WATERVILLE – After a big game, the team settles in to review what went right and what went wrong. They watch a game film, analyze and breakdown strategies and try to build for the future.

That was what the select panel of “Coaching Maine Youth to Success” was striving for Wednesday.

“Today starts the analysis,” said J. Duke Albanese, co-director of the University of Maine’s Coaching and Sport Education Initiative.

After hosting the Maine Sports Summit in Orono earlier in March, the panel gathered at Colby College to review what students, coaches, athletic directors and administrators had to say.

“Our intent coming into today’s meeting was to lay out in raw form, the data and capture the voice of people that attended the summit.”

The summit featured over 300 students from 87 high schools and 24 middle schools. In their hands, the panel had the preliminary findings from surveys taken and comments from various discussion groups. One common thread was the amount of stress and pressure all parties felt. A high percentage of students cited stress and pressure as being significant or high. When asked about three things that effect the physical and emotional health issues, all parties pointed to stress a common theme.

“When you look at it, they all feel pressure and they identified where it’s coming from,” said Ruth Fitzpatrick, director of the Maine Center for Sport and Coaching.

A high percentage of students, as well as adults, also said alcohol, drugs and even tobacco, were significant problems in their schools.

When discussing the essential qualities of coaches, the desire for respect, trust and positive reinforcement were prevalent themes. On the subject of parental problems, students expressed the need for similar positive influences. The athletes often criticized parents who tried to coach or overstep their bounds. Instead, they wanted parents to find supportive and positive roles.

“This is almost their way of progressing in society, and that’s what they want” said Fitzpatrick. “They want that respect from a coach. ‘I can go out there and make decisions on my own, and I can become better in this way.’

“They want to be loved, but they want to be recognized for their individuality, and they want to be respected. They want that leadership and that responsibility, and the key to that is the accountability.”

Among athletic directors, the increasing role of booster clubs financing programs was a recurring topic. There was also also a high level of satisfaction in receptive and approachable coaches in the minds of AD’s and administrators.

Coaches and school officials each stressed consistency, communication, positive reinforcement, approachability and knowledge as valued traits in a coach. They also felt that parents should be more supportive, positive and bring a better perspective to their roles.

It was the voice of athletes who might have spoken loudest. It was clear that students took the summit seriously and took advantage of the opportunity to express opinions. Fitzpatrick recalls one student who stated that parents might get the message if “Parents, shut up” was put on a scoreboard.

“They are the source,” said Fitzpatrick. “They were very honest and very passionate and very willing to share their ideas. Sometimes we don’t listen to them enough. The kids were willing to speak through us. They’re not as willing to sit down at the table with mom and dad and say ‘enough of you.’ I don’t think they’re ready to do that. That’s why I think this will help that.”

The panel will continue to mull over the feedback in hopes of creating a standard of core principles and practices that schools and athletic programs can follow. The final product is expected to be unveiled in October.

“The (panel) will be able to take (the data) and look at it more deeply as an individual,” said Albanese. “We’ll also have researchers at the University of Maine begin to compile the analysis of what the data seems to say and really find the trends that we can hang our hat on.”