Minnesota trainers received advanced training sessions from PCA Lead Trainer Eric Eisendrath on Feb. 27-28. The sessions introduced new workshop content to experienced trainers and supported associate trainers, who are working toward obtaining their certifications.

Positive Coaching Alliance is always looking for ways to expand the training curriculum, taking into consideration current events, challenges that exist within sports cultures and feedback from chapters around the country.

-Eric Eisendrath, PCA Lead Trainer

Topics covered included hazing and bullying at the high school and collegiate levels, the impact and dangers of social media, the difference between goals and values, branding, positive practices, and culture shaping. Trainers learned how to adapt and customize their presentations to meet the needs of their audiences while maintaining the integrity of PCA messages in an interactive, relatable and easily digestible manner.

More than half of the Minnesota trainers participated in these sessions. Eisendrath, who resides in Vermont, travels to Minnesota to conduct these advanced training sessions twice a year. “I enjoy helping trainers find what makes them be the magic! My job is to support them in presenting PCA content in the most authentic and empowering way. Our training is based on research, but it’s never been just about what the research says. If you ask someone to name a favorite coach and why, you’re going to get an emotional story — you’re going to get how they feel, something that’s relatable to the human spirit. That’s why PCA training also focuses on empowerment.”