It's Saturday morning at a university or college campus somewhere in the United States, and boys and girls are streaming through the doors of the school gymnasium or making their way to the athletics field. They're carrying different items -- soccer cleats, baseball mitts, kneepads. But one thing they all carry is the hope and excitement of getting the chance to learn from college coaches and "the big kids" -- college student-athletes.

It's a scene that repeats itself 22 times per academic year thanks to the NCAA's Youth Education through Sports (YES) program. The program offers kids the opportunity to engage in fun and challenging sport-skill, life-skill and conditioning sessions conducted by top collegiate coaches and student-athletes.

YES clinics are held in conjunction with selected NCAA championship sites and conference championships. The host institution of the championship provides the requisite on-site coordinator, administrative assistant, medical coordinator, life-skills coordinator and conditioning coordinator, who organize and oversee the clinic.

Other than an honorarium allotted by the NCAA to those staff clinicians, the host institution receives no further financial assistance. Expenses for use of the facility or security are considered "institutional contributions." In turn, YES program funding provides the selected host institutions with T-shirts, banners, "goodie bags" for the kids, an operating manual and, most importantly, the majority of the coaches and student-athletes who run the clinic.

Depending on the clinic, the NCAA invites and pays the expenses of coach-and-student-athlete pairs from several institutions across the U.S. to work the clinic along with the student-athletes and coaches who are either attending the championship or attend the host institution.

Some NCAA championship sites call for an extraordinary number of coaches and student-athletes to accommodate the number of kids. For example, during the 2000 NCAA Men's Final Four, five YES clinics were held at area high schools and on the campus of

the host institution, Butler University. More than 150 coaches and student-athletes and 1,250 kids participated.

While numerous benefits exist for clinic participants, the host institution and the coaches and student-athletes leading the instruction sessions find it to be a rewarding experience as well.

Judy Rose, director of athletics at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, said, "It's a win-win-win. It's a win for the NCAA for public relations, it's a win for the university's public relations to get these young people on our campus, and it's a community service."

Professional growth

North Carolina-Charlotte has hosted three YES clinics and will host again when the 2000 Men's College Cup arrives in Charlotte this December. Through the years, Rose said the school has made an effort to bring the clinic to the public and include those segments of the population who might not get the chance to go to sports camps or meet college coaches and players. "We want the clinics to be more inclusive. The public found it to be extremely positive," she said.

In terms of expense, Rose said the planning and execution of a clinic is not a financial challenge as much as it is a time and resource challenge.

Coaches typically are unavailable to assist with clinic planning since they are in-season when the planning occurs. And then, there's the challenge of what to do with all of the goodies the NCAA sends the host school.

"The kids love getting 'stuff' in the bags provided by the corporate sponsors," Rose said. "One of the toughest things is finding space to store all of that stuff and the equipment sent to us by the NCAA for the clinic. But it's worth it."

New to the YES clinic scene is Quinnipiac College men's ice hockey coach Rand Pecknold, who said his experience at the 2000 Frozen Four YES clinic helped him to grow professionally. "It was an excellent experience for me," he said. "We've been Division I only for a few years, so this gave me a chance to interact with some of the top coaches in the country."

As for Shawn Mansoff, the student-athlete he brought with him, Pecknold said, "I think it was good for him to work with the younger kids."

Mansoff agreed. "I thought it was good for the little guys, to get them out there and have some fun," he said. "It was great for me to watch the (championship) games and to see college hockey at its best."

The coach chooses which student-athlete will accompany him or her to the clinic. Typically, coaches are looking for student-athletes who exhibit qualities that they can impart to the young clinic participants.

Kami Sutton, softball coach at Radford University, said she found choosing a student-athlete relatively easy. Sutton brought softball team member Ashleigh Brooks to the YES clinic held during the 2000 Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

"She has worked all of the clinics I've put on. She's done a great job and been a great leader in addition to an integral part of the team," Sutton said.

"I don't even think I can explain how excited I was to have the opportunity to be at the championship," Brooks said. "And I love working with the kids. I try to answer all of their questions because that used to be me at clinics and I know what it feels like."

Many endorsements

At the national office, YES program coordinators are happy to see letters such as the one forwarded to them by a coach from a student-athlete who had worked the 1999 volleyball YES clinic held in Hawaii.

The student-athlete wrote, "I can say, without question, that it was the neatest, most fulfilling experience of my life. ... My favorite part was getting the chance to influence the 14 girls I coached. I know my limitations. I knew that I probably couldn't teach them how to hit great or set perfectly. But I could teach them that the team with the most heart and determination will win games."

A veteran YES clinic coach, University of Miami (Florida) women's basketball coach Ferne Labati said she became involved with YES when a fellow coach volunteered her name to coach the clinic.

"I had so much fun, I wanted to go back again and again and again," she said.

Labati has worked all but one of the women's basketball clinics held in conjunction with the Women's Final Four. "I've never heard a coach in all the years I've gone say she didn't like it."

She said the value of the clinic is transferred to the coaches and participants in different ways.

"For the coaches, it's an opportunity for us to network with each other and share stories. Plus, we get a chance to talk to the kids and show them the fundamentals," she said. "For the student-athletes, maybe it'll influence one of them to be a coach. And for the kids, it gives them a chance to see a college athlete and have a role model."

Having a role model is what Rose said is the most crucial part of what the clinic tries to accomplish. "If one kid decides he wants to go to college because of this, if it turns one kid around, all of it is worth it," she said.

2000-01 Youth Education through Sports conference program

2000-01 Youth Education through Sports clinic schedule

Fall 2000

Winter 2001

Spring 2001