Promoting Access to Sport & Physical Activity by Training Coaches in Trauma-Informed and Anti-Racist Practices

Grantee: Seattle Parks Foundation (fiscal sponsor for King County Play Equity Coalition)
Timeframe: October 2023 – September 2024 | Amount: $29,700

King County Play Equity Coalition (KCPEC) will conduct a series of four trainings to youth sports coaches and outdoor recreation instructors across King County. The trainings will focus on youth development, trauma-informed practices, anti-racism training, inclusion, and evidenced based best practice in pedagogy. KCPEC will partner with the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS) and the UW Center for Leadership in Athletics to provide these trainings. The Center for Leadership in Athletics (UWCLA) is situated within the UW College of Education. The mission of the College is to “transform inequitable systems of education to create just, sustainable and culturally-thriving democracies by engaging in dynamic, collaborative partnerships, practices and research.”  The UWCLA fulfills this mission in its work by directly engaging with issues of equity, access, and bias that are pervasive within sports systems. The UWCLA has been providing coach training in WA for over 15 years; their focus is on how coaches support holistic wellness and social-emotional development of athletes while preparing them for age-appropriate performance and competition. Their curriculum frames identity and lived experiences as essential to understanding who you are as a coach and a leader and how you engage with and create physically and emotionally safe spaces for young people.

CHJS is a non-profit training organization that believes there is an urgent need to transform youth sports to be healing-centered and focused on the development and well-being of youth and communities. CHJS’ dynamic and interactive trainings aim to address systemic inequities and trauma found in sport and outdoor recreation while providing practical tools for coaches and instructors to leverage the inherent healing powers of sport and the outdoors. CHJS understands that youth who experience overwhelming stress, or trauma (including from systemic racism, sexism, and exclusionary practices) have unique challenges that often aren’t recognized within the sport and physical activity experience. It is imperative that all coaches, instructors, and leaders understand the ways in which exposure to trauma can change a person’s brain and impact their behavior. Sport and outdoor recreation is uniquely suited to help people who have experienced trauma to heal, because it inherently combines physical activity, relationships, structure, and competence building.

The four coach/instructor trainings will be designed by members of the Coalition in conjunction with the partners. Neither CHJS nor UWCLA offer off the shelf trainings; they tailor trainings to the needs of the participants. Two of the trainings will be specifically designed and hosted by KCPEC action teams.

– The first training will be done in conjunction with the Shared Learning Action Team, which is a group of 10 organizations focused on implementing plans to address improved racial equity in their programming. They will invite all of their coaches and instructors to attend, approximately 50 people in total. – The second and third trainings will be for the entire coalition, with a broader reach and scope, but still designed by coalition members. One of these trainings is likely to be for women coaches only. These will each serve about 100 coaches. -The last training will be designed and hosted by the Outdoor Recreation Action Team, a group of 15 programs dedicated to improving access to the outdoors for BIPOC youth. They will bring all of their instructors, and this training will serve approximately 50 people.