The Project Play Summit is where the nation’s leaders gather to measure progress, share learnings and discover new opportunities to build healthy communities through sports. Every month we revisit a conversation from the Project Play Summit and take a closer look at the issues. Let’s dive in…

HOW TO REVITALIZE YOUR IN-TOWN REC LEAGUE

Featured at the Project Play Summit 2022

⏪ REWIND AND WATCH

🗝 KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jason Targoff, president of Cambridge Youth Soccer in Massachusetts, set out to change the perception that travel teams are for the “good” players and local or rec leagues are for the rest. Or that you have to choose one or the other. By implementing small changes focused on making the league more fun and engaging, he said the kids were more enthusiastic and games became more of a community event. So how did they do it?

Changed team names to those of nations, including some countries (e.g. Eritrea) that recognize local refugee populations. And, created a “World Cup” post-season tournament to add excitement.
Invested in higher quality jerseys, reinforcing the idea that the kids playing on the rec league weren’t valued less than the travel teams.
Created multiple opportunities for families to donate in support of the program, and made it easier for anyone needing financial support to get it, removing a barrier to play.
Worked in tandem with travel leagues extending the ability of kids to play both rec and travel through eighth grade, by switching to a travel league that schedules games on Sundays only.
What was the impact of these changes? Registered players doubled since 2014 to 1,750.

📢 SINCE THE SUMMIT

⚽️ The U.S. Soccer Foundation recently announced the launch of the Just Ball league, which provides free neighborhood leagues focusing on fun, friendship and inclusivity to promote play and competition.

🏀 With community youth sports participation only worsening during COVID-19, the NBA and WNBA are launching rec basketball leagues in 11 cities aimed at addressing access and equity.

💭 DIG A LITTLE DEEPER

Q&A with CEO of U.S. Soccer Foundation, Ed Foster-Simeon

Q: What was the inspiration for creating the Just Ball league?

A: At the U.S. Soccer Foundation, we provide underserved communities innovative play spaces and evidence-based soccer programs that instill hope, foster well-being, and help youth achieve their fullest potential. Unfortunately, too many children don’t have an opportunity to play. This is especially true for children in underserved communities, particularly children of color.

Q: Play 2 in our Sport for All, Play for Life youth sports playbook is Reintroduce Free Play. The Just Ball league seems perfectly aligned with that idea. What impact do you think the league will have on promoting free play in communities across the country and what benefit do you think that will have?

A: This is all about bringing the game to the kids as opposed to the kids having to find their way to the game. A combined 10,000 kids in New York City and Los Angeles will participate in Just Ball over fall and spring seasons during the 2022-2023 school year. We will learn a lot in those inaugural seasons about what it takes to deliver a fun and enjoyable hyper-local, competitive experience for kids. Those learnings will inform our thinking as we work to refine the model so other interested communities can easily adopt it. We’ve installed more than 500 mini-pitches and our goal is to have installed 1,000 by 2026. Expanding access to sport is an issued that extends well beyond the work of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. We have always openly shared our learnings with the youth sports community and hope that our work with Just Ball will help inform the field. There are millions of kids nationwide who would benefit from similar efforts.

📚 COMPANION RESOURCES

Stack Sports on Cambridge Youth Soccer
Soccer America on North Carolina coach who developed rec-plus option, broke pay-to-play barrier
Call for Leadership in Project Play Platform for Action to rebuild community-based play
Project Play 2024 strategic priority to Revitalize In-Town Leagues

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