Coaching Athletes into Leaders

We partner with coaches to educate high school athletes about healthy relationships.

Equipping coaches to talk about relationships

Coaches are role models. Their relationships with their athletes give them influence and credibility.  

We train coaches in our city's schools and community athletic programs to:

  • Talk to their athletes about healthy relationships.
  • Reinforce the idea that violence never equals strength.

Athletes learn to:

  • Recognize dating and relationship violence.
  • Stand up for healthy relationship behaviors.
  • Solve problems without using violence.
  • Set a positive example for peers.
Person holding basketball on waist under their arm

Benefits

This program is based on a national model. National data shows athletes who completed the program were more likely to:

  • Intervene when witnessing abusive or disrespectful behaviors among their peers. 
  • Report less engagement in abusive behavior.  

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Program impact

In the five-year period between 2016 and 2021:

  • We trained over 60 coaches.
  • Those coaches delivered the Coaching Athletes into Leaders curriculum to more than 350 athletes.

Surveys from the athletes who took part show:

  • A 36% improvement in ability to recognize abusive behavior.
  • A 47% improvement in likelihood to intervene in unhealthy relationship behavior.

At the end of the five-year period:

  • 98% of the athletes reported meeting the goal for recognizing abusive behavior.
  • 90% of the athletes reported feeling connected to caring adults.

Contact us

Office of Violence Prevention

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Email Office of Violence Prevention

Phone

612-673-2301

Address

Minneapolis Health Department
250 4th St. S., Room 510
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Office hours

8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Monday – Friday