PCA National Advisory Board Member Mary Fry (@MaryFry10) is a professor in the Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Kansas. She also is the Director of the KU Sport and Exercise Psychology Lab and oversees the graduate program in the area.

In this video, shot during Mary's visit to the PCA Trainer Institute to consult with PCA Trainers (workshop leaders), she summarizes key discoveries of her research into "Caring Climate." That is an environment that a coach can create to make athletes as comfortable as possible so they can perform at their best.

For example, athletes who know they are welcome, safe, accepted, valued and respected, are much freer to focus on tasks. They try harder, have more fun, want to stick with the sport longer. She also notes broader psychological effects of a caring climate, such as increased hope and happiness and decreased depression.