SAN ANTONIO — "I used to see all the big kids running and going into play, and with their cool uniforms, so I thought I wanted to join because it involved sports and I like sports," said Ethan, an i play! participant.
i play! is an extracurricular program that teaches San Antonio kids life lessons through the power of sport.
"They always ask me, 'Are we having i play! today?’" said i play! Coach Geoff Boggess. "It doesn’t matter if they know we are having i play!, they always wanna ask. So they love being a part of the i play! team."
In the program, kids from third grade through fifth grade in the city have access to athletic opportunities they might not otherwise get.
"They have the opportunity, right here, to learn the basics, develop those skills and be ready for middle school if they choose to play. This is specialized training. It levels out the playing field a little bit," Boggess said.
And that’s huge when you consider the role that sports can play as kiddos grow up.
"It is not like the outside sports where parents have to pay. It is all fully funded by the i play! people, and I love that because my kids can go after school. It keeps them out of trouble and helps them gain friends," said parent Tina Beltran.
"Mom and dad don’t have to worry about taking them to practice, and moving them from school to practice," added Mandy Adkins, director of youth and community programs for San Antonio Sports. "It all happens right there in the after-school program."
It helps kids develop athletic skills and foster friendships, and also allows them to carry those friendships into the classroom as well.
Rocky, another local child who participants in i play!, said the friends he makes become another family. Ethan, meanwhile, just enjoys having people to talk to and play with.
"The improvement is just absolutely amazing," Boggess says. "In volleyball, a kid who can’t even hit it five feet is, (in) the next year, serving it with confidence. So it is that kind of thing over and over to increase their abilities and increase their confidence."
The i play! basketball season is in full effect, and just like the kids loved volleyball, they’re loving hoops just as much.
"It is my favorite sport," Rocky said. "I like shooting and playing games."
Beltran, meanwhile, said she would like to see the program added in middle schools and high schools.
"That's where my kids are headed for," she said. "We're rooting for that!"