RICHMOND STRIKERS partners with positive coaching alliance

Focuses on winning and life lessons for youth athletes

Thursday, October 1^st, Richmond, VA– Richmond Strikers has established a partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) to ensure a positive, character-building experience for all youth athletes in Richmond Striker programs. PCA (www.PositiveCoach.org), a Stanford University-based non-profit organization, conducts workshops for coaches, organizational leaders, and parents involved in schools and sports organizations serving five-to-18-year-old athletes. PCA also provides workshops for high school athletes.

“Working with hundreds of youth sports organizations around the United States, PCA has developed practical tools and guidelines to help youth athletes, their coaches and parents get the most out of sports,” said Scott Turner, Executive Director, Richmond Strikers. “We recognize the tremendous opportunity for character-building sports offers for today’s youth, so we are embracing PCA’s Double-Goal Coach^TM model, where learning to win and teaching life lessons are important goals.”

“We are delighted to partner with Richmond Strikers,” said PCA Executive Director Jim Thompson. “Together, we’ll strive to help their youth athletes take a positive approach to pursuing victories in athletic competition and in life.”

The workshops are scheduled to begin in November/December; dates are still to be finalized.  For information about Positive Coaching Alliance at the Richmond Strikers, please e-mail Matt Kirkpatrick.

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Since its launch in 1998, PCA has conducted thousands of live group workshops nationwide for roughly 200,000 youth sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes, ultimately serving more than 1 million youth athletes. In 2006, PCA will conduct roughly 1,200 workshops across the U.S., primarily near hub markets of Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, Hawaii, New York City and Washington, DC.  PCA’s National Advisory Board comprises luminaries from the worlds of academia, business and sports, such as National Spokesperson and Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, NBA and NCAA Champion Coach Larry Brown, former senator Bill Bradley, NFL Hall of Fame Member Ronnie Lott, Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming Summer Sanders, University of North Carolina Men's Basketball Retired Head Coach Dean Smith, Cy Young winner Barry Zito, and Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards.