Four Big Ideas: Volume 1

Picture of Camp Randall and Barry Alverez Field. The stadium is full of fans, mostly in red. The fans are watching a football game.

Four Big Ideas: Volume 1

Four Big Ideas: Volume 1 https://uwbios.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Football_Redbirds_AD22_3696-scaled.jpg 2560 1703 Maria Dehnert Maria Dehnert https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/577965bd9732209892543efbec4c55e892b88fdea7693c5ea708db56b7435b1a?s=96&d=mm&r=g March 10, 2023 April 14, 2026

BIOS is an action-packed lab. In 2022, we hosted over 25 research seminars, poured over hundreds of research articles, explored cutting-edge sports innovations, initiated a state-wide study of coaching, and picked the brains of leading athletics experts across multiple disciplines. In concert with our aims to improve athletics though research, we’ve synthesized some of the year’s most important learnings into Four Big Ideas: Volume I.

Coaches can best lead by cultivating meaningful connections.
Youth sports can become healthier, more fun, and more accessible.
Mental health must be proactively addressed in and through athletics.
Collaboration is necessary in promoting brain health and concussion prevention.

Cover of BIOS Four Big Ideas Volume 1, featuring an aerial photograph of Camp Randall Stadium and the UW-Madison campus with Lake Mendota in the background.

Four Big Ideas – Introduction

What does it mean to bring world-class research and athletics together? This introduction to Four Big Ideas: Volume 1 outlines who we are, how we work, and why it matters — and sets the stage for the findings that follow.

Cover page for Big Idea 1. A female coach in a red UW visor addresses a group of youth athletes.

Coaches Can Best Lead by Cultivating Meaningful Connections

Great coaches build teams that are more than the sum of their parts. Through the Wisconsin Coaching Project, BIOS researchers identified five key ways coaches create meaningful connections: authenticity, shared experience, adaptability, connecting tools, and turning point action.

Cover page for Big Idea 2. A female coach in a black shirt high-fives a young girl in a blue jersey during a youth soccer practice on a grass field.

Youth Sports Can Become Healthier, More Fun, and More Accessible

Youth sports in America are at a critical juncture. BIOS took a deep dive into the research — exploring trends in specialization, access, injury, and burnout — to help coaches, parents, and leaders better support young athletes.

Cover page for Big Idea 3. Two young girls in athletic jerseys walk side by side on a grass field with their arms around each other.

Mental Health Must Be Proactively Addressed In and Through Athletics

Mental health concerns among youth and college athletes have risen sharply over the past decade. BIOS presents key findings — from campus researchers, UW Athletics specialists, and promising programs — to inform athletes, coaches, and sport communities.

Cover page for Big Idea 4. A composite image showing the book cover for The Brain on Youth Sports by Julie Stamm alongside a photograph of a young female athlete adjusting a protective headband.

Collaboration Is Necessary in Promoting Brain Health and Concussion Prevention

UW-Madison researchers are at the forefront of concussion science. BIOS synthesizes the latest findings on brain safety — including what coaches, athletes, and families need to know about prevention, recovery, and long-term brain health.

Four Big Ideas: Volume 1