Women Take Center Stage
2019 was a powerful year for change, especially in women’s sports. Megan Rapinoe’s unforgettable performance at the World Cup and her bold use of her newfound media power propelled the slow-burning issue of women’s equality to the forefront. Glamour Magazine honored Rapinoe as the Woman of the Year this November in New York City, and guess who presented Rapinoe with her award? The poet-athletes of America SCORES.
Rapinoe and the SCORES students weren’t strangers either. Just weeks earlier, they shared the stage with Rapinoe and the US Womens’ National Soccer Team at the Women’s Sport Foundation 40th Annual Salute to Women in Sports.
The SCORES poet-athletes joined Rapinoe at these events for a reason, and it has everything to do with expanding enrichment opportunities and access to young girls in low-income neighborhoods.
In the Bay Area, America SCORES' Efforts to Increase Girl Participation Bucks National Trends
"We launched the 2019-2020 season with 30 new all-girls teams," explains Yuri Morales, America SCORES Chief Program Officer. “We're now at 40% girls, and we're on target for girls to represent at least 50% of our total number of participants in the next two to three years."
In contrast to the national downward trend, SCORES is empowering an increase in youth sports participation. In a study published in June of 2018, the Sports and Fitness Industry Association found that, nationwide, the percentage of 6-12 year-olds regularly playing outdoor soccer fell nearly 14% over three years. America SCORES Bay Area, however, is on target for 40% growth this year alone.
Much of that growth is in the girls program and can be attributed to SCORES' deliberate initiative to recruit and retain female coaches. Research from the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota found that women’s soccer has one of the lowest percentages of female coaches at 26.2 percent. Contrast that to SCORES, where 75% of girls’ teams have female coaches. More importantly, these coaches are youth development specialists and role models, often living in the same communities where SCORES provides its after-school programs.
Why that critically matters is expressed by SCORES Coach Serena Sanchez. “Young girls need women coaches so they can see themselves represented in a male-dominated sport. Female coaches give young girls a sense of security, allowing them to let go of any fears they may have about making mistakes. This sense of security helps create an environment where girls can learn and grow together.”
In addition to forming all-girl teams with female coaches, SCORES also hosts girls-only events. In Oakland, SCORES staff hosted the first-ever All Girls Jamboree in November, where girls teams gathered for games, poetry readings, and girl empowerment. In San Rafael, SCORES Program Coordinator Grisel Hernandez stresses the importance of making it fun and about winning. She tries to create "joyful memories" that her players will take with them for the rest of their lives.
Erika Castro began her coaching career with SCORES in 2012 at Francisco Middle School in the North Beach/Chinatown area of San Francisco. Initially head coach for an all-boys team, she soon added an all-girls team to her coaching plate. Most of her players at this low-income public school were first-generation Latina. Many had experienced some degree of trauma in their home situations and carried that weight into their school days. Erika found an opportunity to support the girls by believing in them, giving them hope, and explaining why making a commitment to something -- in this case, a SCORES’ soccer team -- could help them navigate life challenges and opportunities. “Learning to commit to a team gives you tools for life,” she says.
Funding Provides the Oxygen for SCORES’ Programs
Perhaps the most critical ingredient to growing programs for girls in low-income communities is funding. By providing no-cost programs, girls face no financial barriers to entry. “None of the new girls-only programs would be possible without donors and partners,” states Executive Director Colin Schmidt. "Funding is the oxygen that breathes life into these programs and allows us to pay for coaches, purchase equipment, rent facilities, and invest in learning and evaluation efforts.” SCORES' institutional funders include the US Soccer Foundation, government agencies like the San Francisco Department for Children and Youth, the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, and the Hayward Unified School District. Major corporate partners include BlackRock, Bloomberg, Kaiser Permanente, and The Sak Brand Group. SCORES also relies on funding from dozens of community and family foundations and hundreds of individual donors.
To learn more about year-end giving options and to support our efforts to impact more girls, please visit our donation page.
America SCORES poet-athletes present Megan Rapinoe with Glamour 2019 Woman of the Year Award
US Women’s National Team honored at Womens Sport Foundation annual awards. SCORES students join Megan Rapinoe.
As part of the Women of the Year ceremony, America SCORES poet-athlete Mia performed her poem, focusing on the pressing issue of inequalities in sports and beyond.
