Each generation is shaped not only by what it inherits, but by how it responds to uncertainty.

Today, uncertainty feels pervasive. Political instability, social division, and an unrelenting stream of competing crises have created a sense that the ground beneath us is constantly shifting. The volume of voices urging us to fear, divide, or withdraw can feel louder than those calling us toward understanding, responsibility, and hope.

At the same time, we are still living with the aftereffects of the pandemic. While routines have returned, many young people continue to recover from years of social disruption, educational gaps, and emotional isolation. Rebuilding confidence, connection, and belonging is not a quick process. It is a human one.

At SCE, we believe moments like this demand clarity of purpose. They require us to invest in the places where character is formed, relationships are strengthened, and young people learn how to navigate complexity with integrity.

This belief has led us to deepen our commitment to youth sports and coaching. Sports remain one of the most powerful and universal classrooms in a young person’s life. Through great coaching, young people learn far more than how to compete—they learn how to collaborate, persevere, manage emotions, solve problems, and lead with empathy.

Recently we accomplished the goal of training one million youth sports coaches through the Million Coaches Challenge. Together with extraordinary partners—including the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Positive Coaching Alliance, Little League, Laureus, several state programs, and others—we have built a comprehensive ecosystem of training resources in both short and long formats. These tools now have reached one million coaches who, in turn, shape the experiences of nearly 38 million young people across the country.

Our belief is straightforward: when adults are well equipped to guide, connect, and support children in navigating a changing world, children gain the tools and confidence they need to thrive.

At the same time, we are navigating another defining transformation. Artificial intelligence is not merely a technological advance—it is a civilizational shift. In a world where images, voices, and narratives can be convincingly fabricated, the very concept of truth requires new forms of literacy, judgment, and ethical responsibility.

For more than fifteen years, SCE has studied how youth engage with technology and digital media—its benefits, its risks, its intended consequences, and its unintended ones. While some advocate unplugging and full tech retreat, we believe disengagement is neither realistic nor responsible. Technology is here to stay. Our challenge is to help young people develop healthy, balanced, and values-driven relationships with it—relationships that strengthen, rather than replace, their connection to one another.

Across all of our work, we attempt to resist false choices. It is not a question of technology versus humanity, innovation versus tradition, or ambition versus well-being. The future belongs to those who can integrate these forces with wisdom and care.

We remain guided by one enduring practice: listening.

Listening to understand the experiences of young people.

Listening to educators, coaches, frontline NGO staff, families, and researchers.

Listening to one another—particularly when we disagree.

I am profoundly grateful for our board of directors, whose insight, integrity, and generosity continue to shape SCE’s direction. And I am equally grateful for our remarkable staff, whose intelligence, creativity, and deep commitment make our mission real each day.

We do not yet know how this generation will ultimately be defined. But we do know that how we serve them now will echo far beyond this moment.

In a divided and rapidly changing world, SCE remains committed to helping young people build the skills, relationships, and inner strength they need not only to succeed—but to lead with compassion, courage, and clarity.

Susan Crown

Photo by Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash