STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In a unique initiative designed to get sports parents throughout the country talking about a critical issue facing youth and high school sports – the quality of coaching – Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) and eight of the nation's top youth sports organizations – serving more than 5 million youth and high school-aged athletes – today launched a “National Conversation on Good Coaching.”

To jumpstart the Conversation, parents and others concerned with youth sports will receive monthly “Good Coaching Case Studies” through the websites, e-mail newsletters and publications of PCA and the Co-Conveners of the Conversation: American Youth Soccer Organization; Institute for International Sport; Little League International; Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports; Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.; USA Volleyball; USA Water Polo; and US Lacrosse.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about what constitutes good coaching for youth athletes, partly because people often confuse professional sports and youth sports, which are fundamentally different activities with different goals,” said Jim Thompson, Founder and Executive Director of PCA, a Stanford University-based non-profit dedicated to transforming youth sports. "If we can get people all over the country talking about what constitutes good -- and bad! -- coaching, it will be a major step toward ensuring a positive, character-building environment for youth and high school athletes."

Co-Conveners will roll out the program throughout May and will release a new Case Study each month. Website visitors and e-mail newsletter recipients can “converse” about youth sports issues through the Case Studies blog (www.positivecoach.org/CaseStudies.aspx) and by printing out each Case Study for discussion at youth sports events and organizational meetings throughout the U.S.

“Undertaking this conversation with our fellow Co-Conveners is an honor,” Thompson said. “These organizations have been leaders for years in creating a positive environment for youth athle tes and their families. Our jointly convening the conversation means that it truly will be a national conversation with the potential to vastly improve the quality of coaching for youth athletes.”

The first Good Coaching Case Study, “Old Yeller,” can be accessed within the National Conversation section of Positive Coaching Alliance’s website at www.positivecoach.org/GoodCoaching.aspx.