Georgia Southern Recognized as 2019 Project Play Champion
Out of 20 organizations, Georgia Southern University is the only university selected as a 2019 Project Play Champion by Aspen Institute Sports and Society Program. Launched in 2013, Project Play focuses on developing, applying and sharing knowledge that helps build healthy communities through sports. Project Play Champions are part of a cohort of organizations that are striving to make new, meaningful commitments in alignment with Project Play.
Associate Professor Charles “Hal” Wilson, Ph.D., and Professor Drew Zwald, Ph.D., faculty members in the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, attended the Project Play Summit in Detroit, Michigan, this past September as representatives for Georgia Southern University. While in attendance, Zwald and Wilson led a roundtable discussion on helping parents navigate the sometime overwhelming youth sports world.
“Attendees discussed how to make resources more available to parents who wish to be involved and also how to encourage more parents to get involved in youth sports,” stated Wilson. “We also discussed the many obstacles that parents may face including conflicts with their work schedules, lack of childcare for other young children, lack of reliable transportation and other financial restraints. The bottom line is that we want to help create opportunities for any parent who wants to get involved in his or her child’s sporting life.”
Bridget Melton, Ed.D, professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, completed the application that led Georgia Southern to be recognized.
Spearheaded by Melton, Georgia Southern will be launching several coaching clinic outreach efforts this academic year that aim to provide a low-barrier introduction to coaching for new coaches and parents, as well as sport-specific techniques and training to build coaching capacity in rural, underserved areas.
