Belonging in Basketball
Creating the Foundation for Girls to Thrive as a Team
Create inclusive team communities by fostering a sense of belonging where every girl feels welcomed, valued, and supported. When players feel connected and appreciated, they’re more likely to stay engaged in basketball, grow their skills, and inspire others to join. By building environments of belonging, you contribute to the long-term growth of the game and help girls develop both on and off the court.
Dates:
August 6, 2025
Time:
1:00 – 3:00 PM Pacific
2:00 – 4:00 PM Mountain
3:00 – 5:00 PM Central
4:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Price
Free
Belonging in Basketball: Creating the Foundation for Girls to Thrive as a Team was created for middle and high school girls’ basketball coaches, athletic directors, recreation center staff, and other related professionals in girls and gender-expansive youth basketball.
Learn a range of skills, including:
- Understand the realities girl athletes face in sports and the game of basketball.
- Understand the concept of brave space learning that fosters growth through discomfort, questioning assumptions, and challenging beliefs.
- Explore their role as influencers beyond basketball skills, including impact on players’ identity and value development, wellness, and leadership development.
- Practice and build confidence with tactical strategies for creating a tight knit and healthy team, firmly grounded in gender and racial belonging.
Plus, you will:
- Learn to recruit and retain girls onto your team, especially in under-served areas.
- Receive Jr. WNBA/Her Time to Play curriculum designed to build your players’ social and emotional muscles of self-awareness, empathy, and compassion for others.
- Connect with other coaches exploring gender and racial inclusion and belonging in sports.
Why is this especially important for girls?
In adolescence girls drop out of sports at a higher rate than boys, and basketball engagement is falling. Basketball is a sport that is accessible to many girls of color, compared to other sports. When we intentionally create communities where the most marginalized player feels like she belongs, ALL of your players will benefit.
Together with the WNBA, Girls Leadership launched free Belonging in Basketball resources that we created through the Her Time To Play initiative:
- Certification: Training to equip coaches with activities, coaching tips, and mindsets to create a strong foundation of wellbeing, belonging and community for their teams.
- Curriculum: 36 lessons across 3 age groups (7-9, 10-12, 13-17) designed to teach players to be brave, make mistakes, and lead; created in partnership with Girls Leadership.
- Wellness Check-Ins: 23 quick activities to build the social and emotional muscles of self-awareness, empathy, and connection to others; created in partnership with Girls Leadership.
On February 1, 2023, Girls Leadership and Warriors Basketball Academy powered by Rakuten co-hosted an event in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day — a nationwide celebration to enable girls and women to reach their potential in sports and life. Check out the inspiring pictures here, and learn what basketball means to the girls and how they plan to support others in their basketball and leadership journey.
