Photo Gallery (images by LaNay Larson, Aileen Nasypany, & Veronica Gutierrez)

San Francisco, CA -- Academy of Art University Athletics, San Francisco Parks & Recreation, and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) celebrated National Women and Girls in Sports Day by teaming up for The Tasters Choice Girls in Sports Winter Extravaganza this past weekend at Kezar Pavilion. Female athletes from the ART U basketball, soccer, tennis, softball and golf teams all combined in this free clinic designed to teach young girls new skills in various sports.

"I love getting involved in projects like this which get youth active and outdoors instead of sitting at home at the computer or watching television,” women's soccer forward Emi Sullivan said. “We had perfect weather too; it was a beautiful warm sunny day in San Francisco. I also like seeing this younger generation because they inspire me as an artist to keep an open mind and to be more creative. Overall I had a great time."

In familiar territory inside Kezar Pavilion and outside at Kezar Stadium, ART U women's basketball and women's soccer had opportunities to encourage the girls (ages 5-12) to be active and healthy with their athletic disciplines as the focus.

“I think it is a very rewarding experience any time you work with kids,” women's basketball forward Alisa Griggs said. “Any type of community service with kids is awesome because they're always hyped up and there is a personal satisfaction to helping them out. They set up a bunch of events golf to cheerleading and we got to act as volunteers and just help the kids by showing them proper form and getting them excited. I think it was great to promote healthy lifestyles by getting active.”

The mixture of Urban Knights squads united as small teams of Academy of Art athletes were assigned to groups of 10-15 children whom they coached during their sessions.

“It's always good to see young girls doing sports,” women's basketball guard Devin London said. “It was great that it was a girls' camp and that we could be role models for them. Also we spend so much time with each other on our team that was nice to intermingle with other teams like tennis for example.”

The event, which began at 9:00 AM, also offered a chance for the children to rotate through various sports, learning the fundamentals at each stop. The options included basketball, golf, kickball, volleyball and track field.

“I really enjoyed working with the children,” women's soccer midfielder Louise Fillingham said. “They seemed to have a great day and it was really nice to give something back to the community.”

National Women and Girls in Sports Day, a 26-year tradition, was enjoyed to the fullest this past Saturday with this fun event and AAHPERD continued to further its mission to promote and support leadership, research, education, and best practices in the professions that support creative, healthy, and active lifestyles.

"My favorite part was being able to get the kids to say, 'I CAN!' instead of 'I CAN'T,'” women's soccer forward Veronica Gutierrez said.

For more information on AAHPERD and San Francisco Parks & Recreation events, please visit the following websites:

http://www.aahperd.org/
https://www.sfreconline.org/Start/Start.asp