In August 2007, several community leaders came together to discuss creating a more cohesive athletic community in Essex Junction. Specifically, we examined how to better align our expectations of parents, coaches, and players, and the training opportunities available to coaches. In October 2007, we hosted four Positive Coaching Alliance workshops in Essex Junction for community coaches, parents, athletes, and organizational leaders. As a follow-up, we held our first meeting of Essex youth sports organizations in November 2007 and held seven meetings from November to June 2008. In that time we developed a wide range of supporting organizations, developed a mission and guiding principles documents, and created a list of goals and priorities.

During the 2008-2009 school year, we had 13 community organizations formally sign-on as partners. We created a common list of expectations for member coaches, parents, and players, that will be used within each partner organization. We recognized the first annual Coach of the Year Award for Dean Corkum, Essex High School football and lacrosse, and held a successful parent and coaching workshop, featuring nationally acclaimed presenter Bruce Brown. We created a logo, designed a brochure, and launched the pysaessex.org website.

In 2009-2010, we hosted a panel presentation for middle & high school athletes, parents, and coaches entitled “Positive Performance: achieving the mental and physical advantage in athletics.” We spread the word about PYSA through our partner websites, and one of our member organizations, Essex Youth Hockey, created PYSA helmet stickers for their players. We recognized the second annual Coach of the Year, Ed DeMulder, Essex United Soccer, and held a spring parent and coach workshop titled “Developing Athletes with Integrity.”

In 2010-2011, we hosted a panel presentation for middle & high school athletes, parents, and coaches entitled “The Making of Me: How Athletics Builds Confidence and Character.” The panel included Mike Trimboli - star point guard at UVM from 2005-2009, Bill Beaney - head coach for Middlebury College Men’s Hockey, Ted Castle - owner and president of Rhino Foods, Heather Taft Garrow - varsity field hockey coach and English teacher at Essex High School, and Mary Parmenter - EHS and varsity gymnast and lacrosse player. In conjunction with the event, we held the first “Athlete’s Afoot!” a free, fun-filled open gym night for K-6 graders in the gymnasium, hosted by the EHS Athletic Leadership Council. In March 2011 we featured Brian Cain with a workshop “It’s All in Your Head: Mental Preparation and Concentration for Excellence in Athletics.” The 2010 Coach of the Year Award was presented to Amanda Eldridge, Essex High School Girls’ Rugby Coach.