Office Update

Back at the Sport in Society office, I have been working on several projects. For the first one, a Major League Baseball team is planning to start a baseball program focused on giving more opportunities for urban kids to play baseball. The team had a variety of questions regarding urban participation in baseball, and they wanted Sport in Society's help answering these questions.

Through the research I have learned a great deal about the shifting demographics of the MLB. The number of African-American players has been steadily declining since the peak of African-American involvement in 1975, when 27% of all players were African-American. That number dropped to 17% by 1990, 13% in 2000, and all the way down to 9.1% in 2010. There are several factors that have caused this shift. The main factor has been a lack of available roster spots due to the recent influx of Latino born players, particularly from the Dominican Republic. These players are exempt from the MLB draft, thus lowering the cost of signing of them and putting a premium on acquiring them. Another way in which the draft has hindered African-American participation is the rising value of drafting college players. In the first year of the draft, 56% of all players were selected straight out of high school. In 2005, that number dropped to 35%. This harms African-American players because they are even less likely to play college baseball than professional ball, as is evidenced by the fact that just 6.0% of all college baseball players were African-American (as of 2007-2008).

For another part of the research, I have been looking up which Major League Baseball players are from urban areas, based on where they went to high school. I have also been tracking how many urban players have played college baseball (based on birth year), and keeping track of how many players from the most recent draft are from urban areas. This part of the research has taken a long time so far, but it is nearing conclusion so it will be very exciting to see what the results are.

I have also been working on tabulating and analyzing the results of Sport in Society's training with the National Football League. Sport in Society recently worked with the NFL to develop and implement a league-wide workplace-conduct program. As part of this process Sport in Society conducted a train the trainer program with player development and human resource representatives from all 32 teams, and these people than conducted training with their individual teams. To get an idea of the effectiveness of the training, Sport in Society had the players fill out anonymous evaluations both before and after the training. The evaluations consisted of questions related to sexual harassment in the workplace. Each question had three options to choose from, with one being the correct response. I have been formulating how much teams improved from before training to after the training on each question. This helps us understand which training techniques were effective, and in which areas the players' understanding of the issue can still be improved.

First Full Week at the Wang YMCA

Our first full week at the Wang YMCA in Chinatown was very promising and exciting. After a somewhat slow previous week, during which we were unable to make as much progress as we would have liked, I was anxious to meet everyone at the Wang and learn more about their programs. Monday morning, after rallying at the Sport in Society office with the whole team, Frank and I set out for Chinatown to attend our first staff meeting at the Wang. It was great to finally meet some of the staff, though a few people were out sick, and we immediately felt welcomed by everyone and encouraged to share our thoughts. During the staff meeting we discussed some of our goals and did a quick survey of what people felt the needs of the youth programs are.

After the staff meeting we had an extremely productive meeting with the out of school time director in which we were able to gain a lot of information about the needs of her programs and the type of kids coming into the Wang on a regular basis. This meeting presented us with a lot of challenges that the Wang is facing and energized me to begin getting to work to create partnerships and programming to help meet the needs of the Y and its youth. I was also encouraged by the attitude of the out of school time director who was thrilled to have us on board and really understood our mission and role as capacity builders.

Tuesday brought two more insightful meetings, one with the director of the PE programs that the Wang runs for the Quincy Upper School, and the other with a young staff member who runs an enrichment program for 13 Quincy students on Wednesday afternoons (students have a half day every Wednesday) called Stay in Play. Through both of these meetings we were able to gain even deeper insight into the needs of the Wang and the youth that they serve. Both the PE director and the Stay in Play facilitator were happy to hear our ideas and share their own ideas and challenges.

Over all Frank and I came away from this week with a strong understanding of the basic needs of the Wang. The three challenges most often shared with us were the need for more space, more funds, and more staff members. Throughout the week we have been brainstorming creative solutions and partnerships to each of these challenges, as well as others, such as how to get the girls who go into the Y to participate more. I am very excited to get started on forging partnerships with local community organizations and implementing new initiatives! Overall we were able to carry out a successful needs assessment, which in and of its self is positive, but by far the best part of my week was helping out with the Stay in Play program on Wednesday afternoon.

During the Stay in Play program I was able to get to know some of the sixth graders who attend the Quincy Upper School. They are smart, funny, and overall good kids who when given the opportunity have a lot to say. I was impressed with their thoughts during the structured portion of the afternoon when they discussed gender stereotypes. Two kids taught me how to play the card game “Big 2,” which they said is a Chinatown staple, and I’m looking forward to practicing more next week so I don’t lose every game! I was also able to spend time in the gym with the kids where I played badminton, another game that is popular in the Chinatown community.

I’m looking forward to another great week when we can really begin implementing positive changes!

So our first full week is coming to an end. Not only am I feeling really good about all the relationships Blake and I have fostered with the kids and the staff at the Hyde Park YMCA but I am also extremely excited about the projects we have coming up.

The week immediately was off to a good start, we were given the opportunity to run the teen center solo on our first day in. We were in charge of looking after the kids and helping them with pretty much anything they needed. We also had to figure out different ways to get them involved and active, which, as rookies, I feel we did a good job. Our supervisor also gave us the opportunity to come up with an activities schedule for the m0nths of March and April. For this Blake and I researched different activities, prices and locations and scheduled them out between the two months.

Just a few moments ago was, what I feel, the most exciting thing we've had to do thus far. After spending the last couple days of this week creating a resource sheet detailing contact information for the 42 middle schools in the immediate Hyde Park area Blake and I sent out emails to the different principals. In our message we introduced ourselves, our mission and proposed the idea of possibly meeting to discuss different issues facing their respective communities and their teens specifically in hopes to create, or further, partnerships and set up different programs geared towards the teens. I feel like this was our first official step towards our role as "community operatives" and it was a thrilling experience in itself.

I feel like the kids are very excited about what we're trying to do here and quick to give us their ideas and opinions on everything that we propose, which is an extremely useful relationship. I feel like a majority of the kids are now comfortable with us willing to contribute to the activities we run with them.

I am eager to hear back from the principals we communicated with to begin formalizing partnerships and really getting a sense of the different communities we're going to be working with. I feel, for the most part, kids in the area are just looking for things to get involved with and my goal is to give them that opportunity.

I am anxious to get back into the office on Monday see where these following weeks are going to take us!

Week Two!

This week was the first full week for me at the Hyde Park YMCA. After last week's success, I was eager to get back to the Y. Aubrey and I set expectations for the week in regards to what we wanted to accomplish.

Our first priority was running the teen center on Monday. Our supervisor, Reggie, has Mondays off, so we were left with the responsbility of coming up with fun things for the kids to do. We introduce the teens to a few new games that they have never played before. At first, like any normal teenager, they were extremely relunctant to join or even hear the instructions for the game. But, once we started playing they actually got into it. One of the teens told us after we finished playing that the game was "actually cool" which is by far the highlight of my week. Actually engaging these teens and getting them excited about something other than basketball was awesome.

Another exciting part of the week was Aubrey's idea of running a big dodgeball tournament to promote community involvement in the Y. We decided on dodgeball because it is something that a family could play together. Creating a large tournament would promote health and competition. Recruiting funders to help with the tournament would allow the Y and companies to begin partnerships. We also came up with the idea of running cirriculum when the teams are resting. We are planning on meeting with local principals or outreach coordinators in attempts to determine which issues are most prevelant in middle school youth. With this information we can decide which Sport in Society or partners programming we can use in Hyde Park and specifically at the dodgeball tournament. We spoke to our supervisor about it and he loves the idea. Bonus points for Aubrey!

I am really looking forward to continuing to come to the Y each week and create better relationships with the kids. They have already begun to trust us and are opening up more and more. I think it will be extremely important for us to get close to the kids that come to the Y daily so that we can better understand how to get other kids to come. Because it is such a new program here, we need to start at the base and recruit and then facilitate. Only time will tell how effective we will be here.

More to come next week!

Week 1

Even though it has been a month since the beginning of this co-op semester, this week has been my first full week being involved with Sport in Society (SIS) and YMCA programming. As all four of us gathered at the office on Monday morning, my main goal for the week was simple: become more acclimated and comfortable with my new surrounding within the Wang YMCA in Chinatown. I have had a long standing relationship with the YMCA organization throughout my whole life but these next six months there will be a lot different than my time there before.



Monday and Tuesday of this past week provided me with a number of opportunities to not only interact with the kids but become more aquainted with the staff. Initially, I was nervous that the staff at the Y would see me as some kid coming in to "clean house" and fix all the problems but after meeting and conversing with them, that notion was quickly dismissed. Similiar to my past experiences with Y staff, the men and women of the Wang YMCA were equally hospitable as they were excited that I was there. This little boost of confidence was the driving force behind why I believe this week was an overall success. After meeting with most of the staff, my colleague and I got to see exactly how the after-school program functions. Running from 3-6pm on weekdays, this program promotes both academic and athletic themes. After arriving to the Y, the kids get to enjoy a healthy snack and finish up their homework before attacking the gym and playing games such as kickball and "dragontail tag." I couldn't help but smile as I watched these kids just "being kids" and sprinting aimlessly around the gym. They weren't worried about the daily thoughts that adults have such as making money or paying bills, they were just running around, loving life. It was something I hadn't seen in a while and it was truly inspiring to watch.



Wednesday brought with it an opportunity for my colleague and I to take part in the 'Stay & Play' program that is run by a young staff employee named Joey. As the students have a half-day every wednesday (which is awesome, by the way!) we accompanied Joey over to their school across the street. As we entered the cafeteria, we saw a small rowdy group of 10 boys and 3 girls sitting in the back. As we approached the group and they caught eye of Joey they instantly went crazy and jumped all over him. Joey had been doing this program for over a year now and certainly gained the trust of these young kids by simply showing up every week and being a constant presence in their life. Before we got into the programming, the kids were given some free time to cool down from their school day. We got to meet and interact with the majority of them as we played a number of card and board games. After about a half hour or so, the group entered a classroom where Joey led an open discussion that dealt with the sterotypes surrounding men and women. Surprisingly, the kids were extremely involved and vocal throughout the lesson plan and seemed to enjoy it. After the discussions and homework time, we walked the kids back to the Y where we all took part in more physical activities such as badminton and basketball.



I normally look at my watch about 40 times during the day while waiting for the little hand to strike 5pm but I noticed that, for some reason, I didn't that day. I was enjoying this time as much as the kids were. As I was preparing to leave one of the young asian boys came up and asked me if I would be back next week and I responed "absolutely." He face instantly lit up with excitement as I gave him a fist-bump and he left with his father; that moment was a cherry on top of an overall great day.



I never thought I would say this but........I can't wait to go back to work on Monday.

And They Are Offf...

After weeks of training and preparations, all four of the Sport in Society coops took to the MBTA and headed off to their new homes at the Hyde Park & Wang YMCAs' of Boston. Aubrey and Kristen will be spending their time at the Hyde Park YMCA while Frank and Lucy will be at the Wang YMCA located in the Chinatown section of Boston, MA. All four will be using this blog to describe their individual experiences while at the YMCAs as they are tasked with aiding existing programs and developing/implementing new programs for the future. Stay tuned for more updates!