Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), one of the nation’s largest and most influential youth sports organizations, is partnering with PCA to become the first national sports organization to require all its coaches to obtain PCA Double-Goal Coach® training and certification. [***This free online course is mandatory for all non-athletes as part of gaining membership into the AAU.  Non-athletes include coaches, board members, volunteers, etc***] 

“We are taking this bold and unprecedented step for two reasons,” said AAU President and CEO Bobby Dodd. “First, AAU has always believed in the power of sport to develop character in youth, and there is no better way to do that than through Double-Goal Coach training for all our coaches. Second, AAU has always been a pioneer and it is keeping with our tradition to stake out a leadership position in this important area.”

The AAU-PCA partnership requires that all 50,000 AAU coaches complete Double-Goal Coach courses for three consecutive years beginning now.

PCA will provide training at no cost to AAU or its coaches through a grant from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. “Our foundation is committed to improving society through character education, and youth sports provides the ideal setting in which to build better people,” said Laurie Dachs, President of the Foundation. “We are excited about the impact this historic partnership between PCA and AAU can have on our nation’s youth, and we look forward to the day when every youth coach is a Double-Goal Coach.”

Training will occur through PCA’s online courses, which feature video instruction from such PCA National Advisory Board Members as Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, Cincinnati Reds Manager Dusty Baker, NBA star Shane Battier and Olympic Gold Medalists Summer Sanders and Julie Foudy.

Doc Rivers (left, with PCA Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson), hailed this partnership. “All four of my children have competed in AAU and two are still active. I am a firm believer in PCA and the Double-Goal Coach model. I am thrilled that every AAU coach across the country will be exposed to this outstanding way to coach.”

Added Thompson: “We are looking forward to working with AAU in what is one of the most significant advances in coach education in the United States. This is a huge step toward achieving our mission of transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth. We are grateful for the leadership of AAU and the support of the Bechtel Foundation, which makes this possible.”