The right coach can make a difference in a girl’s life. But they also need the right tools to do that. That’s why Play Academy with Naomi Osaka partnered with the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) to better support and equip coaches.
As part of Play Academy’s wider International Day of the Girl (October 11) celebrations, the training welcomed coaches and program leaders of grantees and friends of Play Academy in Los Angeles.
CHJS – whose aim is to make sport healing for all youth through training, consulting and movement building – led interactive sessions that guided 30 participants through five themes:
- Create Connection
- Let her compete
- Progress, not outcome
- Brave, not perfect
- Girls Check
CHJS’s complete guide on coaching girls can be found online, and follows research from The Women’s Sports Foundation that finds girls participate less in sport not because they don’t enjoy the key being competitive, reaching goals or building a team. But rather that girls have extra challenges to overcome when it comes to getting and staying involved. A great coach can help girls overcome those barriers to sport and play.
More training resources by CHJS are available at chjs.org
Play Academy with Naomi Osaka is a partnership between Naomi Osaka, Nike and Laureus Sport for Good, with the goal of changing girls’ lives through play and sport. It currently funds sport-based community programs across Haiti, Los Angeles and Japan, all places Osaka has a deep connection. Learn more at playacademynaomi.com
