Current ISYS Projects

Think Detroit Police Athletic League Program Evaluation

Think Detroit Police Athletic League (TDPAL) is a nonprofit organization with a mission of building character in young people through athletic, academic, and leadership development programs. Athletic programs are its biggest effort as TDPAL offers a variety of seasonal programs in 11 different sports and serves nearly 13,000 youth with the help of 1,500 volunters. We are in the process of evaluating the effectiveness of their program in terms of meeting its goal of positive youth development through sport. Particular focus will be placed on the effectiveness of the IMPACT Coach Leadership training program.

National Wrestling Coaches Association Coach Leadership Training Program Course Development

This project is designed to develop a state-of-the-art leader development program for America's collegiate wrestling coaches. Building from business leadership research and best practices, and what is known about effective coaching leadership, the program will address a number of important issues. These include: (1) an understanding of educational athletics and the role wrestling plays in the larger academic community; (2) program vision and mission; (3) the coach as a leader and principles of leadership; (4) public relations, marketing, and fundraising skills; (5) effective campus and community relations: and (6) strategies for developing wrestlers as people and the promotion of life skills through wrestling involvement.

FACT Online Parent Education Project

This project was designed to meet the needs of high school sport parents garnered from focus groups research that ISYS conducted last year. The project has six modules that not only educate learners but also engage them on being an effective and positive sport parent. Many youth programs require coaches to sign a parent code of conduct in which they promise to follow the rules and behave at practice and games, yet coaches have a tough time coaching and maintaining control of the parents. The majority of parental behavior problems in youth sport appear to be due to a lack of knowledge in terms of the role parents' play and support their young athlete's needs. The online education program will be an outlet for parents to gain knowledge, learn from the experiences of other parents, and have a resource to access in potentially negative sport situations.

Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Captains Leadership Training Project

For the past several years, ISYS has collaborated with the MHSAA on a statewide initiative to educate current and future high school sport captains on leadership. Hosting approximately four clinics per semester, MHSAA has served nearly 1,000 student-athletes by the MHSAA Captains Leadership Training Program this past academic year. To ensure that the training program is addressing the unique needs of high school sport leaders today, ISYS has launced a concurrent line of research on captains. In Study 1, twelve former high school sport captains were interviewed on their sport leadership experience, including the benefits and drawbacks of being a captain, how they were prepared by coaches for their leadership duties, and what they would recommend to future student-athletes assuming a similar role. In Study 2, started in the summer of 2008, researchers have begun examining leadership development from the perspective of coaches. Specifically, ten high-school coaches with a reputation of developing effective captains are being interviewed in hopes of identifying the best leadership training practices implemented in youth sport today.

South Africa Project

Following a trip to South Africa in the summer of 2008, ISYS has designed a three-part study that will unfold over the next two years. In the first phase, ISYS is interested in understanding the context of using sport as a vehicle for positive youth development in South Africa. This will be achieved through the assessment of current youth development programs in southern Africa, along with focus groups and individual interviews with youth sport leaders and coaches. This information will then be used for the second phase of the study, where ISYS will collaborate with leaders from Stellenbosch University and a local non-governmental agency in the Kayamandi Township to design an effective, sustainable positive youth development sport program for girls. Following this design phase, the project will enter into its final phase in the summer of 2010: the implementation of the positive youth development sport program for girls at the non-governmental organization in Kayamandi Township. Overall, ISYS hopes to complete the project with a fully-functional, sustainable positive youth development sport program for girls in the township.

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