Look at some of the frequently asked questions below to learn more about Switch the Pitch.
Switch the Pitch is an interactive curriculum designed for coaches and their teams to engage with anti-racism and inclusion topics. After signing up, coaches will go through a training series to help prepare them to facilitate the challenges their team will participate in. After completing the training, coaches will lead their team to complete any number of the 36 challenges, earning points along the way in the Virtual League.
Switch the Pitch teaches anti-racism and inclusion through the lens of six main module topics: Access and Resources, Activism and Leadership, Allyship and Collective Action, Identity and Perspectives, Power and Policies, and Preventing and Responding to Racism. Teams will learn foundational skills in areas like leadership, advocacy, and communication, and will gain tools to make change in their lives and communities, both on and off the soccer field.
Switch the Pitch is open to any youth team aged U12 to U18. This includes club teams, academy teams, grassroots teams, recreational teams, high school teams, etc. There is some wiggle room here, so make sure to get in contact with the team if you have questions!
Coaches can sign-up as many teams as they want to participate in Switch the Pitch.
In preparation for guiding players through challenges, all participating coaches will be expected to go through this two-part training series. The series features information on best practices for facilitating the difficult conversations that often accompany learning about inclusivity and anti-racism topics, and develops the skills coaches may use to have truly transformative experiences throughout the curriculum.
Besides a great amount of knowledge, teams will have the opportunity to earn incentives along the way.
No! Teams are free to complete as many challenges as they want. There is no specific order that challenges need to be completed in, so Switch the Pitch is truly a choose-your-own-adventure curriculum. However, we recommend trying different types of challenges (i.e. educate, exchange, or activate) across different modules! Remember, the more challenges your team completes, the more points you earn and the higher on the virtual leaderboard you’ll be.
Educate challenges are typically “on your own”. These are short readings and videos with reflection questions that a coach could share with the team to be completed individually and discussed at practice.
Exchange challenges are typically “with your team”. These are soccer/team based activities that a coach can include in a practice plan and implement throughout the week to deliver a message about the topic.
Activate challenges are typically “in your community”. These are activities that require the team to to take action, either as individuals or as a team, beyond their soccer practice setting.
