Simril (r) and LA84 are co-sponsoring this year's conference at Loyola Marymount GETTY IMAGES
The second regional Sport at the Service of Humanity Conference kicks off tomorrow, bringing together scholars, athletes, academics and clergy to discuss how sports can unite people and affect positive change. This year’s event will have an added focus on youth sports and is co-sponsored by the LA84 Foundation, which prioritizes youth development through sport. LA84 Foundation President & CEO RENATA SIMRIL spoke with THE DAILY about the conference at Loyola Marymount Univ. and the work being done by her organization.
Q: How do you hope this year’s conference builds on the success of last year’s event at Villanova?
Simril: Last year’s conference was really focused on the college athlete and what colleges and universities, particularly faith-based schools, can do to impart the Vatican’s six principles of compassion, respect, love, enlightenment, balance and joy and three pillars of engagement within the collegiate life. The message of sport at the service of humanity is really much broader than that -- it’s global in its impact. We collectively said let’s build off of Villanova by really expanding the conversation to youth sport as well. There are kids who don’t have the economic, geographic or transportation resources and therefore don’t have the opportunity to play. There’s also the other side of youth sports, the $15 billion dollar industry of club and travel teams. We want to ask the question of how we can embed these six principles into the work that these organizations are engaged in and pass them on to the coaches and parents in an effective way.
Q: What kind of turnout are you expecting for this year’s conference?
Simril: It’s a broader audience than was present last year and it will provide us with a larger scope and reach. In attendance we will have the California Interscholastic Federation, American Youth Soccer Organization, PONY Baseball and Softball, Little League, some private club and travel teams, the superintendents of Catholic schools, LAUSD’s (L.A. Unified School District) Beyond the Bell after-school sports program, D-I through D-III colleges, individual coaches, Olympians, LBGTQ and differently-abled athletes.
Q: How will this year’s conference be structured differently from last year?
Simril: We’re using the format the Vatican used -- a two-day conference -- and on the first day, we’ll have seven breakout sessions. The seven sessions are communicating with parents, character education through sport, creating a youth sports development model, ethical college recruiting, community service and sports’ impact on society, preparing for life after sport and preventing and policing abuse.
Q: As a co-sponsor of this year’s conference, how has the LA84 Foundation helped youth development through sport?
Simril: Our legacy over 30 years is that we’ve helped transform communities through the support of youth sports and structured play programs and have really become a thought leader in promoting, elevating and amplifying best practices in the field. Over the last two and a half years since I’ve taken the helm, we’ve really looked at what has changed in the youth sports landscape. What has changed is that it has become much more difficult for kids and families who don’t have means due to economic, geographic or gender barriers to play sports, so we’ve really framed our work under the idea that P.E. is a social justice issue. Ten years ago, the LAUSD didn’t have any sports programs in middle school, in-school or after school. We partnered with Beyond the Bell and now offer all 94 middle schools with free after school programs year-round -- four core sports and three supplemental sports. That’s really what our work is about and we’ve seen tremendous results since I’ve been here in really creating this movement to provide all kids an opportunity to play.
