Jesse Rothstein '03 believes that children need not just good teachers, but also good coaches -- role models to respect and emulate.

The College of Human Ecology graduate is coordinating a new national program to place thousands of trained coaches into schools, nonprofit organizations and clubs around the country, similar to the Teach for America model that places teachers in underserved schools.

The program, Coach for America, is an initiative of a New York City-based national coalition of sports-based youth development programs, called the Up2Us Coalition, where Rothstein is a program director.

Up2Us recently received a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to help establish Coach for America, as well as other national programs to expand the scope of national service through sports. Up2Us is in the process of seeking more sponsors for Coach for America and plans to start placing coaches next fall throughout the country.

Rothstein, who graduated with a degree in policy analysis and management, worked in consulting and sales at Procter and Gamble until he realized his passion for national service. He was inspired to create Coach for America from his experiences both as a former athlete and as a volunteer youth coach in New York City, where he lives. Rothstein said he was "blown away" by the lack of access to resources -- that is, good coaches and good role models in general -- for students in late elementary to middle school.

"There are many different types of national service today in our country. There's the Peace Corps, the National Guard, Teach for America, City Year -- but there's really nothing related to sports," Rothstein said.

Over the past three years, he wrote a business plan for Coach for America that would recruit, train and place coaches into urban areas. Through volunteer activities and personal networking, Rothstein realized the time was right to make the idea reality. In July 2008 he approached Up2Us with the Coach for America concept, and the organization hired him to establish the program. Coach for America will place coaches in existing sports-based nonprofit programs for youth, whether tied to community organizations or after-school programs.

"I think if sports is taught the right away and by the right person, it can have a lasting effect on a child's life and put them on a track for success," Rothstein said.