Athletics
Coaching with Character
At DePaul Catholic all of our coaches have successfully passed the Notre Dame Play Like a Champion Program and the Paterson Diocese's Protecting God's Children course.
Our coaches are skilled educators and leaders who support the winning traditions of our school. They develop scholar-athletes that excel both on and off the field. Spartan teams are dedicated to a higher standard of academic and athletic excellence that focuses on integrity, sportsmanship, and mutual respect.
Play Like A Champion
DePaul Catholic High School is pleased to announce a partnership with Play Like A Champion Today (PLACT) developed by the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame. The Play Like A Champion Today Character Education Through Sports Initiative is a national coach and parent educational series designed specifically to elevate Catholic high school sports programs.
PLACT, which was founded in 2006, teaches �Character Education Through Sports� and works to develop ethically responsible leaders. To date, the program has reached over 35,000 coaches, 20,000 parents, and over 1 million student-athletes. Though the program is rooted in academic disciplines, it is applied in practical ways.
Play Like A Champion Today Coach Clinic
Staff from the University of Notre Dame presented the coaches clinic. This 5-6 hour clinic included training in the Play Like A Champion Today Sports as Ministry program. Topics included: coaching as a ministry, the spirituality of sport, developing a team as a moral community, the GROW approach to motivation, leading a moral discussion, adolescent development, safety and risk management, and strategies for developing partnerships with parents.
Parent Like A Champion Today
This one hour workshop focused on appropriate roles and responsibilities for parents. It included an examination of parent expectations in sports programs. Parents received education and materials that help them reinforce the goals of athlete development stressed by the PLACT program. They also received practical guidance on how they can help their children to form habits of perseverance, sound decision-making, teamwork, good nutrition, and regular exercise.
