How can we fix youth sports right now? GOOD Sports covered the 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit, and discovered four ways to tackle the issues that face youth sports. Check out what Olympians, student-athletes, youth sports advocates, and other experts in the field had to say during a day of thought-provoking and forward-thinking content focused on youth sports advancement.
READ MORE: 2017 LA84 Summit Featured On ThePostGame
The 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit featured 2017 Rhodes Scholar Caylin Moore and an all-star lineup of panels and speakers all making a difference in youth sports. KNBC’s Lolita Lopez attended the conference, which saw Moore, a former NCAA football athlete and LA84 Foundation grantee youth, share his inspirational journey.
LEARN MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
By Shirley Ito
Speaker: Kerri Walsh Jennings, Three-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist
Interviewer: Julie Foudy, Two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup Champion, ESPN Analyst and Reporter
Foudy kicked off the Summit’s final keynote by asking about Walsh Jennings’ introduction to youth sports and the coaches, teammates, and people who went with it. For Walsh Jennings, the emphasis was that she was introduced to the sport naturally, and played a variety of other sports recreationally, including badminton and basketball, before diving fully into volleyball. For her, the fun nature of sport that she enjoyed whilst growing up fueled her passion and love. “Sport in my family is the war cry,” she added.
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
This family support, something echoed with equally successful Olympian and Summit speaker Allyson Felix, has kept Walsh Jennings going through adversity on the court. Walsh Jennings’ family has traveled with her to each of her five Olympic appearances. When she took bronze in Rio in 2016 after winning gold in the previous three Games’, this support combined with a certain attitude helped Walsh Jennings power through:
“Winning is beautiful, but the growth is the pain from the losses. The joy is in the process even if it’s ugly. I’m better for it.”
Walsh Jennings is a mother of four, and she believes her true love for sport has rubbed off during her parenting. “I look at my kids play, and it’s not about the end result,” she adds. “It’s not always about making the goal or being perfect. It’s about the joy of playing.”
For her, simply giving all kids access is a major step on the road to changing lives through sport. “It’s all about access,” she said. “If we plant these seeds to let these kids try these sports, as they grow up through life there is a good chance they will pick something up. They learn, appreciate it. The socialization that comes through sport and P.E… keep increasing access for the kids to play, and improve the maintain policy work to make sure P.E. is mandated in school.”
READ MORE: All Youth Sports Are Not Created Equal
But once kids are involved, how do we communicate the right message to keep them engaged and active? For Walsh Jennings, a bulk of the responsibility lies with the adults: coaches, administrators and parents. “It’s about play and the process, and not the end results,” she said. While she won gold in Beijing in 2008, Walsh Jennings described it as a negative sports experience due to the intensity and the pressure involved. “It’s not all about winning. It’s about playing and the joy of sport.”
By Nolan Ortiz
Panelists
Jake Olson, Long Snapper from the University of Southern California
Sarah Robinson, Brotherhood Crusade Youth Member
Sophey Carbajal, High School Senior, LB Poly
SaraJoy Salib, LA84 SAMbassador, Water Polo & Diving Athlete at Occidental College
Kendall Stier, Amabassador, Angel City Sports
Moderator: Baron Davis, Two-time NBA All-Star; CEO – Baron Davis Enterprises
The panel surveyed the five panelists on youth sports’ impact on their lives, both on and off the field.
On the opportunity sports plays in our lives
Carbajal opened up the panel by stating how sports has allowed her to drive her personal traits into successful achievement. “I’ve always been an action person. I’d call myself ‘fidgety,'” she said. “Sports has provided me with an outlet to be able to be active and enabled me to show other I’m stronger than they may think I am.”
Stier added that sports has shaped how she views herself and how other people think of her, and said that sports provides an opportunity to forget their problems and play together.
On what ‘team’ means to them
For Salib, being on a team means “an opportunity to connect with someone on a different level and that you really have to look past yourself and put your best interests aside and put your energy into the other people on the team with you.”
For Olson, who played football and joined the USC Football team despite being unable to see, being a part of the team presents him with a chance to show off his talent, earn the respect of his peers, and be seen as just another player. “In those moments, I really feel there is no difference between me and any other player out there,” he said. “Having the chance to do your job gives you a sense of purpose.”
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
The responsibility and accountability of being part of a team also comes into play. Robinson explained how basketball helped her keep her grades up by giving her a specific goal to work toward. It also helped teach her how to communicate more effectively with others. “You have to know how to adjust to work [with your teammates],” Robinson said. “Maybe it was their first time having people that were there for them and uplifting them. Just being able to understand where they’re coming from.”
On the LA84 Foundation’s impact on your time as an athlete
For Carbajal, an LA84 grant to the YMCA of Long Beach Youth Institute opened doors for her and fellow youth in her community to play sports they otherwise never would have had a chance to play.
“The only time I had ever seen archery [before] was watching the Hunger Games,” she said.
“I said ‘I’m never going to do one of those’, but then I found out we’re going to go do archery and was like ‘I’m going to be Katniss Everdeen!’ When someone would get a bullseye, you would see their face light up.
The LA84 Foundation’s Learn To Swim programs in Los Angeles City pools have also opened doors. Among the youth that benefited from these programs was Salib, who receives a scholarship and later became a city lifeguard. Now, Salib is a freshman at Occidental College and is on the school’s varsity diving and water polo teams. ‘Had they [LA84] not sponsored the program, I probably wouldn’t be here at this moment.”
On what changes we want to see ahead of the LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Robinson: More social places for youth to go and spend time at, with an emphasis on affordability.
Carbajal: More diversity and acceptance in sport. “Some people see a star athlete and say ‘oh, it’s that kind of person.’ But people are more than just star athletes [or any label].”
READ MORE: 2016 LA84 Summit Recap: Voices from the Field
Salib: More promotion about the Games to ensure youth know they are coming. “They [youth] should have the authentic sports that are accessible to them, and should get an opportunity to see where it is they fit and find their sport.”
Stier: “I would like to see these simply three words for people to being saying: That the Olympics AND THE PARALYMPICS are coming to LA.”
Olson: The way people view disabled athletes. “We need to start… seeing these athletes as what they are: athletes.”
By Michael Salmon
Speaker
Mallory Weggemann, 2012 Paralympic Gold Medalist & Motivational Speaker
Delivering a packed and powerful message of optimism and perseverance, Mallory Weggemann wowed the 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit audience with her personal story of triumph.
Rendered a paraplegic at the age of 17, Weggemann drew upon to guide her the words recited to her every day by her father: ‘You are the Best, You Can Make a Difference, and You Can Change the World’.
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
Weggemann feels strongly that every child deserves to hear that phrase over and over again. Whether from a parent, a coach, a mentor — no matter who delivers the message — she was emphatic children deserve the opportunity to hear it said to them.
Swimming and sport became Weggemann’s safe haven at a time when she needed it most after her injury. “Swimming saved me in every way imaginable after I was injured,” she emotionally recalled, giving a nod to a line from Kate Winslet’s Rose in Titanic. “The power of sport is something we should never underestimate.”
LA84 FEATURED GRANTEE: San Diego Adaptive Sports Foundation
Weggemann became a world-class swimmer after her accident, winning Paralympic Games medals, and uses the opportunities competition and success afford her to promote her idea of inclusion. “Disabilities only disable us if we allow them to,” she said in an inspirational video shown on the stage. “My wheelchair has taken me more places than my legs ever did.”
Inclusion
Weggemann’s central goal, and motivation, is to see inclusion on the field of play. For her, inclusion in sport will carry over to inclusion in other parts of life. “The power of sport is something you can never underestimate,” she said.
“I dream of the day when we no longer have adaptive sport and non-adaptive sport. We just have sport.”
By Jonathan Reid
Panelists
Lawrence Cann, Founder and CEO, Street Soccer USA
Sarah Cooper, Executive Director, Yalla San Diego
Brendan Tuohey, Co-founder and Executive Director, PeacePlayers International
Moderator: Kenneth Shropshire, CEO, Global Sport Institute
To appreciate the transformative power of sport, it’s important to understand that partnerships and communities play a major role in making play a reality for youth. This panel spoke candidly about funding and networking, as well as the need to be strategic and creative in their approach to making programs sustainable and equitable for their constituents.
“These programs have to be year-round,” said Touhey, kicking off the panel. “They can’t be one-off events. They need to be owned and led by people in the communities, and there needs to be a leadership pipeline.”
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
For Cann and Street Soccer USA, which works with homeless youth, “we really surrounded folks with teammates… We started building community clubs in low-income neighborhoods that are front-end [for] sports, and back-end social service coordination.”
What About Funding?
For Cooper and Yalla San Diego, a major focus is on building a community structure that can reduce the need for large-scale funding resources. “We work with volunteers, with many of our employees having started as volunteers. We work with universities to get interns. We train up kids so they move into coaching and referee roles.” Added Cooper:
“Building those connections with actual people is the glue that keeps us together.”
For Tuohey, the onus too is on staying local. “For us, our four year-round programs internationally are funded from local sources,” he said. “It’s not easy, but the fact that in these places, people show the value it [programs] brings them.”
Brendan Tuohey noted the programs have to be, “owned and led by people in the communities.” At PeacePlayers International, Tuohey has created a leadership pipeline, where players become coaches and peer mentors.
Cann added a relatively unusual source of income to Street Soccer USA: Earned income. Street Soccer USA also runs adult soccer leagues, which include tournaments, that allow them to re-invest profit back into their after-school and youth programs. Another key piece? Getting local elected officials engaged. “It’s super-critical, because it ties you into the community,” Cann said. “It’s their house.”
Getting Programs Off The Ground
PeacePlayers International, which focuses on basketball programs and positive relationships between law enforcement and community members, was brought into Kansas City in 2015 in the wake of the Ferguson unrest in Missouri. “We were very fortunate to bring discussions with Nike, and we were part of their equality campaign last January,” Tuohey said.
“This has led to us starting programs in Baltimore, Brooklyn, and Detroit this past June, as well as LA, Chicago and Memphis soon. What they saw is that you can’t rush this. You can’t show up and say ‘we’re here and know what we’re doing.'” The program focuses on building capacity, which also asked communities to take a risk in investing time and resources in the local programs. “If you’re not in it for the long term, don’t even start.”
READ MORE: LA84, City Council President Wesson Launch Street Soccer USA in LA
“We’re trying to approach the process in a very analytical way and collect all the data we can to make sure we know what the model is before thinking about scale or spreading out or sharing,” Cooper said. “In order to know how we do what we do. Getting down to the details.”
Work In Action
Tuohey gave one anecdote on how nonprofits can show their funders the impact of their work, referring to his program in Jerusalem and the West Bank. “In 2015, we had a Under-18 girls team that was five Israelis and five Palestinians. Before PeacePlayers started, Arab and Palestinian kids had never been in a league before. It took five or six years to get it off, but we had this great video from a championship game. Our team is playing an all-Israeli team, and one of our girls makes the basket as the buzzer sounds. You can’t design this better. You see all of the bench, the Palestinian and Israeli parents, going nuts. You see these girls gather at half court and celebrating the championship, but, more importantly, what it means… You can’t do that in any other platform than sport. You wouldn’t see that experience, those friendships, that joy and what people are witnessing anywhere else but sports.”
So, What Works?
Cooper: “Making real connections to actual people.”
Tuohey: “The power of collaboration and partnership… the only way we’re going to move the needle.”
Cann: “If you aren’t responsive and you aren’t flexible, the programs aren’t going to work. That has to be the perspective. It’s from the bottom up.”
By Vaneshia Reed
Speaker
Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, CEO, Laureus Sport For Good Foundation USA, 1984 Olympic gold medalist, 100-meter hurdles
1984 Olympic gold medalist and Laureus Sport For Good Foundation CEO Benita Fitzgerald Mosley inspired with her talk on the power of sports to change lives. She humbly acknowledged that we don’t have to be Olympic champions to reap the benefits of sport, and that they help prepare us for life and to be better individuals. “I’m a better person, mother, leader and CEO all because I played sports. Every child deserves that opportunity,” Fitzgerald Mosley said.
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
Fitzgerald Mosley shared data from a 2017 study conducted by Laureus, which found that the use of sport for social change is rapidly growing. However, organizations often lack adequate funding, which leads them to be understaffed and to have to turn kids away. Half of the organizations that responded said they have a waiting list, while 100 of the organizations that completed the survey admitted that they could serve an astounding 38,000 more kids if they had adequate resources.
Fortunately, organizations like Laureus and the LA84 Foundation are still able to use sport as tool for social change. In her role as CEO, Fitzgerald Mosley works to “help more kids in underserved communities gain access to sports program that improve their health, education, employment ability, and social condition.” Through sports, Laureus pursues youth development to help youth gain useful life skills.
“Problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity were three skills that kids need to thrive,” she said. “What better place to learn those skills than on the playing field?”
READ MORE: 2016 LA84 Summit Recap: Maximizing Impact Through Collaboration
Laureus also works to build cross-sector partnership within communities by supporting organizations and helping them to create a shared agenda for change. This collaborative approach ensures an impact so much greater than if organizations were doing this work alone.
Reminiscing on her life-changing Olympic win, Fitzgerald Mosley urges us all to join the effort to use sport for social change.
“I think back to that hot August day in 1984. It was honestly the most impactful 12.84 seconds of my life. I call that gold medal the gift that keeps on giving. And so I really want all of use to join this #PlayforAll movement so that we can give that gift to more and more kids around the country.”
Learn more about the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation USA here.
By Vaneshia Reed
Panelists
Jon Joaquin, Director of Youth Baseball Development, Philadelphia Phillies
Kimberley Layton, Vice President – External Affairs, Los Angeles Chargers
Joanne Pasternack, Vice President, Community Relations & Executive Director, Warriors Community Foundation – Golden State Warriors
Diane Terrell, Executive Director, The Grizzlies Foundation
Interviewer: Martha Saucedo, Executive Vice President, External Affairs, AEG
Over the last decade, the sports nonprofit world has seen a shift towards outcomes-based philanthropy. Sports organizations are moving beyond merely funding community organizations and are becoming more involved in working with these organizations to maximize community impact. In this breakout session, four panelists discussed their organization’s shift towards outcome-based philanthropy, challenges with partnering with community organizations, and suggestions for organizations seeking their support.
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
Reducing the ‘Pay-to-Play’ Gap
A common outcome for all panelists was to minimize the ‘pay-to-play’ equity gap and ensure that all youth have access to play sports no matter where they live.
For Layton, the focus is ensuring that all kids, regardless of what neighborhood they live in, have the same kind of equipment that they could use for health and fitness, while Joaquin acknowledged Philadelphia’s struggle with obesity and lack of nutrition while hammering home the importance of enabling kids to have access to expensive sports, like baseball by, buying them gloves as an example.
In Oakland, Pasternack focuses on education inequities and lack of resources, and seeks organizations the Warriors Community Foundation can align with to reach the largest numbers of small groups.
Building Organizational Capacity
While the philanthropic landscape has shifted towards an outcomes-based model, the reality is that community partners don’t always have enough resources, such as funding and personnel, to respond to this new model. Terrell admitted that the Grizzlies Foundation must “do an awful lot of rolling up our sleeves and working alongside community partners” to get their Memphis community from where they are to where they to where they need to be. Recognizing that it is a work in progress, Terrell expressed a sincere commitment to make sure that their funded partners succeed.
READ MORE: 2017 LA84 Summit Recap – Bridging the Divide: Corporate Brands Impacting Youth Sports and Play
Pasternack expressed the need to enhance support of community based organizations without making them dependent on funds that may not always be available. “Be purposeful in the approach,” Pasternack added. “What does the local market need and what are the greatest areas of opportunity? Which organizations can be vetted out and which could we align with to reach the largest number of small organizations?”
Philanthropy is Not a Checkbook
All panelists expressed a desire to partner with organizations that go beyond solely requesting monetary support, and that recognize a corporation’s ability to provide numerous other kinds of support. Layton hopes that organizations can understand, for example, the power of the professional sports team brand to bring awareness to and help expand a program. Said Layton:
“I have so much more ability to partner with you significantly and raise the level of something that works for the both of us together than I ever have the ability to write a check.”
Added Saucedo: “If we’re not a good fit, don’t force it. I might be able to form a connection with another organization. Find people that will be natural partners… and move your mission forward.”
Suggestions for Nonprofit Organizations
The panelists offered great advice for community organizations seeking support from philanthropic organizations.
“When you succeed, we succeed and it’s the best thing possible for the community” – Layton.
By Shirley Ito
Panelists
Kathleen Tullie, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Reebok International
Ryan Eckel, Vice President – Brand, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Co-Executive Director, Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation
Caitlin Morris, GM, Global Community Impact, Nike
Heather Lazarus, Executive Director, Mattel Children’s Foundation; Director, Corporate Affairs and Philanthropy Mattel Inc.
Moderator: Eric Reed, Vice President – Entertainment & Tech Policy, Verizon
The panelists represented well-known brands and companies in the sports industry, and agreed that opportunities for children’s participation in youth sports are becoming increasing difficult due to a multitude of socio-economic issues. Each panelist described how their company aligns itself with youth sports, and shared their initiatives that engage people in youth sports issues and needs. Additionally, each panelist added their insight on the problems that prevent children from participating and offered ongoing and potential solutions.
READ MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
Eckel: Dick’s Sporting Goods began the Sports Matter program in 2014 after a study reported the dramatic reverse in funding of youth sports. “Dick’s became aware that $3.5 billion has been cut from youth sports funding in the previous three years,” Eckel said. By communicating and educating, Dick’s attempts to engage customers in the fact that youth sports funding is declining or out of reach for many. “We are driven by the fact that we believe sports is the best youth development tool that exist,” Eckel said. “If you have [dollars] to invest and you are interested in positive outcomes for kids, the best place to invest is sports. We believe that statistics would bear that out.”
Lazarus: Mattel’s Children’s Foundation is to mobilize the company’s employee base to volunteer with the Special Olympics. The foundation’s overall role is to encourage worldwide access to play, while emphasizing the link between sports and cognitive, physical and socio-economical development. “We believe in the responsibility at Mattel to create today’s children into tomorrow’s future leaders,” Lazarus said.
Tullie: For Reebok, there is a raised importance in creating a “culture of participants” rather than supporting an audience of spectators and fans. BOKS, or Build Our Kids Success, gives youth a starting point for activity, such as before school. BOKS helps instill exercise as part of the daily routine before class begins, and focuses on both ‘free play’ and structured physical activities. “Reebok feels they are a part of the [inactivity] problem, and now need to be part of the solution by providing access to kids and women,” Tullie said.
Morris: At Nike, a focus is on the importance of ‘play’ versus sport. “For children, Nike believes that all kids love to move, but not all are given the opportunity to learn the basics of movement,” Morris said.
“If you don’t really learn how to play, at some point, the language of the playground switches from play to sport and you simply stop playing.”
Morris also noted the Nike Community Ambassador Program, which, similar to Mattel, engages company employees to volunteer in their community. Nike trains participating employees on the fundamentals of youth sports coaching.
The Haves and Have-Nots
Morris added a valuable insight into why youth sports participation has dropped in recent years. “It’s not just one thing,” she said. “Locked out means they don’t get the skills to move forward. Dropped out, they had a bad experience with a coach, or Priced out. We’ve stripped opportunities for movement in the school and also stripped out opportunity to play in our communities.”
READ MORE: 2017 LA84 Summit Recap – The Data: The Power Of School-Based Sports
Main Problems in Youth Sports
Solutions in Youth Sports
By Michael Salmon
Panelists
Dr. Julie Shaw, Director of Education, Women’s Sports Foundation
Catherine Dávila, President, L.A. Villa F.C.
Megan Kahn, Executive Director, Alliance of Women Coaches
Rusty Smith, Three-time Olympian, Two-time Olympic Medalist
Moderator: Jennifer Ferro, President, KCRW
Ferro opened with a story of her own experience as an AYSO coach, and the fact that she almost always was the only woman on the field and was often made to feel like a “second-class citizen.”
One of the biggest reasons having female coaches and role models in youth sports is important is simple: visibility. “Girls have said that they would like to have women athletes just come out and talk to us. We just want to see them,” Dr. Shaw said. The mantra of ‘if you can see her, you can be her’ rings true, with girls needing adults who represent them.
Dávila seconded the notion that girls find it easier to identify with women coaches. “It’s modeling. Girls think ‘I can go there. I can do that,” Dávila said.
Changing Perceptions
Not only do girls benefit from female coaches, but young male athletes having a female coach can ingrain a sense of support, acceptance, and even advocacy for gender equity. Just ask speedskating Olympian and medalist Rusty Smith, whose first coach was his mother. “Women need to be seen coaching at the grass roots level,” Smith said. “Boys need to see that. If you are used to seeing [women leading] when you are five years old, you’ll be used to it when you are 40 years old.”
LEARN MORE: LA84, 400+ Attendees Celebrate Play For All Movement At 2017 LA84 Foundation Summit
While the desire for change exists, problems and barriers still remain in the coaching field. Dr. Shaw noted that even after coaching for 15 years, male and female athletes alike still questioned her abilities and harbored prejudices. “Men in coaching can yell at players and not be judged, whereas demonstrative female coaches have been referred to as b******,” Dr. Shaw said.
“But I tell my players that being strong on the court can transfer into being strong in other parts of like, like the boardroom. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand. Don’t be afraid to offer an opinion.”
Dávila added that she has encountered a ‘we like women coaches, but we want to win’ attitude from players and parents. “[They say] women coaches are about development, and operate with lower expectations,” Dávila said. “Parents have told me that I’m not passionate enough, and that I need to be “meaner” with the kids.”
Solutions
For Kahn, the most important step for women looked to coach is to simply try. “You don’t necessarily have to have played the game [to coach],” she said. “At the youth level, we’re not talking about Xs and Os. We’re talking about people being mentors and teaching life skills.”
Dr. Shaw added that when someone sees a woman or girl with leadership qualities, ask her if she has ever thought of being a coach. “Get her thinking about the possibility of it, because maybe they never have. And if someone is already a coach and sees potential, take the girl under wing and mentor her,” Dr. Shaw said.
READ MORE: 2016 LA84 Summit Recap: The Power of Girls Who Play
For Dávila, parents at the youth level can play a large part in keeping women out of coaching, especially with fathers. She notes the importance of clearing telling parents that there is one coach , and therefore one voice. Her final message to parents: “Youth sports are about the kids. Youth sports are not about you.”
