Pictured: A young Justin Taylor on the basketball court.
In honor of ESPN’s Youth Sports Week, I spent some time reflecting on a coaching experience that impacted me as a youth.
I was 9 years old, and it was my first year playing organized basketball in our local recreation league. After being bumped up to the 10-year-old league because of my abilities on the court, my first game was going worse than I could have ever imagined. It was halftime, and I had turned the ball over just about every time I touched it.
My coach saw the defeated look on my face and tears in my eyes as I sat on the bench awaiting the second half to begin. He knelt beside me and said, “Justin, I know you’re nervous and afraid because these kids are bigger than you, but the pressure you’re putting on yourself is stopping you more than any defense is. More than anything, your teammates and I just want you out there having fun.” He went on to reassure me that I belonged on the court, and that was all I needed to hear. I went on to score my first few points in my very first basketball game, including the game-winning basket!
That day, not only was my coach in tune enough with his players to recognize how I was feeling in the moment, but he instilled confidence in me — the type of confidence that helped me understand how to push past limitations I put on myself. That’s a lesson I carry with me to this day.
That’s why I’m proud to be working with our partners at ESPN, who launched the Take Back Sports initiative last year. Take Back Sports is about making sports fun again — prioritizing joy, creating opportunities, and helping kids develop important life skills like leadership, teamwork and sportsmanship. This initiative is primarily targeted towards adults — the gatekeepers and changemakers in youth sports of kids ages 5-11 — including parents, coaches, and all caring adults.
Across the country, parks and recreation is where many kids experience their first coach, their first team, and their first taste of what sports can be. But too often, volunteers are handed a whistle and a roster without the support they need to thrive. They bring heart but lack the tools.
Take Back Sports in Action
In the City of Perris, California, volunteer youth coaches felt unsupported and overwhelmed. Coaching quality declined, parent complaints grew louder, and few were willing to step into coaching roles themselves. As a result, the Community Services Department struggled to expand programming to meet community needs. Serving approximately 80,000 residents in Riverside County — with another 1,000 expected in the next one to two years — the city faced an uphill battle to recruit and retain quality coaches.
After receiving a 2024 grant from NRPA and the Million Coaches Challenge, the department expanded access to How to Coach Kids, a training presented by Nike in partnership with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and implemented strategies to overcome common barriers to coaching, including:
- Personal Recruitment: The city called parents individually, using low-pressure, values-focused messaging to appeal to the desire to create meaningful experiences with their kids: “This is your chance to coach your child.”
- Materials and Mentorship: The city built confidence by preparing volunteers early (through a pre-season handbook, Q&A and live practice demonstrations). New and experienced volunteers were paired together for support.
- The “Village” Model: The city expanded ways parents could get involved by using a shared “village” coaching model, offering gradual entry roles like assistant coach or team manager, and leveraging group moments during practice demos to inspire multiple parents to step up together.
Pictured: A basketball clinic takes place in Perris, California. Photo courtesy of City of Perris.
These strategies led to youth engagement in sports at local clubs that the city had never seen, and an ecosystem that supports volunteers and reinforces training standards.
As a recreation coordinator from the City of Perris said, “Success wasn’t about numbers, it was about people. By building trust, staying persistent and creating opportunities for connection through sports, we proved that a strong community can build something special together.”
To learn more about how the City of Perris is building the coaching pipeline, check out this case study.
NRPA’s Commitment to Coach Training
Youth sports need more coaches who can instill confidence and life lessons into the hearts and minds of kids, and park and recreation professionals are uniquely positioned to do this. At NRPA, we’re committed to supporting coaches by providing the necessary tools they need to make a positive impact. If we do it right, we’ll have more kids go from crying on the bench to playing with a smile — just like 9-year-old me! Be sure to check out our Level Up Coaching Hub, which is filled with practical guides and evidence-based tools.
To share your coaching story with us, email youthsports@nrpa.org.