ESPN Launches “Take Back Sports” Campaign in Partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance
The Initiative, Powered by Disney, Includes a $5 Million Investment and Increases Access to Play for Young Athletes
ESPN and Disney Jr. Also Announce Collaboration with Every Kid Sports to Get Preschoolers in the Game
Today, ESPN’s new youth sports initiative Take Back Sports — created to expand access to sport for youth — launched its official website (www.TakeBackSports.org), debuted a new animated video, and announced the recipients of its inaugural Innovation Challenge grants. It was also announced that Take Back Sports and the ‘Disney Jr. Let’s Play!’ campaign have collaborated with national non-profit Every Kid Sports on a new preschool-focused initiative.
New Official Website
In partnership with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), the launch of TakeBackSports.org offers a premier online destination for youth sports parents, caregivers and coaches with tips, resources and actionable strategies on how to improve the youth sports experience for their child and others. The site, which is curated by PCA, includes articles, checklists and additional resources that educate parents with topics such as “Ten Tips for First-Time Sports Parents/Caregivers,” “Am I That Sports Parent Assessment,” and an “Ask PCA” tool for adults to receive feedback on questions they have about youth sports.
Additionally, for the next month, ESPN will cover registration fees and provide free access to PCA’s Parent Online Courses. These interactive workshops provide specific tips and techniques for parents to use in talking with their children on game day, developing a productive coach relationship and becoming positive supporters in the stands.
New Animated Video
ESPN also is debuting an animated video created by ESPN Creative Studio in collaboration with Big Studios to further amplify the campaign’s message. The video includes the original song “They Just Wanna Play (Keep The Game Fun)” produced by As You Wish Music, which is intended to evoke ‘90s pop-punk nostalgia. Building on the momentum of earlier efforts, the video combines bold animation and compelling storytelling to highlight the importance of play, community and the transformative power of sports. This new creative aims to deepen audience engagement and spark meaningful conversations about how we can collectively improve the youth sports experience.
Innovation Challenge Grant Recipients
Building upon the $5 million charitable investment that ESPN has invested in to reimagine youth sports, ESPN announced the Take Back Sports Innovation Challenge at the Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit. Through strategic investments in cutting-edge training models, inclusive programming and community-rooted solutions, the Innovation Challenge spotlights bold approaches that reimagine how kids engage with sports — fostering a more accessible and positive youth sports experience for all. ESPN doubled its original investment from $50,000 to $100,000 in response to more than 150 compelling applications from across the country. This year’s Take Back Sports Innovation Challenge recipients include:
The Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) received a grant for Collective, a first-of-its-kind digital credentialing platform that brings visibility, accountability and trust to youth sports coaching. Developed in partnership with RAIS3 Partners, Collective allows families and organizations to see who’s coaching their children, what training they’ve completed, and whether they’re equipped to foster safe, inclusive environments. With ESPN’s support, CHJS will onboard 2,500 coaches, parents and programs in Boston — making it the first fully “trackable” city for coach credentials — setting a new national standard for quality, transparency and equity in youth sports.
City Parks Foundation’s impactful “Everyday Play” program delivers free, daily, multi-sport programming to underserved youth in New York City parks. By offering equitable access to tennis, soccer, track & field, golf, and more — along with trauma-informed coaching, career pathways for alumni, and extended summer play — CityParks is addressing systemic barriers to youth sports while keeping kids active, engaged, and supported where they live. This grant will directly fund operations at Kaiser Park in Brooklyn, serving children with high needs and helping sustain a proven, community-rooted model that prioritizes fun, health and opportunity for all.
Lakeshore Foundation’s Super Sports Saturday pilot will bring inclusive, Paralympic-style sports to youth with physical disabilities in underserved areas of Alabama. As the only multi-adapted-sports organization in the state and a national Paralympic training hub, Lakeshore is uniquely equipped to deliver high-impact, free programming that blends fun, fitness and skill development. With ESPN’s support, the pilot will host five events in Montgomery, train local mentors and lay the foundation for a scalable model that creates access, independence and a culture of multi-sport play for youth with disabilities across the Southeast.
Let Her Play has a proven, scalable model that connects young girls with collegiate female athletes to inspire sports participation and leadership. They uniquely address the gender gap through a groundbreaking “Playing the Long Game” initiative that empowers former athletes as fun-focused youth coaches and mentors to keep girls engaged longer in sports. Their data-driven, community-rooted approach tackles critical participation drop-off and creates lasting impact by fostering role models who reflect and motivate the next generation.
Mudsock Youth Athletics received a grant for its commitment to keeping teens engaged in community-based sports by making play fun, inclusive, and youth-driven. Through its “Mudsock Way” initiative, the organization is training coaches and expanding its Youth Action Board to ensure teen voices are centered in shaping programs — using the grant to deepen that youth leadership model and reduce burnout and attrition in year two.
The Official Leadership Network (OLN) uses a pioneering scalable, tech-driven solution to one of youth sports’ most urgent challenges: the critical shortage of trained officials — especially in underserved communities. Through a strategic partnership between UMPS CARE Charities, Sports Officials Care and RefReps, OLN is building a diverse pipeline of high school students trained not only in officiating fundamentals but also in life and leadership skills. With ESPN’s support, OLN will digitize its proven curriculum into engaging, multi-sport video modules — transforming officiating into a gateway for youth employment, confidence and long-term civic leadership.
Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative (PYSC) earned a grant for its transformative Game On Philly! initiative, which places trained community coaches and AmeriCorps members directly into neighborhood recreation centers to deliver high-quality, trauma-informed sports programming. The program’s innovative partnership with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation ensures scalable, sustainable recreation for youth ages 6–14 where they live, play and grow.
Shriners Children’s Portland creates lifelong athletes by proactively addressing injury prevention, sport burnout and early specialization. Leveraging its expertise as a nationally recognized pediatric orthopedic hospital, the organization will lead educational workshops and hands-on injury prevention programming for coaches and parents across Portland, equipping key community stakeholders with tools, resources and expert-led guidance. With ESPN’s support, Shriners will launch this first-of-its-kind effort in the region, helping ensure young athletes stay healthy, engaged and active in sports for years to come.
Volo Kids Foundation has an innovative, equity-centered approach to expanding youth sports access in under-resourced communities nationwide. By leveraging a unique partnership with its for-profit arm, Volo Sports, the organization activates a sustainable pipeline of trained volunteer coaches to lead free, multi-sport programming across eight cities. With a proven track record of engaging over 70,000 children and 15,000 volunteers, Volo Kids addresses both physical activity gaps and youth mental health challenges, while building character, confidence and community — making it a scalable and impactful model for reimagining accessible youth sports in America.
Women’s Coaching Alliance is tackling two major issues in youth sports: the lack of female coaches and the shortage of available coaches overall. Through its “Coach Today, Lead For Life” program, WCA is expanding a proven model that trains and pays young women to become leaders and role models in their communities — helping more kids, especially girls, stay in the game while creating a more equitable and sustainable coaching pipeline.
Disney Jr. Collaboration
ESPN and Disney Jr. are encouraging preschoolers to get in the game through a new preschool-focused initiative with national non-profit Every Kid Sports which provides access to sports grants for families who are facing financial hardship. As part of ESPN’s Take Back Sports initiative and the ‘Disney Jr. Let’s Play!’ campaign, this groundbreaking collaboration marks the first time preschoolers will benefit from the grants that will be distributed through the Every Kid Sports Fall Sports Pass 2025 program and is part of Disney’s commitment to bringing happiness to kids, families and communities.
More About Take Back Sports
Introduced earlier this year at the Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit — where ESPN serves on the 63X30 committee aimed at getting 63% of kids playing sports by 2030 — Take Back Sports addresses critical challenges in the youth sports landscape and focuses on three primary areas to drive change:
Philanthropy and investing in youth sports organizations that are breaking down the barriers to play
A national campaign focused on helping parents, coaches and caring adults make the youth sports system stronger
Purposeful storytelling on youth sports across ESPN platforms together with athletes and league partners
ESPN has committed $5 million to support organizations focused on removing barriers to youth sports participation in four key areas, including:
Community recreational leagues where kids of all skill levels and backgrounds have a place to play. ESPN has made grants to Steph and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sports 4 Life program, Special Olympics Unified Sports, among other programs that provide access to sports.
Quality coaching training where coaches become further developed in critical competencies to better help kids thrive. ESPN is teaming up with Positive Coaching Alliance and the National Parks and Rec Association as part of the Million Coaches Challenge to provide training to coaches throughout the country.
Encouragement of multisport play in an effort to prevent injuries and burnout, ultimately helping kids develop into stronger athletes. ESPN has invested in multisport programs through Boys & Girls Clubs of America ALL STARS program, as well as 2-4-1 Sports.
Promoting the fun in sports, which according to a study by the National Institute of Health, children cite ‘fun’ as the primary reason for participation in organized sport and its absence as the number one reason for youth sport attrition. ESPN is collaborating to better equip kids to have fun through support of mental wellness programming with Doc Wayne, including its sport-based therapy programs and trauma-informed education for coaches, as well as Athletes for Hope CHAMPS program.
ESPN’s Take Back Sports initiative is part of The Walt Disney Company’s ongoing work to inspire the next generation. For more than 100 years, Disney has been a source of happiness for kids and families, and the opportunity to make the fun of sport more accessible to youth is just one example of this ongoing commitment.
Only 38.3% of kids ages 6-12 played sports in 2023 on a regular basis, according to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and the Aspen Institute’s State of Play 2024 report. And kids are quitting early, dropping out on average by age 11 (Project Play & Utah State University’s Families in Sports Lab). · This is why ESPN and The Walt Disney Company are working to make the youth sports system more accessible and fun so that kids across the country have the opportunity to play and keep playing.