Olympic Hopeful or Recreational Player: Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program Helps Parents and Coaches Enhance a Child's Sports Experience

Award Nominations and Grant Applications Celebrating Coaches and
   Organizations Fostering Positive Youth Sports Environments Now Open at
                           ResponsibleSports.com

-- As our nation turns its attention to
the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, many of the more than 35 million U.S.
children who play youth sports will tune in to see who will become
America's newest athletic heroes, while at the same time dreaming of
someday achieving similar feats of glory themselves.

    While playing at this elite level is extremely rare -- just one in
50,000 high school athletes will ever become part of a professional team,
according to Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sports in
Society -- organized sports can positively impact children regardless of
playing ability. The caveat: children benefit most when there is good
teamwork between the coach, parents and community.

    The Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program, created in partnership
with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), US Youth Soccer, USA Football and
its new partner -- the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) -- provides
resources for parents and coaches at http://www.responsiblesports.com to
help children reap the full benefits of playing a team sport. The online
community incorporates blogs and videos on youth sports topics that provide
practical, real-world advice. Parents and coaches also can complete
coursework that offers best practices for handling challenging sports
scenarios.

Source: Liberty Mutual