ABOUT THE NFF CENTER

Whether it's a strategy for keeping a team academically eligible, the development of a life skills curriculum for a coaching clinic, or the latest research on sports in society, the NFF Center for Youth Development through Sport (NFF Center) at Springfield College in Massachusetts has the answers.

"We have an amazing team in place at the NFF Center, who are the leaders in the field of athletic counseling and sports psychology. The NFF Center is an exciting new resource for anybody interested in learning about the positive role sports can play in character development," said NFF Chairman Jon F. Hanson.

On January 23, 2002, the NFF Center opened its doors for full-time operation, and while supporting Play It Smart remains the primary focus of the staff's attention, the NFF Center is quickly becoming a source of information on using sport to develop the qualities of leadership and academic excellence in America's young people.

Materials at the Ready

Many of the materials being developed by the NFF Center's staff for Play It Smart, the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame's school-based mentoring program that targets kids from underserved communities for help with their personal and academic development, have relevance to all student-athletes.

In carrying out its mission to train and supervise the Play It Smart mentors, known as Academic Coaches, the NFF Center has developed a comprehensive youth development training manual, a workbook for finding the right college, a life exploration workbook, and a guide to effective study skills; all targeted at the student-athlete. The training manual even includes a section on complying with the NCAA Clearinghouse rules.

Another exciting capability of the NFF Center flows from its charge to be the research and evaluation arm of Play It Smart with an ability to track the GPAs, SAT/ACT scores, graduation rates, college enrollment rates, and community service hours for the student-athletes in the program plus a control group of other students not in the program. This research structure provides the NFF Center the ability to conduct quantitative and qualitative surveys on all sport related issues.

The NFF Center has even begun to track its participants five, ten and twenty years after high school graduation. The ability to provide this level of measurable results sets Play It Smart apart from all other youth development programs in the country.
"A lot of youth development programs do minimal evaluations, but this is a much more comprehensive attempt to study the impact of Play It Smart longitudinally which very few programs do," said Dr. Al Petitpas, Director of the NFF Center. "The NFF Centers shows the commitment of the National Football Foundation to collecting outcome data to identify best practices and ensure quality control."

Highlighting the Positive in Sport

Petitpas and Dr. Allen Cornelius, the center's associate director and head of research, see the NFF Center as a place that will provide the latest and best information on how sports can have a positive impact on America's young people.

"Sports can be a magical experience for a young person or it can be a destructive one. I often begin my presentations by asking people if they think sports builds character, and most people raise their hands. I then ask how many people think sports build character disorders, and typically the same set of hands go up," Petitpas said. "There is nothing inherently developmental about throwing a football. What builds life skills are the interactions with coaches, teammates and the other people around the participant."

Petitpas extends an to all interested parities to take advantage of the resources of the NFF Center, which includes himself, Cornelius, Kelly O'Brien, the NFF Center's Project Coordinator, and three graduate associates, who assist with the qualitative and quantitative research projects.

Petitpas, a professor in the Psychology Department at Springfield College, has consulted for a wide range of sport organizations, including the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the U.S. Olympic Committee, the American Basketball Association, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, First Tee, and Pop Warner.
"Al Petitpas has made significant contributions to the field of sport psychology. His research and writings, particularly in the areas of life skills, have been significant in providing a base for research and application with thousands of athletes of all ages," said Michael L. Sachs, Ph.D. – former President of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sports Psychology and current professor at Temple University.

Other activities that the NFF Center has begun to undertake include the hosting of conferences related to positive youth development; the dissemination of the best practices on creating positive athletic experiences; assisting with coaching clinics by providing instructors for life skills sessions; and consulting with other sports-related groups on how to develop and structure an effective sports program.

"The NFF Center is the first place in America which focuses all of its time on making sports better for kids," said Alex Kroll, board member of the NFF and the NFF Center. "The Center makes the process of teaching life skills through sports more predictable, easier and cheaper. It's going to be the authority in the field of youth development through sports and make an enormous social contribution to our society."

Springfield College Credibility

The NFF Center exists through a partnership with Springfield College. Having the oversight and intellectual capital of Springfield College behind its work places information from NFF Center beyond reproach. Springfield College has a long history as the leader in athletic counseling and sport sciences, including its role since 1885 as a pioneer in teaching and training YMCA executives.

"When people have issues that they want looked at, I hope they will turn to the NFF Center, and say here are some people with real knowledge, expertise and a growing databank that will help educate people about youth sport," said Richard B. Flynn, Ed.D, President of Springfield College. "We want to make sure that youth are provided with a safe environment and well-educated and well-skilled coaches. Whether it's in flag football or college football, we want to ensure that football is something that kids enjoy and parents are glad to have their kids participate."

Not only does Springfield College provide additional credibility to the program, it has produced many of the Play It Smart Academic Coaches, who are graduates of its sport psychology and athletic counseling masters programs.