The EmpowerYouth SportsEd project is created in response to the urgent need to promote the holistic development of youth and equip sports youth workers with the essential tools and knowledge to guide them. Our project seeks to bridge critical gaps in the current youth sports landscape by addressing the multifaceted dimensions of sports, non-formal education (NFE), and mental well-being. Needs: Enhancing Youth Worker Capacity: Youth workers play a pivotal role in shaping the lives of young people, “ensuring that they are given the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need for civic engagement and social action” (Council of Europe). However, there is a distinct gap in their capacity to holistically guide them. The objective is to provide youth workers with the knowledge and competences they need to be effective mentors and educators. Non-Formal Education (NFE): Youth workers play a crucial role in applying NFE activities with young people, both indoors and outdoors. These activities offer an engaging and holistic learning approach, tailored to various ages and skill levels. Youth workers facilitate activities that enhance life competences, promote inclusivity, and build confidence. By adapting activities to different settings, youth workers ensure flexible and interactive learning experiences that encourage active engagement and meaningful connections among youth. Healthy Competitive Dynamics: Competitive sports environments “always lead to some stress” (kidshealth.org). The project seeks to arm youth workers with strategies to mentor youth in managing competition-related pressures, fostering resilience and healthy coping mechanisms. Equally important is educating youth workers about recognizing and promoting healthy competition. Youth workers need to understand the signs of constructive competition, where participants are driven to improve competences, exhibit sportsmanship, and support one another's growth. Mental Health Focus: Youth is a “crucial period for developing social and emotional habits important for mental well-being, protective and supportive environments” are essential (World Health Organization). Understanding the importance of mental health within the sports context requires insights, strategies, and guidance to raise awareness about challenges and create a supportive environment. Mindfulness and Stress Management: “Sports psychology now plays a key role in the lives of elite athletes. Mindfulness and meditation practices are being used increasingly in the world of professional sports, to optimize performance, improve mental and physical health, and increase strength and resilience” (mindowl.org). Incorporating mindfulness and stress management techniques, our project underscores the importance of mental well-being. The objective is to provide youth workers with tools to teach young people how to manage stress, enhance focus, and build emotional resilience through mindfulness practices. Parent roles in sports: Recognizing as a first step the influence parents have on shaping the youth's perception, motivation, and overall experience in sports activities is of utmost importance. Providing information on how to approach parents effectively equips youth workers with the tools to create a collaborative and supportive environment. Objectives: The objectives of the project are to empower youth workers and to build their capacity through the Training Course and resources: Objective 1: Enhancing Youth Worker Capacity Equip youth workers with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competences to effectively mentor and educate young people in a holistic manner. Objective 2: NFE Enhancement Enhance the abilities of youth workers to apply non-formal education (NFE) sports activities both indoors and outdoors. Objective 3: Fostering Healthy Competitive Dynamics Empower youth workers with strategies to mentor young people in effectively managing competition-related pressures while fostering resilience and healthy coping mechanisms. Objective 4: Prioritizing Mental Health Raise awareness about the importance of mental health within the context of sports and provide youth workers with insights, strategies, and guidance to create a supportive environment. Objective 5: Mindfulness and Stress Management Integration Provide youth workers with tools to teach young people how to manage stress, enhance focus, and build emotional resilience through mindfulness practices. Objective 6: Effective Engagement with Parents Offer youth workers guidance on how to approach parents to create a collaborative and supportive environment in sports activities.