MSU didn’t sit the bench when the NFL needed assistance.
In an effort to help improve youth football, the NFL enlisted the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the Red Cross/USOC Sports Training Program and MSU to create manuals for youth and high school coaches.
“The objective is to help volunteer coaches,” said John Powell, assistant professor of kinesiology at MSU. “Take a 5-year-old kid who wants to play and a coach who has never played, but he’s just a great person with a big heart. These manuals will help to prepare these coaches.”
MSU was asked to compile 29 short essays about helping coaches and their players. Vern Seefeld, former director of MSU’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, said the university will receive $25,000 to $30,000 for providing the information to the NFL.
“We are compensated for 29 modules, which was received upfront, at a price of $600 per module, and given funds for editorial work, such as design layout,” he said. “The money will go toward supporting graduate students in the coaching education program.”
The essays deal with such concepts as developing a coaching philosophy, communicating effectively, dealing with parents, building self-esteem and self-confidence.
“These manuals will teach coaches to have better players with more enjoyment,” Powell said. “We are minimizing risk while maximizing social and educational fun.”
The completed manuals are in the possession of the NFL, which intends to convert the information into videos, books, pamphlets, posters and Web sites.
“I know the NFL’s target date for the training manuals was Aug. 1, but they may not reach that date,” Seefeldt said. “It was intend to be produced into several forms, like videotapes, manuals and CD-ROMs, but we are the first with our materials in.”
Beth Colleton, director of community affairs for the NFL, said the manuals are still in the first part of the publication, and were unable to comment any further.
“We are only in the initial phase of this program and are not doing any type of publicity or announcements until we are further along with this initiative,” Colleton said.
Seefeldt said the manuals will be widely distributed by the NFL. He said it intends to promote the manuals during timeouts at NFL games.
“MSU was chosen because of a long history of writing educational materials, and we sent some in to the NFL,” he said. “And I think that helped us get our foot in the door.”
