A week ago Thursday, Andrew Bloom and colleagues were among 90 schoolchildren in Burien’s Moshier Memorial Park, hosting a ball hockey morning session at the fourth annual Pro Sports Sampling Camp presented by the King County Play Equity Coalition in partnership with our city’s professional teams.
“It’s the fourth year we’ve done it, and all of the other Seattle pro teams were there again too, which is great,” said Bloom, Kraken manager of social impact and youth access.
“The 90 kids were with us for hockey, but they also played everything during the week-long camp, and each day was different. It's totally free and the kids clearly enjoy every day.”
Along with the joy of being outdoors on a Seattle summer day, what Bloom noticed in this fourth year is more campers are familiar with ball hockey. That’s a testament to the Kraken and One Roof Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the team and Climate Pledge Arena). Since before the first puck for a Seattle NHL home game, the Kraken and One Roof have been hosting ball hockey clinics and providing more than 200 ball-hockey equipment kits (high-tech sticks, ball and nifty official floor goals that get kids’ attention) to school districts in Tacoma, Seattle, Highline, Renton, Edmonds, and Tukwila. The kits are shared with local parks and recreation departments to be used during after-school hours.
What’s more, the initiative squarely fits the One Roof action pillar of providing youth access to play for kids in underserved communities (the foundation’s other two pillars are ending youth homelessness in our region and bringing environmental justice to communities with environmental risk factors related to air and water. An event like the pro sports sampling brings the youth access objective full circle in a positive fashion.
“We saw a lot of different and positive things at the camp,” said Bloom. “The first thing I noticed was when we got there that morning, telling the kids we're with the Kraken and setting up play on turf instead of ice, I asked how many have played a version of hockey before. Pretty much 90 percent of the kids raised their hands. They said ‘we played it in PE class.’ That was really cool. They recognized our sticks [custom with Kraken team markings] as the ones they used in PE. All of them were super excited.”
It got better as the morning drills and scrimmages unfolded: “Many kids definitely really got into it, trying to practice their stickhandling at every opportunity. When we took breaks, a good number of the kids would grab their sticks and practice shooting on the goals. Some were even trying trick shots. Kids told us, “I like to watch Kraken games.’ ”
Any parent with kids who love sports, dance, or playing a musical instrument will recognize the passion flowing when children take it upon themselves to keep practicing even when they are not required. It is no doubt an outcome that aligns with the King County Play Equity Coalition.
It all starts with KCPEC, which deserves heavy credit for carrying out a vision and mission crafted in a current four-year plan (2021 to 2024) to elevate the number of King County girls and boys who are physically active. At this decade’s beginning, the coalition had charted that only 19 percent of King County youth (one in five kids) get the recommended amount of physical activity per national health and fitness experts.
The percentage has increased (the coalition website currently says 23 percent), but no one is satisfied. This summer’s campers totaled 50 percent more than last summer. Among the many reasons to support and grow such sports sampling camps is research suggests being active improves grades, self-confidence, and resilience, boosts the immune system and helps kids heal from stress and trauma. There is power beyond learning and loving the sport.
The KCPEC vision aspires to “a King County where all youth – and particularly youth from historically underserved groups – experience the transformative benefits of play, sports, outdoor recreation and physical activity.” The coalition's network of member organizations stands “dedicated to challenging and changing systems to shift power and center physical activity as a key part of health and youth development.”
