THANK YOU TO SEATTLE PRO SPORTS TEAMS!
For the third time, the Coalition partnered with local pro-sports teams to host the annual Sports Sampling Camp. This year’s camp was held at Skyway Park and had about 55-60 campers come each day. In addition to the pro-sports teams’ participation, five Coalition program partners provided activities, including Upower, Seattle Tennis & Education Foundation, the Storm Dance Troupe, First Tee, and George Pocock Rowing Foundation. There were also special guest appearances by the Mariners Moose and former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch!
The Sports Sampling Camp is a great way for young people to try out new sports and activities while learning about local programs they might have heard of before. Additionally, sports sampling provides several benefits:
- Allows youth to develop a range of physical skills such as agility, coordination, balance, and strength while reducing the risk of overuse injuries associated with early specialization.
- Allows young athletes to interact with a diverse group of peers, and foster teamwork skills and social skills.
- Supports holistic development that promotes not only emotional and psychological well-being but can prevent early burnout/retirement from a sport.
Participants were also able to get free high-quality sports equipment, which will help them continue their play beyond the camp.
Thank you to all of our program partners for supporting one of our most successful annual events and bringing play equity to the forefront of healthy youth development. We will leave you with a quote from a parent and hopefully see your youth at our camp next year!
“I was already planning to send feedback to express my immense gratitude and appreciation for last week’s camp, with a huge emphasis on how extremely kind and incredibly professional everyone was…I’m not sure if very many are able to recognize or have the language to acknowledge the huge healing piece that comes from community engagement and building, but I do. From the bottom of my heart, I really want to thank you for the opportunity. Not only did my son have a blast, but the positive impact of this experience will be an amazingly unforgettable memory that he will cherish forever.”
