Boys are more likely to play on rec center teams than girls, even though since 2004 California law has required equal participation opportunities by gender in community youth athletics programs. 25 In 2019, girls represented only 17% of Oakland youth participants on city-run sports teams. 26 “The way we generally run programs is not culturally acceptable,” said Nicholas Williams, former Oakland Parks, Recreation and Youth Development director, prior to his resignation in May 2022. “We want to find out what those nuances are to become more inclusive or produce specific programming for those groups.” Parks and Rec recently began door-to-door canvassing to inform residents about available programs and receive feedback. The department plans to focus in the next year on introductory mixed- gender sports and girls’ sports (basketball, touch football, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, golf and swimming). Lincoln Square Park and Recreation Center is a model for other rec centers. Many community members expressed two major frustrations with Oakland rec centers: They lack engaging programming for youth, and city leaders don’t hold the rec centers accountable. Residents question where the funding goes as they see many centers with small numbers of regular kids that don’t equate to how many adults are on staff. One exception is Chinatown’s Lincoln Square Park, which serves about 400 youth in person and reports about 1,000 total (including virtual attendees during COVID-19). Most rec centers focus on basketball as the primary sport. Lincoln Square director Gilbert Gong, a resident of Oakland for over 50 years, creates programs to expose kids to as many sports as possible, including tennis, softball, lacrosse, and swimming. The parks and rec summer swim league is held at Lincoln Park, which offers swimmers a junior lifeguarding program to develop skills as future
employees. “Without deliberate design, nothing will happen,” Gong said. His work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Lincoln Square Park is scheduled to receive an $8.5 million renovation to create a new community center, outdoor classroom, badminton court, two patio and garden areas, and renovate the outdoor lighting and three existing basketball courts. 27 Efforts are underway to try to revitalize local baseball. You can’t tell the story of baseball’s history without Oakland. Frank Robinson, Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan and Dave Stewart are among the many major leaguers who came out of the city. At its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, Oakland’s Babe Ruth League had more than 1,200 youth players on 86 teams across four age divisions. 28 Since then, the league’s participation declined 75% and the 13-year- old division was eliminated. High schools now struggle to field teams. In our youth survey, only 14% of boys said they regularly play baseball (vs. 50% for basketball, 33% for soccer and 26% for tackle football). Baseball didn’t even make the top 10 sports boys want to try, surpassed by activities like parkour, surfing and mixed martial arts. Oakland Babe Ruth President Louie Butler said the gentrification of the city and children’s changing attitudes about sports have hurt baseball. Oakland Athletic League (OAL) and Babe Ruth League are now partnering to try to revitalize the sport. About 60 kids from four elementary schools with baseball fields are learning T-ball after school twice a week. OAL provided the funding, including stipends to Babe Ruth coaches, and negotiated a reduced fee for elementary school teams to play in the league. In addition, recent MLB players Tyson and Joe Ross started “Loyal to My Soil,” a series of free baseball camps for Oakland youth coached by current and former pros, college players, and scouts. 29
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PROJECT PLAY — AN INITIATIVE OF THE ASPEN INSTITUTE
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