Syracuse High School athletes are having talks about violence when they are not on the playing field.
The Syracuse School District is working with the local non-profit Vera House on “Coaching Boys into Men”.
It’s a violence prevention program that allows high school coaches to speak with male athletes about things like abusive language, the meaning of consent and accountability.
Nottingham high school football starting center Joseph Bell says he thinks the program will be a great opportunity.
"We have a lot of kids, especially a lot of athletes playing football and it will be a good program for them. Everybody follows the football team like if we do something good then they're going to want to do it too."
Vera House Men’s Outreach coordinator George Kilpatrick agrees that these lessons could spread throughout the school and the community.
He says coaches are asked to speak with athletes for 15 minutes or more a week in the beginning of practice.
"We think that sports is a very important vehicle to get this message across because if we can change the attitudes there, if you can start with the influence a football team has, then it can trickle down and spread throughout the student population."
The nationwide program was launched in 2001 and since then thousands of coaches have signed up. Coaching Boys into Men will begin at Nottingham High School in late August during football season.
