Coaches and League Administrators can Visit www.ResponsibleSports.com to Customize Their End-of-Season Survey

BOSTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Kids across the country will soon put away their footballs and soccer cleats for the winter, leaving coaches and parents with questions to answer about the success of their seasons, beyond wins and losses. Recognizing that it can be difficult to conduct such assessments and implement improvements, Liberty Mutual Insurance, with partner Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), has designed a simple and efficient online tool at www.ResponsibleSports.com to assist youth sports organizations gauge the quality of their programs.

According to a Liberty Mutual national poll of nearly 200 youth sports organizations, nearly half of league administrators (47 percent) do not evaluate overall satisfaction or obtain coaching evaluations from parents at the end of a season. Administrators among this group most commonly cite not knowing how to begin the process (31 percent), the time commitment (22 percent) or the intensive labor involved (19 percent) as reasons for not conducting surveys.

"Coaches and administrators rely on feedback from parents to improve their programs for the next season, but reaching this important audience efficiently has been a challenge for many organizations," said Jim Thompson, founder and executive director of Positive Coaching Alliance. "To aid in this process, Liberty Mutual and PCA designed the Responsible Sports Season Evaluation to elicit meaningful input from parents that promises anonymity to ensure honest opinions on their young athlete's experiences."

The free Responsible Sports Season Evaluation survey includes quantitative questions about safety measures, facilities and equipment, and the coach's role in promoting good sportsmanship and helping players deal with their emotions. The tool also helps programs measure the overall quality of communications between coaches, players and parents during the season. League administrators may customize the survey to obtain qualitative feedback on a specific question relevant to that organization.

Once the survey is completed, Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports will analyze the responses and provide a qualitative and quantitative report to league administrators, with actionable resources and tools from www.ResponsibleSports.com that can help organizations improve their programs.

"The new Season Evaluation survey further fulfills the design of the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program - to give coaches and parents tools that best help young athletes get the most out of youth sports," said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual senior vice president of consumer marketing. "Leagues aim to provide an outlet for parents and coaches to impart positive life lessons upon our kids, and this tool gives them a long-needed measuring stick to evaluate where they're hitting their goals and where there may be opportunities for improvement."

The array of resources on the Responsible Sports website include information and tips on responsible sports parenting and coaching, interactive discussion forums, coursework and quizzes to help identify and capitalize on the many opportunities sports provide to teach valuable life lessons to children.

The website also provides information about the Responsible Sports community grant program, which helps leagues and teams alleviate budget concerns so they can continue to provide an educational and competitive environment for kids through team sports. In partnership with PCA, US Youth Soccer, the Amateur Softball Association and USA Hockey, Liberty Mutual will award $2,500 grants to each of the 20 organizations that have the most individuals in their communities complete the online Responsible Sports curriculum on their behalf between September 1 and November 30 at www.ResponsibleSports.com.

To access the Responsible Sports Season Evaluation tool, Responsible Sports tips and tools and additional information on Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Community Grants, visit www.ResponsibleSports.com.

About the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program

Liberty Mutual founded the Responsible Sports program in 2007 as a means to highlight the positive impact that everyday, responsible actions can have on our youth. As an insurance company that celebrates people who choose to do the right thing, Liberty Mutual believes that youth sport coaching and youth sport parenting are clear examples of how people can unite to promote the fundamental ideals of community.

Created by Liberty Mutual in partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey and the Amateur Softball Association, the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program provides resources for parents and coaches at ResponsibleSports.com to help children reap the full benefits of playing a team sport. The online community incorporates blogs, videos, and best practices on youth sports topics that provide practical, real-world advice. Parents and coaches also can complete coursework on positive sports mentoring that offers best practices for handling challenging sports scenarios.

About Liberty Mutual Group

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group (Libertymutualgroup.com) is a diversified global insurer and fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2008 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 86th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2008 revenue. The company has over 45,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 12,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

SOURCE Liberty Mutual

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