As a high school girls basketball coach I am BEYOND excited about this new initiative between the Jr. NBA and the WNBA called, Her Time To Play. This is a great follow up to my last post about girls in sports. The Jr. NBA and WNBA recognizes that girls are dropping out of sports by the age of 14 at a higher rate than boys so they are stepping in to encourage girls to try and stay in basketball. Girls basketball is a great place to learn life skills such as resilience, team work, and leadership. This Her Time To Play initiative aims to teach girls basketball to girls ages 7-14 in a healthy and positive way.
Women In The Game
I have had the opportunity to volunteer with USA Basketball for 3 years now. They started an initiative called, Women In The Game, to educate High School girls, College, and young professional women about the opportunities for women in the sports industry. The Jr. NBA and WNBA are also addressing the need for Women in sports to serve as mentors and coaches for girls. The Aspen Institute reported that only 28% of youth sports coaches are women. The Her Time To Play initiative hopes to provide more opportunities for women in coaching and athletic leadership through their program.
Get Involved In Girls Basketball
There are many ways to get involved in this effort. If you are a youth coach, organization, sports parent and love Girls Basketball you can go HERE and receive amazing free resources. The Her Time To Playcurriculum, created in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation, pairs on-court training with off-court life skills lessons to build girls’ confidence, prepare them for the challenges of adolescence and teach values like teamwork. Each chapter highlights personal life experiences and stories shared by WNBA players with all 12 WNBA teams are represented throughout the curriculum. There are also additional resources for volunteers and programs that sign up through their website.
Girls basketball for me was a place where I gained confidence and resilience that prepared me for life. During school I struggled with Dyslexia and at times felt embarrassed and for lack of a better word, “stupid”. When I discovered I could excel on the court I became a leader and found the strength to ask for the help I needed. I also learned to love myself for all my strengths and to stop focusing on my weaknesses. My mission now is to build kids up through sports so they can go out into the world with the confidence to do great things!!
Thank you USA Basketball, Jr. NBA, and the WNBA for offering these opportunities for Women and Girls in basketball.
