Healthy Lamoille Valley (HLV) in collaboration with the HLV Youth Sports Workgroup, seeks the input from all volunteer leaders, coaches, parents and interested community members of youth sports.

We received a grant to assess the training needs of VOLUNTEER COACHES ACROSS THE LAMOILLE VALLEY to help support their roles as protective factors in the lives of their players, while also helping to sustain our youth sports programs into the future. The hope is to focus on positive youth development. 

By completing this survey you will help clarify the training needs and resources for volunteer youth coaches in our community towards what is offered back to the community for this purpose. 

THE SURVEY GOES QUICK AND If YOU MOVE THROUGH CAN BE COMPLETED IN 15-20 minutes (sometimes longer, though).

We join you in your efforts to create a safe, enjoyable, skill based experience for healthy development of our local youth.

The final survey question will have an option to click on a link to enter a raffle for equipment or other needed youth items as prizes to the town/league you list as your main affiliation of choice. There will be two prizes of $100 each to Power Play Sports in Morrisville. At that point you will also be able to sign up to receive follow up from this survey to find out the results as well as any future trainings.

The topics in the survey include:
Demographics/Profile
Questions about coaching
Questions about training for youth sports volunteer coaches 
Questions about and for youth sports program leadership
Questions about protective and risk factors for youth related to substance misuse
Final questions

Thank you,

HLV Youth Sports Workgroup: 
Nat Bacon
Dave McAllister
Kelli Millick
Lisa Crews
Tom Stames
Alison Link, Policy and Community Outreach Coordinator, Healthy Lamoille Valley
Demographics/Profile

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* 1. Describe your connection to youth sports in the Lamoille Valley (Check all that apply)

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* 2. Describe your connection to youth sports in your own words.

Please list ALL affiliations/organizations/leagues you are involved with, your role, the duration of your involvement and who runs the program (i.e. municipality, schools, non-profit, group of volunteers).

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* 3. What is your gender?

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* 4. What is your age?

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* 5. What sports are you currently coaching or have you coached in the past?

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* 6. If you have not yet coached youth sports, what might you consider coaching in the future? Or, if you are have coached, which additional sports might you consider coaching in the future? 

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* 7. Did you/do you play/participate in the sports you identified above?

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* 8. At what level did you play or /participate in the sport(s)

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* 9. What age group are you coaching now or will/might you coach within the next 2 years?

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* 10. What age groups have you coached in the past?

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* 11. What is the primary makeup of participants who you coach or may coach in the next 2 years?

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* 12. What is/are the type of youth sports program/s you are affiliated with?

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* 13. What are the towns in which you are affiliated with youth sports?

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* 14. What town do you live in? 

Questions about coaching

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* 15. To what degree are you comfortable in the role of being a coach? 

0 100
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i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 16. Please add any comments based on the question above. 

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* 17. Why are you (or might you) be a coach or leader of youth sports ? What do you want to get out of it? What motivates you? 

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* 18. What are the greatest challenges you face or anticipate facing as a coach ?

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* 19. If you are already a coach, what are the most important lessons learned/best practices that you would like to share with other coaches?

Questions about training for youth sports volunteer coaches

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* 20. What types of training would you would like to see offered for coaches of youth in our community? Check all that apply. Add additional topics and/or those topics which most interest you personally in the Other box

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* 21. What are the areas of coaching you are least comfortable with and would be interested in seeking support or training?

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* 22. What structure and facilitation of trainings would you like to see offered? Check all that apply.

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* 23. What is/would be your preferred delivery method of participating in training? 

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* 24. What frequency of trainings (how often) would you be interested in participating? (Check all that apply)

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* 25. How much time outside of actual coaching would you commit to training and coaching development?

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* 26. What ideas do you have for implementing volunteer youth sports coaching trainings for our Lamoille Valley?

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* 27. Would it be helpful to you if childcare was provided during trainings that are in-person?

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* 28. Tell us about your previous experience with training for coaches through the youth sports programs, if any. Below are some prompts to get you thinking. (The next question related to trainings you my have pursued or initiated on your own.)
 
In your experience to date, what, if any, training were you required to complete before or during a coaching season? 

If you coach multiple sports, please name the organization/youth sports program and town for each training description.

What were the training expectations?

What was the delivery mechanism?

Are they written?  Online, in person, how often… ? 

What frequency? 

Any other thoughts to share?

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* 29. What additional training have you pursued on your own?

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* 30. Were you/are you required to get a background check in order to coach?

Questions about and for youth sports program leadership (these questions are for everyone to answer).

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* 31. Does your youth program have a board or governing body? If you are writing about multiple programs please choose the "Other" category and type in your response.

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* 32. Does your youth program have any policies related to substance-free parks or substance free when youth are playing or present, etc. Please share your policies in the "Other" text box and specific park locations in your town (and that you know of) that have are tobacco, smoke, vape, alcohol, marijuana and/or all substance free. 

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* 33. If you are a leader or board member of a youth sports program, what are your current challenges? 

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* 34. How do you perceive the current effort of your youth sports program with respect to providing support and training of coaches? From Passive/reactive to Pro-active

Passive/reactive Pro-active
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i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 35. If you are a leader or board member of a youth sports program, what support or training would be helpful to your leadership? Please add additional comments in the "Other" text box. 

Youth development questions

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* 36. How confident are you in

  Very confident Somewhat confident Not very confident Not at all confident I don't know
Being a role model of healthy behavior
Being able to talk effectively with youth about alcohol and drugs
Knowing the patterns or signs that could indicate youth in your sports program have been using alcohol or other drugs

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* 37. To what degree to do see yourself as a coach/potential coach who is an asset to youth development (protective factor) and caring person to youth in your community?

0 100
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i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 38. How do you/would you model healthy behavior for the youth and parents you interact with in your role as a youth sport parent or coach volunteer coach?

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* 39. What is the culture related to the youth sports you are affiliated with around substance use?
During games, when traveling, etc
Participants? Coaches? Parents? Spectators?
How do teams celebrate? Or cope with a loss? As a group or individuals ?

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* 40. In what ways do you notice the impact of substance use on those you encounter when coaching (any all stakeholders, parents, players, spectators, etc)

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* 41. How much do you think that youth risk harming themselves physically and in other ways if they...

  No risk Slight risk Moderate risk Great risk
Drink alcohol occasionally 
Use marijuana once or twice a week
Use e-cigarettes or vaping devices every day
Final questions

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* 42. In general, what concerns, if any, do you have about the future of youth sports that rely on volunteer coaches?

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* 43. What concerns, if any, do you have that are specifically related to COVID-19 and the future of youth sports that rely on volunteer coaches ?

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* 44. What do you think are the strengths of youth sports? 

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* 45. Do you know any middle or high school age youth who might be interested in the Lamoille Area Youth Council of Healthy Lamoille Valley, our youth substance prevention coalition? If so, email jessica@healthylamoillevalley.org

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* 46. Are you interested in being part of a focus group on the topic of training for Lamoille County youth sports programs and coaches or are you interested in joining our HLV Youth Sports Workgroup?  
Please email us at alison@healthylamoillevalley.org
You can also share your email and other information in the "Other" box below.

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* 47. There will be two prizes of $100 each to Power Play Sports in Morrisville to the Lamoille Valley Youth Sports league/town/sport of your choice, if you are one of the winners.

Would you like to enter the raffle, and or sign up to receive follow up from this survey to find out the results as well as any future trainings?

Thank you! we look forward to the follow up from this survey and supporting our Lamoille Valley youth sports! 

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