More Than A Game
Coaching Young Athletes to Recognize Unfairness and Lead Change
June 24, 2026
2:30–4:30 PM PT / 3:30–5:30 PM MT / 4:30–6:30 PM CT / 5:30–7:30 PM ET
Sports are more than competitions – it’s a powerful space where young people practice navigating power dynamics, unfairness, and discovering what it takes to lead.
In More Than a Game, coaches and youth-serving professionals learn practical strategies to help athletes notice unfairness, ask meaningful questions, and take meaningful action in sports settings. Through guided inquiry, real sports scenarios, and role-play, participants build tools to support youth-led advocacy while strengthening connection and inclusion across their teams.
Why This Training Matters
Many young athletes, especially girls and gender-expansive youth and those who are racially marginalized, experience sports as both a place of opportunity and a place where exclusion, bias, and unequal treatment can show up.
Too often, young people are taught to stay quiet, fit in, or push through unfairness without the tools to name what’s happening or respond with confidence. When adults know how to guide these moments with care, curiosity, and intention, sports can become spaces where youth not only participate, but lead.
What You’ll Experience
This interactive training invites participants to reflect, practice, and apply what they learn in real time. You’ll engage in:
- Exploration of systemic barriers and moments of unfairness in youth sports environments
- Guided inquiry-based strategies to help youth slow down, reflect, and think critically
- Supporting athletes in speaking up and exploring advocacy in ways that feel authentic and safe
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Reflection on how adults can create team environments and shift from leading every response to creating space for youth voice and action
Participants leave with practical tools they can use right away in practices, huddles, and team conversations.
What Makes This Training Different
Unlike many sports-based leadership trainings, More Than a Game directly addresses how gender norms, racial bias, and exclusion can shape young people’s experiences in athletics.
This training offers a practical pathway from:
noticing barriers → asking better questions → supporting youth-led action
It is grounded in real sports moments, from team dynamics and leadership selection to playing time, peer interactions, and whose voices are heard.
What Participants Walk Away With
By the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Identify barriers that impact belonging and fairness in youth sports settings
- Facilitate conversations that help youth athletes reflect and respond thoughtfully
- Support multiple forms of advocacy, from asking a question to shifting team norms
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Help young people see themselves not only as athletes, but as leaders who can shape their communities
When young people learn to recognize unfairness and respond with confidence, sports become More Than A Game. They become a place to practice leadership, belonging, and change.
Register now to bring practical tools for advocacy, inclusion, and youth voice into your sports environment!
Price:
This training is offered at NO COST thanks to our partnership with Pinterest. Registration required.
Build team cultures where young people practice voice, belonging, and advocacy.
Have Questions?
If you’re not sure whether this training is right for you, or if you need additional information before registering, please email us at info@girlsleadership.org and we will get back to you.
