We often assume sport is inherently good for kids. It can be, under the right conditions. Athletes thrive when the adults leading them make decisions, policies, and procedures that consistently say: you’ll be challenged and supported, treated with dignity and respect, celebrated for your effort, and valued regardless of results.
That’s what makes sport one of the best opportunities we have for prevention and health promotion. Through sport, athletes can learn that it’s normal not only to work hard and compete, but to be safe and supported by the people around them.
But sport doesn’t deliver those outcomes on its own. The same trust, time, and culture that make it uniquely powerful can also make it a setting that normalizes abuse and neglect. What athletes get from sport depends on the environment built by the adults around them, who usually hold power over them.
Sport environments are made up of adult decisions and behaviors. What a coach says on a bad day, what leaders praise and let slide, whether playing time decisions match what was suggested preseason, how parents talk on the sideline: each has an impact on the athlete and their experience. A positive environment can be built, but it takes intentional design and a commitment from everyone present.
Plenty of good people are building things to help athletes. What’s often missing is designing for lasting change and generating evidence that what was built is making a difference to athletes.
Overlap Sport Lab exists to close that gap. Too often, what gets built in sport is what’s convenient to build, then pushed out into the world. We start by listening: we design for the sport setting, build alongside our partners, and measure what changes, so organizations can show athletes, families, and funders the impact they’re having.
In the Lab Notes that follow, I’ll share what gets in the way, why we don’t train and hope, and how we build. If you’d rather talk now, email us at [email protected].