Meet Me on the Pitch: Developing and Testing a Community-Based Sports and Behavioral Health Intervention for Youth (MMotP)

This study evaluates Meet Me on the Pitch (MMotP), a community-based intervention that integrates sports, schools, and behavioral health with the goal of improving the behavioral health, well-being and academic performance of youth. MMotP is a novel approach that builds on evidence-based practices by using sports as a means to foster social-emotional development and address barriers to academic, health, and social services. The study assesses feasibility, acceptability, and short-term outcomes through a randomized controlled trial comparing MMotP to standard sports programming. The intervention will be implemented by the non-profit organization Soccer Without Borders and evaluated by the University of California, San Francisco.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Mental Health; Adolescent Health; Help-Seeking Behavior; Psychological Well Being
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Meet Me on the Pitch (MMotP)

Detailed Description

Meet Me on the Pitch (MMotP) is an innovative community-based intervention designed to improve the behavioral health, well-being and academic performance of youth (ages 14-21). The six-session intervention combines soccer-based activities with behavioral health education using the DNA-V model, a youth-focused adaptation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). By training trusted community members, specifically soccer coaches, to deliver a tailored behavioral health intervention, MMotP addresses barriers to academic, health, and social services while fostering social-emotional development.

This study evaluates MMotP through a parallel randomized controlled trial. Youth participants will be randomized within their soccer teams to either the supplemental MMotP intervention or just standard sports programming. The study will assess changes in primary outcomes, including mental health (psychological flexibility and self-efficacy) and academic support-seeking behaviors, as well as secondary outcomes related to social connection, school engagement, and access to services. Youth will complete surveys at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months to measure these outcomes.

MMotP will be implemented by Soccer Without Borders in the San Francisco Bay Area and Colorado and evaluated by the University of California, San Francisco. This study is funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 480
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Oakland, California, United States, 94609
      • Soccer Without Borders - Bay Area
  • Colorado
    • Denver, Colorado, United States, 80205
      • Soccer Without Borders - Colorado

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Youth ages 14-21 participating in Soccer Without Borders programming
• Regular attendance at team soccer practice
• Ability to speak English or Spanish

Exclusion Criteria:

• Youth who do not participate in Soccer Without Borders activities
• Youth who do not attend soccer practice regularly
• Youth who do not speak English or Spanish
• Youth who have already received the MMotP program

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group (Standard Programming); Participants will continue regular Soccer Without Borders programming, including soccer practices and team-building activities with their coach.
Experimental: Intervention Group (MMotP Program + Standard Programming); In addition to standard Soccer Without Borders programming, participants will receive MMotP, a six-session behavioral health intervention. MMotP sessions will be delivered weekly by their trained coach outside of soccer practices.	Behavioral: Meet Me on the Pitch (MMotP); Meet Me on the Pitch is a six-session behavioral health intervention delivered by trained Soccer Without Borders coaches to small groups of youth, ages 14-21. Sessions are held weekly at school sites, typically after school. The six one-hour sessions follow a consistent structure that includes a brief preview of the day's session and a review of the prior session; three learning goals; and worksheets and play-based activities to facilitate learning and reinforce key concepts. In Session 1, participants explore identities and identify values to help guide action in future sessions. In Session 2, participants establish a personal or academic goal, identify barriers and facilitators, and set an actionable step to support their goal by the following session. In Session 3, coaches introduce the DNA-V model and help participants develop psychological skills to reach their goals. In Session 4- 6, participants use the DNA-V Discussion Tool and plan additional short-term actionable steps to con

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Psychological Flexibility	Self-reported response to the Avoidance & Fusion Questionnaire (AFQ-Y8), using 8-item version adapted for youth. Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale from 1 (Not at All True) to 4 (Very Much True). Responses are summed for a total score.	Baseline, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up
Self-Efficacy	Self-reported response to the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), using 10-item version adapted for youth. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very Often). Responses are summed for a total score.	Baseline, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up
Help-seeking for Academic Needs	Self-reported response to four UCSF-developed items: awareness of adult at school for academic support (Yes/No/Not Sure), need for academic support in past month (Yes/No/Not Sure), sought academic support in past month (Yes/No), and willingness to seek academic support in future (Definitely No/Probably No/Probably Yes/Definitely Yes).	Baseline, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Social Connection	Self-reported response to California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) Co-Regulation Supports Scale (Home Adult and Peer) and Community Supports Scale. Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale from 1 (Not at All True) to 4 (Very Much True). Responses are average for a mean score.	Baseline, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up
School Engagement	Self-reported school attendance in the past month. Self-reported recent academic grades. Self-reported response to California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) Internal Assets - Educational Goals Scale. Each item is scored on a 4-point Likert scale from 1 (Not at All True) to 4 (Very Much True). Responses are average for a mean score.	Baseline, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up
Help-seeking for Health and Social Service Needs	Self-reported response to UCSF-developed items: awareness of support (Yes/No/Not Sure), need for support in past month (Yes/No/Not Sure), sought support in past month (Yes/No), and willingness to seek support in future (Definitely No/Probably No/Probably Yes/Definitely Yes).	Baseline, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
• Collaborators: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR); Soccer Without Borders
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mara Decker, DrPH, University of California, San Francisco

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 12, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 12, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): January 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 3, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescent; Well-being; Sports; Behavioral health; School engagement; Social connection
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Social Behavior; Psychological Well-Being; Help-Seeking Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: A144370; U01NR021576 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant survey data will be made available for secondary analyses. Given the study's focus on a particularly vulnerable population (i.e., minors), we limit data sharing to scientists approved by the UCSF research team and Institutional Review Board. Because of the nature of the data and potential risks to research participants, our datasets will not be placed in a data repository. Data will be shared in compliance with UCSF IRB-approved protocols and NIH data-sharing requirements.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will be available on or before December 2029.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Sharing access criteria are under development.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; ICF; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No