A new resource to help promote a positive character building experience for athletes now is available for the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s member schools.

Dr. Harold Slemmer, the AIA’s executive director, announced during Tuesday’s executive board meeting that the AIA partnered with a national non-profit, the Positive Coaches Alliance, that fits the mission of the AIA like a glove, Slemmer said. The PCA is considered a national leader in provididing character development programs for the parents of athletes, athletic departments, coaches and athletes.

“It (PCA) is one of the few organizations that has a parent component,” Slemmer said.

The executive director of the PCA, Jim Thompson, started PCA in 1998 at Stanford University, where he was the director of the Public and Global Management Programs.

The manager for PCA in Phoenix, Margaret Clark O’Donnell, attended Tuesday’s board meeting to give a presentation. The PCA will work with Scott Brown, the coordinator of the AIA’s Academy and Unified Sports, to help implement PCA’s programs.