Our Programs Work!
The U.S. Soccer Foundation conducted a nationwide independent evaluation of our nationally-recognized afterschool program, Soccer for Success, and the youth development and mentorship impact of the program on kids who participate. This evaluation measured the life skills development among participants and their relationships with coach-mentors.
We are proud to announce that the study determined that Soccer for Success is an effective group mentoring program, and meets the key benchmarks outlined by MENTOR! The evaluation was conducted by American Institutes for Research (AIR) and found that Soccer for Success helped most participants work better on a team, stay away from anti-social behavior, and try harder in school.
This study’s findings build on a 2014 Healthy Networks Design & Research (HNDR) evaluation, in which Soccer for Success participants showed significantly better health results than non-participants. Together, these two studies demonstrate that Soccer for Success improves the health and youth development outcomes of the kids it serves, and shows the positive impact of the group-mentoring model.
These results emphasize the importance of physical activity and coach-mentorship, as well as inspire us to continue working to build healthier generations through sport. We are excited to see what the next few years hold for Soccer for Success and its participants!
Evaluation Highlights
These studies found that the health and youth development outcomes of Soccer for Success participants improved as a result of the program.
WORK BETTER ON A TEAM
The majority of program participants work better on a team as a result of the program.
AEROBIC CAPACITY
Program participants showed greater aerobic capacity improvement as a result of the program.
BODY MASS INDEX
Program participants showed greater Body Mass Index (BMI) improvement as a result of the program.
These reports are based upon work supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Thank you to the team at American Institutes for Research, and Healthy Networks Design & Research for supporting Soccer for Success and conducting the evaluations.
The mentoring study was supported by Grant No. 2013-JU-FX-0027 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or polices of the U.S. Department of Justice.
FEATURED REPORT
Check out how Soccer for Success is improving the health and youth development outcomes of children in underserved communities every day.
