For five years, Play Academy with Naomi Osaka has supported sports-based community organizations across Japan, Haiti and Los Angeles to change girls’ lives through play and sport.
While girls in Japan, Haiti and Los Angeles may each face different barriers to sport, Play Academy coaches impact the girls and their communities through a variety of inclusive sports programming. And when Play Academy coaches convened in Tokyo, Japan, to celebrate the initiative’s fifth anniversary, the coaches left with a sense of appreciation and understanding that they are part of something bigger.
“It was an eye-opening experience, not only because I was in a different culture and different part of the world, but just hearing the different perspectives of the different coaches participating,” said Roxanna Acevedo, coach for Kids Enjoy Exercise Now Los Angeles (KEEN LA).
Acevedo was one of seven coaches representing Play Academy-supported programs from LA and Haiti at Coach the Dream: Changing Sport for Girls summit in October. Co-hosted by Nike and Laureus Sport for Good, the multi-day event featured discussions with Japanese and global experts and athletes to advocate for girls; and trained 50 local coaches on how to coach girls through trauma-informed coaching. Play Academy has supported 15 programs across three sites, impacting 6,000 girls through the power of sport.
“The struggles girls face are world-wide,” Acevedo said. “One of the main issues we tackle at KEEN is trying to make the world more inclusive. Just seeing how one organization has a rock climbing component or soccer component— I think it was amazing knowing that everyone from around the world want to make sport a more inclusive space for others, especially girls.”
Play Academy stemmed from multi-Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka’s passion to give girls’ more opportunities to play and sports, and see where it takes them. In partnering with Nike and Laureus Sport for Good, Play Academy has provided grants and capacity-building in places close to Naomi Osaka’s heart. Together with its grantee partners, Play Academy has emphasized fun, positive play experiences; coaches who are trained in gender inclusivity; as well as inviting young women to become role models.
At the summit, coaches from Play Academy grantees presented ways they’re changing sport for girls, with powerful storytelling about participants whose lives they’ve seen positively impacted.
Kathy McAllister of GOALS Hait shared about the joy a young participant felt when she got her first pair of soccer cleats. GOALS helped foster an environment where sport was a fun, safe and a positive experience. This same young girl later went on to represent Haiti at the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
“Working in a small country that’s remote, people don’t get to hear a lot of positive things coming out of Haiti,” McAllister said. “I really appreciated that although the majority of the audience was Japanese, they were really interested in our work, and I appreciated the depth of their questions.”
“It was interesting to see not only the challenges that organizations working in Japan face— whether that’s going against cultural norms or just increasing access, and seeing how that compares to other countries whether in the US or Haiti,” McAllister continued.
“There are similarities, and then also differences. As someone who works in Haiti, we have to overcome certain societal norms around gender and inequalities, and access to sport and education. I could really appreciate the effort and challenges that these organizations here are facing.”
The summit included an afternoon of play with girls from the local Tokyo community. In a unique setting, coaches and partners from Haiti, Los Angeles and Japan, along with Naomi Osaka and Laureus Academy member and Olympic swimming champion, Missy Franklin, worked collectively to ensure the girls had a positive experience.
“I loved collaborating with different coaches,” Acevedo said. “The language barrier didn’t stop us from working together. I thought that was so special and is something I will always think about and take away with me to LA.”
