The whole community suffers when youth and school athletics are not considered an educational process, but a place to merely compete to win.

Headlines show how sports can cause frustration, anger and resentment in students, parents, and coaches. Without a written curriculum and text for young athletes, each team sends different, and perhaps, mixed messages.

A league or school-wide written curriculum based in science is a way to assure young people, parents and coaches that the same values and mental skills are practiced on all teams.

GetPsychedSports.org educates and advocates for the use of organized youth and school sport as a tool to have kids regularly practice the proven skills of self-control, the common thread that runs through issues of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and other societal ills.

A hearing was held on February 11, 2008 at 1 PM in Room A-1 of the Massachusetts State House on House Bill No 4479, which would develop curriculum to use sport as the vehicle to teach self control.

To see what happened, click on this link.
http://www.getpsychedsports.org/

This website is devoted to three simple questions for you to ask yourself.

1. If there are sciences that study exactly what we are thinking and doing when we coach and play, why don't we teach these subjects to our children while they play sports?

2. If these same sciences mirror our community values of hard work, helping others and achievement, why don't we embrace them?

3. If these sciences have children practicing the skills necessary to sustain emotional health, why wouldn't we want our children, and our society as a whole, to reap the benefits of sound mental health?



One hundred years ago, sport changed society when schools took over student-operated athletic programs. They decided to teach teamwork to a newly industrialized America that had only known the rugged individualism that marked the character of the American pioneer. They were wildly successful in that interscholastic sports swept the nation. Today, we all know the value of teamwork and we teach it to our children through athletics.

Now our problems are different. Gun and domestic violence, hazing, date-rape, bullying, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse are part of our lives. We need to develop a strategy to combat these evils.

By placing a written curriculum on sports teams, specifically designed to address these issues, we can make sure that our children practice the skills they need to be emotionally healthy, self-motivated and success-oriented.

Isn’t that a better use of the time we spend in sports, while still retaining the wonder and joy of competition?


Sport psychology isn't just for elite athletes—it's for everyone. Whether a child is a starter or someone on the bench—all kids can learn these skills and apply them during practice, as well as the rest of their lives. The mental skills of sport psychology teach how to reach your personal best, regardless of skill or competitive level.

Why Sports Causes Anger And Frustration  1.  Physical contact by its nature causes conflict  2.  All participants (parents, coaches and students) have expectations which are often not met, so anger follows. By communicating with parents, coaches and kids in writing, we can make it a priority that kids play sport to have fun, learn mental skills, and be more concerned with the details and less on the outcome. Of course, we will be disappointed when we lose or don't start, but it is a skill to get over these setbacks and concentrate on the process that will make us better. Food For Thought:  •  Does your league, town or school have a written curriculum that incorporates the common values of your community? Why not?  •  When a child goes on to a sports team, isn't it like gambling to see what they will learn and if it will be a positive experience?  •  Why not ensure a positive experience (being positive is a skill to be practiced daily) that teaches mental skills for success, on or off the field?