About the Disabled Sports USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program

The Disabled Sports USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program is a nationwide program initiated in May of 2006, conducted in partnership with its chapters to increase youth sports involvement by matching a physically active adult with a child with a disability who wants to get more involved in sports.

In its inaugural year, The DS/USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program has trained 17 of its chapters in 11 states, including over 110 mentors to help provide motivation and guidance for youth with disabilities to live a healthier and more physically active lifestyle. DS/USA is continuously looking for ways to further support its trained chapters while also looking to hear from prospective chapters that have an interest in developing a mentoring component. Establishing a mentoring program will help chapters further improve the lives of youth with disabilities in addition to strengthening their programming, adding new publicity angles, gaining additional funding opportunities and much more. We offer our chapters a variety of flexible mentoring models to help them implement a formalized mentoring program within their already existing sports programming.

The DS/USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program’s services are provided free of charge to its 89 chapters representing 36 states. This program is committed to providing opportunities for youth with disabilities to develop greater self-confidence, independence and a healthier, more physically active lifestyle through forming effective mentoring relationships using sports and recreational activities as the basis

Disabled Sports USA has been awarded several major grants to establish and sustain its Youth Sports Mentoring Program, courtesy of U.S. Department of Education; Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation; Daniel’s Fund.

If you are interested in starting a mentoring program within your DS/USA chapter, please contact Disabled Sports USA for more information:

Adam Scott
DS/USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program Manager
240-268-1250
ascott@dsusa.org
 

DS/USA is also looking to link potential mentors with our chapters. Currently, we are training members of the following groups as mentors to get them involved with their local chapters:

• Wounded Warriors
• Paralympic Athletes
  
  

Impact of the DS/USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program

Everyone wins in mentoring… just read what our participants had to say about their experience participating in the Disabled Sports USA Youth Sports Mentoring Program!

“Being a mentor was a great experience…everyone should do it.  [Mentors] give youth someone to look up to and guide them in the right way.  Being matched with Josh was a great experience for me!  Josh was born with his disability…I wasn’t.  I learned how he coped with life…school, sports…life.  It was a totally positive relationship!  Adults are the path, but the kids pave it with gold…they’re our future.”

“The relationships the DS/USA Mentoring program will create are going to last and make a positive difference for everyone!”

“The two words THANK YOU do not seem to be enough…  You have given us a chance to make a new friend for life.”

“You have made a difference in the lives of all of us, not just our kids.”

“(My Mentor) is a great person and I don’t want to forget him… (Being a mentee) at Ski Spectacular was a great experience for me, and I would recommend it for any disabled racer. It helped me become a greater racer. “

“Sports have been very important to me since my injury. I really enjoy seeing little kids excel though sport. I have had the opportunity to work with DSUSA in their mentoring program which has given me nothing but joy. “

“As a representative, as a mentor…what life I have to give [will work towards that] no one will be forgotten, no one will be left behind.  As I led others into battle, I will lead [these young athletes] to victory.  Even if it is only one step forward, it will never be a step backwards.”

“Thank you for the experience… I enjoyed it very much! My mentor was a very nice person to be around. He was really interesting… he was definitely the best part of my trip… made it a positive and inspirational experience.”

“Being paired with Ariel (mentee) was an incredible experience because we did share everything together from walking out hand-in-hand at Opening Ceremonies, to warm-up practice on the track, to lunch, to pep talks about "Girl Power" and especially her event victories. I wanted to reach out and provide Ariel with motivation and strength and at the same time, Ariel touched me with her determination and courage.”  

“This mentoring program was long overdue!”