Sports can build character. But it doesn’t happen automatically. And good intentions are not enough. PRIMED to Compete: Coaching for Character is the definitive book for coaches who want to optimize young peoples’ experience of competition and promote their character, performance, and overall well-being.

This engaging new book brings cutting-edge research and practical sport experience together in an easily accessible and digestible framework. PRIMED to Compete provides a powerful way for coaches to turn the challenges of competition into opportunities for promoting positive character.

The three authors bring together a century of expertise in professional and collegiate sports, youth coaching and coach education, and developmental and sport sciences. Building on Marvin W Berkowitz’s highly acclaimed PRIMED model of character education and David Light Shields’ influential model of True Competition, PRIMED to Compete offers a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to shaping sports environments that build healthy relationships, fair and collaborative mindsets, and core values and virtues. Rooted in science, it provides practical guidance for building team cultures that support both optimal sport performance and character growth across multiple dimensions.