The mission of LASF is
to empower youth to achieve
significance in life through
success in sports.
LASF Programs are guided
by the CORE VALUES of:
Mutual Respect
In order for individuals to
work effectively together,
they need to be able to
recognize the worthiness of
each other as persons, to
identify the strengths and
weaknesses of others without
blame, and perform
reflective
self-assessments. Mutual
respect is the foundation of
a physically and emotionally
safe environment; it
provides the social context
for physical, social and
ethical development.
Understanding and
demonstrating mutual respect
are both essential for
social competence, which all
students need to be
successful.
Effective Communication
Effective speaking,
listening, reading, writing,
and body language skills for
the purposes of greater
understanding provide youth
with access to opportunities
for advancement, growth, and
development. Effective
communication depends not
only on the communicator but
also on the receiver of the
communication. An effective
communicator takes into
account the readiness of the
receiver, including
attention to his or her
physical, emotional, and
developmental needs.
Clear and
Developmentally
Appropriate
Expectations
Setting and clearly
communicating expectations
appropriate to the
cognitive, emotional, and
physical development of the
other brings out the best in
both coaches and players.
By communicating clear
expectations, individuals
are respected and more able
to participate in the
activity. Thoughtfully
constructed expectations
lead to higher performance
by everyone. Importantly,
everyone’s expectations need
to be assessed and shared to
achieve a common
understanding of each
individual’s expectations.
Advancing Intellectual
and Ethical Development
Many everyday problems in
school, social gatherings,
and on the court are
complex. Helping children
and adults to identify
conflicts and problem-solve
for solutions helps them to
develop both their thinking
and their character. It is
important to engage each
other in problem solving by,
for example, taking more
information into
consideration, gaining a
more sophisticated
understanding of the
information, predicting the
consequences of one’s
actions, and constructing
alternate solutions.
Importantly, learning to
take the perspective of
another not only helps
individuals solve problems,
it also helps them develop a
profound sense of respect
for the experience of
another.
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