CoachUp! Washington: Training 44,000 Coaches in SEL

The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and the University of Washington’s Center for Leadership in Athletics (UWCLA) are teaming up for CoachUp! Washington, an initiative aimed at providing social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum to all 44,000 Washington State school-based coaches and bringing more women into the coaching profession.  CoachUp! is one of 10 youth sports projects being supported and funded through the Million Coaches Challenge (MCC), an initiative of Susan Crown Exchange.  The goal of MCC is to train one million coaches by 2025 in effective youth development techniques.

CoachUp! will take a multi-faceted approach to deepen SEL coaching practices across the state.  The evidence-based training will be offered both virtually and in person, ensuring that coaches at member schools are receiving foundational SEL principles and strategies through multiple avenues. The training will be piloted with a representative sample of coaches at the outset of the project, refined, then extended to the remainder of the coaches in the state by 2023.

Additionally, Coach Up! will address is the lack of women coaches within middle and high school programs within Washington State, as recent data from a WIAA state-wide survey suggests less than 25% of school-based coaches identify as women. This lack of representation impacts youth conceptions of identity and leadership at a crucial developmental stage and negatively impacts the student-athlete experience. Two cohorts of new and early career coaches will be convened to receive specialized training and professional development in an effort to support their coaching and extend their longevity in the profession.

The WIAA and UWCLA have been coach development partners for over 8 years and have a history of jointly delivering high-quality training to coaches across the state. The WIAA provides governance for interscholastic athletic and activities programs for 800+ member high schools and junior high schools across 380 school districts in Washington State. The UWCLA specializes in coach development and providing training for coaches around leadership practices that maximize the positive, educational impact of athletics. The two organizations are energized to come together to positively impact youth across the state and spark the beginning of a much-needed shift in coaching education within the region.