Ron Kind: “I rise today to report to my colleagues in the House about a terrific program that I had the pleasure to visit during…”

“I rise today to report to my colleagues in the House about a terrific program that I had the pleasure to visit during our 4th of July recess last week. The program is the National Youth Sports Program, which is one of the Department of Health and Human Services', the Department of Agriculture's and the NCAA's best kept secrets, yet it is consistently one of the most successful, cost-effective, and influential programs helping youth in this country today. National Youth Sports helps at-risk, economically disadvantaged children and teenagers build the skills and the confidence they need to tackle the tough challenges and also gives them something positive to look forward to over their summertime break. Each summer 170 colleges and universities help shape the future of our youth through this program. We have all heard of summer sports camps where parents spend a lot of money to send their children to catch the eyes of local coaches. Well, National Youth Sports is completely different. While the program, which is provided at no cost to the participants, offers sports instruction and activities, the name is perhaps a misnomer. Program staff members also teach life skills, such as alcohol and other drug prevention, gang resistance, good nutrition, personal health, science and math, and job responsibilities.”