Twentynine Palms Parks & Recreation Awarded Coaching Grant and Selection in the Million Coaches Challenge

The City of Twentynine Palms Parks & Recreation Department has been selected by the National Recreation and Park Association to participate in the Million Coaches Challenge. The Susan Crown Exchange created the Million Coaches Challenge as part of envisioning a world in which all young athletes have access to coaches who are well-versed in youth development and skill-building techniques that help kids succeed on and off the field. Through the Million Coaches Challenge, the Susan Crown Exchange aims to trail one million coaches in youth development by 2025, creating a future where kids thrive by working together, celebrating success, and managing failure.

Twentynine Palms Parks & Recreation is committed to building positive experiences for our young people—which means training our coaches, staff, and volunteers in how to support positive youth development. Through the Million Coaches Challenge, Twentynine Palms Parks & Recreation is receiving access to no-cost training from the Positive Coaching Alliance to offer online course training to soccer, volleyball, and flag football coaches this fall. In December, an in-person coach workshop will be held for basketball coaches to ensure they have the tools needed to support positive youth development. Twentynine Palms Parks & Recreation has committed to training 85 people, including staff, volunteer coaches, and officials, by the end of 2024. To help encourage participation in the Positive Coaching Alliance course trainings, the National Recreation and Park Association awarded Twentynine Palms Parks & Recreation with a grant of $4,500 to be used for incentives, rewards, and training tools.

"A great coach can change a child's life. Through our partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance and the National Recreation and Park Association, we are excited to provide quality training to our coaches to foster youth development, teamwork, empathy, and problem solving," said Recreation Program Supervisor Amy Tessier.