Summit rewind: Soccer lessons to revitalize your rec league

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?

Summit recap: National soccer leaders call for more local play

Top soccer leaders endorsed the creation of more local programs as a solution to the often expensive travel team model that has come to dominate the youth soccer ecosystem, limiting access to a sustained experience for low-income youth, including many minorities.

February 2022 newsletter: A new playbook for high school sports, athletes as university employees, and more

Featured

  • Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Develop Every Student Through Sports coming March 9

  • Karissa Niehoff and Najee Harris featured speakers at Reimagining School Sports event on March 10

  • Future of Sports: What if college athletes become university employees?

  • Ideas, Insights, Invitations, Inspiration

How Norway won all that Olympic gold (again)

Norway has the population of Minnesota. But that that didn’t stop the tiny Scandinavian country from topping the medal standings at the recently completed Beijing Olympics, just as it did in 2018 at the PyeongChang Games. Indeed, this time, its athletes won a record 16 gold medals across six disciplines. The performance burnished Norway’s reputation as having the best sport system in the world, both in elite performance and making a meaningful contribution to communities and its democracy. We invited three architects of Norway’s sport system to share their insights.

Ohio joins New York in allocating cut of sports betting proceeds to youth sports

Following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door for states to legalize sports betting, many have taken the opportunity to do just that. Sports betting is now legal in more than 30 states, 18 of which boast online sports betting, generating new tax revenue for state budgets across the country.

USA Gymnastics adopts Athlete Bill of Rights amid turmoil

“It’s a north star as to how we feel athletes should be treated by all of our community members,” USA Gymnastics CEO Li Li Leung said at the Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit, noting that gymnasts were a vital voice in creating the document. “It’s about the right to participate in an environment that’s safe for them.”

Jeremy Lin: Here’s how youth sports can tackle racial bias and mental health

Basketball star Jeremy Lin’s message to kids: Every athlete faces fears. “Courage is what allows people to fight through their fear,” he said. “It’s not that you don’t feel fear at all. You’re going to feel fear and that’s OK. It’s whether that fear cripples you and doesn’t allow you to move forward.”