Scott Lancaster is the senior director of youth football development for the National Football League, and the author of Fair Play: How to Make Organized Sports a Great Experience for Your Kids (Prentice Hall Press, September 2002). He has 15 years of experience in developing youth sports programs in soccer and football, yet his innovative approach can be implemented to improve all youth sports.

Since 1995, Scott Lancaster has managed the NFL's Youth Football programs, which have attracted more than four million players (ages 5 to 17) nationwide. Lancaster lectures widely on his programs and has been interviewed by numerous media outlets including NBC TODAY Show, CNN, CBS Early Show, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, Boston Globe, National Public Radio, Woman's Day, Ladies' Home Journal, Child Magazine and the Christian Science Monitor.

Prior to joining the NFL, Lancaster spent four years developing grassroots programs for USA Soccer. He also owned a sports marketing company that represented Mia Hamm and other U.S. Women's National Team players.

For the NFL, Lancaster developed a youth sports philosophy with an innovative turnkey structure that has reinvented football, providing a more family-friendly way to play. The structure incorporates a progression of skill development, allowing a more sensible path for young athletes to play traditional football in their later years. Among the youth programs that have been initiated are NFL Flag, Junior Player Development, High School Player Development, Player Development camps and the growth of Punt, Pass and Kick.

In November 2000, Lancaster organized and moderated the inaugural national NFL Flag Football Championship in Disney World, allowing only kids to call the plays with parents and coaches observing from the sidelines. The event provided a model for addressing the negative behaviors by adults that plague youth sports programs nationwide.

Lancaster is a graduate of Syracuse University. He resides in Somers, N.Y., with his wife and children.

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