Strategic Facilitation & Consensus-Building Support for The Promise on Youth Sports

NCYS seeks an experienced facilitator to help design and guide The Promise on Youth Sports, a national initiative that will bring together leaders from youth sports, healthcare, research, education, philanthropy, and allied sectors to develop and advance shared commitments that strengthen the youth sports experience. The volunteer will help shape the facilitation approach for a multi-stage process that includes a Program Committee, Leadership Coalition, and national convening. Deliverables may include a facilitation strategy, stakeholder engagement recommendations, meeting agendas, session designs, consensus-building processes, and a framework for documenting outcomes and commitments. The goal is to create an action-oriented process that leads to meaningful alignment and public commitments that can be implemented nationally.

NCYS exists to improve the safety and quality of youth sports for every child. More than 40 million young athletes participate in organized sports annually, yet the community youth sports system lacks the infrastructure that every other level of sport takes for granted. High school, collegiate, and professional sports operate with injury surveillance, safety standards, governance structures, and accountability mechanisms. Community youth sports largely operates without them.

The consequences are significant. There are 8.5M sports-related injuries occur each year, resulting in emergency department visits, 20M missed school days, lost work time for parents, and substantial healthcare costs. Yet community youth sports has remarkably little data about what is actually happening at the point of play. Injuries often disappear from the system unless a child reaches a healthcare setting. Organizations frequently operate without a shared framework for safety, well-being, or accountability.

The Promise on Youth Sports is an effort to change that.

The Promise is designed to build the first national infrastructure for community youth sports by integrating three interconnected systems: a community-based Injury Surveillance System, a Recommended Guidelines and Recognition Framework, and an annual Promise Convening and Promise Report that measures progress and holds the field accountable. Together, these systems create what community youth sports has never had at scale: data, standards, alignment, and accountability.

The Promise addresses three interconnected priorities that no single organization can solve alone:
• Well-Being & Safety
• Access & Opportunity
• Systems, Standards & Accountability

The initiative will bring together leaders from youth sports, healthcare, research, public health, education, philanthropy, business, and government to develop shared commitments and a long-term framework for action.
As a matter of public trust, we owe it to every young athlete and family in America to make youth sports safer, more equitable, and more accountable. The Promise is an unprecedented effort to create that future.

By helping design and facilitate this process, the volunteer will contribute to a national movement intended to improve the youth sports experience for millions of children and help establish a durable infrastructure that can serve communities for decades to come.

NCYS has already developed a preliminary leadership architecture, stakeholder engagement framework, and implementation timeline for The Promise. We will provide background materials, planning documents, stakeholder input, and access to key partners involved in the initiative. NCYS staff will actively participate in planning sessions, provide timely feedback, and collaborate closely with the volunteer throughout the project. The volunteer will not be starting from scratch but will help strengthen and refine an existing framework. Project objectives, timelines, anticipated participant profiles, and desired outcomes will be clearly communicated during onboarding. NCYS is committed to being an active and responsive project partner. We will designate a primary point of contact, maintain a regular meeting schedule, and provide prompt access to materials and decision-makers. We are seeking a collaborative thought partner who can challenge assumptions, strengthen process design, and help create an inclusive and productive environment for diverse stakeholders. Recommendations developed through the engagement will be seriously considered and incorporated into the ongoing design of The Promise.