Sisters Sports Alliance to host 'positive' workshops

With financial support from TAPS (Think Again ParentS), the Sisters Sports Alliance will host four August workshops aimed at enhancing the sports culture in the Sisters community.

To be held August 27-28 at Sisters High School, the workshops will be geared to offer useful and positive information for parents, athletes, coaches and community leaders.

With TAPS underwriting the cost for guest speakers and 1,000 booklets, the SSA hopes the workshops will make an "impact" for all ages of athletes and anyone associated with sports.

"The goal is to enhance the positive sports culture in this community," said Quay Richerson, a founding member of the SSA. "The very useful workshops are geared for everyone from K-2 through senior in high school and all who are associated with them."

Guest speakers will include author and sports consultant Kathy Toon and SHS principal and football coach, Bob Macauley.

The SSA is an offshoot of the Positive Coaching Alliance, which was founded in 1998 by Jim Thompson as a nonprofit within the Stanford University Athletic Department. According to the PCA Web site, the PCA has helped create a positive, character-building youth sports environment for more than 3 million young athletes.

Among the PCA goals that are supported by the SSA:

• Train youth and high school sports coaches to become two-goal coaches whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more important goal is teaching life lessons through sports;

• Develop Second-Goal Parents, who focus on helping their youth athletes learn those life lessons;

• Cultivate Triple-Impact Competitors, student athletes who strive to improve themselves, their teammates and their sport as a whole.

"We feel this is a crucial event," said Richerson. "Anyone and everyone is invited and urged to attend."

The workshops will be held at the Sisters High School auditorium, 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on August 27-28. For additional information, contact Macauley at 549-4045.