Numerous studies have highlighted the relationship between youth sports and improved grades at school, along with future leadership opportunities. Still, athletes with disabilities, families with lower incomes, or those without physical education programs at school still find themselves at a disadvantage.
That’s why LA84 Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to youth sports programs, focused the theme of a recent daylong summit on #PlayforAll, which emphasizes the power of sports to unite and cross boundaries of ability, gender, household income, or zip code. Olympians, Paralympians, college athletes, youth athletes, and leaders in the field from across the country spoke on the most pressing issues affecting youth sports right now.
Here’s what we learned.
1. Small changes = big difference.
Minor tweaks can make a sport accessible to more athletes. Jake Olson, a long snapper at the University of Southern California who became blind when he was 12 years old, spoke about how his teammates and coach have made small modifications to help him be able to participate in the game he loves dearly. Trojans head coach Clay Helton works with the opposing team to ensure safety on both sides whenever Olson comes out to kick.
“I work with the holder to coordinate the snap,” Olson said. “It’s taken a little extra work for us, but the ability for [my teammates] to realize that I can do it — that I’m pulling my weight — it impacts them and it impacts me.”
Similarly, aspiring Paralympian Kendall Stier also asked for a small change that could make a huge difference for many other athletes from the disabled community.
“What I would like to see is these simple three words added to articles about 2028: ‘The Olympics — and the Paralympics — are coming to Los Angeles,” she said. Stier is the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation state track and field champion for girls seated shot put, 2017 CIF state track and field qualifier, and the 2017 U.S. Paralympics national champion in women’s shot put.
2. Bring back structured play at school.
The resounding message from advocates is that physical education in schools is the first place to start in terms of restoring access for all kids to sports, and, given the numerous physical and mental benefits of structured play, it’s “a social justice issue” when the opportunity to participate is limited only to those who come from advantaged backgrounds.
Two-time NBA All-Star and activist Baron Davis spoke about the “Beyond The Bell” program, in which the Los Angeles Unified School District offers free afterschool sports programs at its middle schools. It simply gives kids, many of whom would be unable to otherwise, a chance to play.
Program participants are active for 45 minutes per day, five days a week. The impact has been significant. Regular participants see improvement in math pass rates and aptitude and higher GPAs when they move on to high school, and the program actually sees more students taking part in sports as they get older. Nearly 43% of kids play more than one sport; this “sport sampling” has advantages over specializing in one sport from an early age, which studies suggest may increase the risk of injury and burnout.
3. Let kids be kids.
Don’t let kids get burned out on a sport. Olympic gold medalists Allyson Felix and Kerri Walsh spoke about the value of playing many different sports at a young age and waiting to specialize until later in life. In fact, Felix said she thinks it’s what has led to a longer career in track and field. “Let your child find their passion,” Felix said. “Let them be kids.”
Walsh agreed. After winning gold but almost losing her marriage after Beijing in 2008, she spoke about how fierce competition can sometimes get in the way of what really matters in life. When it comes to her own kids, she thinks that allowing them to enjoy the benefits of play without a focus on winning is important. “If you ever see a child play, it's the meaning of life,” she said. “They grow through experience in their mind, body, and soul. I want to show my kids how to play with joy.”
4. Hire more female coaches.
Kids benefit from experiencing coaches of all genders. Data from a 2015 study by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association shows only 27% of youth coaches are female, a statistic that experts from the Women’s Sports Foundation and others are actively working to change. A panel of experts spoke about the numerous benefits for athletes of all ages of having experienced coaches of both genders — but particularly at the youth level — in guiding them on the playing field, court, or gym.
Ultimately, inclusion starts from the top — from leadership of sports organizations to coaches to athletes — and this sets the table for future opportunities for inclusion of both genders in the workplace and beyond.
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TikTok shocked by 15-year-old unhinged viral clip of kids performing Scarface in school play
Think about the most outrageous film that could be adapted to the stage. Now, imagine the cast of that theatrical production is entirely children, ranging in age from 7 to 10. Now, film it and let the world react.
That’s what director Marc Klasfeld had in mind when he held auditions with professional child actors for a shocking video, meant to look like an elementary school production of the cult film-favorite Scarface. In a now 15-year-old interview with Entertainment Weekly, when asked why he thought this was a good idea, Klasfeld admits, "I thought this would be a nice fit into the kind of YouTube arena of viral videos. And I was right."
The result? Kids yelling “mother-fudger,” piles of popcorn meant to look like cocaine, and outrageous, lengthy scenes of children pointing Super Soakers at one another.
Marc, mostly known as an accomplished commercial and music video director, later adds, "I enjoy making provocative art. I like stirring debate and causing conversation. You're going to get two sides of the coin no matter what you do. People are going to love and hate everything. People loved and hated Avatar. People loved and hated the Jennifer Aniston movie. And people love and hate this. I guess that's a part of having something that's successful out there. There’s got to be certain people that hate it for people to love it."
Once they got their perfect cast, it didn’t take long to put together. He shares, "It was a one-take, so it was pretty much just choosing the right take. About a month altogether."
People sure did react, as it acquired millions of views and comments from all over the Internet. Some were horrified, some were outraged, and many thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen. But Marc emphasizes that the kids in the video were not scandalized. "They’ve heard the f-word. They’ve seen more violence in their everyday lives for as long as they can remember. So for this, they’ve seen worse things than this all the time. So this wasn’t that big of a deal for them."
Enter TikTok. The clip (which just popped up again recently on Facebook) was reposted a few years back, and, once again, the comments continue to run the gamut from indignation to full praise. One TikTok user exclaimed, "Bro, I can’t even remember my grocery list, how the fudge did these kids memorize this whole scene lol?"
Others expressed confusion: "I'm not sure whether to be angry or amazed." Some chose anger: "Just imagine, you know these kids watched the movie to get the characters right. And the parents cheering? Yeah, yeah."
Many commenters believed it was a real school play and commended the production for "keepin' it real": "That school keeps it real. Nowadays, kids know so much about guns and drugs, might as well teach them that bad choices don’t end well."
Yet another enjoyed it but was concerned that the parents of the children would not. "Love the tray full of popcorn. But my God, I would hate to see the hell these parents probably raised."
For the most part, the reviews were glowing. Many complimented the acting, and one claimed they definitely would have "preferred this play over their own school production of Macbeth."
And perhaps the biggest compliment? "Al Pacino will be proud."