Impact Academy of Arts and Technology Lady Spartans Basketball Team – Hayward, Calif.
Hard work and dedication is nothing new to the members of the Lady Spartans Basketball Team at Impact Academy of Arts and Technology; although they had a successful 2008-2009 season, many of the girls had never played basketball prior to this season. Throughout June and July of 2009, the team organized a one-day basketball clinic in July 2009 to teach younger girls in the community the importance of nutrition and strength conditioning in sports. All of the twenty-five girls that participated in the clinic, and the team members that ran the camp, learned valuable lessons that day. Team co-captain Amy Nieminen summed it up best, “After the day was over, the kids seemed thrilled to have gotten this training, and we felt blessed to give this opportunity to young girls in Hayward who don’t always get this opportunity.”

University City High School Girls Golf Team – San Diego, Calif.
Members of the University City High School Girls Golf Team created a unique service project to introduce young girls with disabilities to the sport of golf. Teaming up with “Best Buddies,” a school program that works with children with disabilities, the girls golf team introduced activities to enhance hand-eye coordination and teach stretching techniques. “We wanted to find a way that we could help students with disabilities…perform some types of physical activity [and] games that would accommodate their special education plan,” said team captain Nergis Akkaya. One of the ultimate goals of the Ambassador Team project was to show that persons with disabilities can participate in sports and find success in different areas of athletics. The project, which started in January 2009, will run monthly until the end of the year.

Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School Scorpions Softball Team – Pueblo, Colo.
“Many times during the summer youth are consumed with media entertainment instead of getting out and doing something active,” said Hannah Romero, captain of the Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School Softball Team. In response to this problem, in July of 2009, Romero and her fellow varsity teammates decided to create a three-day camp that allowed girls of all ages to learn about the sport of softball and the benefits of living active, healthy lives. During the camp, girl participants rotated through several different stations including a cardio exercise station, batting practice, and an obstacle course. Aiding girls from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, the camp boosted their self-esteem, diminished future health risks, and promoted positive nutritional habits to use later in life.

Catch The Drive Rowing Team, Norwalk River Rowing Association – Norwalk, Conn.
As the 2008-2009 school year approached, four members of the Norwalk River Rowing Association decided to design a low-pressure, high-enthusiasm program to encourage teenage girls to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. With potential to fill twelve spots on the “Catch The Drive” rowing team, they targeted girls ages 13-18 that had never participated in competitive sports, were struggling in school, and/or facing obvious hardships. A group of 30 to 50 girls enrolled in the program, which occurred weekly during the spring of 2009, were taught how to use the equipment, basic rowing strokes, and safety procedures for the sport of rowing. In addition, the girls were taught the benefits of eating healthy and staying active, and were given suggestions for nutritional snacks. At the end of this project the girls learned how it felt to be part of a team and the rowing members learned the importance of being a positive influence on their peers.

Jasper County High School Lady Canes Softball Team – Monticello, Ga.
The Lady Canes Softball Team of Monticello, Ga. volunteered their time from April to June 2009 to coach the youngest team of the Jasper County Recreation Department softball program. The high school team met with over 65 girls ages 7 to 9 for two practices and two games per week. The Ambassadors coached the younger girls in softball skills and taught them important lessons on teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership and responsibility. After experiencing the dedication and hard work required to coach a team, the Lady Canes walked away from this summer season with a greater respect for their own coaches and hopes that the girls understand that “participating in athletic activities can strengthen your mind as well as your body and help become stronger women.”

Pleasant Valley High School Spartan Sparkles Cheer Team – Bettendorf, Iowa
“We experienced a string of small miracles and large transformations in our Iowa town,” says the Pleasant Valley Spartan Sparkles on their new cheerleading program. Seeking a way to connect with girls with special needs in their community, members of the Pleasant Valley High School cheerleading team decided to create a cheer squad for young girls with disabilities, ages 8 to 15. The cheer squad was taught the basics of cheerleading, including the benefits of teamwork and staying active. Weekly practices started in August and lasted through the 2008-2009 school year. All of their hard work culminated in a performance at the first home football game, where the squad received a standing ovation from the crowd. The cheer squad formed by the Sparkles Cheer Team helped the girls grow socially and exhibit boundless courage and enthusiasm in front of hundreds of fans.

Marshall High School Lady Commandos Basketball Team – Chicago, Ill.
What better way to teach girls the sport of basketball than through the eyes of an older female mentor? That was the idea behind the Marshall High School Lady Commandos Ambassador Team project “Get into the Game Right.” The Lady Commandos varsity players, along with their coaches and guest instructors, provided 45 girls, ages 7 to 12, with basketball instruction and the opportunity to compete in a season-end spring basketball tournament. The young girls participated in team lectures, and were shown game videos, to integrate them into the sport of basketball. The program was started in October of 2008 and lasted through the end of the 2009 school year. The ultimate goal was to give the girls a safe place to play after school, while providing enrichment, and teaching social competency and sports training.

Henderson County High School Lady Colonels Soccer Team – Henderson, Ky.
“The sounds of laughter and smiles on faces were everywhere,” said Christine Bickers, captain of the Henderson County High School Lady Colonels Soccer Team. These were common reactions for everyone involved in the team’s five-week soccer clinic was created to boost interest by girls in the sport of soccer. By specifically connecting with an upstart 8-year old girls’ team, the varsity team was able to reach out to both young girls who were currently active and those who had never participated. The free clinics, started in February of 2009, offered such activities as foot skill drills, relay races, running, and even simple games like “Simon Says.” The new program was a great way for the Lady Colonels to become positive role models, and taught the participants invaluable lessons about the importance of living active and healthy lifestyles.

Northwest High School Varsity Cheerleaders – Opelousas, La.
Inspired by a high school pep rally, the Northwest High School Varsity Cheerleaders decided to plan a project to get 9 to 18 year old girls and their mothers fired up for living a healthy lifestyle. On May 16, 2009. the team organized “A Walk to the Park,” a one-day event allowing girls to participate in a 3-mile group walk between two different community parks in the area. The team, forty girls and their mothers, ended the event with lunch in the park and a keynote address by a local nutritionist who educated the group on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Team captain Wilbrielle Fournier said “Being active, just walking, can give us a healthy body and a healthy mind which leads us to being a healthy girl at any age!”

King Philip High School Warriors Swim Team – Norfolk, Mass.
Many teams receive donations from local businesses and community members, however, not all turn around and give back to their community like the King Philip High School Warriors Swim Team. In July of 2009, the girls’ swim team offered free swimming lessons to elementary aged girls in their community through six 2-hour sessions. With pool time being donated from the local Hockomock YMCA, young girls were invited to partake in lessons on swimming technique and water safety. Participants were invited to a Lady Warriors’ swim meet to witness first-hand the team spirit, dedication and camaraderie associated with sports. Introducing swimming to these young girls will hopefully spark their interest in being athletic, and possibly lead them to become future Lady Warriors. Team captain Krista Palmer stated it best, “A few hours of our time was well worth the smiles we put on over twenty aspiring swimmer faces.”

Benzie Central High School Girls Track and Field Team – Benzonia, Mich.
“Living in a small community, the smallest change can have a big impact on residents,” stated Taylor Nye, team captain of the Benzie Central High School Track and Field Team. With a goal of getting girls in the 3rd through 5th grades interested in sports, the girls of Benzie High School’s Track and Field team created a new program called “Getting on Track.” The program ran once a week for five weeks from May to June 2009. It session began with activities like stretching, warm-ups, and running games. The girls that participated were also taught lessons in nutrition including learning the benefits of eating healthy and remaining active. The girls then took part in a half-mile sprint, finally working up to a 1.5 mile distance workout. At the end, each girl received a certificate and had her picture taken for the local paper. The program was a truly unique experience for both the high school girls, and its participants.

Fredericktown High Football Cheer Squad – Fredericktown, Mo.
The Fredericktown High Football Cheer Squad was presented with a problem: many young girls attending the local intermediate schools were being denied placement into physical education classes due to lack of faculty members. The team immediately knew how they could help. In order to reach the girls lacking access to Phys Ed classes, the Cheer Squad planned and executed three physical fitness days for girls in the 2nd through 4th grades in early summer of 2009. Activities included basketball, weight-lifting, parachute lifting, jump rope, obstacle courses, dodge ball, hula hoop games, hip hop games, and cheerleading. In addition, the girls were given lessons and advice on nutrition and healthy snacks choices. The Ambassador project filled a void by giving the girls an opportunity to get active and learn about the benefits of living healthy.

Sid Jacobson JCC Maccabi Girls Basketball Team – Great Neck, N.Y.
Despite the incredible success the Sid Jacobson JCC Girls Basketball Team experienced in the Maccabi Games over the past decade, team members looked back on their first experiences with sports and remembered how much they longed for female role models. This longing was the team’s primary motivation for developing a basketball clinic in their community during the summer of 2009. Nearly one hundred girls, ages 5 to 11, were taught different aspects of the game of basketball and provided with the team’s most meaningful lesson: being a role model. Team captain, Michelle Ross said, “We provided more than basketball lessons for these girls, we gave them something to strive for and people to look to.”

Shaker High School Varsity Field Hockey – Latham, N.Y.
Field Hockey is not a well known sport in Latham, N.Y.; because of this, the girls on the Shaker High School Varsity Field Hockey Team wanted to test their leadership abilities and expose the unfamiliar sport to elementary-aged girls in the community. Through four sessions over two weeks of June 2009, the team taught 3rd through 6th graders basic field hockey skills through simple drills and games. They also educated the girls about the importance of hydration and good nutrition while playing sports. Team captain, Michele Kippen said “We had never been put in a position to directly lead like this before, because of this, we began to view ourselves as leaders and realize the impact that we can have [in the community].”

Special Edition Dance Team – The Girls Club of Ohio – Cleveland, Ohio
Special Edition, a Cleveland area dance team, wanted to tackle the common problems of obesity, bad behavior, and poor attitudes that troubled young women in their community. Their Ambassador project, “Girls in Sports,” consisted of three fitness and dance camps, from April to June of 2009, and was offered to thirty girls, ages 8 to 15. Through discussions, handouts, and physical demonstrations, the projects’ participants were taught the importance of fitness and health as well as the basic foundations of the sport of dance. After several activities including stretching, aerobic exercises and fitness challenges, the girls were introduced to new dance styles such as jazz, hip-hop, modern and lyrical. Ultimately, all girls involved gained social, competitive and dance skills, and had a healthy dose of exercise.

Black River High School Girls Soccer Club – West Salem, Ohio
Team captains, Sydney Wagner and Kayla Finkel have learned a valuable lesson while starting the Black River Girls Soccer Club during the 2008-2009 school year: “…in order to get something you want, you have to be focused and you can’t give up; nothing in life is just handed to you on a silver platter.” The two girls worked diligently to get petitions signed, write the necessary proposal and fundraise - all while trying to win over community support to start the Soccer Club. The team successfully recruited twenty girls to participate; some knew and loved the game of soccer and others were anxious to learn. While it’s been a long road for Sydney and Kayla to start the soccer club, the outcome of sharing the sport they love and inspiring other girls to get active has proved to be well worth the journey.

Williamsport Area High School Lady Millionaires Basketball Team – Williamsport, Pa.
The Williamsport Area High School Varsity Girls’ Basketball Team identified a need for more sports opportunities for young girls in their community. The team started an Elementary Girls’ Basketball Program that would not only get more girls introduced to the sport, but would possibly recruit future members for the high school team. Girls in 3rd through 6th grades participated in the program which included stretching, warm up exercises, fundamental skills stations and scrimmages. After practices, the girls were given healthy snacks to stress the importance of keeping your body and mind healthy for peak performance. The Ambassador project wrapped up with the girls playing forty minute games for an audience of parents, families and friends; while playing, all the participants sported “Little Lady Millionaires’ t-shirts. The Lady Millionaires offered the program for six weeks between March and June of 2009.Meredith Manchester, team captain, stated that “having identified the need, we used what we knew, basketball, to implement a program that encouraged girls to get involved in their community and develop an early sense of chemistry.”

Warren Area High School Dragons Basketball Team – Frewsburg, N.Y.
For years, the Warren Area High School Dragons have strived to live up to their image as role models: intelligent, responsible, brave, strong and good-hearted. To continue being the best role models possible, the team created an Ambassador program for elementary school girls that would teach and show them how to live a healthy lifestyle. “By teaching them about healthy eating habits, daily exercises and healthy choices we were able to give these young girls the building blocks to a bright, active future,” said team captain Megan Morrison. The program, called “Lady Dragon Fierce Fitness,” had over 400 girls in attendance over the two day period in May 2009. They participated in five different groups including healthy eating, exercising indoors and outdoors, healthy snacks and healthy choices.

Lancaster High School Girls Soccer Team – Lancaster, S.C.
After noticing that the curious fan club which lined the field at every practice was growing, the Lancaster High School Girls Varsity Soccer Team decided they wanted to give back to the community and give their “fan club” a way to get involved. The team developed a one day soccer camp in May 2009, called “Get Up and Move.” They broke one hundred 3rd through 5th grade girls into squads with a team member leading each group. The camp goers learned soccer skills and also had time to socialize. The team captain, Anna Funderburk, stated the impact of the camp best, “Our coach always tells us that you never know who is watching you in the stands and what impact we have on young girls in our community. We felt those words through this clinic. We do make an impact on young girls and we do have a responsibility to pass on to them the traits that have brought us success.”

Energizers Dance Team All Stars – Hartford, Wis.
The town of Hartford, Wis. has always been supportive of the Energizers Dance Team All Stars, so the team wanted to do something to give back, showing that they aren’t just dancers, but leaders in the community. The Energizers organized a one-day event in June 2009, “Girls’ Day Out,” which combined physical activity and nutrition. The team led dance classes, Zumba and healthy eating scavenger hunts. They also brought in a nutritionist as a guest speaker for the event. Over ninety girls ages 7 to 18 came from surrounding communities to participate in “Girls Day Out.” They said the day “hit all points of staying active, being healthy, and having fun!”