Sound Familiar? L
US Lacrosse has allies in effort to reimagine youth sports
landscape BY MATT DASILVA
acrosse is not alone. The evaporation of recreational play, limited physical activity in low-income communities, concern about overuse and head injuries, the trend toward single-sport specialization and the lack of trained coaches were chief among topics May 17 at The Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit in Washington, D.C. Sound familiar?
Erin Smith, managing director of education and training at US Lacrosse, was among industry leaders serving on a panel about reimagining parks and facilities to better accommodate small-sided sports and engage underserved youth
— core tenets of the Lacrosse Athlete Development Model (LADM). The event featured a who’s-who list of speakers, including First Lady Michelle Obama, who bemoaned the
First Lady Michelle Obama joined her brother, ESPN analyst Craig Robinson, in a chat about their active upbringing in Chicago.
US Lacrosse's Erin Smith (far right) spoke on a "Think Small" panel of sports industry leaders at The Aspen Institute's Project Play Summit.
marginalization of physical education and recess in U.S. schools and whose Let’s Move initiative aims to address the childhood obesity epidemic. “It is imperative for corporate America to go into schools and put gym and sports back in,” she said during a conversation with her brother, ESPN analyst Craig Robinson, which was moderated by ESPN’s Michael Wilbon. “Whatever the dollar figure is, as a society, as taxpayers and as corporate America, we should figure out how much that costs and then pay for it. Period.” Sound familiar? US Lacrosse’s Soft Stick Program issues introductory equipment and curricula to about 300 schools and organizations every year. Tennis champion and human rights activist Billie Jean King emphasized the need for more women in coaching and more trained coaches in youth sports.
48 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » July/August 2016 A Publication of US Lacrosse
©MATT DASILVA
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