Work to Play

A Health & Education Soccer Program

The Work to Play Program is Urban Initiatives' flagship program started in 2003 in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood. In order to stay in the program, students agree to strive for excellence in the classroom as well as on the soccer field. Overall, the program takes a holistic approach to sports-based youth development by incorporating academic engagement,  physical fitness, health education, and character development.

Urban Initiatives establishes a relationship with the administration and the staff at each of our participating school sites. These relationships are vital to the Work to Play Program's success because we rely on teachers to administer weekly evaluations - 'Work to Play' forms - for our program participants' work habits and classroom behavior. Work to Play' forms provide a rating scale for the teacher to comment on the child's attendance, attention to assignments, classroom behavior, and respect for others. They are then reviewed by the coaches and any student who fails to meet the standards set by his or her teacher may be suspended from the program until the teacher's requirements are satisfied. Urban Initiatives emphasizes personal improvement, not absolute performance. The goal is to develop the student by using the soccer program as an incentive to convince the students of the connection between their education and personal growth.

In addition to education, Urban Initiatives emphasizes the importance of an active and healthy lifestyle as well as character development. At the end of each program session, after students exercise for at least one hour through soccer activities, health and character tutorials are presented and nutritious snacks are distributed. Each week Urban Initiatives coaches cover a health or character topic. They teach a lesson, lead a team discussion, and distribute  an activity worksheet in order for students to practice what they learn during the program at home. The goal of the health education and character development components of the program is to provide 'kid friendly' reasons for why physical activity, a healthy diet, and positive character traits are important to their participation on a sports team and more importantly to their longterm development.