Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game is our seminal report, the framework that guides all Project Play activities. Released in 2015, the report offers eight strategies for the eight sectors that touch the lives of children, aggregating the most promising ideas to emerge from two years of roundtables with 250+ thought leaders. It’s a unifying model for action, anchored in the values of health, equity and inclusion.

Hundreds of organizations have used the report to introduce programs or shape youth strategies. Ideas in the playbook have been used to unlock tens of millions of dollars in public and private investment, and create government policies. At the Aspen Institute, we use the eight strategies (or “plays”) as filters to develop research, landscape communities, mobilize organizations, and communicate with our network of 23,000+ leaders in the U.S. and other countries.

The goal of our model is for every child in America to be physically literate by age 12. That is, every 12-year-old should have the ability, confidence, and desire to be physically active for life. 

Physical literacy provides children with the tools to pursue the most appropriate pathway for them as they enter their teenage years. A few will pursue elite-level sports in adolescence, motivated by dreams of competing at the state, national, college, or professional levels. Many more will follow a local competitive sport track, through school, club, or community sports. The rest may choose less-structured activities and will have developed the skills and desire to enjoy a variety of sports throughout their lives, from cycling and rock climbing to neighborhood or company softball teams to swimming, biking, and yoga. 

We encourage leaders from the eight sectors that touch the lives of children to mobilize around eight strategies (or “plays”). On the below pages, you can learn about each of the strategies and find supporting resources and ideas.

Strategic advisors on the Sport for All, Play for Life playbook:

Thank you TO our many partners who have mobilized around these strategies.