Directing Youth Sports Programs

Written by ASEP founder Rainer Martens, Directing Youth Sports Programs is the best collection of administrative resources available to youth sport directors. Containing a wealth of hands-on, practical information, this book will help you develop a sound program philosophy and compatible policies.

Directing Youth Sports Programs is an updated and much-improved edition of Martens' widely respected, highly popular Youth SportDirector Guide. A how-to book for new and experienced administrators, this no-nonsense book presents simple “Best Practices” procedures that you can follow to design and direct a successful youth sport program.

Directing Youth Sports Programs will help you develop a comprehensive system for recruiting, selecting, educating, and evaluating coaches; it gives you a step-by-step plan for involving parents so that you can make youth sport a family affair. You'll also learn how to evaluate and reduce the risks in your program, increase your program income through special-event fundraising and commercial sponsorships, and evaluate and improve your event management skills.

This easy-to-use book takes a straightforward, functional approach to give you the information you want and need to develop a successful program. Directing Youth Sports Programs is loaded with helpful tools to get your program on the right track:
-sample recruiting plans,

-job descriptions for coaches,

-a sample calendar of events,

-a first aid inventory,

-emergency medical information, and

-up-to-date addresses and reference information.
You'll also find more than 30 forms and 20 practice exercises to use to organize and manage your program, plus a unique Sport Event Planner—an indispensable tool to guide you through the process of planning youth sport events.

ASEP has spent 20 years developing resources and educational programs to help youth sport administrators offer quality youth sport experiences. Whether you're a novice youth sport director looking for a user-friendly handbook or an experienced administrator in search of a strategic reference, turn to ASEP for the ideal resource for Directing Youth Sports Programs.

Rainer Martens, PhD, has participated in sports all his life. He has coached at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels and has studied sport as a research scientist. The founder and president of Human Kinetics, he also started the American Sport Education Program, the largest coaching education program in the U.S. An internationally recognized sport psychologist, Martens is the author of more than 80 scholarly articles and 15 books, including Successful Coaching, the bestselling coaching book ever published, and Joy and Sadness in Children's Sports. He has also been a featured speaker at more than 100 conferences around the world and has conducted more than 150 workshops and clinics for coaches and athletes at all levels.

After receiving his PhD in Physical Education from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1968, Martens was a member of its faculty for 16 years. A past-president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education, he has been recognized for his contribution to sport by the National Recreation and Park Association and by being inducted into the National Association of Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame. He has received Distinguished Alumni awards from Emporia State University in Kansas (where he earned a bachelor's degree), the University of Montana (where he earned a master's degree), the University of Illinois, and Hutchinson High School.

Martens continues to enjoy sport today, especially senior softball. He was named a First Team All-American when his Daytona Beach team won the Senior National Championship in 2000.