A nutrition-based wellness program empowers Raleigh’s youth athletes
For years, NAYS has presented its Excellence in Youth Sports Awards to communities going above and beyond to make their programs as safe and positive as possible. During that time, the organization discovered many impressive programs that took exceptional steps to elevate the quality of youth-sports offerings.
Then COVID arrived. With so many organizations forced to pause programming, NAYS suddenly found itself with far fewer candidates to evaluate. Traditional measures of excellence no longer applied when typical youth-sports programs weren’t running. So, officials adapted. In fact, I have highlighted some of these programs in prior editions of this column.
I know we are all glad that the COVID pandemic is now in the rearview mirror, but like any challenge or crisis, some good results ultimately emerged. Since 2023, NAYS has continued to assess not only the standard categories of excellence in an organization’s policies but also more expansive efforts. Topics like increasing girls’ participation, focusing on mental health and social and emotional learning, and engaging underserved communities are now recognized as vital components of excellence at organizations nationwide. For the staff at NAYS, this broader lens allows officials not only to celebrate outstanding programs but also to share these best practices with others.