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Persuasive speech

I am a current college student, and college athlete. In my communications class I have to give a persuasive speech. I have chosen to persuade my classmates to enroll their children someday in some kind of sport because I believe athletics build a strong foundation under the growing up process. I am unsure of your background as a coach, but I was reading some of the articles posted on your site, and you have said some very important things. You seem to be someone that may be able to give me some information, or rather your opinion, or even just a quote I can work off of. Basically I am asking if I can use you and your site as a reference in my speech. If this is possible please respond as soon as you can.  Thank you for your time.

As for my background, I've been a volunteer coach for kids for 40 years and believe that participation in sports is extremely important in a child's development. It teaches sportsmanship, discipline, responsibility, team work and many other valuable life lessons in a situation that is enjoyable and favorable for learning. All of this however requires a coach with the proper philosophy and perspective. Kids' sports should be fun and in order to have fun kids must participate, not sit on the sideline. With the wrong coach (i.e. a win-at-all-cost type coach) the experience may be bad. In such situations kids usually drop out of sports, or worse, they learn distorted lessons. More than 70 percent of the kids who participate in organized sports drop out by age 12. Good coaching is critical. Coaches should be trained in the psycho-social aspects of working with children. Coaches must understand that participation, development and enjoyment are the most important aspects of any kids' sports program, not winning.

I hope this helps. Please let me know how your talk goes.