Join us for S3:EP16 of the Sports Philanthropy Podcast as Sarah Dwyer-Shick, Founder of The Sports Bra Project, sits down with our host, Roy Kessel, to discuss how a simple piece of apparel can prevent many girls from participating in sports.
A three-sport athlete in college, Sarah Dwyer-Shick holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and a master’s degree in Sports Management from the University of Denver. After a 15-year NCAA soccer coaching career that included time working at each of the three NCAA divisions, Sarah shifted her focus to youth development.
She served for five years as Director of Coaching for New York’s Girls North Olympic Development Program and coached for eight with the NY Rush/Patriots Club. Most recently she served as a Technical Director at Downtown United Soccer Club in Manhattan. Sarah is currently Director of Goalkeeping and the Division Head Coach for the girls and boys U11 & U12 age groups at Rye Youth Soccer and in her fifth year as Assistant Men’s Coach at Dutchess Community College.
Sarah holds the USSF National Youth license, United Soccer Coaches Advanced National & Advanced National Goalkeeping diplomas, and is certified as a Strength & Conditioning Specialist by the NSCA.
The Sports Bra Project has its roots in Africa, where founder Sarah Dwyer-Shick discovered that the small collection of sports bras she’d brought as gifts for young soccer players in rural Namibia were instead eagerly accepted by older players living near the capital city, Windhoek. She quickly learned the need wasn’t only in Namibia. Through a growing network of female coaches and athletes who collect and distribute sports bras the Sports Bra Project works to make participation in sports possible for all girls and women. The project works with trusted partners in the U.S. and abroad. Sports Bras are hand-delivered by individuals and organizations when they travel overseas.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SARAH’S PODCAST
- 01:00 Sarah’s Background
- 02:55 Sports Sarah Played in College
- 04:15 Attraction to Coaching
- 05:15 A Coach’s Impact
- 09:50 Different Outlook on Coaching
- 13:10 Expectations of Coaches: Youth Sports
- 16:45 Professionalization of Sports
- 18:45 Nature of Development
- 22:00 The Sports Bra Project
- 26:10 Funding and Distribution
- 31:55 % of Sports Bras Distributed in the U.S. & Other Countries
- 32:50 Collection of Sports Bras
- 34:35 Choosing the Organizations to Donate
- 37:30 How to Support The Sports Bra Project
- 41:20 Sarah as Commissioner of Soccer – Governance Level
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AND WEBSITE
- Website: www.TheSportsBraProject.org
- Facebook: The Sports Bra Project
- Twitter: @SportsBraProjec / @sdshick
- Instagram: @sportsbraproject
- LinkedIn: Sarah Dwyer-Shick / The Sports Bra Project
