The InSideOut Initiative—a national movement that empowers and equips school communities to implement purpose-based athletics—will launch soon in Missouri, in partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs, Missouri State High School Activities Association and the NFL Foundation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic introduces a significant disruption to normal day-to-day life for young people, high school athletics programs have a unique role to play in contributing to a sense of belonging and community that is so desperately needed.

School systems all over the country are diligently working to support the academic, social, emotional and character development of students. Yet historically, state, district, and school leaders uniformly dismiss interscholastic athletics as a viable tool to address this need. The InSideOut Initiative provides training for educational leaders, athletic administrators, coaches, and community-stakeholders and supports schools in redefining and reframing the value of sports as a platform to develop the human potential of students.

“The Missouri State High School Activities Association is honored to work with the World Champion Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Ehrmann, Jody Redman, and the InSideOut Initiative,” said Dr. Kerwin Urhahn, MSHSAA Executive Director. “Returning the focus on the purpose of high school sports and activities to preparing students for life after high school through the avenue of sports and activities will have a tremendous effect on the social-emotional and character development of students across Missouri. As we continue to deal with the many challenges before us, this initiative is timely and critical at this point in our society.”

Since its inception in 2015, the InSideOut Initiative has impacted nearly 4 million student-athletes across 15 states—connecting them to transformational coaches in a nurturing community. The Initiative is uniquely innovative in that it is the first systems-level intervention to prioritize social-emotional and character development in high school athletics.