The Youth Education through Sports (YES) Program is the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA's) premiere outreach to youth across the country. Held at select NCAA championship sites (approximately 20 each year), thousands of youths ages 10 to 16 annually are exposed to YES Clinics in a variety of sports, including football, softball, basketball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, track and field, ice hockey, volleyball and field hockey. Collegiate coaches from around the country are recruited by the YES Program and are invited to select a student-athlete and travel to the championship site to conduct instructional sessions for participants. YES Clinics annually attract the best and brightest coaches and student-athletes who are dedicated to teaching and caring for youth.

The NCAA YES Program is another way that coaches and student-athletes demonstrate the Association's commitment to challenging young people to strive for higher levels of achievement in both athletics and academics.

Since 2004, the NCAA has extended exclusive sponsorship rights with The Coca-Cola Company through its NCAA Corporate Champion Agreement to partner with the NCAA YES Clinics on behalf of its POWERade brand with NCAA YES Clinics Fueled by POWERade. Through the NCAA Corporate Champion and Corporate Partner programs, resources for instructional equipment, T-shirts, printed materials and promotional items help to provide YES Clinics at NO cost to participants.

Developing Our Future Student-Athletes:

The NCAA Youth Education through Sports (YES) Program attempts to connect with underserved youth, particularly ethnic minorities and girls, who have not been exposed to amateur sports. Boys and girls have the opportunity to learn and enhance their sports skills, conditioning skills and life skills with collegiate coaches and student-athletes, as well as collegiate administrators and experts from various parts of the country. YES Clinics encourage children ages 10-16 to participate in various sports recreationally, as well as on organized teams, and stress the importance of participation rather than simply winning. The NCAA YES Program also strives to provide clinic participants with free championship tickets to the specified championship in which the clinic is held.

Learning the "FUN" in Fundamentals:

Through hands-on sport-specific sessions that cater to the developmental level of each participant, coaches and student-athletes provide young people with the fundamental tools they need to practice their sport. Through a focus on elements of sports such as discipline, confidence and commitment, these youths will be able to apply what they learn in athletics to other areas of their lives. YES participants practice the skills that encourage them to make the right choices in sports, as well as the right choices in life.