Making Space for Play

It's been a busy summer for the King County Play Equity Coalition and, by extension, the city's professional sports teams whether in season or not. Last week, the Kraken joined the Mariners, Storm, Sounders, Reign, Seahawks, Seawolves and Cascades in providing a free week-long "sports sampling" camp for 50 girls and boys in collaboration with the Play Equity Coalition.
The camp, staged at the Van Asselt Community Center in south Seattle, featured half-day segments for pro sports team personnel to introduce their sport in activity sessions for the 50 youngsters on hand. The participants learned basic rules and skills, then tested out their newfound knowledge in games, fun drills and more.

Sports covered: Ball hockey (Kraken), flag football (Seahawks), baseball (Mariners), basketball (Storm), soccer (Reign and Sounders), rugby (Seawolves) and ultimate disc (Cascades). For example, during the Kraken's ball hockey session, the youth (many kids for the first time) worked on stick handling, passing and shooting basics before getting into scrimmages. Other coalition member organizations supporting the camp included First Tee, Upower, Pocock Rowing, Cultures United, Seattle Tennis and Parkour Visions.
There was truly something for everyone, which fits appropriately with the King County coalition's commitment to four pillars: play, sports, outdoor recreation and physical activity. The concept is play is a continuum that extends beyond playing organized sports, which in itself can deter participation, whether due to funds, time commitment, required travel among other challenges for parents.

"We think every kid should have the opportunity to be active and move in the ways they want in their community," said Julie McCleery, a leader with the King Country Play Equity Coalition and director of research-practice partnerships at the University of Washington's Center for Leadership in Athletics. "We want to make it easy for them to access opportunities and have choices in the ways they want to enjoy being outdoors, and be physically active. Unfortunately, right now, a lot of kids' choices are constrained because they don't have access to play spaces or there aren't programs offered and any number of additional reasons."
The
King County Play Equity Coalition
is a network of organizations dedicated to challenging and changing systems to shift power and center physical activity as a key part of health and youth development. The core belief of nearly 100 member organizations is all kids deserve to experience the joy and benefits of being active through sports and the outdoors. The coalition works towards "systems-level solutions to close play-equity gaps for youth of color, girls and youth with disabilities, among others, who are disproportionately excluded from programs and places to play," as per the coalition's website.
McCleery said a foundational goal is all youth should be "active on their own terms" with "a space to play that feels safe to them." She offered some ideas on those potential spaces.
"It could be a pocket park or cul-de-sac or sport court, all of those things in their own neighborhoods to feel safe and supported," said McCreery. "That's the dream [for the coalition]. It could be going for a walk with their families, riding their bikes or being on a sports team. They are all ways to become excited about moving and being active. That's really the goal. Feeling themselves that movement is transformative and joyful and wanting to do more of it."

The recent sports camp and other summer activities (including participation in June's Pride parade) involving all of Seattle's pro sports teams is a credit to the franchises and the coalition. Los Angeles has a similar alliance among its pro teams, but Seattle stands out as the only other market with such a tight bond and shared vision as the Kraken and the other pro teams that fans cheer for. Kids, parents and McCleery alike have appreciated the effort.
"This camp was a great opportunity to try all the different sports offered in our area," said one parent last week in South Seattle. "My son has always played soccer, soccer, soccer and this week he got to try basketball, baseball, street hockey and more. My son hates losing so it was a good experience for him to learn how to fail at new things while having fun. I think this is such a great opportunity for kids in our area to try something new."
"There there's a real understanding among the teams that for kids to be both participants in each of these sports and fans of these sports, they need to do have access to sports in the most general sense at the youngest ages,"said McCleery. "They need to love to move and they need to be excited about physical activity. That is a foundation they can all build off of.
"What's special about [the teams] coming together for kids is they are promoting the basic Joy of movement, which is just so important for kids. Plus, it is a building block for an interest in each individual sport over time."