by Megan Bartlett, Director of Research and Training, Up2Us

I thought I knew a thing or two about the positive impact that sports can have on young people. As an athlete, sports taught me skills like teamwork and time-management and helped me be more successful in school. As a coach, I’ve seen soccer motivate third graders in underserved communities and full-ride collegiate scholarship athletes alike. In my current role at Up2Us, I’ve spent countless hours collecting evidence that ties sports to positive outcomes in academics, physical fitness and positive behavior. But far more impactful than this research was someone who changed my perception of the positive impact of sports.

Nekia Wise is a dance coach in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Most of the kids from her neighborhood spend their free time hanging in “the square”- sitting around, playing cards and smoking cigarettes. The most activity they get is walking back and forth to the “chicken spot” or the Chinese food take-out place. Coach Nekia single-handedly changes that reality for the girls in her neighborhood by giving them an opportunity to bond with their peers in a constructive setting: a dance studio. Her Fully Focused dance troupe brings not only friendship and exercise into girls’ lives, but also inspiration. So much so that, last year, one of Coach Nekia’s dancers, Tianna Brown, nominated her for the Up2Us Play It Forward Coach of the Year Award. She wrote, “When I met Nekia I was on the road to destruction. I was using drugs, skipping school every other day, getting into fights and hanging out with the wrong crowd just because I didn’t have a decent role model. After being under Coach Nekia’s wing for 10 years, my life has drastically changed. I went on to graduate from college and I’m currently an accountant.”

It’s clear that Coach Nekia helped improve Tianna’s health, educational outlook and behaviour, but there’s also an impact that is far greater than the sum of its parts and immeasurable. What happens when the opportunity to play sports positively changes the course of a young person’s life? There is no way to quantify such a profound impact; the only way is to have Tianna, and others like her, tell their stories.

Do you have a story to tell? Up2Us invites you to participate in our Get Set America Summit in Washington, DC. Participants will present research to policy-makers that demonstrates how sports can decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity, increase graduation rates and motivate kids to stay out of gangs. Youth sports leaders, like Coach Nekia, will complement this research through personal stories of how sports can change lives.

To join us, visit:

http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=886598

If you can’t join us in DC but want to tell your story, nominate a coach for this year’s Coach of the Year Awards. Visit:

http://www.youthnoise.com/playcity/playitforward