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The Path Forward

After COVID-19, youth sports will never be the same. So what do we want the next model to be? Youth sports experts discussed the potential to rebuild the grassroots sports system after COVID-19.


BACKGROUND

How Sports Can Help Rebuild America

Tom Farrey writes: “A more balanced model for sports could emerge from this crisis. Call it the Era of Sustainable Sports, less vulnerable to financial and other disruptive shocks, and more aligned with the needs of communities.” Read More

Tom Farrey joins SBJ Unpacks to examine what a safe return to sports will look like for kids and whether now is the right time.

SPEAKERS

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TOM FARREY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ASPEN INSTITUTE SPORTS & SOCIETY PROGRAM

Tom is a pioneering journalist and executive director of the Aspen Institute's Sports & Society Program, which he founded in 2011 with the mission to convene leaders, facilitate dialogue and inspire solutions that help sport serve the public interest.

In 2013, Tom created Project Play, a multi-stage initiative of the Sports & Society Program that helps stakeholders build healthy communities through sports. Since then, hundreds of organizations from across the eight sectors that touch the lives of children have used Project Play's framework to introduce programs, strategies, partnerships, tools, and grant-making, while advancing the national conversation around youth sports through, among other efforts, the 2019 media campaign Don’t Retire, Kid.

 
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KRISTINE STRATTON
PRESIDENT & CEO
NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION

Kristine Stratton is the president and chief executive officer of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). In her role, she is responsible for the nearly $20 million national organization that works to ensure that all people have access to parks for health, conservation and recreation. NRPA is the national voice for the protection and creation of local parks, harnessing the passion and power of its more than 60,000 members and the millions of individuals they serve.

NRPA partners with foundations, federal agencies and corporations that recognize the critical role of parks in creating healthy and sustainable communities. The organization grants millions of dollars each year to its members to implement programs that have measurable objectives, such as increasing equitable park access, reducing obesity, increasing physical activity, saving wildlife, connecting children to nature and implementing green infrastructure in communities nationwide. Access to quality parks and recreation is a critical component to an individual’s success and to strong communities, and NRPA focuses on underserved communities to give everyone access to a great park.

 
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NICOLE KEITH
PRESIDENT
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE

NiCole Keith, Ph.D., FACSM is a Research Scientist at Indiana University Center for Aging Research, a Regenstrief Institute Investigator, a Professor of Kinesiology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs for the IUPUI School of Health and Human Sciences, and a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). She is the 2020-2021 ACSM President, serves on ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine and American Fitness Index Advisory Boards, and serves on several national ACSM committees. She co-founded Physically Active Residential Communities and Schools - a partnership between Indianapolis Public Schools, Eskenazi Health, and IUPUI that provides exercise opportunities to over 4,000 Indianapolis residents. Dr. Keith is the Vice President of the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance and has a focus on health equity. Her research examines healthy aging, physical activity participation, fitness, and health outcomes.

 
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JEAN LEE BATRUS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MLB-MLBPA YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Jean Lee Batrus is the executive director of the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, a joint initiative of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The mission is to increase participation in and expand access to youth baseball and softball. The foundation makes grants to organizations in the United States and internationally.

Since late-2018 as the first executive director of the newly formed foundation, Jean has prioritized investments in low-income and underserved communities. The foundation grants millions of dollars annually for capital projects, programming, education initiatives and the Players Going Home Program. These strategic investments help local, national, and international organizations provide affordable and accessible opportunities to sports-based positive youth development. The foundation has leveraged grantmaking, partnership building and thought leadership to promote physical activity, skills-based and socio-emotional learning, and mentorship on and off the field.