Can you believe it’s summer already? As we gear up for a summer of Play Bold camps and events, we wanted to use this chance to look back on the Play Bold events of 2022 so far.
As part of our mission, our Play Bold programs are dedicated to inspiring girls to get and stay involved in sports, and support them as they develop as authentic leaders through sports. Across the early months of 2022, we worked to achieve these goals by partnering with organizations and teams to bring our Play Bold Programming to girls across various communities.
In the beginning of the year, we put on four monthly Play Bold Workshops for the South St. Paul Girls Hockey Team. It was awesome to watch these young women grow as athletes and leaders across their season, and make their way to the state tournament! During our workshops, girls went out of their comfort zone to grow as a team and work on their individual leadership and communication skills. Looking forward to seeing what their team continues to accomplish in the upcoming seasons. Go South St. Paul Packers!
Our Play Bold programming was also presented to community youth softball coaches at the Rosemount Coaching Clinic, this past January, where we presented strategies for coaching girls to develop as leaders. Later in the spring, we also partnered with the United States Department, Sports Visitor Program, to present on coaching girls for leadership to a group of over 30 basketball coaches from Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with coaches across the globe as they show up to support girls in sports!
Later in the spring we partnered with Great River Soccer Club and Rosemount Softball, individually, to bring Play Bold Summits to their youth teams. During a half-day leadership summit, girls had a chance to build community, reflect on their leadership and communication skills, and set meaningful goals related to sports and leadership. We are so proud to see the ways that girl athletes see themselves as leaders in their sports!
We wrapped up the spring Play Bold Programming in partnership with the Flipside after school program at St. Paul Public Schools. Across three sessions, we worked with girls in their sports and leadership class as we played games, learned about leadership skills, and practiced being effective communicators. It was so fun to see the girls explore their identities as athletes and leaders!
So far, 2022 has been action packed with Play Bold events for youth and coaches which have showcased girl athletes and their fierce dedication to growing in their sport and leadership skills. Can’t wait to see what else 2022 has in store!
Interested in bringing Play Bold programming to your community? Contact our Play Bold Programs Director (emily@hernextplay.org) to learn more.