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How city and county governments are growing access to youth sports
Sign up for the Project Play Summit livestream!
Youth sports participation is bouncing back after the pandemic. How is your state doing?
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Original content from the Aspen Institute
How city and county governments are growing access to youth sports
Sign up for the Project Play Summit livestream!
Youth sports participation is bouncing back after the pandemic. How is your state doing?
and more…
Baltimore has a rich history of developing its children and communities through sports – from the childhood of Babe Ruth to the proliferation of recreation centers in the 1960s and ‘70s, from the rise of decorated Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps to the basketball successes of Carmelo Anthony, Angel Reese and many others. The Aspen Institute recognized as much in State of Play Baltimore, the first community landscape analysis from our Project Play initiative, which included findings and recommendations shaped by an eight-member local advisory board that included then-City Council member Brandon Scott. Since 2017, Scott - now Mayor - and local leaders have worked hard to make Baltimore’s children active through sports.
1 million coaches trained? That’s the goal of this ambitious initiative
UPCOMING EVENT: Future of Sports: Olympic Reform in the Public Interest
Meet the student leaders growing access to sports in their communities
and more…
1,860,000 quality years of life gained if we lift sports participation rates from 51 to 63% by 2030
UPCOMING EVENT: Future of Sports: College Sports Reform in the Public Interest
Christine Brennan joins Project Play Summit 2024
Last chance for early bird ticket prices!
and more…
TAKOMA PARK, Maryland – It’s 3:40 pm on a fall afternoon, and as classes let out, about 40 children flood into the outdoor patio at Rolling Terrace Elementary School. They come for snacks and soccer and receive life lessons along the way.
On this day, many are antsy to play soccer, tying their free cleats and chatting loudly with friends rather than listening to their mentors discuss what optimism and persistence mean. Lukas Barbieri, a high school student who is the youngest of Rolling Terrace’s soccer mentors, eventually quiets the kids down.
“Does anyone remember what optimism means?” Barbieri asks.
“Helping your friends,” says one child. “Being thoughtful,” adds another.
“Sort of,” Barbieri replies. “Optimism means you have to believe in yourself.”
In a sense, this scene represents what optimism for youth sports looks like.
Aspen Institute and Under Armour announce Project Play Summit is coming to Baltimore on May 14-15, 2024, followed by State of Play Washington D.C. report in 2025.