What is Positive Youth Development?

Participating in quality sport programs is more than just getting physically active or learning how to hit a baseball!

When coaches, leaders, and volunteers take a positive youth development (PYD) approach to their sport programs, children and youth also learn critical life skills that lead to PYD outcomes. 

PYD through sport is intended to facilitate youth development via experiences and processes that enable participants in adult-supervised programs to gain transferable personal and social life skills, along with physical competencies.

These skill and competency outcomes will enable participants in youth sport programs to thrive and contribute to their communities (Holt, Smyth, & Deal, 2016)