Community Building: ACtivities & Resources
On this page:
Program Quality Activities & Resources
Community Building Resources
Program Quality Activities & Resources
Purpose: Each Program Quality resource is meant for you to apply in your practices to support building a safe and enriching team environment. Click on each resource for a printable copy.
SCORES Play Card - a tool designed to help youth identify and track the core values and skills they are developing through DC SCORES programming. It serves as a reminder of the personal and team community building that takes place throughout the season.
2. Preparing for a Strong Spring (5 pages) - This document is designed to equip your coaching team with the DC SCORES values, norms, and strategies needed to foster a strong and supportive environment this spring. By reinforcing our commitment to community, psychological and physical safety, reframing conflict, and emergency preparedness, we ensure that every space we create is inclusive, responsive, and grounded in youth development best practices.
3. Building Team Culture: Team Values & Norms (8 pages, workbook style) - These activities introduce DC SCORES Team Values and empowers poet-athletes to collaboratively define their team’s norms, to foster a strong, inclusive team culture built on trust, respect, and shared commitment.
4. Poet-Athlete Promise (& Steps for Restorative Action) (2 pages) - The "Poet-Athlete Promise" is a written commitment for each poet-athlete to contribute to and sign off on. They commit to fostering a supportive and inclusive community where we express ourselves, respect others, and work together with integrity.
The "Steps for Restorative Action" helps coaches norm how to support poet-athletes and their teammates when struggling to follow team values and norms.
⭐ Best practice: Complete this activity with your team after establishing Team Norms.
5. Parent/Guardian Promise (2 pages) - This resource engages families to understand the "Steps for Restorative Action" and affirms the DC SCORES values. Parents and guardians are an integral part of a poet-athlete support system. By signing, parents/guardians affirm that they understand the commitment that their child is making to the program and outlines how the parent/guardian will be communicated with if a poet-athlete has difficulty upholding their commitments.
⭐ Best Practice: Combine this activity with your Family Meeting at the start of the season.
6. Poet-Athlete Mindfulness Workbook (13 pages) - This workbook is a collection of 5-10 min "Healthy Halftime" activities to teach mindfulness tools to poet-athletes on and off the field.
7. Know Thyself: Self-Awareness and Emotions Care (Slides) - Coach Training resource walking through DC SCORES SEL Program Quality resources and activities, including: Emotions and Your Brain, How Stress Impacts the Brain, Pushing Ps: Promoting Physical & Psychological Safety, and Building Community: Implementation links and resources.