Liberty Mutual Insurance And Positive Coaching Alliance Launch Search For "Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments" Of 2012

Young Athletes to be Celebrated for Examples of Sportsmanship and Responsibility, On and Off the Field

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May 01, 2012, 09:12 ET

BOSTON, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Mutual Insurance and Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) announce the search for the "Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments" of 2012. In its second year, the program continues to spotlight and celebrate the positive values that sports instill in young people.

Now through November 15, coaches and parents can nominate a moment that reminds us of the power, impact and inherent goodness of sports at Facebook.com/ResponsibleSports by clicking on the "Top 10 Moments" link. A panel of sports experts, including national college football analyst and youth sports parent Kirk Herbstreit and PCA Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jim Thompson, will select winning moments of the year. The selection panel also includes leaders from Responsible Sports partner organizations, including US Youth Soccer, American Youth Soccer Organization, USA Wrestling, USA Hockey and American Softball Association, and directors of local PCA chapters throughout the country.

"Liberty Mutual Insurance believes in celebrating responsible actions in both our day-to-day business, as well as through the community programs we support," said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual Insurance senior vice president, Consumer Marketing. "Youth sports provide a great social and character-building experience for children, and our 'Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments' campaign highlights great examples of how these positive values come to life every day on our playing fields."

The winners will be announced in December 2012 and be honored by Liberty Mutual Insurance with a charitable donation of $1,000 to each of the ten organizations that are represented by each Responsible Sports moment.

"We are thrilled once again to be aligned with the 'Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments' and celebrate the successes of young athletes," said PCA's Jim Thompson, author of eight books on youth sports, including Elevating Your Game written for student-athletes. "We feel sports bring out the best in young people and this award shines a light on those individuals who truly deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments."

The "Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments" is part of the larger Liberty Mutual Insurance Responsible Sports™ program, which supports volunteer youth sports coaches and parents who help children succeed both on and off the field. By visiting responsiblesports.com, adults and youth coaches can arm themselves with the tools, resources, tips and advice they need to help kids experience the best that youth sports have to offer.

The 2011 "Responsible Sports Moments" award winners exemplified the spirit of sportsmanship, selflessness and responsibility and ranged from athletes assisting each other in the middle of competition to natural disasters bringing rivals together to simple acts of kindness, such as:

Andover (Minn.) High School runner carries Lakeville South opponent to finish race - Running in a cross country meet for Andover High, Josh Ripley, a junior varsity runner was making his way through the trail at the Applejack Invite when he heard a loud scream during the first mile of the two-mile race. Most of the other kids running didn't pay much attention to Lakeville South runner Mark Paulauskas, who was writhing in pain at the time, as they passed by but Ripley stopped and carried the injured runner a half mile back to coaches and family members.

Suffield Academy (Conn.) donates uniforms and equipment to tornado-devastated lacrosse team - Springfield (Mass.) Cathedral High's lacrosse team had nearly all of its facilities and equipment demolished by the EF-3 tornado that tore through the state on June 1. That storm hit as the program neared what was widely considered the most significant game in school history: a playoff matchup against West Springfield (Mass.) High, one of Cathedral's conference rivals. Another area rival -- Suffield Academy in Connecticut -- donated its entire stock of uniforms, helmets and gloves to help Cathedral get on the field and play out their season.

8-year-old catcher in Maryland helps scared batter take his first swing – 8-year-old Trevor Yusko, a catcher for a minor league youth baseball team in Frederick, Md., was catching when a player on the other team was terrified to step into the batter's box. Trevor called time out, went over to the boy and gave him a pep talk. The young man then stepped into the batter's box, swung at the next pitch and fouled it off – a small achievement, but a big step in his growing confidence to play our national pastime.

About Responsible Sports

Liberty Mutual founded the Responsible Sports program as a means to celebrate the positive impact that every day, responsible actions can have on our youth. As a responsible insurance company, Liberty Mutual believes that youth sport coaching and youth sport parenting are clear examples of how people can unite to promote the fundamental ideals of community.

Presented in partnership with PCA , the American Softball Association, US Youth Soccer, USA Hockey, USA Wrestling and the American Youth Soccer Organization, Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports is a community-based program providing resources, tools, tips and advice for volunteer youth sport coaches and sport parents. The Responsible Sports program offers parents and coaches constructive tips, expert advice and practical examples to help create a positive sports environment for children. Liberty Mutual also has provided more than $400,000 in grants to youth sports teams, organizations and schools for community participation in the online Responsible Sports curriculum. To access the Responsible Sports resources, see previous Responsible Sports grant winners, and register your league or school for the Responsible Sports grant program, visit www.ResponsibleSports.com.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on A.M. Best Company's report of 2010 net written premium. The Group also ranks 82nd on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2010 revenue. The company has over 45,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 13,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

About Positive Coaching Alliance

Founded as a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1998, Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is committed to providing all youth and high school athletes a positive, character-building youth sports experience. To that end, PCA has conducted more than 10,000 live group workshops nationwide for more than 475,000 youth and high school sports coaches, parent, student-athletes and school/organizational leaders. Through workshops and companion online courses, PCA has impacted more than 4 million youth.

PCA's partnership network includes more than 1,700 youth sports organizations, cities and schools. In 2012, PCA will conduct roughly 1,200 live group workshops across the U.S., while assisting tens of thousands of other individuals via online courses at www.PositiveCoach.org.

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