At a time when many sports organizations and programs are struggling to jumpstart new activities or remain funded at their current levels due to a struggling economy, the Arlington Youth Soccer Association just proved that when a tight-knit community comes together to solve an issue, it can accomplish big things. In this case, the league earned itself a $2,500 grant from Liberty Mutual Insurance to fund a free soccer program for children enrolled in after-school tutoring.
Parents, coaches, and association officials earned the grant through a grassroots effort to get as many community members as possible to complete an online course on sports mentoring. The course comes from the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program, an online community found at www.ResponsibleSports.com that helps adults maximize the positive role they play in young athletes’ lives, through blogs, videos, and curriculum.
“The Arlington Youth Soccer Association has demonstrated a clear commitment to helping kids understand the life lessons youth sports have to offer,” said David Frings, branch manager for Liberty Mutual’s Arlington office. “By engaging in the Responsible Sports dialogue, parents and coaches have built a true alliance on the sidelines that creates a positive experience for their athletes and community. And by doing so, they’ve also been able to earn increasingly hard-to-find funding for their club.”
The Arlington Youth Soccer Association is among a group of 20 youth sports organizations and schools across the country that completed enough quizzes to earn the $2,500 grant. The Responsible Sports Program is a partnership between Liberty Mutual, Positive Coaching Alliance, and a number of national youth sport organizations, including US Youth Soccer.