Compassionate Parent™ | The Athlete Survivors’ Assist

What is the Compassionate Parent™ Course?

Compassionate Parent™ is a course in development that will provide parents and guardians with the tools, guidance, and confidence to engage in meaningful conversations about abuse and safety in sport.

Once fully funded, this program will help parents:

Learn how to recognize the signs of abuse
Understand how to advocate for safer, more institutionally courageous sporting environments
Know what resources exist to support the athletes and coaches within their community, sport, and beyond

Get Involved

Fund Compassionate Parent™

Your contribution will directly support the development of the Compassionate Parent™ course.
With your help, we will empower parents and guardians to be protective, informed, and present as they support their youth athletes by creating safer sporting environments and relationships with sport.

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Our Vision for Compassionate Parent™

Once funded, the Compassionate Parent™ course will feature a cohort-style, live-taught, virtual training series designed to empower parents and guardians with the knowledge and tools they need to safeguard their children, on and off the field. This course will be developed by trained crisis interventionists and social workers at The Athlete Survivors’ Assist, bringing expert insight into the mental, physical, and emotional development of youth athletes at every stage of growth.

We hope to deliver trauma-informed content in a format that captures the unique challenges and responsibilities parents and guardians face at each stage of a young athlete’s journey.

An introductory course that lays the foundation for safe sport participation. Topics include:
Advocating for league-wide safeguarding policies
Child development through sports
Understanding trauma and its impact
How to address inappropriate behavior by coaches or other parents
Responding supportively to a child’s disclosure of harm
Understand athlete and child rights

A deeper dive into abuse prevention and youth protection for parents of older athletes, including:

Review of core safety principles
Recognizing signs of abuse or grooming behavior
Navigating increased risks related to social media, sports travel, and overnight trips
Supporting autonomy while maintaining safety
Understanding the landscape of shifting child/adolescent development in the context of sport
Understanding some of the changes in protections and rights for adolescent athletes

Tailored training for parents and guardians of athletes involved in elite or competitive programs, covering:

Heightened risks tied to increased access by coaches/trainers
Unique pressures of high-performance sports environments
Understanding NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals and recruitment dynamics
Advocating for strong protections in high-stakes settings

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Stay Connected

Want to be the first to get updates about the Compassionate Parent™ course? Share your information below, and we’ll stay in touch about our work at The Assist and developments in the launch of this new course.

By signing up, you’ll receive occasional updates on:

Progress toward launching the Compassionate Parent™ course
Opportunities to support or get involved
Survivor-centered resources, events, and trainings
Ways to amplify the voices and leadership of athlete survivors

Contact Us

Want to learn more or connect with us? We’d love to hear from you.

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Donate

Stand with us! Your involvement impacts systems change, raises public awareness, and protects athletes.