Positive & Sports-based Youth Development

The Academic, Coaching, Enrichment, and Sports (ACES) Network serves as a comprehensive hub for organizations, institutions, groups, and individuals seeking expert guidance in the realms of executive coaching, training, consultation, and program services. Our mission is to foster positive, sports-based youth development that effectively combats risk behaviors among young people. By leveraging the transformative power of sports, we instill resilience, teamwork, and leadership skills that contribute to their overall success.

Joint efforts aimed at youth and community development are needed to prepare young people to meet the challenges of adolescence, adulthood, and civic responsibility. Through structured, progressive, and fun activities and experiences skilled leaders help young people obtain social, emotional, ethical, physical, and cognitive competencies a greater understanding of the need for civic pride and responsibility. 

The Younger Americans Act established a national youth policy. It identifies that there are five core needs that all young people ages 10 to 19 have, and that there needs to be a coordinated effort, with adequate resources, to ensure that all communities are able to provide programs that help fulfill these needs. The five core needs are:

1. Ongoing relationships with caring adults;

2. Safe places with structured activities;

3. Access to services that promote healthy life-styles, including those designed to improve physical and mental health;

4. Opportunities to acquire marketable skills and competencies; and

5. Opportunities for community service and civic participation.

The ACES-N, under the leadership of Dr. Dwayne B. Thomas, has taken bold steps to create programs and services that focus on positive sports-based youth development, and aims to mobilize communities to create positive goals and outcomes for all youth and prevent them from engaging in risky behaviors. The ACES-N team of dedicated professionals, recognize that youth that are problem-free are not the same youth that are fully prepared. Our creative and fun programs are youth-centered, provide numerous opportunities and activities for staff to engage young people's diverse talents, skills, and interest, to build on their strengths, and to involve them in activity planning and decision-making. We subsequently, go beyond the mandates of the National Collaboration for Youth and have developed training programs filled with effective tools, strategies, and models for assisting instructors, leaders, and administrators in the presentation of programs that create knowledge- and care-centered youth.

Program Mission:

To increase the skills and knowledge of participants in youth and community development, enabling them to lead youth and community development projects that strengthen the productive capacities of young people, families, and communities in education, civic pride and commitment, economic development, violence prevention, and other domains of critical importance to growth and development of young people as contributing members of society and their localities.

Topics:

1) Introduction to Youth & Community Development

2) Leadership, Leading, and managing those that follow the Leaders

3) The Key to Leadership: Effectively Communicating

4) Cultural Diversity and Competence for the Leader and Organization

5) Maximizing your Human Resources: Building an Effective Team & Organization

6) Designing, Developing, and Aligning Your Youth Programs with National, State, and Local Goals

7) Integrating Social & Emotional Learning
& Growth Mindset into Program Leadership and activities

8) Others depend on Organization, Team, or Individual needs

Intended Participants:

Youth workers, Community Development specialist, Social Service agency leaders, School administrators, Teachers, coaches, youth and community development policymakers, community leaders, church youth group leaders, and interested parents.

Program Participation Model

Youth Leadership Academies & Young Adult Program Participants - This is the primary model and information provided above.

Executives Only (Program Executives, Directors) Save $200 per person:

A condensed, fast-paced seminar that provides Executives with an overview of the contemporary program management issues & strategies, performance improvement strategies, grant writing & community partnership information, program design and planning strategies, activities and ideas for staff development, and examination of the importance of youth and community development as a part of the overall development of effective communities.

CA: Los Angeles & San Diego;

GA: Atlanta; Augusta, & Macon

FL: Jacksonville; Orlando; Miami; & Tallahassee

MA: Boston; Lawrence; Lowell; Lynn; Springfield; & Worcester

MD: Baltimore

IL: Chicago

TX: Dallas; Houston; & San Antonio

PA: Harrisburg; Philadelphia; & Pittsburgh

DC

* Limited to 20 persons at each location - per session

Directed by - Dr. Thomas, Ph.D.

Program managers and other leaders:

An interactive, strategy filled seminar that provides program managers/leaders with an understanding of the issues involved with leading youth & community development programs and activities, including an overview of youth and young adult leadership theories, communication skills building activities, cultural diversity strategic thinking & planning, getting the most from your youth leaders, grant writing & community partnership information, fostering creativity in young people, youth and community development as a part of the overall development of effective communities.

CA: Los Angeles & San Diego;

GA: Atlanta; Augusta, & Macon

FL: Jacksonville; Orlando; Miami; & Tallahassee

MA: Boston; Lawrence; Lowell; Lynn; Springfield; & Worcester

MD: Baltimore

IL: Chicago

TX: Dallas; Houston; & San Antonio

PA: Harrisburg; Philadelphia; & Pittsburgh

DC

* Limited to 40 participants on each evening - per session

Directed by - Dr. Thomas, Ph.D.