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Educational Resources

WSS Educational Programs


The Free Educational Resources is an electronic tool kit designed to provide youth sports stakeholders with information, products and services for the best and most current resources and to assist our "Child Development through Youth Sports" approach. Most of these resources are free and a few involve fees – please choose carefully and select those that best serve your organization.

Youth Coaching/Athlete/Parenting Programs

Responsible Sports

Liberty Mutual’s Responsible Sports website supports volunteer youth sport coaches and parents who help our children succeed both on and off the field. This free website was developed with the Positive Coaching Alliance and has a remarkable array of tools, including coaching and sport parent education, season evaluation, coaching awards, community grants, media library and much more.

Safety/Injury Prevention/Emergency Care

Concussions and Sleep

Tuck Sleep - Advancing better sleep. Information about how concussions affect sleep. A resource that debunks common myths about post-concussion care, explains how the immediate and long-term symptoms of a concussion can change a patient's sleep patterns and energy levels.

Preventing Concussions in Sports

With professional athletes filing lawsuits against their leagues, and children in youth sports suffering from concussions as competition heightens, coaches and officials must be doing everything possible to reduce these injuries. With the help of current concussion prevention tools, as well as new technologies in the field, athletic administrators and coaches are implementing methods to keep their athletes safe. Check out this infographic for more information about how to prevent concussions in sports!

UW Health Sports Medicine

A great source of information regarding Sports Medicine. This website offers details regarding numerous common athletic injuries, complete with Signs & Symptoms, Causes, Treatment Strategies and Prevention Techniques.

Center for Disease Control -- Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports

To help ensure the health and safety of young athletes, CDC developed the Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports initiative to offer information about concussions to coaches, parents, and athletes involved in youth sports. The Heads Up initiative provides important information on preventing, recognizing, and responding to a concussion.

Mayo Clinic -- Dehydration and Youth Sports: Curb the Risk

The Mayo Clinic staff explain that children don't adapt as well as adults do to exercise in hot, humid weather. They produce more heat, sweat less and may be less likely to drink enough fluids during exercise — all of which increase the risk of dehydration. Understand how heat-related problems happen and know how to prevent them.

National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute

The National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute (NYSHSI) partnered with the American College of Sports Medicine and Sanford Health to help parents, coaches, health care providers, educators and others find credible, expert-reviewed information on youth sport and health.

AAA State of Play - The Importance of Using Safety Equipment in Sports

Focuses on the use of safety equipment in sports. Numerous articles and informational resources available on how to stay safe while playing sports.

Sports Safety

This website promotes the importance of injury prevention and safety on all levels of youth sports through education and research. The NCSS focuses on decreasing the number and/or severity of injuries through developing and teaching sports safety courses and collecting, analyzing and researching injury data.

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention

Collegiate Resources

Best Colleges

Our mission is to help you get the best education possible. We rank schools in your major so that you can make a smart college choice. Browse around our ratings and choose the colleges or universities that meet your needs.

TheBestSchools.org

An independent organization comprised of a dedicated group of educators, professionals, and authors providing the best resources and advice to assist learners through every step of their education, into their careers, and toward sustainable lifelong learning. Last year, only 66% of people aged 16 to 24 were enrolled in college. Students, especially those who are not knowledgeable about the college admissions process, have a lot of information to sort through in order to apply and be accepted to college. In order to simplify the pathways for higher education success, the team at TheBestSchools.org wrote a series that jumps into degree basics, career potential and schools that offer specific degree programs. After reading these guides, students will gain a complete understanding of what it takes to achieve each degree.

Sports Parenting

Responsible Sports

Liberty Mutual’s Responsible Sports website supports volunteer youth sport coaches and parents who help our children succeed both on and off the field. This free website was developed with the Positive Coaching Alliance and has a remarkable array of tools, including coaching and sport parent education, season evaluation, coaching awards, community grants, media library and much more.

Moms Team

This website provides “youth sports parenting information for sports moms.”

Youth Sports

Website offers helpful information, advice and instructional products that will help you the parents, coaches and children, involved in youth sports.

Sportsmanship/Character Education/Inspiration

Sports Feel Good Stories

Sports feel good stories are offered to entertain and inspire, with the hope that readers share some of these stories with others.

Steroid, Alcohol, Drug & Tobacco Prevention Programs

Mayo Clinic -- Performance-enhancing Drugs and Teen Athletes

Performance-enhanching drugs can be tempting to teen athletes. Understand the warning signs and what you can do.

Centers for Disease Control

The website provides alcohol, drug and tobacco prevention information, including a Tobacco-Free Sports page.

Partnership for a Drug-Free America

The website has information for parents and teens about alcohol and drug use.

Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation

Minnesota's statewide program promoting tobacco-free sports. The website provides model policies, tip sheets, and other materials.

National Spit Tobacco Education Program

This site provides information about the dangers of spit tobacco use, with particular references to sports.

Minnesota Institute of Public Health

The website contains links to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs' prevention materials and information.

Nutrition

Centers for Disease Control

The Centers for Disease Control site contains a wide variety of information on nutrition and healthy eating.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

The "Eat Smart, Play Hard" program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture encourages youth to eat healthy and exercise.

Youth Exercise & Fitness

Mayo Clinic -- Children and Sports: Choices for all Ages

Childrens' sports promote fitness and prevent obesity, but one size doesn't fit all. Help your child find the right sport and venue — youth sports association, school, recreation center or backyard.

Mayo Clinic -- When Can a Child Begin Strength Training?

When can a child begin strength training? During childhood, kids improve their body awareness, control and balance through active play. As early as age 8, however, strength training can become a valuable part of an overall fitness plan — as long as the child is mature enough to follow directions and practice proper technique and form.

National Center on Physical Activity and Disability

This site provides information on participating in sports with a disability.

PE4LIFE

PE4Life seeks to raise awareness about the physical inactivity levels of America's youth and the state of physical education across the nation.

President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

This website is the health, physical activity, fitness and sports information website of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.