Examples from the field

Texas’ Coaching Boys into Men Initiative

Athletic coaches play an extremely influential and unique role in the lives of young men; often serving as a parent or mentor to the boys they coach. Because of these relationships, coaches are poised to positively influence how young men think and behave both on, and off, the field. Recognizing this, the Texas Council on Family Violence and the Texas High School Coaches Association decided to embark on a multi-year partnership to institutionalize efforts aimed at empowering youth to build schools, neighborhoods, and communities free from violence.

The Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM) program facilitates positive-peer influence and mentorship connections by providing high school athletic coaches with the resources they need to promote respectful behavior among their players and help prevent relationship abuse, harassment, and sexual assault. Over the course of a season, CBIM coaches lead their players through brief weekly activities that address themes such as personal responsibility, respectful behavior, and relationship abuse. Teams are encouraged to involve fans, parents, faculty, other students, and school administrators in support of CBIM’s respect message. Implementation of this program and this unique partnership in Texas has been especially impactful, building strong and sustained relationships among school administrators, coaches, parents and families, youth, and local community antiviolence and activism efforts.