The Epoch Times Copyright © 2000–2008

Aug 13, 2008

Gary Feuerber
Epoch Times Washington D.C. Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Over 50 million children under the age of 18 participated in some organized sports programs each year. If a child playing in a sport is lucky, his or her coach has had some quality coaching education prior to assuming coaching responsibilities.

 Information on the qualifications of the million or so coaches in the country is lacking, but thanks to the 2008 National Coaching Report, we know something about the tremendous diversity of coaching requirements and standards across the nation.

“American sport programs are dominated by volunteer, well-intended but largely unprepared amateur coaches,” says the report.

The 160-page National Coaching Report was released August 6—two days before the beginning of the Beijing Olympics—at a news conference at the National Press Club. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) published the annual report and sponsored the news conference.

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