Project Play recognizes the essential role that schools play in preparing young people for life – and the cognitive, educational and health benefits that flow to students who are physically active. We offer data, research, insights and these eight breakthrough strategies that leaders can use to meet the needs of more students through sports, aligned with the mission of schools.
Play 1: Align School Sports with School Mission
Play 2: Understand Your Student Population
Play 3: Create Personal Activity Plans
Play 4: Introduce Other Forms of Play
Play 5: Develop Community Partnerships
Play 6: Bolster Coaching Education
Play 7: Prioritize Health and Safety
Play 8: Measure and Evaluate Programs
SCHOOL SPORTS PLAYBOOK
Our Playbook to Develop Every Student Through Sports is a framework to help engage the 6 in 10 students who do not play high school sports, while improving the outcomes for those who do. The playbook is the final report in our Reimagining School Sports series. It collects the best ideas to emerge from two years of research and a national search for innovators.
HIGH SCHOOL REPORTS
Decisions related to sports are shaped by a school’s size, mission and resources. So, Project Play began its work by exploring the challenges and opportunities faced by eight different types of high schools and the populations they serve. Each report includes a story on a winner of our national search that awarded $160,000 to the most innovative schools, made possible by project partners Adidas/BOKS, The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation and Hospital for Special Surgery.
We studied real, youth-led movements for school sports equity to create a resource that helps emerging youth leaders address concerns about access to sport opportunities, equipment and resources. Through captivating stories and practical strategies, the toolkit supports future leaders by revealing diverse methods, partnerships and pathways to change.
We hope this toolkit helps young leaders everywhere use their voice, passion, and talents in service of students in their community who lack opportunities to play.
The Healthy Sport Index, developed with Hospital for Special Surgery, is the world's first-ever tool that assesses the relative benefits and risks of participating in each of the most popular sports.
Learn what the data show about physical activity, injury rates and psychosocial outcomes to find the sports that best meet the needs of students here.
We thank the leaders on our Advisory Group for their support of this project. +
“The NFHS is excited to work alongside the Aspen Institute in this endeavor. We encourage high schools to examine their sports and activities offerings and take this opportunity to reach as many students as possible in new ways. A reimagined school sports model that keeps high school education-based sports activities at its core is a proven roadmap for success.”
Karissa Niehoff, CEO, National Federation of State High School Associations
“This is the best document on school sports that I've ever read. It was difficult to contain my excitement -- and I'm 77 and seen quite a bit in my lifetime! If Project Play can stimulate and facilitate this form of excitement among physical educators and coaches, it would revolutionize young people's perspectives on physical activity in their lives.”
Jay Coakley, sports sociology professor and author, Sport & Society: Issues and Controversies
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MIDDLE SCHOOLS
We found some of the most innovative middle school sports programs in the country as well. Learn what they’re doing in this best practices guide.
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