PowerPlay NYC

About PowerPlay

STARS Series
STARS Series is a free after-school sports and healthy living program designed to offer sports instruction and group discussions using the Women's Sports Foundation GoGirlGo curriculum. The program's goals are to promote physical activity and to build girls' self-esteem through positive sports experiences and supportive female role models.

Launched in the summer of 2002, in the first year of STARS Series, we worked with more than 200 girls. In the fall of 2003 we worked with 5 partner sites: Ridgewood Bushwick Beacon, Bushwick Beacon Lighthouse, Project Reach Youth, PS 137 University Settlement program, and the Liberty Partnerships Program at Bank Street College. This spring we'll work with at least 15! Read about the Hope Gardens Community Center site, with whom we worked in 2001-02.

For information about starting a STARS Series program, contact Lauren Fardig, STARS Series Coordinator at 212-545-0021.

Click here to see what girls have said about STARS Series!

Check out photos from a STARS Series event!

STARS (Sports Training and Role Models for Success)
STARS is a year-long career exploration and leadership development program that gives girls the chance to learn career and problem-solving skills, network with women in sports, and interact with female role models. The program enables girls to learn important life skills such as goalsetting, oral and written communications, time and money management and health, wellness and nutrition. October kicked off our 2003-2004 STARS program! This year, we have expanded the program and invited other agencies to participate with the YMCA. New sites include the Countee Cullen Community Center, Grand Street Settlement, McBurney YMCA, YWCA of the City of New York and the Dome Project. STARS is a career exploration and leadership development program with two sessions a month to assist girls in learning career and problem-solving skills, networking with women in sports, and interacting with female role models and PowerPlay career coaches STARS Successful Sports Women Speak Out Event Guests
October:      Gail Marquis, 1976 Olympic Basketball player
                   Erica Nelson, Sports Manager with NYC2012 (and PowerPlay VP),

November:   Val Ackerman, President of the WNBA

January:      Tina Bucciarelli, Jill Graybill, New York Mets

Upon completion of the program, participants will be invited to apply for the summer's Sports Leadership Academy and STARWorks internship program.

STARS 2002-03

Sports Leadership Academy
Our Sports Leadership Academy is a sports and life skills camp that combines sports and fitness training with leadership, team building, and workplace preparation training. This year's academy was a great success ending with a trip to the WNBA All Star Game Practice! All 22 girls had a terrific time! Each morning the girls were coached by Renee Bostic, the women's basketball and volleyball coach for Hostos Community College. Sports included football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and lacrosse. After honing their skills in the morning, the girls progressed to a full court games in the afternoon. In between, the girls learned fitness and nutrition from Fitness Director Tearsa Coates, trying their hand at kickboxing, yoga, track, and healthy meal planning. PowerPlay interns facilitated post-lunch seminars on networking, interviewing, office protocol, and college preparation. All of this enabled the girls to be better prepared for their internships the following week and got the girls thinking about college and beyond. All of these girls came with great dreams and aspirations and are excited about the opportunities and potential that lies ahead!

Read about Nicole's experience as a participant.

STARWorks Internships! "Take a STAR to Work Week"
The new-girl network is in action! STARWorks is a one-week internship at a sports company where high school girls have a once in a lifetime opportunity to work in a major corporate office and experience a 9-to-5 job. This year, host companies included Sports Illustrated, Lady Foot Locker, HBO Sports, WFAN Radio, New York Power, Brooklyn Cyclones, New York Sports Clubs, Columbia University, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training, YWCA-NYC and the YMCA of Greater New York. The participants learned many things in the program, from "I must be ready for anything" and "I need to be focused on my work and more organized" to "I can do more than I thought I was capable of" and "women can do as much as men." The girls handled projects as simple as photocopying and filing, to updating a website, being on Good Day New York, or meeting New Jersey Nets basketball star Kenyon Martin at an in-store event. It was truly a memorable experience! Take a look and learn more about the program.

Take a look at what took place at the STARS Symposium! Special thanks to the Women's Sports Foundation for this article.

NYC Girls Sports Directory
Archery, fencing, hockey, volleyball, you name it and you'll find it in our NYC Girls Sports Directory. The Directory is a free, resource guide with info on where you can learn or play sports citywide. It's got information on 20 different sports and covers all five boroughs. In addition, there are great articles on important topics such as health, fitness, goalsetting, Title IX and women's sports history. To receive a free copy, just send a written request with $5 (check made out to PowerPlay NYC) for postage and handling to: PowerPlay NYC, 245 8th Ave. Suite 163, NY, NY 10011

STARS Skillz
Stars Skillz is an educational program to assist female athletes in building their off-court knowledge and skills. PowerPlay NYC presenters and facilitators work with teams of female athletes, covering a variety of sport and life topics in 30-60 minute sessions. Programs can run 4-8 weeks and include topics such as:
Goalsetting: Tips & Tools for Success
Teamwork: The Whole is Greater than the Sum
Nutrition: Eating Well for Peak Performance
Public Speaking: Communicate Better On and Off Court
Title IX: Understanding and Promoting Gender Equity
Coping with Stress: Staying Cool Under Pressure
Scholarships: Marketing Yourself to Coaches and Colleges

PowerPlay Days
Since 1999, we have conducted PowerPlay Days for partners such as YWCA of the City of New York, Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, NYCHA and others. These events are one-day sports and fitness festivals, featuring 2-3 sports skill instruction clinics, workshops and a special guest speaker. We plan and create the PowerPlay Day to meet the needs of our host community partners, and bring PowerPlay volunteers, coaches and staff to provide a fun, empowering experience for girls and the community. See photos from our most recent PowerPlay Day with the NY Women's Baseball Association and the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Check out more photos.

RePlay
Give the gift of play! PowerPlay's RePlay brings used sports equipment to girls and community programs around NYC to help them discover their power through play. Your old bat, ball, racket, or glove represents an opportunity for a young girl to experience the joys of sport.

RePlay has three convenient dropoff locations: McBurney Branch YMCA, 125 West 14th St., Phone: 212-741-9210, the YWCA of the City of New York, 610 Lexington Ave, at 53rd Street, and the New York Cares Community Resource Center in the AOL Time Warner building, 75 Rockefeller Plaza at 51st Street. For more information about RePlay, contact Kerry O'Hearen at 917-653-5429. Thanks to Manhattan Mini-Storage, we now have a place to store all of our collected sports equipment and can expand the program even more! You can also contact us at ReplayInfo@aol.com or 917-653-5429.

Here is one of our first donations at the McBurney Branch YMCA!

Daniel Brignola, Activity Specialist and Ron Frazier, Activity Specialist