Primed to Compete: Coaching for Character

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.

David Light Shields, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized researcher, writer, and speaker on sports and character development. Formerly, he was Co-Director of the Mendelson Center for Sports, Character, and Community at the University of Notre Dame, and is currently Professor Emeritus of Teacher Education at St. Louis Community College, where he was the 2017 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Marvin W. Berkowitz, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Center for Character and Citizenship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His scholarly focus is on character education and development, and he has authored more than 100 books, book chapters, monographs, and journal articles. Dr. Berkowitz has received numerous honors, including career achievement awards from Character. org and the Association for Moral Education. He is also the Co-founder of ComedySportz and two-time Missouri Senior Soccer champion.

Pete S. Paciorek, Ed.D., is a global leader in character development in sport and serves as the Head of Leadership and Character Development at IMG Academy. With a background as a professional baseball player and a recognized family legacy in professional sports, Paciorek has dedicated his life to cultivating character in youth through sports. Founder of the non-profit Character Loves Company, Paciorek also teaches graduate-level courses in character and ethics at the University of Florida.