Professional Coaches and Athletes Provide Advice to Youth Sports Parents and Coaches in New Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Podcast Series

BOSTON, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Known widely for leading their professional teams to greatness, Doug Wilson, Ronnie Lott, Tony Dorsett and Alexi Lalas have also earned praise for responsible character and success outside the stadium. These iconic athletes use their life lessons learned through sports to teach younger generations that being a winner on the field goes beyond the scoreboard. Now, these and other sports greats are sharing their advice with parents and coaches through the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Podcast Series, available for download at www.ResponsibleSports.com , and on iTunes(®), Yahoo and Odeo.

The Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Podcast Series features noted athletes and coaches, all of whom are members of Positive Coaching Alliance's National Advisory Board, drawing from their own experiences to share the best ways for parents and coaches to create positive character building environments for youth athletes. The series launched in October with former NHL All-Star and current San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson discussing teachable moments for players and how to overcome adversity.

The second Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Podcast Series installment highlights Pro Football Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl champion Ronnie Lott, who discusses how parents and coaches can communicate with young athletes to fill their emotional tanks - a key factor in motivating children to bounce back from mistakes both on and off the field.

"Each of our national advisory board members has earned individual and team greatness in their respective sports, but more importantly they have used athletics to help build the strong moral and responsible character they use to positively influence those they mentor," said Jim Thompson, executive director and founder of Positive Coaching Alliance. "The insight and experience that have propelled these exceptional players and coaches to reach their personal and professional goals are packaged in the podcast series as teachable ideas for parents and coaches to put into practice with their young athletes."

New installments of the series will be available for download every two weeks and will feature interviews with PCA board members, including Pro Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett (November 10); and former MLS and U.S. Soccer Team great Alexi Lalas (November 24). Other featured athletes and coaches will be Olympic gold medalist swimmer Summer Sanders, Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, and two-time Olympic gold medalist and former USA Softball captain Dr. Dot Richardson.

"We hope this podcast series with some of professional sports' most successful and respected players and coaches will serve as a pep talk for youth sports coaches and parents to emphasize character building fundamentals in young athletes," said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual senior vice president, Consumer Marketing. "Responsible Sports focuses on teaching children important life lessons through athletic experiences, a key to which is parents and coaches learning the best methods for creating a positive and an educational environment."

About Responsible Sports

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.

Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports is a community-based program providing resources, tools, tips and advice for volunteer youth sport coaches and sport parents. In partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance, US Youth Soccer, the Amateur Softball Association and USA Hockey, Liberty Mutual also offers twenty $2,500 grants to youth sports organizations and school athletic programs 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 .

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.

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Since its founding within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1998, PCA has conducted roughly 6,000 live group workshops nationwide for more than 300,000 youth sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes. PCA trains workshop attendees to create a positive, character-building environment for youth athletes, replacing the prevalent win-at-all-cost mentality.

PCA has affected more than 3 million youth athletes through partnerships with 1,100-plus youth sports organizations, cities and schools that host workshops across the U.S., primarily near PCA's hub markets of Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, Hawaii, Houston, New York City and Washington, D.C. Thousands of other coaches and parents learn PCA methods via online courses at www.PositiveCoach.org .

About ASA

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com .

About US Youth Soccer

US Youth Soccer - The Game for ALL Kids!(®) is the largest youth sports organization in the country and largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body of soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer registers more than 3.2 million players annually, ages 5 to 19, and over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers in 55 member state associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game. For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org .

About USA Hockey

USA Hockey Inc., founded in 1936 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States. With a membership of nearly 600,000 players, coaches, officials and volunteers that span all 50 states, USA Hockey seeks to promote the growth of hockey and provide the best possible experience for all participants by encouraging, developing, advancing and administering the sport. For more information, visit www.USAHockey.com .

SOURCE Liberty Mutual

Copyright © 2009, PRNewswire
Copyright © 2009, NewsBlaze, Daily News

Tags: ,INS,HIN,SPT,MLM,CPR,CHI,CSR,MA-LibertyMutual-yuth