This resource is an excerpt from PCA Founder Jim Thompson’s (@JimThompson18) book, Developing Better Athletes, Better People.

Turnover in youth sports organizations is relentless. Therefore, if you want the positive youth sorts culture you have established to prevail over time, you must build the organization’s “structural pillars.”

Structural pillars include operations, activities and rules that become routine in the organization’s daily life. If you get these routine activities to reinforce your vision, you are on the road to a culture that is -- in the words of PCA supporters and authors Jerry Porras and Jim Collins -- “Built to Last.” In effect, the system reinforces itself.

Three key groups of people need continual reinforcement by your structural pillars: leadership team members, coaches and parents.

For more on structural pillars, including keys to approaching leadership team selection, coach development and parent expectations, see the full book excerpt below.

This PDF was excerpted from Jim Thompson’s book Developing Better Athletes, Better People. To purchase the entire book, and to learn more about other PCA books, click here.

These books are used in PCA’s live workshops. To learn more about our interactive leader workshops, click here.