take Back Sports?
Martinez: “We want to bring back a nostalgic experience to youth sports for parents, coaches and teachers. It’s a collective, wider responsibility. It all boils down to having fun and creating good experiences for kids. We want to make sure we never lose sight of that.”
Sacks: “ESPN has been a great partner of ours for some time and teaming up with them on this was a no-brainer. We want to create a resource hub for parents and get them to take the pledge so we can create great experiences for kids. That’s the whole point of youth sports.”
What can we expect in the future from the initiative?
Martinez: “We want to make sure all boats rise with this. We have a big platform and it’s important that we use it. This has the full support of not only [ESPN chairman] Jimmy Pitaro, but also Disney. We need to speak with authority and continue to grow this with PCA and our ambassadors.”
